Mortgages more accesible but not for all

A survey done in 2006 indicated that 1 in 4 people in the UK were considered to have a poor credit rating. its no wonder then that the bad credit mortgage market is wedening and more major players are entering.

On the other side of the coin however, the bank of England has raised interest rates for the 5th consecutive time. This for the consumer means more misery, mortgage rates will go up atleast temporarily.

Home owner misery is nothing compared to what first time buyers with bad credit would face; Not only do they (in most cases) have to put up deposits of up to 20% and face high interest rates, now those interest rates are set to get even higher. The house price boom is not showing any signs of a bust any time soon.

I suppose first time buyers would have to work extra hours, or convince their parents to release some equity from their own properties.

Borrowing another's credit rating

An intersting concept has started around the web; borrowing someone else's credit rating to help improve your own.
instead of going for bad credit credit cards which may take years to repair one's credit rating, some people are paying thousands to be added to someone else's credit card.

some online Credit repair companies are becoming egencies for agencies for people off good and bad credit to come together...

I can only wish i had a perfect credit score, nothing wrong with making a few bucks for good behaviour

credit cards

Am loving this credit card game, it certainly works better than loans.
as long as you can maintain a good credit card history, you can always you balance transfer to a new credit card, you get charged handling fees but the 0% over 9, 12 or 14 months certainly makes it worthwile.

if your credit record is far from perfect, you can always try credit cards for people with bad credit and you will be on your way.

Ways to consolidate debt

In todays society, most people have their fair shere of debt, me included. getting out of debt is becomming more of a strategic proccess more than ever with many companies offering the service of getting you out of debt.

Like weight loss; everybody says their strategy is the one that works. Realistically there are only 3 ways of getting out of debt:
(1)make more money;
this may include taking on extra hours at work, getting another job or finding a creative way to make money in your spare time.

(2)manage your money better:
This includes cutting down on your spending, moving your debt around if its on credit cards, taking out a loan with better conditions to consolidate your existing debt.

(3) get help.
Help may come in forms of advice from proffesionals (preferably for free) or government help to avoid bankruptcy in the form of an IVA.

Ideally the three methods should combine to create the perfect solution to debt.

MBNA will charge you for having money

You may think its a good thing to pay your credit card bill, but apperently not so with MBNA:

The MBNA bank has warned customers that they face a £10 fine if they leave
a positive balance on their credit card.
Some cardholders were sent a
letter at the end of January telling them that
they risk facing what the
firm calls a "credit balance service fee". full story: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/working_lunch/6376405.stm
]

So now it costs to have money too?

I wonder why it should bother mbna that someone has money on their credit card, it shows that the customer is carefull...

if anything, MBNA should just invest that money and make a tidy profit of it..

Mortgages becoming more and more impossible

according to the Department for Communities & Local Government 'the average house price in the UK has now passed £200,000,'

What's worse is that prices are expected to increase even further in the coming months.
What then for new buyers trying to get a first mortgage?
perhaps the best option is to wait for the housing market to crash, analysts predict that it will soon!
The government also started several schemes to help young people onto the property ladder.

either that or we'll all have to opt for that IVA Mortgage

things really do change quickly, back in 2001 you could've got a £80,000 mortgage for a two bedroom house, today that same house will cost you £200,000.

India to overtake UK?

'India could overtake Britain and have the world's fifth largest economy within a decade as the country's growth accelerates.' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6294409.stm]
thats the prediction from a report by investment bank Goldman sachs.
The report goes on to say that india could even overtake the US in the next 50 years, along with China...
the biggest advantage these two countries have is huge populations, both weigh in at over a billion people, they can afford to produce cheaper manual labour, much cheaper...
Perhaps this would good for the world, but where on earth would the resources (oil etc) come from to support such Huge, (rich) populations?