House prices will not CRASH, they will FLUCTUATE as they've always done. If there was a sudden sharp drop there would soon be a glut of buyers forcing prices back up again. It's supply and demand, nothing else.
Not if they can't get a mortgage.
House prices will not CRASH, they will FLUCTUATE as they've always done. If there was a sudden sharp drop there would soon be a glut of buyers forcing prices back up again. It's supply and demand, nothing else.
Not if they can't get a mortgage.
I've just got a 90% mortgage with Nationwide at 4.19% above the base rate
Not if they can't get a mortgage.
I don't think anyone disputes your industry knowledge, I certainly don't. But I do think that you're too close to it all and being an emotional 'heart on your sleeve' sort of chap means you're simply unable to provide a neutral clear-headed commentary on this. You've proven this time and time again, unfortunately.
Simply if I was Mr LBG or Ms Barclays or Mrs HSBC and I saw a shaky, fragile property market and Mr Borrower wanted 90% LTV, I wouldn't be lending because I'd have a very real fear that the value of the asset would be less than the value of the debt in the very near future. And then everyone involved is in a bit of trouble. Multiply that scenario up to tens of thousands of similar cases and it all gets horrible again.
I'm afraid it's simply not as easy as saying "relax your lending criteria and it'll be happy days for all again".
To even that out Chuck, my house mortgage is just coming out of fixed term and I've been stung by a whopping 0.75% above the BOE rate = 1.25% . It's a discrace.
But Ben bought that flat when house prices in Brighton seemed to lag well behind London. He paid £57k when mine in Wimbledon was worth about £140k. I bet the difference between those two flats is massively reduced now, because Brighton prices are much higher, relatively speaking.Well done Ben I'm really happy for you!
That just sums up the difference between a first time buyer now and one in the late 90s. You managed to easily afford a WHOLE 2 bedroom flat and I'm struggling to afford HALF a one bedroom flat and now you're reaping the rewards.
It's a joke.
Well done Ben I'm really happy for you!
That just sums up the difference between a first time buyer now and one in the late 90s. You managed to easily afford a WHOLE 2 bedroom flat and I'm struggling to afford HALF a one bedroom flat and now you're reaping the rewards.
It's a joke.
Just forcibly move yourself in to Ben's spare room. That'll wipe the SMUG grin off his face.
The simple fact is that the financial world is in shit because the banks gave mortgages to members of the public who were simply not credit worthy. The ONLY way to repair this damage is to tighten lending criteria for at least a few years, if not permanently. Get used to it.
So lenders will in future require potential borrowers to prove their personal income. Pay slips, P60's, business accounts; I can't see what on earth is the big deal with this?
I agree it went too far and self cert was abused but it has gone too far the other way now. Your experiences are not the norm I can assure you. It is a real battle to get finance for 90% of the public. There has to be a way of assessing affordability in the future or the 4 000 000 self employed with never be able to move again or get a mortgage / property. There has to be a way of funding a healty mortagge marketplace and with respect you cannot eliminate ALL risk from lending which is what the FSA want. And if it was so clear to all why did the FSA do the square root of f*ck all about 125% mortgage, self certs etc for the 5 years they were being offered and arranged on their watch from 2004-2009 ?.
Ben has 3 kids under the age of 2 I think the joke would be on me!
I did rent his flat for 2 years which was ok until it got to winter and I realised sash windows and old radiators didn't exactly provide much heat.
Tip of the day: if letting or selling a period property, always do it during the summer months.
So which ones are they?