Anyone got a graph to show interest rates over last 5 years?

Wutang_2

dunstonh wrote: »

When rates were 4% then it is pretty short sighted to think they are going to stay that low. At least you would have thought people would have budgeted for the typical average (which we are still below at the moment).

We had a long period of sustained good times and it looks like many people squandered it rather than planning for that rainy day.


Squandered what?? Not everyone has thousands of pounds of disposable income and not everyone is as financially aware as you clearly are.

I bet you are so compassionate when customers state they can't afford the new SVR and you tell them they should have prepared for the £250 a month increase to their payments??

you state that rates are low at 4% but all you are doing is comparing to the past - get over it

dunstonh

People were receiving MIRAS for many years, which did give some benefit in reducing payments, and as the property prices were less at that time, the mortgages were obviously smaller.

MIRAS had [almost] gone by the times of the big hikes in rates. Plus, in the early 90s, the ratio of mortgage payment to income was virtually the same as the peak last year so the cost in terms of percentage of income were very similar.

Squandered what?? Not everyone has thousands of pounds of disposable income and not everyone is as financially aware as you clearly are.

The country had a period of growth where the majority have seen their standard of living increase. Many kept on spending and borrowing rather than preparing what was really inevitable. Rather than put money aside more credit was obtained to buy a new kitchen or car.

I bet you are so compassionate when customers state they can't afford the new SVR and you tell them they should have prepared for the £250 a month increase to their payments??

Why hide from the truth. Yes, they should have thought about what happens when rates increase. Sometimes the cold hard truth needs to be heard. I learnt years ago that trying to mollycoddle someone doesnt help them one bit. You get more respect for saying it as it is even if it hurts in the short term.

you state that rates are low at 4% but all you are doing is comparing to the past - get over it

You can learn a lot from the past. Lending is not something new. With rates at historic lows it would be common sense to expect them to rise in the future. The degree of rise is always going to be unknown but planning on a higher rate, such as the typical average is common sense.

As I mentioned higher up, there are going to be genuine cases but you cannot have sympathy for the individuals appearing on the news, panarama or whatever who are complaining that their mortgage is now too expensive when they are sitting in their well decorated house with modern furniture and rows of hundreds of DVDs, Xbox and PS games behind them. As you can guess. I am not some bleeding heart liberal who thinks everyone should be wrapped up in cotton wool and talked to as if they are 5 years old.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

dunstonh wrote: »

MIRAS had gone by the times of the big hikes in rates. Plus, in the early 90s, the ratio of mortgage payment to income was virtually the same as the peak last year so the cost in terms of percentage of income were very similar.

MIRAS ended in April 2000! At that point the BOE Base Rate was 6% and the Halifax SVR was 7.74%

One of the arguments for getting rid of MIRAS was that interest rates were lower!

dunstonh

MIRAS ended in April 2000!

Blimey, it feels so much longer than that. Funny how time flies. Although it was eroded a number of times from 1988 and was worth only around 0.35% on the interest rate towards the end.

Before April 1994, the rate of tax relief given to home-owners was 25 per cent. That month it was cut to 20 per cent, and a year later it was reduced again to 15 per cent. A reduction to 10 per cent announced in Mr Brown's July 1997 Budget took effect in April 1998.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

We're all getting old. It seems like ages ago! :rotfl:

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

dunstonh wrote: »

Blimey, it feels so much longer than that. Funny how time flies. Although it was eroded a number of times from 1988 and was worth only around 0.35% on the interest rate towards the end.

Before April 1994, the rate of tax relief given to home-owners was 25 per cent. That month it was cut to 20 per cent, and a year later it was reduced again to 15 per cent. A reduction to 10 per cent announced in Mr Brown's July 1997 Budget took effect in April 1998.

And people were getting Tax Relief on their Endowments at the same time.

MissMoneypenny

chucky wrote: »

i'm sure CarolT, !!!!!! and NeverDespairGirl will be along in a minute to try and tell us that the 90s didn't happen and that we should carry on stocking tinned food and water and go and live in an airport hanger :T :T :T

I have never seen any of those posters you named, deny the 90s crash. Quite the opposite in fact. There is nothing wrong with being a realist and saving money.