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Archive for September, 2011
Student properties to rent – in pictures
Tuesday, September 13th, 2011Diary of a tenant: an ordeal finally ends
Monday, September 12th, 2011The landlord gave me six weeks’ notice, but after an emotional breakdown a friend took me in. A weight has been lifted from my shoulders
Part 10 The trials of flat hunting
Bill’s representatives insisted I leave after six weeks and not a day longer, instead of the two months to which I am entitled.
One method of communicating this involved a brutish stranger hammering on the door late one night. I could fight it, according to my solicitor, but it’s a battle too far. The solicitor has also informed Bill that I am entitled to remain, but I am worried he or his thugs will turf my belongings on to the pavement (a recurring nightmare throughout this situation).
Yet another potential flat lead fell through, after I had prepared to leave at last. The person vacating stayed on, but these things happen.
I meet up with a friend who is aware of my predicament, and she asks for an update. It’s all too much and I begin to cry as I tell her about the thugs and my overwhelming sense of powerlessness and insecurity. I’d been about to book into a hostel.
Never having seen me in such a state, she’s horrified, and insists I stay in her lounge. I go back to the flat, gather enough to keep me going for the immediate future, and camp out in her lounge. Like many of my friends she was aware of the facts but just didn’t register how much it was affecting me: she assumed I would move and the problem would end.
I arrive at her place and realise that instantly a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I remember what peacefulness feels like.
She is currently flat hunting in another city, and despite being in an excellent job with great pay is having trouble finding somewhere. She says she’s being fussy, and I laugh. Fussy? She wants a safe, affordable flat with enough space for her partner and herself. That’s not fussy.
I feel utterly drained. I can’t think straight, and my supportive friends have rallied round, finding storage space and a van.
I return after the best night’s sleep I’ve had in months, and move all my belongings with the help of two friends.The mild-mannered Polish van man asks why I am leaving. I explain, and in broken English he replies: “UK landlords bad.” Not always, I sigh.
So Bill has got his wish. In fact I am out of the flat even earlier than he demanded.
I didn’t leave a forwarding address as I was worried he would send his thugs round, and I forgot to have my post redirected so it is possible he or his henchmen have been reading my letters. I was too scared to even walk by the flat.
In my panic I also forgot to read the meter, and will have a massive electricity bill to settle in instalments – even more debt. I am still sorting out benefits swallowed by bank charges and payments gone awol when switching between work and claiming. In this world of short-term employment this is perfectly normal, and an obstacle to low-income renting and general survival.
As for this column, I’ve found your responses astonishing both for their compassion and some searing complacency. The most amazing one came from the person who was more outraged that I might be wearing pyjamas at 8.30am than the fact a man had barged into my home and threatened me.
Some of you were sure there was a clear answer: that this would never happen to them and that I should be punished, despite Bill’s threats.
To clarify: at first, I earned enough to afford the rent. The flat was cheap, but I slowly lost work through the year, and after graduating housing benefit reforms placed the cost outside my reach. I was in full-time education, which I firmly believe is a right not a privilege. I ended up owing rent that I will pay once I work out how much is outstanding, but I admit I’m in no rush.
More than anything else in the world I want to own a home so I can avoid landlords like Bill forever, but can’t imagine I ever will.
New private landlords struggle with their responsibilities. Training should be essential, as the law should protect people like me, but many tenants are too scared to go to court. And when landlords respond by giving notice, what’s the point in fighting? Like myself, people move on instead.
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When will interest rates go up again?
Friday, September 9th, 2011As the economic clouds darken, many now reckon we could see near-zero interest rates for years to come. Rupert Jones examines how it will affect your mortgage or savings
This week, for the 30th month in a row, the Bank of England held the base rate at 0.5%, and economists predict the first interest rate rise won’t be until at least 2013. If we are now heading into a Japanese-style era of ultra-low rates to combat a depressed economy, is it time for households to fundamentally reappraise their personal finances?
As recently as the beginning of this year, the consensus view in the City was that “emergency” low rates would start to rise within months. In late January, the money markets were pricing in three 0.25% rate rises by the end of this year. It didn’t happen.
