Loans

Well, it looks like the borrowing boom of 2006/2007 is well and truly over in 2008.

First Direct Bank and the Skipton and Derbyshire building societies have all declared this week that they are no longer taking any new customers seeking a mortgage or remortgage.

“the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have found that about 7 million people are unable to get money from usual mainstream resources”

Scary news, as the credit crunch starts to show its domino effect and hits the loans market.

More people are finding it harder to borrow money as lenders tighten up the strings on their purses.

Moving house can be an incredibly stressful and expensive time, and it seems that more and more people are opting to improve their homes instead of upping sticks and moving to a different house.

FinanceLocator.co.uk

It is getting more and more popular to improve your home than actually move house.

If you are looking for a loan, but think your income is too low or you need to borrow a substantial amount of money, more people are finding themselves thinking about and getting a joint loan with their partner.

There are so many variables that determine how much you can borrow, it can get very confusing. The article How Much Can I Borrow With A Loan? is very useful at explaining what the criteria is.

The primary difference is whether you are paying rent as a tenant or a homeowner paying a mortgage. However your credit history, residential history, employment history, incomings and outgoings will have an affect too.

There was an interesting article on FinanceLocator last year, Foreign Currency Loans, which discussed about the new mortgage and loan fad that seemed to becoming very popular despite being very high risk.

The idea is that by taking out a loan or mortgage in a different currency of less value, will gain you additional funds to help you pay off your mortgage quicker.

Most people wanting to get a loan, generally need one pretty quickly. This may actually determine what type of loan you go for.

Payday loans are the quickest type of loan to get, but also have the shortest repayment period too, of just 28 days.

Amongst the hundreds of loans on offer, you can now get loans for teachers. It seems that people from every walk of life could need a loan at some point in their lives.

Personal loans can be taken out for any purpose. It could be something that is wanted, or something that is needed. Taking out a loan isn’t the bad option it can sometimes be portrayed as, provided it is done sensibly and thoroughly.

I read in the latest news reports that at the end of December 2007, the number of mortgages being approved had dropped to 73,000, that’s the 7th month the rates of mortgages being taken out has dropped.

FinanceLocator wonders:

Whilst approval rates are dropping, could it just be that many people are opting to stay put or rent until the whole market settles down?      

There is a very strange concept going around that states the more money you borrow, the less you end up paying.

How can this be? Well, apparently each lending company has a tiered scale of interest rates that vary depending on the amount of money you borrow and how long you want to repay it off for.