uneviedematelot

This blog is now an archive. If you want to read more of my writing, please visit my Word Press blog at http://www.russellcavanagh.com/2/

See you there!

Mortgage Possession Stats Show We’re Back to 1991

Mortgage lenders issued 186,649 mortgage possession claims in 1991. The courts subsequently made 142,905 possession orders and 75,540 homes were actually repossessed. This was at the height of the previous recession.

The UK Ministry of Justice today released figures for the second quarter of 2008 and made reference to 2007’s figures.

137,591 mortgage possession claims were issued in 2007 with 95,433 possession orders being made. That year, only 26,200 homes were actually repossessed. The reduced number of “evictions” is probably in part due to 1996 case law (Chelteham & Gloucester - v - Norgan CA) defining more realistic timescales over which Defendants could repay arrears by installment.  Improvement is probably also due to increased money advice and possession duty desks at more courts becoming more available since around 2000.

However, the 2007 figures indicate a climb in statistics. This should cause concern as it was only at the start of the last quarter in 2007 that the credit crunch was identified and started to bite.

Figures for the second quarter of 2008 show a 17% increase on mortgage possession claims made over the same period last year with the actual number being almost identical to the first quarter of 2008 at 39,078. Actual possession orders for the second quarter of 2008 were 28,658 and this is 24% higher than the same period in 2007 and up 4% on the first quarter of 2008. Only about half of the mortgage possession orders were suspended orders and there are no figures yet for actual repossessions (or “evictions”).

On the “claims issued” statistic alone, figures for the 2008 half-way point almost match those of 1991. Orders made by the courts look like they too will at least equal 1991.

These statistics therefore indicate that today is a mirror of 1991 in far too many ways.

At 4.4%, the UK inflation figure for July (released today) is significantly more than the government's 2% target. Pundits today said they believe inflation may peak at around 7% towards the end of the year.

Meanwhile, BP has closed its oil pipelines in troubled Georgia. This will undoubtedly increase the price per barrel.

No let up in the worsening gloom.

Many thanks to British Gas for sending me a box of four energy-efficient light bulbs today.

Little comment from this poop-deck on the water companies' various above-inflation-projected-price-increases covering the five years following 2010. Let's pray OfWat applies common sense and that the water companies' figures are just negotiation starting points for the regulator to beat down. Anyone else feel that being screwed by utilities companies is now a normalised occurrence?

The Financial Services Authority - a regulatory body for some of the UK lending industry - today says banks should prepare and plan on the "assumption" that economic conditions will deteriorate to levels experienced at the start of the 1990s.

This is one whole year after the credit crunch started then accelerated quickly. During those 12 months - despite cataclysmic events at a number of financial institutions - all the commentators and experts said, without hesitation, that it would "not be as bad as the early '90s" and that "conditions are different this time round."

My April 5th blog entry suggests that economic forecasters are little more than neo-witch doctors. Either this is a true assessment or we are being drip-fed bad news that is actually being staged-managed with a degree of consent from within the financial community.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders today predicts 45,000 home repossessions for UK owner-occupiers this year. The CML only counts first mortgages and says 18,900 homes were repossessed in just the first six months of 2008. The CML does not count second, secured home-loans and the charity Shelter says the true number of home-owner repossessions is more likely to reach 70,000.

Despite Financial Services Authority guidelines introduced in 2006 to deter mortgage lenders from seeking possession through the courts, many lenders systematically flout their responsibilities at the earliest opportunity without considering other options potentially open to borrowers in trouble.

Judges in possession hearings are generally sympathetic to defendants whose lenders have breached FSA guidelines but they have no jurisdiction to take these misdemeanors into account. I have represented many such defendants in court fairly recently.

Given the steady increase in mortgage and secured loan repayment defaults ...

I heard this morning that EDF - the French fuel supplier - has price increases capped at 5% in its home market. It seems last month's 17% electricity and 22% gas price hikes mean we are subsidising the French consumer almost directly.

Reports in today that the FTSE 100 companies experienced a new deficit of £41billion in their pension schemes. This is blamed on the credit crunch. Last year, the pension funds held a £12billion surplus.

This week a petrol station worker was jailed for two years and nine months for robbing 500 customers of £175,000. He used a fake card reader to siphon off funds from their credit and debit cards.

Anyone worried about such practices and wanting to protect themselves might find my  article on identity theft interesting. It can be found at http://www.socyberty.com/Crime/Identity-Theft.164875