More people being encouraged to use spare cash towards mortgages
April 27, 2010
According to a recent report a rising number of homeowners are being encouraged to use any spare money that they have to pay towards their mortgage loans, which could see many people save a fortune in interest and cut the amount of time over which they will have to make repayments drastically.
Some lenders are encouraging their borrowers to take advantage of the rock bottom rate of interest and put any surplus cash towards paying extra on their mortgages. With continued uncertainty over jobs and finances consumers are being advised to clear as much debt as possible, and recent reports have suggested that many consumers are using their cash to pay off mortgage debt and other debts rather than spending it on luxuries.
David Dooks from the British Banker’s Association said that homeowners were taking advantage of the savings that they were making on their mortgage repayments as a result of the lower rate of interest and were using these savings to make additional payments on their mortgage loans in order to reduce the debt more quickly. Many were also using this surplus cash to repay other debts such as loans and credit cards to unburden themselves from large debt levels.
The BBA said that lenders were also become more active in the mortgage market again, after a particularly turbulent couple of years since the onset of the global credit crisis. Another industry group said that lenders seemed to be opening their doors for business again. Mr Dooks said that many banks were now actively encouraging their mortgage borrowers to pay their extra cash towards their mortgage loan.
He said: “Homeowners are reducing mortgage debt by making, or maintaining, higher repayments using the extra cash generated by lower mortgage rates.”
Travellers will get reimbursed by Ryanair
April 22, 2010
Worried travellers that were victims of the chaos caused by the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland have received some good news with regards to being reimbursed for their expenses whilst they were stranded abroad. British airspace was closed as a result of the volcanic ash that stemmed from the eruption, and many Brits found themselves stranded abroad having to make arrangements for accommodation and food.
Whilst most airlines made no fuss about having to cover the reasonable accommodation and food expenses that customers faced whilst they were stranded the low cost airline Ryanair took a different stance. The airline boss, Michael O’Leary, had stood his ground and said that he would go to court rather than paying anything other than the cost of the ticket to stranded customers.
However, just a short while after threatening to defy EU regulations O’Leary backed down and has now joined the other airlines in agreeing to cover reasonable expenses that travellers incurred for accommodation and food whilst they were stuck abroad during the flight ban.
Originally he had stated that the tickets to travel on Ryanair to many destinations are so cheap that it was unreasonable for the airline to fork out hundreds of pounds per person in some cases to cover the cost of food and accommodation when the traveller had only paid thirty or forty pounds for the seat in some cases.
He also said that the airlines were paying for the government’s mistakes, adding: ‘Why exactly are the airlines expected to be reimbursing people’s hotels, meals and everything else when the governments are the ones who made a balls of this? This is a great opportunity to expose this.’
Many older homeowners using equity to help kids
April 17, 2010
Over the past couple of years many people have found it difficult to get finance of any sorts, from personal loans and credit cards to mortgages, and it appears that the situation is taking its toll on the nation’s elderly, with an increasing number of grandparents being asked for financial help by their grown up children.
According to a recent report a growing number of older homeowners have been taking money that is tied up in their homes in the form of equity so that they can provide more financial support to their grown up children or to their grandchildren.
Research has shown that many adults who now have their own kids are finding it difficult to cope financially without turning to their own parents, and in older to help their kids and grandkids many older homeowners are taking money from the equity in their homes. By using equity release to get this money older homeowners have been described as using their homes like cash machines.
Retired homeowners in the UK took out around £217 from the equity in their homes between January and March of this year, according to figures that were released recently. The average amount that was taken out was nearly £44,000, and the amounts being taken were up by around one fifth compared to the same period last year.
However, there are concerns about homeowners doing this, especially in cases where they do not tell their loved ones. In many cases the children or grandchildren of elderly homeowners think that they will inherit the property upon their death, when in actual fact it ends up having to be sold because an equity release was taken out on it.
One grandparent that released money from her equity said: ‘It’s so difficult for young people now. When I got married at 18, my husband and I were able to get a decent house for £2,500 even though he was only making £12 a week.’
Saving money on extras when flying on a budget
April 17, 2010
For many holidaymakers these days the most viable option when going abroad is to opt for a low cost, no frills airline, and there are now many of these airlines in operation. These budget airlines run flights on a regular basis from a wide range of airports across the UK, and many consumers find that they offer suitable times and convenience departure points.
However, another thing that grabs the attention of the average consumer looking to book a flight from the UK is the eye-catching headline rate that these budget airlines advertise. Some even offer flights for just a few pounds each way, making the consumer think that they have got an incredible deal.
