Home repossessions up 50% source 24/.com

The number of people who lost their homes soared by more than 50% during the first quarter of the year, figures showed today.

A total of 12,800 properties were repossessed by first-charge lenders during the three months to the end of March, up from 8,500 a year earlier and 10,400 during the previous quarter, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

But despite the steep jump in people losing their homes, the group said its forecast of 75,000 repossessions during 2009 now looked pessimistic, and it expects to revise the figure downwards.

There was also a sharp rise in the number of people who have fallen behind with their mortgage repayments.

The number of homeowners with arrears of more than 2.5% of their mortgage balance soared by 62% year-on-year during the first quarter to 205,300, 12% more than during the previous quarter.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that although arrears levels were continuing to increase, lenders were committed to working with borrowers who get into financial difficulties.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said: “It is quite clear that the number of arrears cases is rising far more markedly than the number of repossessions.

“Lenders are demonstrably increasing the forbearance they are offering, while many struggling borrowers have gained some breathing space through lower interest rates feeding through to lower monthly payments.”

The Government has also launched a range of initiatives to help people who cannot keep up with their mortgages to stay in their homes.

These include enabling them to sell some or all of their home and rent it back from a social landlord, while those who have temporarily lost their income can defer a proportion of their mortgage interest payments for up to two years.

A new pre-action protocol has also been introduced under which the courts can grant a repossession order only if all alternatives to keep people in their home have failed.

The CML’s figures contrasted with statistics reported by the Ministry of Justice which showed a steep fall in the number of possession orders being made by the courts in England and Wales.

A total of 22,609 repossession claims were made during the first quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, 42% fewer than during the same period of 2008 and 13% less than in the previous quarter.

The claims led to 17,054 mortgage possession orders being made, 43% less than during the previous three months, 47% of which were suspended orders.

The MoJ attributed the steep fall in possession orders to the introduction of the pre-action protocol, which it said had coincided with a 50% drop in the daily and weekly numbers of new mortgage repossession claims being issued by the courts.

But it said the extent to which the protocol had led to repossession claims simply being delayed rather than abandoned was unclear.

The CML figures showed that buy-to-let investors were continuing to experience high levels of repossessions.

A total of 1,700 landlords had their properties repossessed during the first three months of the year, nearly double the 900 who lost their properties during the same period of 2008, and up from 1,300 in the final quarter of last year.

Buy-to-let properties accounted for 13% of all repossessions, although lending to this sector accounts for 11% of outstanding mortgages.

A receiver of rent was appointed to a further 2,400 buy-to-let properties during the period, enabling tenants to stay in their home but with their rent paid to the lender rather than the landlord.

However, the CML said the number of landlords who were behind with their mortgages fell slightly during the first quarter, with 2.49% of mortgages in arrears of more than 1.5% of the outstanding debt.

This was down from 2.85% in the final quarter, although the group cautioned that its sample had changed since then.

Sam Younger, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: “These figures paint a very depressing picture of thousands of homeowners across the country struggling to keep up with their mortgage repayments, with many more losing the roof over their head.

“There have been moves to help struggling homeowners but some lenders are clearly still not doing everything that they can to keep people in their homes.

“The figures also prove that Government announcements this week to help tenants of repossessed landlords must be implemented as fast as possible.”

Bev Budsworth, managing director of The Debt Advisor, said: “It’s not surprising to see an increased level of repossessions, though we may not have seen the whole story yet.

“This is mainly due to the Government’s pre-action protocol taking effect, extending the period when action is taken on arrears from three months to six.

“We could well see a continued increase in repossessions later in the year after the new six-month threshold is reached.”

Liberal Democrat Shadow Housing Minister, Sarah Teather said: “These figures make for grim reading.

“Despite the Government’s attempts to grab headlines with their initiatives, the number of families being repossessed is still rising.

“Ministers should be ashamed that only one family has been helped by their mortgage rescue scheme, months after it was announced to great fanfare.
 