Now the mood among financial experts has turned dramatically. Across the developed world, economic indicators are flashing red, and some forecasters believe the base rate will remain at its record low for many years.
The world’s top central banker, Ben Bernanke, in charge of the US Federal Reserve, said last month he expects to keep US interest rates at current low levels until at least mid-2013. Many think the European Central Bank will reverse its two rate rises this year and make cuts as early as October as it battles the eurozone debt crisis. Against that backdrop, the chances of the Bank of England increasing rates look virtually nonexistent.
Guardian Money polled a number of experts to see what they think.
Ray Boulger at mortgage broker John Charcol: “I would see [the base rate] staying at 0.5% until mid-2013, and then only going up slowly.”
Brian Hilliard, chief UK economist at Société Générale: His best guess for the next rate rise is “some time in 2013″ – probably the early part of that year.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax: “It’s now looking increasingly likely we won’t see a movement until some time in 2012.” He believes predictions that the next rise won’t be until 2013 are too pessimistic.
The Guardian’s economics editor, Larry Elliott: “Even the most hawkish people in the City are talking about late 2012. I don’t think there will be a rise while Mervyn King is governor of the Bank and he ends his term in the summer of 2013.”
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight: “Whenever interest rates do start to rise, the probability remains that they will move up relatively gradually and remain very low compared with past norms.”
So how does this translate into your finances?
I’m in the market for a new mortgage. Is a tracker the way to go?
There are still some very good tracker home loan deals on offer, particularly if you are looking to remortgage and have built up a decent amount of equity in your property. Borrowers in that position should be aiming to find a tracker deal priced at around 2.5%.
HSBC and ING Direct are both offering lifetime trackers with current pay rates of 2.49% (base rate plus 1.99% for the term of the mortgage) where the maximum loan is 60% of the property’s value. The HSBC deal has no booking fee, while ING Direct’s has a £945 fee.
The counter-argument is that many fixed-rate mortgage deals have come down in price lately and are looking a lot more attractive. If you can’t afford to get the interest-rate guessing game wrong and/or you don’t want to live with the fear of rates rising, however unlikely that may seem, fixing your monthly payments may be the way to go. Ultimately, the base rate will rise – it’s just a case of when.
David Hollingworth at mortgage broker London & Country highlights Chelsea building society‘s five-year fixed-rate deal priced at 3.29% until 30 November 2016. For really long-term reassurance, how about a deal that fixes your payments until the end of 2021? The Chelsea also has a 10-year fixed deal priced at an attractive 3.99%. But in both cases the maximum loan is 70% and the product fee is a chunky £1,495.
I’m in a fix. Should I bail out?
Some of those who took out fixed-rate deals three or four years ago will be paying 5% or 6% – or even more in a few cases – and wondering if it makes sense to get out.
The big obstacle for many is the early repayment penalty charged if you ditch your current loan. Often, these are calculated as a percentage of the outstanding loan, and can easily be 3% or more. In many cases the penalty will be several thousand pounds.
Some people will definitely save by switching to a cheaper mortgage, even taking the penalty into account. But for others, the cost of escaping their current deal will be greater than the potential saving. As a rough rule of thumb, if the lock-in is two years or more, there is a good chance that switching will stack up financially, says Hollingworth. If it’s less than a year, it is less likely you will gain.
The Guardian can help with the maths – our website features a mortgage switching calculator, provided by London & Country, which will give you an idea of whether it is worth paying the early repayment charge (ERC) to remortgage at a lower rate. Key in your current mortgage balance, interest rate and ERC, and how long the penalty has to run, and it will show you the interest rate you would need to achieve to make a switch worthwhile.
Take the example of someone with a £100,000 mortgage who is paying 5% interest, has a 3% ERC, and has three years to go until the charge ends. They need a rate of around 4% – assuming valuation and legal fees are paid by the new lender – which is perfectly achievable.
But if they only had one year to go until the charge ends, they would need to find a rate of 2% or less for a switch to be worthwhile.
Don’t forget to factor in another potentially chunky cost associated with many new deals: the product fee. And remember that if you switch from a fixed rate to a variable one, and interest rates start to go back up, this will, of course, eat into any savings.
