Loans Scotland

First it was was taper relief, now self-employed entrpreneurs are going to find mortgages tricky to access. Its time to jump ship to the public sector.

The Mortgage Lender (TML) found that a quarter of mortgage applications from the self-employed and those with poor credit histories, though accepted even a couple of months ago, would most probably be turned down today. This reflects a new mood of caution among mortgage lenders about people they define as high risk, as concerns mount over bad debts following the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the US.

Some British mortgage lenders are now requiring new borrowers to put down a larger deposit than has been the case in the recent past before they will advance any money on a property.

Fear not though, this market is so competitive that lenders will come back to the feast as soon as the credit crunch is forgotten.

No surprises to hear that first-time housebuyers are becoming another endangered species in the UK housing market both sides of the border even though house prices in Scotland continue to lag England (except Auld Reekie).

The number of people describing themselves as first-time homeowners dropped between March 2007 and September 2007, from 20% of the UK population to 16%, according to money-supermarket.com, the price comparison site. They were backed by separate figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) which confirmed that demand among first-time buyers seems to be dampening.

The number of new buyer inquiries fell at the fastest rate since March 2003 in September 07 and for the tenth month in a row, while house prices fell for the second successive month, according to a RICS report.

No surprises here with interest rates still on the up, house prices very high and Northern Rock scaring the hell out of jittery consumers. Typically a fall in the number of first time buyers is disastrous for the market. However, the announcement by Chancellor Darling of a fall in capital gains tax rates makes owning property even more attractive to investors who typically favour 1 and 2 bedroom properties so the market may inversely take off once again fuelled by speculation which will not be good news for the ailing labour government.