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According to a recent report by High Street banking giant HSBC, more than 350,000 homeowners are now in negative equity, as the property market continues experiencing turbulence. It is thought that up to 360,000 homeowners who purchased their homes in 2007 are now stuck in their homes to due being in negative equity. Plummeting property prices and restrictive lending have taken their toll on those who purchased homes just prior to the global financial crisis.

Officials from HSBC said that although not all of these homeowners were in negative equity as such, many were in a situation where they did not have enough equity in their homes to pay a 10 percent deposit on a new mortgage or home, pay stamp duty and deal with other moving costs.

First time buyers are said to have been affected particularly badly. Figures show that in 2007 the average deposit put down by first time buyers was 10 percent and with the average property price at that time being £160,000 this gave equity of £16,000. H

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According to Halifax, the average house price in the UK fell by 1.3% in the UK between November and December. This is higher than the previous decline of 0.9%, which was seen in previous months. As the prices have remained steady throughout 2011, the banks are reporting that they are predicting that the same thing will happen this year. This is obviously dependent on the UK being able to avoid recession.

The report showed that towards the end of 2011, the average house price in the UK was £160,063. It also showed that there were 6 monthly falls, 5 increases and one month where the average prices didn’t change. This is a positive step for the housing market, as it managed to hold its own even though the economic climate wasn’t exactly desirable.

So, what does this mean for people who are intending to buy in 2012? Well, hopefully it means that houses will be a bit more affordable, meaning it’s more likely the market will get going again. Now might be just the time to do a bit of window shopping!

There is a wealth of financial information available online.  This can sometimes seem a little overwhelming to someone trying to make a decision regarding their personal finance.  There is an abundance of free information on the internet, from online newspapers, blogs and other websites offering general discussion and news, to private companies offering specific products and services.

The world of finance and economics is forever changing but luckily there are many websites that try to keep up to date with events and provide readers with the news in real time.  Often news will become available first on the internet in blogs and social networking sites like twitter even before it reaches the 24 hour news TV networks.

It can get a little confusing considering not only the quantity of content but also the variance in opinion between economists and personal finance experts.  To he

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If you’re keen to manage your money effectively and keep track of your spending, then there a few easy steps which you can take in order to be able to do so. Here are just a first points to consider in order to achieve a thrifty lifestyle.

One of the best ways to make sure you stay in control of your finances is to set yourself a budget. Take a look at where you are currently spending your money – you’ll probably notice the areas where you could cut back. Then, plan how much you can afford to spend each month, and how it should be distributed. Many people find it easier to withdraw cash, so that they can keep better track of their spending than they would when paying by card.

Review your current bank cards and accounts to ensure that you are using those which are best suited to your individual situation. By using sites like lovemoney.com and, of course, thriftyscot.co.uk, you can compare a variety of banking offers quickly and conveniently. You m

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George Osbourne has just released his 2011 Autumn Statement, but who will benefit from the changes and who has missed out?

Winners of The Autumn Statement:

Commuters

If you commute to work, you will have probably noticed an increase in fares. However, the RPI plus 3% increase has now been capped at plus 1%.

First-Time Buyers and Council Tax Payers

It’s good news for first time buyers, as there are plans to give out 100,000 95% mortgages to first time buyers.
Also, council tax will be frozen for another year.

Motorists

If you drive a car, you’ll be glad to hear that the rise in fuel duty that was meant to come in to effect at the beginning of 2012 has now been cancelled. This means that hopefully families should save nearly £150 a year.

Parents

At the moment, all 3 and 4 years olds can get around 15 hours of time in a nursery for around 38 weeks per year. The

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As you head back to school, some back to school financial aid tips

1. Make a budget BEFORE the semester begins. Figure out what kind of money youll be able to earn and what youll be spending and stick to it.
2. Team up with a roommate, hallmate, or friends to enforce each others budgets. The power of the group works. Social financial apps like Wesabe, Mint, and Geezeo can help with this, too. Set a goal that you publish among your friends and stick to it. Set rewards for achieving those goals.
3. Take a class online while everyone is out partying or during a break.  If you take one class during one spring break and one class each summer you can graduate a semester early!
4. Go for a lot of walks on campus. Youll meet a ton of new people, and you wont have to spend money to do it. Being visible is the easiest way to meet new people. Want to meet lots of new people really, really fast? Volunteer at any kind of event, work at the help desk, etc.

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The Office Of Fair Trading (OFT) is a non-ministerial government department with the self declared mission of protecting consumers in the marketplace and making sure that businesses compete in a fair and open way when trying to win customers.  The OFT is the competition and consumer authority for the UK, and has operated since it was established in 1973.  The OFT has various legal powers given to it by the government and both assists with and enforces the implementation of legislatrion passed by success governments.

One of the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) main areas of work in that of consumer credit.  This means that they are one of the regulatory bodies for the logbook loans industry in the UK, and sometimes there work has directly affected lenders.  Under the Consumer Credit Act (1974, 2006) all businesses that lend money or offer services/goods on credit much be licensed by the OFT – it is illegal to lend money or give credit in the UK without this license.  The credit arrangements must also be arranged in a certain way according to the OFT’s rules, and there are mandatory facts that the lender business must explain clearly to their customers.  In 2011 the Consumer Credit Directive takes effect and this will change the regulations.

They have legal powers to enforce credit action if they deem companies to be breaking the rules.  They have the power to refuse a license or even to revoke the license of an existing lender if they decide they are unfit to  provide credit to the public.  Some of the action taken against companies in the past has related to APR rates and unfair business practices.  It is simply not in any company’s interest no tot abide by the OFT regulations because they can easily go out of business if they are punished by law.

Regarding action taken against logbook loans companies specifically, there have been revisions to terms and conditions forced related to APR and Bill Of Sale legislation.  For more information on this action and the resulting decisions, please see the OFT and logbook loans. Legislation was against unfair contract terms, the work of OFT can be viewed at the above link.  This website, Compare Logbook Loans, does not give legal advice or financial advice so anyone interested in such matters will need to seek their own legal experts.  All information here has been summarized from the OFT’s own website.

The Consumer Credit License also applies to brokers of loans, not just the acrtual lenders, so if the company takes the customer’s personal information from them then they probably need a License.  All reputable companies will have their Consumer Credit License number visible on the website for visitors to check.  This site, Compare Logbook Loans, is neither a lender or a broker, its purpose is to provide links to all the main UK companies in a comparison table, it is the responsibility of borrowers to check that the actual lender they borrow the money from has this license.   Most companies have it w

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