I think I’m on my lender’s standard variable rate
You may be able to save thousands of pounds by remortgaging. Check what rate you are paying – you might get a shock. Despite the base rate having been 0.5% for ages, more than 20 lenders – most of them building societies – have standard variable rates (SVRs) that are north of 5%, according to financial data provider Moneyfacts. Krbs (Kent Reliance) has the highest SVR: 6.08%.
Others charging high rates include the Newcastle and Nottingham building societies (both 5.99%), West Bromwich building society (5.84%), Chelsea building society (5.79%) and Leeds building society (5.69%) .
You almost certainly won’t be tied in by early repayment penalties.
What else can I do in the current climate?
Many borrowers are taking advantage of low interest rates by making mortgage overpayments. Overpaying can save you thousands of pounds in interest and shave years off your mortgage. Someone with a £150,000 mortgage with an interest rate of 3.5% who pays in an additional £100 a month would save more than £14,000 and lop four years and three months off the 25-year mortgage term.
Many mortgage deals will allow borrowers to overpay up to 10% of their outstanding home loan each year without penalty. That will probably be more than enough for most people.
But make sure you have enough money set aside to meet any emergencies. And if you have costly credit or store card debts, any spare money should probably go towards paying those off first.
Will first-time buyers benefit from all this?
There are a few mortgage deals aimed at buyers who can only manage a 5%-10% deposit. However, the most attractive rates are reserved for those who can put down bigger deposits. So the best advice is to do whatever you can to amass a decent sum, which will give you access to better deals.
Some commentators welcomed the news that a 100% mortgage has just been launched by new bank Aldermore, which offers its products through brokers.
However, its Family Guarantee Mortgage has an interest rate of 6.48%, fixed for three years, and borrowers must find a relative willing to guarantee any borrowing above 75%.
What about savers?
The extended period of lower lending costs spells more misery for pensioners and other savers, who will continue to suffer low returns on their money at a time when high inflation is eroding the value of their deposits.
To add to their woes, National Savings & Investments this week withdrew its popular index-linked savings certificates.
New Bank of England figures show savers have missed out on £43bn due to low interest rates, while mortgage borrowers have gained £51bn, the BBC reported.
However, the Moneysupermarket website insisted that, despite low interest rates, “we are seeing competition in the savings market, especially among the smaller players looking to attract new savers on to their books”. It says the average rate of the top 10 “easy access” accounts has climbed to 3.09%. Meanwhile, the West Bromwich and Manchester building societies have launched accounts paying 3.17% and 3.31% respectively.
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Bridging loans: the risky finance that could cost homebuyers
Friday, September 9th, 2011Demand for costly short-term bridging loans in increasing in the middle of the credit crunch
The mortgage industry may still be recovering from the effects of the credit crunch, but in one often-overlooked corner of the market business is booming.
Demand for bridging loans – short-term secured loans designed to bridge a temporary cash shortfall when buying a property – has surged, say experts.
The loans are usually taken out to help someone buy their next property if the sale of their existing one hasn’t been completed. Many would-be home movers have fallen foul of one of the problems afflicting the property and mortgage markets, and are keen to do whatever they can to prevent their deal falling through.
Others include those buying a house for which they can’t get a standard mortgage because it requires major work to make it “habitable”, and those snapping up cheap properties at auction who need to sort out their finance quickly.
The downturn has brought bridging finance more into the mainstream but, as the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) says, it is “clearly not the answer to anything other than a minority of financial problems”.
Melanie Bien at mortgage broker Private Finance says bridging finance has its uses, but adds that if you don’t have a realistic exit strategy, such as a buyer lined up for your own property, “bridging is extremely risky and should be avoided at all costs”. If, for any reason, the sale of your existing house does not go through, you could be stuck with an expensive loan for a long time.
Nevertheless, this is a growing area. Last month, the CML issued a list of the 30 lenders that did the most mortgage business in Britain last year. Placed 21 was a name few will have heard of: bridging finance specialist Tiuta.
It was recently predicted that bridging lenders will be making gross loans to the tune of £1bn by the summer of 2013. That forecast came from another firm, West One Loans, which put the market’s current value at more than £750m a year. But you may find you can sort out your problem without resorting to a bridging loan. Talk to your bank. If the shortfall isn’t too vast, there may be other options.
