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The Committee of Public Accounts has said that both banks will fail to meet their legally-binding commitments to lend a total of £39bn (RBS: £25bn; Lloyds: £14bn) by the end of this month, a commitment they made in return for substantial public support two years ago. The public's stake in RBS is an astonishing 84%, and yet there seems little that can be done to force the banks to lend. Indeed, if - as Lloyds claim - demand has been limited, it could be argued that the targets were set too high. The figures, incidentally, are for a mixture of business and mortgage lending. More here.
Technorati Tags: mortgages |
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Toby Whittaker, who ran the controversial Dylan Harvey property investment company that lost millions of pounds of other people's money, including cash belonging to a few famous names (most famously footballers Steven Gerrard and Ryan Giggs), was beaten up in front of his family and robbed at knifepoint last week by six masked men. It's a complicated story. Police are said to be investigating the possibility that the robbers may be connected to the hundreds of furious investors, some of whom are chasing Whittaker in the courts. However, they're also investigating Whittaker himself for an alleged insurance fraud following another, earlier, burglary at his house. An ugly business in so many ways. More here.
Technorati Tags: property, real estate |
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John D Wood estate agents had to fight buyers back with rolled up newspapers after this modest and unmodernised three-bedroom house on Haldane Road was offered to the market. According to JDW, it went on the market on Wednesday, had 45 viewings and two offers by the end of Thursday. Sealed bids are next.. in two Tuesdays' time.
Technorati Tags: estate agents, London, property, real estate, real estate agents |
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A let-to-buy mortgage... a product by Nationwide that is aimed squarely at "reluctant landlords" forced, by the market, to seek tenants because they can't find buyers. It's been a grey area, with many reluctant landlords continuing with their normal residential mortgage and failing to inform their buildings insurers of the change... which is extremely risky. The Nationwide let-to-buy mortgage will put things on a property footing. Oh, yeah, and it will cost more.
Technorati Tags: mortgages |
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Internet users in 15 US states are trialing an Adwords Comparison Ads system by Google, in which the search engine delivers mortgage product information from participating lenders in return for a fee if a user requests a quote. Its caused concern in the UK market, that a similar scheme, here, might damage smaller lenders who don't sign up (with its giant share of the search market, Google can quickly "define" a sector); might damage the already broken mortgage brokerage sector; might damage established price comparison sites. More here.
Technorati Tags: mortgages |
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It's Andrew Emelife - formerly trading under Loans4Assets.com (nothing to see, there... it just forwards to the FSA's own site) - has been banned after being found submitting three fraudulent mortgage applications (for himself, his business, a customer). For the purposes of his mortgage application his annual salary was £188,000. For the purposes of the Inland Revenue, it was £15,000. More here.
Technorati Tags: mortgages, property, real estate |
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More estate agent data, this time from Savills, looking at buy-to-let returns, and crowning east London as king of the quick returns. Barking & Dagenham, Havering and Newham were marked out for their big month-to-month yields. However, as any landlord worth their keys will tell you, month-to-month yields aren't everything, and traditional west and central London areas, where short-term yields aren't so impressive, might make better long term investments, with their more solid capital growth potential. More here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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A big "thank you" to our sponsor, Primelocation.com. Remember, Primelocation.com isn't just about searching properties listed by 4,000 leading estate agents, the website's a mine of useful advice, information and links. An example? Go here to search up-to-date real life completion prices for UK property. Snoop on your neighbours. Do the maths before making an offer. It's useful, it's free... you need to register, but it's quick and easy. If you've feedback, let us know and we'll pass it on with pleasure.
If you want to know more about advertising opportunities on the Rat and Mouse, drop me a line. Or if you just want to chat with the Rat, we're on Twitter here, or email us tips here.
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The tenth consecutive month of gains in Knight Frank's Prime Central London posh property index leaves it a giant 11.5% higher than in January 2009. The monthly gain was just 1.1% (down from 2.1% in December 2009), and left average prices at the top end of the London market 15% above the bottom of the market, but still 12% of its peak. More here.
Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate |
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We just couldn't cope with the mighty Renter Girl, but came a respectable second, which is why I'd like to thank the (more than 1,500) readers who bothered to click through and vote. It's truly appreciated. While I'm at it, January was a record month for traffic, with the Rat and Mouse serving 234,149 pages. So thanks for that, too. Keep reading.
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The Financial Services Authority's proposed ban on self-certification mortgages (dubbed "Liar Loans") is being challenged by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
The industry body said it believed there were circumstances where it might be appropriate to fast-track a mortgage – for example, it might only apply to homebuyers putting down a deposit of at least 25%, or those with decent credit scores.
It's a tough job, defending fast-track loans after recent events, but the CML appears to be saying that an outright ban might be discriminatory, effectively condemning many self-employed people to an inadequate and inappropriate mortgage system.
Technorati Tags: mortgages |
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“Son, make as many mistakes as you like…… just do not make the same mistake twice.”
The Hip-Consultant blog questions our compulsive need for an exciting residential property market, and recommends a few dull years... good for the soul, good for long term stability and prosperity. And good luck with that. After less than a century as a country of property owners, a football-pools-attititude to the Halifax House Price Index is already so ingrained, it's hard to imagine it going anywhere (indeed, it's the madness that inspired this blog). But Hip-Consultant might be a bit premature if the suggestion is that recent house price moves are a sign of the start of another bull market. Limited supply, demand and data, and freakish interest rates make the current market very hard to read. Let's see what happens when any one of those factors is removed.
Technorati Tags: property, real estate |
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