However, there is inevitable disappointment when the traveller actually tries to make the booking only to realise that there are extras, all of which cost money, and all of which substantially bump up the price of the flight. Depending on the airline that you book through the range of extras can be vast, and the price suddenly doesn’t look so appealing.
Some of the things that low cost airlines charge for include checking in, priority boarding so that you can try and get your desired seats, meals and drinks on board, administration fees, and baggage fees. The baggage fees are charged on any checked baggage that the traveller wants to take, and can cost around £30 per piece of luggage per passenger.
Whilst some of the charges that are applied such as the check in fees for airlines where online check in is mandatory there are others that can be avoided by travellers. Try and cut out unnecessary costs such as paying for priority boarding. Also, for short haul flights have a big breakfast before you travel or get something to take on board from duty free to save you paying for food and drink on the flight.
Baggage can account for a huge rise in the cost of ravelling, but the allowance for carry on baggage is relatively generous. Therefore, see whether you can get away with just taking on hold baggage rather than checked - travelling lightly can save you a fair amount of money, and it is important to remember that you can get all of things that you cannot carry in hold baggage, such as hairsprays and deodorant sprays or razors, from your destination when you arrive.
Lenders to continue being picky over who they lend to
April 13, 2010
Over the past couple of years getting finance of any sort has become increasingly difficult and this is because of the financial crisis and the recession, both of which have created havoc in the financial sector and have caused huge problems for consumers. Getting any sort of finances, such as credit cards, loans, and overdrafts, has become increasingly difficult over this period.
However, the recession is now over and the economy is slowly getting back on its feet, and this has been coupled with improvements in the financial markets with lenders being a little more relaxed about lending money, or so reports would have us believe. However, whilst some people may find it easier to get finance this will certainly not be the case for everyone.
Whilst some people may now find it a little easier to get credit lenders are using far tighter credit scoring systems than they were prior to the financial crisis, and this means that things will not be going back to the days of easy credit where even those with damaged credit ratings could find it relatively easy to get a loan or other type of finance.
The Bank of England has recently stated that whilst the availability of mortgages is set to remain steady the availability of personal credit such as loans and overdrafts will be far more restricted. The central bank believes that this will be the case for some time to come, and this means that those with a less than perfect credit rating could find it extremely difficult to get any form of personal finance.
A survey has suggested that over the coming few months unsecured credit such as loans and credit cards will only be available to what has been described as high quality borrowers, which means those with high credit scores and good credit histories.
However, on a more positive note the Bank of England has confirmed that lending to businesses does appear to have increased, including increased lending to the commercial property sector - possibly the result of the £200 billion that the government has pumped into the economy as part of the quantitative easing programme.
The Bank of England stated: “Lenders reported that the increase in credit availability had been supported by slight improvements in their funding costs and by an improved economic outlook for businesses.”
Music industry wants next government to ensure availability of finance
April 13, 2010
It has been reported that groups from the music industry are calling on the next government to ensure that the availability of finance in the UK is increased. Officials from the music industry have said that the industry is at risk because banks are refusing to lend money to labels, entrepreneurs, and artists. Executives from the music industry have said that the industry is at risk because of the refusal of banks to lend to music start ups.
The music industry said that it wants to ensure that the next government will address the situation when it comes to the lack of finance being made available by the banking industry. They added that this was preventing the music industry from accessing state sources of funding.
Executives have claimed that in the past year £1.3 billion has been made available under the government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee, but that none of this funding has been put into the music industry, even thought the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that ‘music composers and own account artists’ were worthy of funding. Both Music Manager’s Forum and UK Music have called for changes to be made to increase funding.
An official from the Music Managers Forum stated: “Whoever comes into power must recognise that we have naked discrimination against music and we need to do something about it: either fix the mechanism that we already have or create something new.”
UK Music has called for the next government to work with music labels and managers to improve access to finance over the coming years. The group has developed a manifesto that is focused on making improved funding a priority within the music industry over the next ten years.
Mortgage choice for first time buyers on the increase
April 12, 2010
A recent report has shown that the number of mortgage now available on the market for first time buyers has increased, which means that first time buyers can enjoy boosting their chances of getting a better deal on their mortgage because of the increase in the number of deals that are available. Read more
Homeowners can sell their home on the cheap with supermarket
April 5, 2010
Over recent years supermarkets have branched out into all sorts of different areas, and these days you can get much more from the main supermarkets than just groceries and households goods, including a range of financial products. Read more