For poor people - still not many mortages about

[MPwannadecentincome]

That's the point isn't it - the banks got into trouble for lending to poor people - as they overdid it they are going to be overcautious for a "bankers life time" to come.

[DimPrawn]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7869468.stm

There are now just 10 deals on offer requiring no down payment at all, and from just two lenders.

"They are Northern Bank, which lends in Northern Ireland only, and Tipton & Coseley building society, which only lends in the Midlands and you must have a guarantor," said Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts.

"The number of people these deals are open to is very limited and the rates are above 7%.

"There are only three fixed 95% deals left on the market, which are available direct from Abbey, Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank, however with rates at over 7% borrowers would really be paying a premium for having such a small deposit," she added.

At the other end of the scale, a quarter of the remaining mortgages still on offer to the public need a 40% deposit.

A year ago, even when the credit crunch was already well under way, more than 1,200 deals were still available to borrowers who needed to put down no more than 5%.


NUMBER OF MORTGAGE PRODUCTS AND DEPOSIT NEEDED: FEBRUARY 08 VS FEBRUARY 09

0% deposit - down from 182 to 10
5% - down from 1,023 to 3
10% - down from 1,197 to 120
15% - down from 245 to 220
20% - down from 243 to 114
25% - down from 669 to 521
40% - up from 24 to 326


It's almost like the banks know house prices are going to fall a lot further!