news - Interest-Rates.Info

Landlord caused “significant risk to health” of tenants – fined £20k

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

Interest-Rates.Info - UK Mortgage & Property News - Birmingham Money - West Bromwich Money - Mortgage Brokers

A landlord has been ordered to pay more than £20,000 after being found guilty of offences related to the living conditions at a property he let to a family.

Eric Moon, 81, of Rye was found guilty at Hastings Magistrates Court of three counts of non-compliance with Improvement Notices served under the Housing Act 2004.

In December 2022 the tenants of a property owned by Moon complained to Rother council about the poor condition of the property.

A subsequent inspection by council officers found collapsing ceilings, dangerous electrical installations, poor safety to stairs and steps, as well as damp and mould and general disrepair.

In addition there was no heating in the property, despite the outside temperature being one degree, resulting in the internal temperature only reaching a maximum of 13 degrees.

HMO landlords heavily reliant on property for sole income

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

Half of HMO landlords say their property or portfolio is their sole source of income.

Just under 30% of landlords who took part in a mortgage lender’s survey owned an HMO property or portfolio. Some 72% of these landlords own HMO properties through a limited company.

Half said they did not have another job and used their property or portfolio as their sole source of income.

Despite some of the complexities of managing HMOs, the survey – by Landbay – found that nearly half of the properties were self-managed by landlords, a third of whom owned portfolios with over 20 properties.

The reason for this more DIY approach could be that the most popular size of HMO portfolio was the smallest, between four and 10 properties, with 34% falling into that category.

The survey found that the highest proportion of HMOs were in London and the South East (47%), followed by the East Midlands.

Typical first-time buyer mortgage payment ‘has jumped by 61% since 2019’

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

Someone newly getting onto the property ladder can expect to pay around £400 more per month for their mortgage than five years ago, analysis suggests.

Calculations by property website Rightmove suggest the average first-time buyer mortgage payment has risen by 61% since the last General Election year of 2019, from £667 to £1,075 per month.

The calculations made various assumptions, including that first-time buyers would have a 20% deposit to put down, that their mortgage term would last 25 years and that they were taking out a five-year fixed-rate mortgage on an average rate.

Rightmove also used average asking prices of a typical first-time buyer homes, with two bedrooms or fewer, for the research.

Across Britain, first-time buyers now face paying £227,757 for a home, an amount which has jumped by nearly a fifth (19%) since 2019, Rightmove said.

‘My anxiety levels are rocketing’: The mortgage chokehold facing old-age Britons

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

Many of us envisage retirement as a peaceful winding down after several decades of hard work.

But an increasing number of mortgage holders face having to put their relaxation on ice as they’re left with no choice but to work past their pension age to pay off long-term mortgages.

Homeowners are still reeling from painful interest rate increases by the Bank of England that pushed high street mortgage rates as high as 6.8%. Those who have taken out or renewed their mortgage in the past year have likely had their monthly payments rocket.

A recent BoE report revealed nearly half of all mortgages issued in the last three months of 2023 were for 30 years or longer, while two in five were issued to borrowers who would be past state pension age at the end of their mortgage term.

Different figures from UK Finance show 41,580 first-time buyers took out mortgages with terms of 30 years or more in the last quarter of 2023, of which around 15,700 (38%) were longer than 35 years.

Mortgage expert explains how to use £100 to save at least £25,000

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

This tip works because you end up reducing the amount of money you have to pay in interest, which can build up over the years. But by making overpayments, you can cut down the extra cash you need to pay and reduce the length of your mortgage term.

How will the general election impact renters and buy-to-let landlords?

June 25, 2024June 25, 2024 interestratesinfo

Private renters and landlords make up a significant portion of the UK electorate. With this in mind, it should come as no surprise that politicians have been appealing for their votes as we race towards a general election on 4 July.

Around 35% of people in England live in rented accommodation, according to the latest English Housing Survey. Sixteen percent are in social housing, while 19% are in private rented accommodation.

Meanwhile, around 13% of people in Scotland and Wales are private renters, versus 16% in Northern Ireland. It should be noted that a lack of regular data in Wales and Northern Ireland means we have to rely on information from the 2021 Census, so these figures could have shifted slightly since then.

Meanwhile, there are currently around 2.82 million private landlords in the UK, based on income tax data from HMRC. That amounts to around 4% of the population.

Against this backdrop, we look at the key policies each major party has promised when it comes to buy-to-let landlords and renters. How will a Labour or Conservative win affect you?

Home owners spend more time researching air fryers than a mortgage – here’s how to get a good deal

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 interestratesinfo

Homebuyers and remortgagers spend more time choosing home appliances than digesting mortgage deals, a study claims, as homeowners report the fast-paced mortgage market is making them stressed.

A sixth of homeowners said they felt pressured into making a quick mortgage decision due to the rapidly changing market, according to research by Smart Money People, with 57 per cent reporting that they felt stressed as a result.

A quarter of buyers and remortgagers said the mortgage process had left them confused.

On average, homeowners spent less than half a day looking at mortgage options before diving into a deal, Smart Money People said – this is less time than they spend considering which coffee machine or air fryer to buy.

More than 2m Help to Buy Isa savers set to lose out on government bonus due to rising house prices

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 interestratesinfo

Nearly 2.2 million people won’t be able to access the Government bonus on their Help To Buy Isas, according to a freedom of information request.

Savers only stand to benefit from the 25 per cent bonus if they purchase a property worth £250,000 or less outside of London, or £450,000 in London.

Due to house price rises since the accounts were created in 2015, more savers will now find themselves disqualified from the bonus.

According to the FOI request by the comparison site Finder, Britons have stashed a collective £5.5billion into these accounts.

Help to Buy Isas were introduced in 2015 to try and help people get on the property ladder. However, they were closed to new customers in November 2019, in favour of the Lifetime Isa.

The key benefit of the Help to Buy Isa came from the fact the Government would provide a 25 per cent top up at the point of purchasing a home.

But the £250,000 property price cap outside the capital, is now far more of a limiting factor for its stranded customers than it was in 2015.

Since then, the average house price has increased by 38 per cent, yet the limit has never increased.

House prices remain flat in June: Rightmove

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 interestratesinfo

Rightmove house price index.

Data from the property website shows that the average price of a house being listed dropped by just £21 in June — statistically giving a zero percent change on the previous month.

This means the average asking price of a property for sale is now £375,110, broadly the same as May, which was a record high. Rightmove says this follows seasonal patterns of prices stagnating at this time of year, with election uncertainty adding to this summer lull.

This national average masks considerable regional differences though. Rightmove says there is stronger growth in northern regions where property prices are lower. Five of the six cheapest regions have reached new price records, while the higher-priced East of England and London lag behind, according to its data.

Mortgage lending at lowest levels since rates began to climb: Octane

June 19, 2024June 19, 2024 interestratesinfo

While mortgage market health is currently being driven by those looking to remortgage, there’s unlikely to be a resurgence in activity until rates start to fall.

This is according to Octane Capital chief executive Jonathan Samuels who points out that gross lending has sunk to its lowest since interest rates increased, driven by a reduction in house purchase lending.

The latest market analysis by Octane Capital has looked at gross mortgage lending by sector and how this figure has changed both quarterly and over the last year.

The analysis of gross mortgage lending figures from the Building Society Association shows that total mortgage lending sat at just £50.5bn during the first quarter of 2024, the lowest level seen since interest rates started to climb in December 2013.