The Housing Corporation have told the junior housing minister that the total value of unsold empty properties could be as much as £1bn.

Iain Wright, the junior housing minister, was told in a recent meeting that the value of shared ownership properties had risen by % since March.

The chief exec of the Housing Association, Steve Douglas, has admitted that they have been looking at the options to resolving the problem of unsold stock, but that they were yet to conclude the study.

The downturn of the market has meant that many housing associations have reduced developments but the Government is still relying on the housing association sector to continue providing and building new homes.

The housing associations in much of London have told the Government that unless changes were made to their funding, targets were likely not to be met. This news comes out as housing association Genesis is said to be in trouble financially, although the Government have denied this.

Genesis have £158 million worth of shared ownership housing on their books and need to get people into them quickly.

If you are interested in finding your own shared ownership property, then contact Click n Go Mortgages for advise on your mortgage options.

The current financial situation and the impending ‘recession’ has been blamed on self certification mortgages.

Self cert mortgages have been named as the reason for the credit crunch by many in the financial markets, sighting the ‘no proof of income’ as a red rag to those who were desperate to get onto the property ladder.

Many people who have taken out self cert mortgages are now finding it increasingly hard to pay back the loans and many homes have been repossessed.

With self cert mortgages taking the blame, the financial market has clamped down on this type of lending and stricter policies have been introduced as a way of getting the market back on track.

However, the need for this type of mortgage has not dwindled and there are still self employed people who need this type of mortgage to get onto the property ladder. In fact numbers have increased and lenders who are brave enough to offer this type of mortgage will reap the rewards in the long run.

Currently many self cert mortgages have been pulled from the market and many will find it hard to get one in the current market. Although the day of ‘no proof if income’ mortgages may have passed, there are still other options and ways that self employed people can get onto the property ladder.

If you want to speak to a mortgage advisor about your options with self cert mortgages, then contact Click n Go Mortgages and talk to an expert about your options.

Some of the leading Registered Social Landlords The Guinness Partnership, Genesis Homes, Affinity Sutton, Midsummer Housing, Downland, Broomleigh, William Sutton Homes and Southern Housing have come together to create a ‘Rightmove’ style website to help market and promote shared ownership properties all over the UK.PathtoProperty has been created to make affordable shared ownership properties more accessible and help people to realise the potential that shared ownership has for getting people onto the property ladder.

The shared ownership property finder website is set to provide a solution to the nationwide issue of affordable housing.

The website will launch in the autumn of this year and will see Registered Social Landlords working together. The idea is that the site will put all affordable shared ownership properties in one place and not only help people to find affordable housing, but help RSLs to fill their properties.

The PathtoProperty website will be a landlord generated site which will reduce costs for these landlords and increase the effectiveness of the marketing of the properties as PathtoProperty will become the hub for all affordable housing searches.

The shared ownership property site will also enable landlords to manage all leads and potential customers as well as market the resale of properties.

The PathtoProperty site has many benefits with reducing the costs for the advertising of shared ownership and affordable housing, promoting the resale of properties, as well as promoting and marketing shared ownership properties better – with the potential of reaching a wider target audience.

Visit PathtoProperty at www.pathtoproperty.co.uk and contact Click n Go Mortgages to help to you organise your shared ownership mortgage.

The nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley, just as Northern Rock was, spells the end of self cert mortgages and buy-to-let.

Bradford & Bingley were the leading provider of self cert mortgages and buy-to-let mortgages and it looks as if we will see these two mortgage products being phased out with B&B’s nationalisation.

Over the next couple of years B&B’s mortgages will be slowly run down and it is highly unlikely that the government will want to use taxpayer’s money for new self cert mortgages or buy-to-let mortgages.

This means that we will be looking at the end of an era for self cert mortgages and buy-to-let mortgages, as many of the other banks are loathe to offer these kinds of mortgages, noting the risk that they pose in today’s volatile climate.

The removal of both self cert mortgages and buy-to-let mortgages, will mean more pressure on house prices and on those who have buy-to-let mortgages that are going to need refinancing.

Self cert mortgages raised too much money too cheaply on global money markets, which, although helped people onto the property ladder, has landed the economy, and other people hoping to buy, in hot water.

Let’s hope that the B&B nationalisation is the last serious crisis for UK banking, but perhaps this is just optimistic.  Many speculate that the worst is yet to come, but are they just scare mongering.  Although we could be looking at the temporary shelving of self cert, this surely cannot be the end of a mortgage product that gives opportunity to those who cannot prove their income.  Within this in mind, perhaps the Government and FSA should just be reassessing this type of mortgage and bring in tighter rules and regs to govern these types of mortgages.

A new range of five year fixed rate mortgages have been launched by Kensington, which will include self cert mortgages.

The new five year fixed rates will start from 6.39 per cent and will cover a range of products including self cert and buy-to-let.

The arrangement fees will very much depend upon the product, but you can expect to pay anything from £1999 or 2.5 per cent of the loan amount.

Kensington have launched these new deals in response to the market changes and demands.

Changes in customer trends have meant that borrowers are looking for more peace of mind with longer fixed term rates.
Kensington’s self cert and buy-to-let products come out on top, in comparison to other rates and it will be these products that they will be looking to get a good return on.

Although the completion fee is larger than most deals available from other lenders, the options you get are much greater i.e.: being able to select a fixed fee or a percentage of the loan, which means that borrowers have the opportunity to take the cheapest route.

Speak to Click n Go Mortgages today and we will find you the best self cert mortgage deal from all of the lenders.