“Mortgage law needs urgent reform to give courts the power to ensure that repossessions are only ever a last resort.”

The Ministry of Justice also released figures today showing that 16,775 people petitioned for bankruptcy in courts in England and Wales during the three months to the end of March – the highest number since it began collecting data in this format in 1995.

The figure was also 29% higher than during the same quarter of 2008 and 9% up on the previous three months.

It was the fifth quarter in a row that the number of people petitioning for bankruptcy themselves has increased.

But there was a 5% year-on-year fall in petitions to have people made bankrupt lodged by creditors, with these falling to 4,535.

There were also 3,461 company winding-up petitions made during the first three months of the year, 13% more than a year earlier and a 2% increase on the final quarter of 2008.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: “The Government has learnt the lessons from the past and is taking decisive action to help ensure repossession is always a last resort.

“Statutory regulation of mortgages by the FSA is supported by the new mortgage pre-action protocol, and voluntary initiatives by lenders including industry guidance and commitments not to repossess before a borrower is three months in arrears.

But shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said: “Gordon Brown has left us badly prepared for this recession which is taking its toll as repossessions rise. The Government’s headline-grabbing schemes are failing hard-working families.

“Three thousand families have asked for help under the £235 million Mortgage Rescue Scheme and yet just one has received assistance, while ministers have finally launched their Homeowner Support Scheme – four months after announcing it – but just 50% of lenders are actually supporting it.”

Well i am told it’s looking close in Irwell riverside,

Personally i think this time it will be the ballot box and not the postal votes, Labour are rock bottom but i have to say the BNP issue concerns me, they will not win, but their vote level could knock out other parties that could offer real hope. I hope the people of Salford are not taken in with  leaflets that mask the real views of this group.But only time will tell.

Salford Council Defends benifit write off again and again and again

Each year we get the same old record it’s only the amounts that change.

£120,000 In the last three months.

 

Look back over the past years of LABOUR rule and add up the cost.

Strong words!!

How many times do I have to repeat the fact that we did not own the precinct. In effect they had a leasehold interest which was worth more than ours. Thank you for your helpful advice but I think I am able to judge the mood of my group rather better than you. I keep telling them that you are not as bad as they think but I may have to reconsider that.
I see there is annothSteve Middletons er lie on blog when he claims that we proposed only one rep from each minority party on each scruitiny ctte. I presume he has not made it up himself so could you find out which member of your group lied to him?

 

Comment.

Who was at the meeting when all this came about any Liberal Democrats? no. i would hate to think you are calling someone who was there. and made the comment to one of our members. Lies very srong words.

And if people carry on thinking i am Bad from your party then i am doing the job the people of Swinton south voted me to do. Speak for them,

How do you define ignorant?

What is freehold?
Freehold title gives you absolute ownership of land and property. These properties are therefore more desirable and worth more.

What is leasehold?
Leasehold title gives you the right to occupy property for the period of the lease only after which it reverts to the freeholder. The leaseholder owns everything within the walls while the freeholder owns structure and the land which it is built on. The length of the lease has a direct impact on the value of the property.

 

I had a theory that Mole 45 was Joe O’Neil but Obviously not. Joe would never have been so ignorant as to believe the Council ever owned the precinct. We did own the land on which it was built and the value was based on in effect the chief rent we were paid. Perhaps Mole 45 should take the trouble to talk to Joe. On a related note Martin did raise the question of the briefing session I promised on the precinct and I think the ownership position has now clarified and it would be helpful if this took place soon.

