Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Government Loans for First Time buyers

Those self serving suits from around Threadneedle Street who we saw exposed in Channel 4's excellent documentary on non-executive banking directors, have been racking their brains recently on how to get the first time buyer market moving.

Laughing into their cafe crappe they must be rubbing their hands in glee that the public furore has shifted onto their erstwhile employers - the MP's of Westminster or as Sky TV would have us call it 'The Rotten Government'

So on the back of the Speaker Bashing, the Government in the guise of Lloyds TSB has today launched a new first time buyer mortgage product called- ‘Lend a Hand’ (who thought of that?) - offering 95% loan to value (LTV)

‘Lend a Hand’ or 'Cop for Your Kids' as it is soon to be known, which is obviously aimed at the middle classes with kids still at home, offers first time buyers a 95% loan to value (LTV) mortgage by taking a legal charge on a savings account belonging to their parents, grandparents, rich friends or anyone else willing to cough up the dough to get the kids a place to live.

The new product is a fixed rate mortgage at 4.39% for 3 years, and is nearly £100 a month less than the industry average 90% mortgage rate at 5.98%.
Hmm - isn't the base rate currently 0.5%?

Lloyds are still looking for a 25% deposit but they are allowing this to be made up through a combination of a minimum 5% deposit by the first time buyers and the remainder from the parents or backers savings account.

For example,on a £100,000 property, a 95% LTV mortgage of £95,000 is provided by Lloyds TSB at a three-year fixed rate of 4.39% with a £995 fee. £5,000 is provided by the first-time buyer as a deposit for the property, £20,000 is provided by parents, grandparents or friends and held in the Lloyds TSB ‘Lend a Hand’ savings account earning a fixed rate of 3.5% for 42 months.

Why couldn't they offer the rate Tax-free like an ISA if they really want to encourage people to get involved ?

So what are the multiples of salary limits and can the first time buyer really afford the mortgage repayments?

Furthermore Insurance Blogger is amazed that the Government thinks that there are lots of people have got £20 grand to spare during the current credit crisis and recession, plus a possible further five thousand on top if they really want their kids out the house?

At least Lloyds TSB isn't allowed to sell mortgage payment protection insurance at the point of mortgage sale any more! Granny's pension wouldn't stretch to that!

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Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Bradford & Bingley Nationalised

Hurrah !
Now we the taxpayers rescue another failed business - Bradford and Bingley - and as a country are now the proud sponsors of Bradford City FC (as well as Newcastle Utd!).



bradford and bingley insurance



Bradford and Bingley (aka The Government) also sponsor the Bradford Bulls Foundation, Yorkshire County Cricket Club Indoor Cricket Centre and Bradford and Bingley RFC incidently.

Bradford and Bingley were one of the major culprits in the creation of the Credit Crunch with their ridiculous overloading of buy to let mortgages and self certified mortgages accounting for over 80% of their business, and directly accounting for the outrageous growth in house prices. It was bound to fail and City Analysts were predicting months ago that their shares were worth nothing -much to the annoyance of the banking sector!

It Stinks - these bad businessmen are allowed to create a house of cards in the UK housing market and walk away from it leaving us the taxpayers to pick up the pieces - whatever happened to the free market? And where were the FSA in all this?

On an Insurance front their book of business is relatively small in the larger scheme of things with a lot of home insurance particularly landlord insurance cover and mortgage protection insurance policies sold on the back mortgages.

Our advice to anyone holding these policies is to switch today. This applies particulary mortgage payment protection which is a monthly policy and is easy to cancel and set up elsewhere. With lenders charging more than five times the rates for this type of insurance than the independent sector - you would be wise to switch mortgage insurance today

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