Rent first, buy later scheme won't work
By Chris Gilchrist    26th March 2008
Yet another government initiative supposedly aimed at helping first time buyers: rent your home at a discount, then buy part of it.

This latest wheeze, announced by housing minister Caroline Flint, is supposed to ease the path to home ownership.
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Interest rates down - savers and borrowers lose
By ChrisGilchrist    11th April 2008
Central banks believe that raising and lowering interest rates fine tunes the economy and controls inflation.

But the Bank of England’s latest quarter-percent base rate cut will probably leave both savers and borrowers worse off. Thursday saw the Bank shave another quarter-percent off interest rates, taking the base rate to 5%.
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Aggressive HSBC promises to match existing mortgage
By Damian Clarkson    09th April 2008
HSBC is offering cash-strapped homeowners a lifeline by promising to match their existing fixed rate deal when it comes time to re-mortgage.

The offer expires in five weeks and is only available to customers who are coming off a fixed rate mortgage and who own at least 20% of the equity in their home.
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Rock borrowers thrown to the wolves
By ChrisGilchrist    02nd April 2008
The business plan presented to the government by Northern Rock’s new bosses includes pushing 60% of existing mortgage borrowers out the door when they try to re-mortgage this year.

But customers left out in the cold are unlikely to get a friendly reception on the High Street.
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How to put a hotel room in your pension
By ChrisGilchrist    26th March 2008
Like the idea of a property investment but not too keen on the UK buy-to-let market right now? You could buy a hotel instead.

Not a whole hotel, but a room in a hotel. GuestInvest, which pioneered the idea in the UK, has sold out three London hotels since it started in 2004 - Guesthouse West, Nest and Chiswell Street.
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