More homeowners face mortgage risk
A NEW report has revealed that up to one in three mortgage holders in the UK could face serious financial difficulties as result of the US subprime mortgage crisis.
Consumer research group Mintel said that people who were self-employed or had moved houses frequently were at risk just as much as those with poor credit records.
“In today's more conservative lending climate, the unconventional financial situation of these homeowners means that they will now face higher repayments and increased lenders' fees when re-mortgaging or moving house,” Mintel said.
It added that demand for non-standard mortgages – a £125bn market – was set to grow as people's financial circumstances become more complicated due to rising divorce rates and the growing popularity of self-employment, but supply was unlikely to keep up.
It claims that nearly two fifths of the adult population, or some 18 million people, now qualify as non-standard consumers and that figure was set to rise to 20 million by 2012.
However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), whose members account for 98% of all UK residential mortgage lending, said that Mintel's figures were too high.
