- Lowest number of Mortgage Approvals since records began.
- In a breaking report from the Bank of England only 64,000 mortgages were approved last month.
- Tue 29th Apr 2008
- Are the Banks getting greedy?
- In a test case in the High Court today, 8 UK Banks may be deemed to have be charging their customers unfairly.
- Thu 24th Apr 2008
- Comparison websites under the hot spotlight.
- The centre for competition policy has produced a report saying independent checks need to be made of comparison websites.
- Sat 12th Apr 2008
Homeownership 'undermined' by lenders
Wed 12 Dec 2007 3pm
The UK's mortgage lenders and brokers have come under severe criticism in a new report on homeownership by Citizens Advice.Stating that the number of problems regarding mortgage arrears has risen by 11 per cent in the last year, the document claims that a combination of "irresponsible lending" and "dubious" broker advice is leading British citizens into a spiral of debt.
The sub-prime mortgage market is particularly responsible for these developments, Citizens Advice contends, with chief executive David Harker slamming the "cavalier behaviour" of lenders and brokers operating in this sector.
He stated: "Many aspiring homeowners have been mis-sold unsuitable and costly home loans that are doomed to fail from the start.
"Far from providing housing security and a valuable asset, homeownership has proved a fast-track to debt and homelessness for many vulnerable borrowers on low incomes."
According to Citizens Advice, 770,000 Britons have missed at least one mortgage or secured loan payment in the last 12 months.
In a recent survey of people planning to remortgage before the end of the year, Lloyds TSB found that 64 per cent will spend less than usual this Christmas in order to afford their mortgage payments.
