The BBC has no magic answers!

I have always thought that the BBC was ‘one of the good guys’, giving balanced and well informed information about any subject they are reporting on. Forgive me then for being somewhat infuriated by the recent contradictory and unbalanced reports that they have released on the housing market, and those ‘feeling the pinch’ of recent interest rate rises.

BBC Reporter Lissa Cook writes that ‘Repossessions have risen by 30% over the past year and are at their highest level for seven years.

And it's not hard to see why. We've had five interest rate rises in the past year. Debt is at record levels and inflation is squeezing our disposable income.’

Elsewhere, another BBC report (reporter unnamed) states the number of mortgages in arrears is down by 3% on the same time last year.

The report goes on to say ‘The Ministry of Justice said that 32,922 mortgage possession claims were issued by the courts - the first stage of the repossession process - during the second quarter of 2007. This is 0.2% lower than during the same period last year.

Most mortgage possession claims do not end with a property being repossessed, mainly because the borrower presents the court with a case for not proceeding or the lender comes to an arrangement with the borrower.’

Curious numbers, but if you are one of the people that have gotten into arrears, the data doesn’t matter one bit! You are about to lose the roof over your head and you need to do something to stop that happening!

Ms Cook’s article concentrates on putting down the various options open to someone in this difficult situation yet comes up with no alternatives. Perhaps her efforts would have been better spent on looking into some of the very dubious lending made by mortgage companies desperate to ‘make a buck’ by giving mortgages to those that can’t afford them.

In particular she has picked on the huge number of companies and individuals (of which I am one) that attempt to offer viable options to those about to lose the roof over their heads. Now please don’t misunderstand me, of course there are people operating in our ‘industry’ that are not behaving in an ethical manner, much the same as there are bad plumbers, bad lawyers, bad estate agents and indeed, bad reporters! This is the world in which we live.

She has apparently made little effort to represent those of us that do our utmost to behave ethically and morally, usually presenting a number of options to the distressed householder, including those that do not involve us. So there has been little balanced and well informed input on this occasion from the BBC!

There have been no stories of the huge number of households that have kept their home, not had the upheaval of moving house and maybe having to live with relatives (perhaps sleeping on sofa’s or floors) or being housed by the Council in Bed & Breakfast accommodation. The kids can stay in their schools and the whole family do not face the embarrassment of being evicted from their property.

It is not unusual for the ‘new landlord’ to improve the property and therefore raise the standard of living for the occupants, perhaps making it safer in the process as reputable landlords know they have a duty of care to their tenants.