So what’s available and what will it cost? Guardian Money tracked down the deals to answer your questions.
How long do they last? The term can be from one day to a year or more, depending on the provider. Typically, you would have the loan for a few months.
How much do they cost? As you might expect, it’s an expensive option, though competition has brought the costs down a little.
The borrower usually pays monthly interest. Rates typically start at 0.75% a month, rising to 1%-1.5%, says Ray Boulger at mortgage broker John Charcol. While companies have their published rates, these are often more negotiable than standard mortgage rates. Tiuta has a rate of 0.89% for properties within the M25.
If you were borrowing £250,000 at a rate of 0.89%, you would pay £2,225 a month. However, this would still be equivalent to an annual rate of more than 10% – way above standard mortgage rates.
A lot will depend on your “loan-to-value” (how much you are borrowing as a proportion of the property’s value) and whether it is a “first charge” or “second charge” loan (see later). It also depends whether or not you have exchanged contracts.
Any other costs involved? Yes, there will be fees, and these can vary greatly. Quite often they will run into thousands of pounds. Boulger says the interest rate is often less important than the fees, particularly if you only expect to have the loan in place for a couple of months. “It may be worth paying a higher interest rate to get lower fees,” he says.
Tiuta, for example, charges a “facility fee” of 1% of the loan amount (£2,500 in the above example), plus a £495 administration fee and £495 legal fee. With Masthaven, another leading provider, you pay a 2% arrangement fee, plus a valuation fee of between £245 and £995, and legal fees (minimum £500) on top of its 1.25% a month flat-rate interest for all residential first-charge lending.
Also watch out for exit fees – most bridging loan companies don’t impose them, but some do.
Bear in mind that if you use a mortgage broker, they will charge a fee, too. Boulger says that with so many bridging loan specialist firms out there, and the huge variations in deals, this is one area where using a good independent broker can make all the difference.
Are bridging loans regulated by the Financial Services Authority like traditional mortgages? Yes and no. What often happens is that someone taking out a bridging loan has some equity in their existing home. So, to increase the amount they can borrow, they get a “first charge” loan on the property they are buying, and a “second charge” on their existing home .
To complicate matters, first charge loans of this type are regulated by the FSA, but second charge loans aren’t (the latter also applies to first charge loans secured on buy-to-let investment properties). Companies that are not regulated can’t offer first charge residential bridging finance.
Should I only use a company that is regulated by the FSA? Some might argue that a regulated company might be expected to be more professional, but that would probably be unfair to some of the providers that aren’t regulated but do provide a good service, says Boulger. Companies that are only doing second charge loans or who concentrate on buy-to-let don’t need to be regulated, he says.
How many companies offer bridging loans? “There are around 40 lenders in this market, but a mainstay of around 10 who do the bulk of lending,” says Bien. Others, in addition to those named above, include Cheval, Dragonfly and Precise Mortgages. Some high street banks will offer bridging, but they are not specialist in this area, so pricing can be prohibitive, adds Bien. “It is a specialist area, so needs a specialist appetite and specialist approach to underwriting.”
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Let’s move to Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Friday, September 9th, 2011A lorra ring roads, retail parks and fag packet tower blocks
What’s going for it? The new Margate, despite the lack of sea, or sand, or, indeed, Our Tracey. Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, has name-checked Wakefield, along with Margate and Folkestone as the most marvellous examples of arts-led regeneration. While Wakefield may be the lesser for its lack of a prom-prom-prom, tiddly-om-pom-pom, its new Hepworth art gallery, by Sir David Chipperfield, is rather a cut above, glowering above the rushing river Calder, Yorkshire style, in heather-grey concrete. Talk of arts-led regeneration is a little cart before the horse in Wakefield – it’s been arty for years. The place hardly wants for pedigree, with the astonishing Yorkshire Sculpture Park down the road, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth on the local birth register, a new market hall by superstarchitect David Adjaye and a council with a sturdy history of buying and supporting local art. Though Wakefield never metamorphosed into Hampstead or St Ives. Nor is it likely to. This is a rugby league, rough and tumble kind of place, with few airs and graces. Bit like Hepworth herself.
