Much press attention has been given over recent months to the predicted remortgage repayment shocks for homeowners due to complete their cheap fixed-rate interest mortgage deals. The average consumer approaching the end of their introductory period is expected to feel increased pressure on their finances due to the interest rate rises of the past 18 [...]
‘The lease is up’. These four words will drive terror into the heart of even the seasoned house renter, especially when there is no option to extend the lease and the only choice is to move. For my sins, I have recently found myself in this exact position – yet again. As I emerged a [...]
Consumers make many excuses for the - often unhappy - state of their finances. The sub-prime mortgage market fiasco in the US has highlighted the importance of responsible lending, but has also drawn attention to the importance of consumer responsibility. Here in the UK where consumers enjoy a collective multi-billion pound relationship with credit, it’s [...]
Yesterday the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to maintain interest rates at 5.5%, to the surprise of many economists who had been predicting a further drop following that made in December. Until the minutes of the meeting are published later in the month it remains to be seen how close the vote was, [...]
Like many homeowners, I have been watching the predictions regarding interest rates and economic change during 2008 with great interest, particularly the endless speculation over the future of the housing market. Many economists are predicting as many as four interest rate drops during 2008, which will relieve some of the pressure on banks’ access to [...]
It is a well known fact that January is the longest month in the calendar year. It may only contain 31 days, the same as half of the rest of the months in the year, but somehow January is definitely longer. The days are shorter, the darkness seemingly endless; the cold no longer seems festive [...]
Experts have been predicting the downturn of the housing market for around 18 months now, since interest rates began to rise mid 2006. With house prices rising seemingly endlessly across the country all the while and sellers laughing all the way to the bank, this may seem another weary reiteration of the same old news [...]
I read with some astonishment this morning that an astounding 75% of borrowers do not believe that they are responsible for their own levels of over-indebtedness. Three quarters of consumers do not feel responsible for making their own decisions regarding their finances, and feel that instead, lenders are to blame. With repossessions on the rise [...]
The buy-to-let market in the UK is showing signs of becoming inaccessible to the average potential investor. The needs of student populations, immigrant communities, and young would-be first time buyers being priced out of the market will always drive the need for a ready supply of buy-to-let properties; however, questions are being raised about the [...]
