Grand chateau

New Rules to make Mortgage Lending Tougher

Source: Imgspark

Yahoo reports on plans to reform the lending market. In order to avoid another loans crash the Financial Services Authority by making mortgage lenders introduce stress tests and income checks.

This means that buyers would be wise to check they can prove to lenders that they can afford the mortgage before applying. There are a growing number of tools available on online bank accounts for budgeting which could could help.

These measures “follows a report commissioned after the last recession in 2009 that found perhaps contrary to popular belief, mortgage lending has been roughly consistent since the middle of 2009 but lending by foreign banks, specialist lenders, and in particular Irish banks, has fallen away.

It also found the number of mortgage holders unable to pay is far less now than it was during the mid 1990s. This is largely down to the low Bank of England interest rate.

During the last decade the majority of mortgages were granted not to first time buyers but people wishing to move home and others wanting to re-mortgage their properties.”

The FSA has used the present dip in the economy to put these proposals in place for when the economy recovers.

A number of proposals, which were considered but rejected by the FSA, include a restriction on the amount a person or couple can borrow when compared to earnings, a total ban on interest only mortgages and tight limits on granting mortgages for people heading into retirement.

Instead the FSA has proposed the following three rules:

:: An affordability assessment must be carried out which includes verifying an individual or couple’s income. This was not always the case during the last boom.

:: Unavoidable bills such as utilities, council tax and spending on children must be taken into account.

:: All mortgage lenders must consider potential rises in interest rates and assess whether a borrower would be able to repay in such an eventuality.

The report has been widely welcomed by the Council of Mortgages, but received a more cautious evaluation by the chief executive of Countrywide mortgage broker.

The conclusions drawn from the report was that “bad” mortgage lending was a thing of the past on the whole, but this was down to the current economic environment.

The new rules are expected to come into effect in 2013.

How did he avoid that?

The thing that springs to mind is – what idiot thought that the middle of the road would be the best place to park?

Resolving employment disputes

Employment disputes are far from ideal for an individual or a business, here is a guide on how to solve them in the easiest manner.

The resolution of employment disputes is of optimum importance. A disrupted and unhappy workplace can cost money, livelihoods and a number of other problems. So, this is why it is imperative to ensure all conflicts are resolved and people can get on with their work in a happy manner.

Problems with employers come under one of either two categories disciplinary or grievances.

Grievances are complaints or problems about your job, employment terms, your contractual or statutory rights or the way you are treated at work.

Disciplinary is to do with your conduct, absence from work or about how you do your job. If these issues are raised informally it is always best to solve them then as these can lead on to more serious cases such as dismissal.

Here is some information on how to resolve grievances at work in the appropriate manner.

In the case of a grievance, if you have tried to solve it informally and fail you have to raise the matter formally. Your employer must put your grievance procedure in writing and must give you the person who you can discuss the redress with.

The first thing to do is to write a letter stating your grievance and send it to your employer. The employer will generally then requires you to have a meeting to discuss your problems further. He will then make a decision on the issue, though you have the ability to appeal this decision. There is more information on this on the direct.gov site.

When writing to your employer give them the full details of the grievance and how you would like the issue to be solved. Keep a copy of this and make sure to date it.

When you meet your employer arrange a meeting at a reasonable time and place. Write down what you wish to say and bring the notes with you. Employers will allow you to tell them where your grievances lie, try and establish the facts and find a way to resolve the problem. Consider getting legal advice from someone au fait with employment law services.

You are entitled to bring a companion with you to the meeting. This can be a colleague, a trade union representative or a trade union official. If you can’t bring one of the aforementioned you must ask your employer if you can bring someone else.

Your employer doesn’t have to let this happen, but probably will to avoid further issues. This companion can present your case, speak on your behalf or advise you during the meeting. They cannot answer questions on your behalf. After the meeting has ended your employer should write to you with their decision and the action they wish to take. This should be done without any unreasonable delay and should help resolve the decision.

In most cases grievances will be solved through the above method, however in some cases further action may need to be taken and a solicitor may need to be involved to settle the dispute.

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