The case against A lorra lorra ring roads, retail parks and fag packet tower blocks. The town’s no beauty.
Well connected? Train: a choice of Kirkgate and Westgate stations; 20 mins to Leeds (several an hour); to Doncaster, 17 mins (every half hour); just over two hours to London King’s Cross, half hourly. And, lucky people, the M1 and the M62.
Schools Primaries: Over a dozen “good”, says Ofsted, with Alverthorpe St Paul’s CofE “good” with some “outstanding features”. Secondaries: The Cathedral schoolis “good” and “increasingly effective”, and St Thomas a Becket Catholic collegeis “good” with some “outstanding features”.
Hang out at … The cafe at the Hepworth, looking broodingly creative.
Where to buy Plum for me is St John’s, north of the centre, packed with period properties, up along Bradford Road and past College Grove Road, to Outwood and Lofthouse for a more suburban feel. Also Agbrigg and Sandal, south, have period hearts. West to Alverthorpe and Wrenthorpe, too, for suburbans.
Market values Huge detacheds and town houses, £350,000-£500,000, occasionally to £750,000. Detacheds and town houses, £190,000–£350,000. Semis, £70,000-£375,000. Terraces, £65,000-£220,000.
Bargain of the week A nice, large, period four-bed detached with a good-size back garden, in the west near Thornes Park, £329,500, with Holroyd Miller.
From the streets
Caroline Atkinson “Favourite place is Rinaldisare Italian in Sandal – great food and atmosphere, busy even midweek. Great transport links.”
Richard and Helen Lee “Over the last 16 years Wakefield has seen many changes, from a centre of the mining industry to a modern small city surrounded by green open space – all for the better. Lots of culture – Hepworth, Sculpture Park, National Coal Mining Museum, country parks, Nostell Priory, a great cathedral. Best pubs are The Hop, Henry Boons, and Fernandes for real ale – Ossett brewery ale is excellent.”
• Live in Wakefield? Join the debate below
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Snooping around – in pictures
Friday, September 9th, 2011From a Tuscan retreat to thatches in Hampshire and Shropshire
Negative equity insurance is not the answer
Friday, September 9th, 2011Negative equity mortgages are slowly creeping into the Irish property market to try and help families unable to sell up to move house.
But the deals are private and the banks certainly don’t like admit they are doing them.
Now along comes an insurance company with a “negative equity insurance” product to try and help sellers shift property at a time when prices are still falling.
Financial services company IFG reckons its product will enable home-buyers insure against a drop in property prices.
Under the scheme the seller would forego some of the cash proceeds of the sale and lodge them in a trust which would be paid out to the buyer in the event of a property price fall.
So, if for for instance, a customer bought a house for €200,000 (£173,000), 10% of the amount paid would be held in trust for between one and four years. If the value of the home drops by 10% by the end of that period the money would be taken from the trust and paid out to the buyer.
Clever people over at ING. The risk is shouldered entirely by the seller – if, for example the property falls by €20,000, the vendor will forego that money.
“The vendor has to fund this out of their own cashflow,” says Karl Deeter of Irish Mortgage Brokers.
So it will only suit those that have a very small mortgage – mainly older people and those that bought long before the peak – because those are the only ones who will make a profit on their property sale.
Deeter is sceptical the insurance is the way to kick-start the moribund Irish market.
“It’s part of the general medical box but it’s not the cure,” he says.
Deeter is of the view that the government needs to bring in a personal insolvency laws urgently, like Chapter 13 in the US AKA, “wage earners bankruptcy”.
Both the UK and the US have long treated personal insolvency in a non-judicial way unlike Ireland’s whose ancient bankruptcy laws which don’t release people from their debts for 12 years (in the UK, it’s one year),
So why, after three years, of a recession, isn’t there so little political will to follow suit?
The bankruptcy laws will be changed within the next six months to enable bankrupts to be discharged of their debts in five years instead of the current draconian 12. But that is not a solution for those whose outgoings are outstripping their income on a monthly basis because of pay cuts or mortgage interest rate hikes.
