You can rely on football fans to eloquently say what everyone else is thinking, and as far as the tube strike is concerned last night was no exception. To most of us working hard and struggling on in the face of redundancies, cuts and pay freezes all over the place, this latest action is a smack in the face for all who live in London.
I know I am meant to write about mortgages and property, but looking round at people gamely walking, cycling and finding any means necessary to get into work shows London’s’ resilience, bombs did not stop us so tube strike pah, and why I love it so much.
A very interesting product was released today by Lloyds Tsb which shows two things. Firstly it has renewed my faith that lenders can still be innovative when the put their minds to it, and secondly that arguably this is a step towards lenders actively encouraging first time buyers back into the Market perhaps believing that house prices will begin to recover soon.
While there are a few conditions to this new mortgage product, they are far outweighed by the positives. 4.39% fixed for three years at 95% LTV is an exceptional rate and, presuming parents still have some spare cash floating around, will be a major fillip for certain first time buyers and therefore the market as a whole.
Stats this week from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show a trend that should warm the cockles of any mortgage broker’s heart, and indeed any in the property market, in that loans for house purchases have gone up 29% on last month.
Whilst it is true this is against a low figure, the scale of the increase is more than expected. Why, even remortgage business has increased by 8%.
I heard the news today, (oh boy), that the Government are planning to sell off Northern Rock by the end of the year after splitting it up. One of these parts would stay with the Government and would be, in essence, a “bad bank”. I understand further that head-hunters were out looking to find someone to run this bad bank, which got me thinking.
Question. How do you run a “bad bank”? Oh, and also, who would be best to run a “bad bank”?
Presumably it can’t be a hard job running a bad bank. At the end of the year you go for your annual revue with Gordon / Darling:-
Andrew Montlake, Communications Director at Coreco and ‘Mortgage Personality of the Year 2008’, gives his views — honest and no holds barred — on the latest developments within the mortgage and property markets.