 

My question John is Simple why was the land sold at such a low price and sold within two years at such an inflated price?was it to. balance the books, therefore losing a major assist to the people of Salford . And if we held the freehold if i am correct could we not have been instrumental in saying how the car parking issue was dealt with? we have a situation that as come about what ever you say down to your actions. If the car parking had remained as it was we would have seen the precinct grow, but who wants to pay to visit a site full of pounds shops.We never had a serious issue with parking around the precinct till the pay and display came into force. So now residents could not park in front of their homes and we have had to put in a parking scheme at a cost. We pay for extra car parking attendants, the scheme as caused people to park further out causing more problems. Once again John you and your party show your true colours, Short term thinking is not the way, you need to think out of the box sometimes. Eccles is dead walkden dead,and Swinton i think we are just  holding own but we should be the center of growth. Most cities prosper around their civic buildings,What do we get a fun fair that’s not paid for, and damage to our lawns, sorry i am being negative, One of the officers you know  wrote over the increase in business, when i asked it was Subway they took on extra staff for xmas! i think it’s time for change John be brave and resign before your party force you to. And as a foot note after numerous phone calls yesterday from the tabloidsi have not called for a challenge to Cllr Owen. If at any time councillors from my party asked me to take up the post then i would not refuse,till then the matter is Dead

 

 

 

We must not obscure Tory intentions on minimum wage by a labour hack we all don’t like the Party but i support the argument

I’m not saying the expenses row is trivial. It is not. Some of the revelations have been genuinely shocking. 

But there is something else going on in Westminster that requires a little more attention than it is getting. Because it goes to the heart of the difference between the main parties.

I don’t mean the difference between Labour claiming for toilet seats, bathplugs and blue movies, while Tories go for horseshit, moat-cleaning, swimming pools and helipads. No, I mean the difference between people who support the minimum wage and people who want to get rid of it.

It took a century’s worth of campaigning to get the minimum wage on the statute book and I am very proud that it was the Labour government and Prime Minister I worked for that did it.

And never forget – every single Tory MP voted against it.

So what, you say? It’s history. Nobody will ever reverse it now.

Oh yeah? Well on Friday a Tory Private Member’s Bill comes back to the House of Commons. With a nod to Orwell, the Bill, called ‘Employment Opportunities,’ promises to introduce ‘more freedom, flexibility and opportunity for those seeking employment in the public and private sectors.’

In a nutshell, the bill wants scrap the National Minimum Wage.

The 11 Tories behind it – including Christopher Chope (brought in the Poll Tax) Peter Bone (who once boasted of paying his staff 87p an hour) even use the UN Declaration of Human Rights as a defence. No really!

Chope said when the Bill had its first reading: “Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.”Hear hear. So why are you so opposed to the minimum wage?

The bill also requires all public sector organisations to advertise job vacancies externally, so that ‘those outside the magic circle would have the freedom to compete for jobs on an equal basis.’ Again, I can see some merit in that.

The fact that 9 of those 11 Tory MPs sponsoring the bill employ their own wives as secretaries was doubtless the result of rigorous employment practices which went well beyond any magic or marriage circle.

The National Minimum Wage is a great Labour  achievement. Every year it’s increased, it benefits more than a million people – two thirds of them women.

Never ever forget, nor let those women and their families forget, how hard the Tories fought to stop it happening. ‘Nice’ Michael Howard, with his legendary commitment to the unemployed and the low paid, said with all the passion he could muster that it would throw two million on the dole. A Big Lie. To try to stop a big step forward for Britain.

So where does David Cameron stand on this? As with so much else, how are we supposed to know?

When Daniel Hannan described the NHS as a ‘sixty year mistake,’ Dave kept quiet. So will he now come out and denounce these right wing nut jobs? Or perhaps this is what he means by the age of austerity.

It is true that private members’ bills rarely become law. But to all those toying with the idea that it is ‘time for a change,’ or those who are just turned off by politics and so want to kick the government, just remember what it leads to – a House full of Chopes and Bones and other chumps and boneheads who never have been and never will be primarily motivated by the people at the struggling end of the economic ladder.

That’s why I’m glad to see the shopworkers union Usdaw, UNISON and Go Fourth leading the charge to kill this bill on Friday with their Wage Concern campaign.

Please sign their petition at www.wageconcern.com.

And however hacked off with politics, politicians, the government, Labour, your MP you may be, think very carefully about an alternative that wants to dump such an important and progressive piece of legislation.