Chapter 13 is an option for consumers who cannot repay their debts as scheduled, enabling them to repay all or part of their debt at a rate they can afford with a new repayment plan.
It helps people avoid repossession; extend other secured debts over a period of three to five years; and gives them protection against other creditors. During the repayment period, creditors are barred from pursuing collection or contacting the customer directly.
Instead all payments go through an appointed trustee who then distributes the money to creditors on a pro rata basis.
Under the terms of the IMF/EU bailout, the Irish government is obliged to overhaul Ireland’s personal insolvency laws by March 2012. And there’s the rub. The government’s reforms are a result of external pressures and not a recognition that personal insolvency is an everyday part of capitalist economies, recession or no recession.
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House prices in England and Wales edge up in August
Friday, September 9th, 2011Average house prices 5.5% below peak of 2008, as respected report contradicts recent bank figures showing price falls
The average house price in England and Wales edged up by 0.3% in August according to the latest LSL Property Services/Acadametrics house price index, however prices remained down by 2.2% year-on-year,
The annual price fall mirrors June’s annual house price deflation figure of -2.2% – which was the largest year-on-year drop since last December and takes the price of an average home to £219,078. It means house prices are £12,751, or 5.5%, below the peak of £231,828 recorded in February 2008.
The monthly gain was boosted by a 1.6% rise in prices in London.
LSL estimated that the number of housing transactions would rise by 1.5% to 64,500 in August, “completely defying the classic summer slowdown”, when transactions usually fall by 1.5% during the month.
David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services, said: “While some regions have seen prices fall, the rate of fall has shrunk. The housing market across the country is moving in the right direction. Mortgage finance is very cheap at the moment – it’s just hard to get if you don’t have a hefty deposit.”
He added: “With major lenders like Santander cutting their mortgage rates by 1% this week, buyers who are able to put up at least a quarter of the value of their purchase can pick up bargains.
“The fact that the properties are so reasonably priced is also helping allay lenders’ fears about borrowers’ ability to pay for their loans.”
Figures from surveying firm eSurv show that mortgage approvals rose from 49,239 in July to 49,566 in August – marking the biggest year-on-year rise since May 2010.
Buyers with a deposit of 15% or less accounted for more than 10% of total approvals in August, a high for this year but still well short of the 22% seen in August 2008. Purchase approvals with a high loan-to-value grew at almost twice the pace of the rest of the market in August.
Newnes said that first-time buyers with less money still can’t get a mortgage easily, with the number of flats sold falling almost twice as far from 2007 highs as the number of detached homes.
“The UK housing market is now not only fragmented by region, but also by property type, with owners of larger detached property holding much more equity since the credit crisis than those of more modest homes.”
Housing minister Grant Shapps sounded a note of warning this week, telling Bloomberg UK homeowners should not expect to make money from their property. “Gone are the days where you buy a house for capital appreciation. House prices can still go up, but they need to go up in line with or less than increases in average earnings for the long term,” he said.
“We need a greater supply of homes in this country. We have an unacceptable situation where people cannot afford to have a roof over their head. People can’t afford to buy the product because they can’t get the mortgages. They can’t get the mortgages because the multipliers are so high for how much they require compared with their salary. We need a long-term period of house-price stability in order to allow the majority of the population to afford homes again.”
Matt Griffiths of first-time buyer website PricedOut said the dominance of cash buyers and the small number of transactions are probably giving an “unjustified sense of the health of the housing market at present”.
He added: “The housing market remains very disfunctional, with a substantial possibility of further price falls. It’s great that the government is realising how damaging high house prices are, but their preferred option of a long period of housing market stagnation would still leave many priced out of the market for years. This is not a pretty option for those growing number of families who will be left in an insecure private rented sector.”
LSL’s index is considered more robust than rivals as it uses the actual prices at which every property in England and Wales was sold, including those bought with cash, incorporating Land Registry data rather than valuation estimates or asking prices.
But its figures contradict recently published data from Halifax and Nationwide, which showed prices falling in August by a respective 1.2% and 0.6%.
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Interactive: House price graphs
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011Trace the ups and downs of UK house prices since May 2006
Trading up, trading down – in pictures
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011From a former coach house in London to a listed crescent in Bath
