The number of approvals for mortgage loans in April fell for the 12th consecutive month, according to new statistics from the Bank of England.
According to the month’s figures, there were 58,000 loans approved for the use of house purchase, while 52,000 loans were granted for other purposes. However, while both of these figures were down against March figures, the number of remortgaging deals increased over the April period. Although there was a net increase in total lending to individuals, the growth rate fell from 0.6 per cent in March to 0.5 per cent in April. In total, 7.3 billion pounds worth of loans were approved in April, with 6.4 billion pounds of the net total granted for secured loans deals.
The increase in net consumer credit (900 million pounds) was below the growth rate seen in March and the previous six month average. Consumer credit constitutes credit card lending and other forms of lending and advances such as student loans.
Overall, there were 5,000 fewer mortgage loan approvals than there were in March and 15,000 less than there were in January. Furthermore, while there were 98,000 successful remortgage applications March, in April that figure rose to 106,000.
Following the release of these statistics, independent financial advice service the Motley Fool has urged consumers to prepare for the 13th consecutive monthly fall in mortgage approvals. David Kuo, head of personal finance at the group, asserts that with fewer than 2,000 mortgages approved each day over the course of the month, this is the lowest approval rate seen in any month since the Bank began mapping the data in 1999.
“The drop is not unexpected given that lenders have been exploiting the Bank of England’s three interest rate cuts this year to beef up their own balance sheets. But it is, nevertheless, a wake-up call for homeowners hoping to put their properties on the market this year. In the space of a year, the housing market has turned from a strong seller’s market to a brawny buyer’s market. But with more tightening likely, the fall in monthly mortgage approvals could extend to 13 next month,” said Mr Kuo.
According to the group, property prices may drop by as much as 20 per cent over the course of the year. As such, it advises sellers to reevaluate the price of their property to avoid seeing a deal fall through at the eleventh hour.
“It means forgetting about how much your property was worth previously, but how much it may be worth tomorrow,” Mr Kuo concluded.
Meanwhile, for those who are finding it difficult to obtain a mortgage deal due to an unfavourable debt history, taking out a debt consolidation loan may prove to be of assistance in helping to get finances back on track and begin making regular repayments to improve credit ratings.
The Bank of England figures follow March statistics published earlier last month by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. According to the group, which represents 98 per cent of UK mortgage lenders, there were 46,500 home loan approvals over the course, down from 47,200 in February.
For many people it is hard enough as it is to raise a child with the help of your spouse, but what if you are raising the child on your own? This is the case for millions of parents each year who have to raise their children without the help of a spouse or significant other. The cost of living is so expensive these days it can become very hard to provide for your children when being a single parent. This is when using online personal finance programs as a single parent can become very important. Using online personal finance programs to save and keep track of your money as a single parent is extremely important because you are a sole provider for your children so you have to make every penny count.
Using an online personal finance program can be very easy if you keep a very close eye on your weekly income and weekly expenses. In order to maintain the amount of money you need monthly it is very important to keep track of your spending, and you have to remember, you can’t spend more than you have. One way to do this is create a weekly or bi-weekly chart of your necessary spending online with a online personal finance program. This chart should include how much you need for each week, and how you are going to go about getting that money. This will enable you to plan for each week. Also, it is very important to factor in child support you may be receiving, and if you are not immediately spending it, make sure that it is going into a savings account for your children.
Using online personal finance programs can save money while being a single parent is by allowing you to focus your time on your other priorities because using online personal finance programs are so easy. We understand that money is very important in the life of a single parent, but we also understand that you don’t want to spend all of your time dealing with it. You want to have time to go see your sons soccer game, or your go to your daughters school play, and by using online personal finance programs, this is easily done. The best part about many programs like this is that you are able to sign up for easy, on-time alerts about your money. Many of these great programs send weekly notification to anywhere you like whether it is through e-mail or even text message. This can be very helpful when you are in a situation where you need to know the balance on any of your accounts immediately.
Wedding Band Hampshire – Wedding Reception Advice
The following is based on our years of experience as a wedding band playing in Hampshire and surrounding counties. Not all of it is music related; we just want to make sure that your wedding reception is the best that it can be and your wedding band give you the best service possible.
Dance Floor – I know this might sound obvious, but make sure that the dance floor is big enough. Good live music gets everyone on their feet and it can become dangerous when people are dancing close to table on the edge of the dance floor, simply because there isn’t enough room.
Bar – Don’t have the bar in a separate room from the reception. When the Bar is located outside the room that the dance floor is in, guests tend to get a drink and hang around the bar talking so eventually half the party ends up out at the bar and the dance floor loses its energy.
Karaoke – Be careful about inviting family or other guests onto the stage to sing! Speak to the band in advance of the event if you really want to do this. A lot of bands are reluctant to let guests play their instruments; they are very expensive and people at wedding receptions often get carried away after a little too much amber nectar!
Energy – If the dance floor is rocking, don’t suddenly decided to stop everything for a wedding photo or a quick announcement; to get that same energy back will be exceedingly difficult.
The Wedding Dinner – A good wedding band will play lively, energetic music whilst the guests are being seated. The first course can take a little while to arrive so the band usually keeps going but are well trained and will often ‘soften’ the music when the food starts to arrive at the tables. It is worthwhile, however, that the band plays lively dance music in between course, just to keep everyone awake and excited about the dancing to come!
Wedding Guest Arrival – Have the wedding band playing as your guests arrive; it will set the scene, break the ice, and build anticipation and excitement about the dancing that is to come.
Interrupting The Band – The band are very experienced at what they do so it isn’t a good idea to keep interrupting them with special requests for music or to make announcements. It really can kill the energy of the dance floor and this will influence everyone’s memories of the day. It is best to make a plan with the band well in advance of your wedding reception and then try and stick to the plan as much as you can.
Choosing Your Song List – The band will know what songs work well together and in a particular sequence to get everyone having fun; go with their advice but you can always request your favourite tracks in advance. You can also put together a short list of songs you do not want played, so the band knows to avoid playing these songs.