Bradford & Bingley
The Bradford & Bingley are the latest lender to have severe problems, being bought out by the UK government and Spanish group Santander (who bought the Abbey)
Bradford & Bingley were heavily involved in the Buy To Let market lending billions in recent years. With this market being one of the hardest hit by the lending crisis it was only a matter of time before they hit problems. As we know many people saw ‘Buy To Let’ as being a safe and lucrative way of freeing cash and steady earnings, with huge numbers of flats and other properties being on the market.
Riding a wave of success can be a risky situation, with developers and landlords thinking that the boom would never end and lenders happy to profit. Now we are all paying the price of saturation of the renting market, crazy lending and even competition between banks.
With so many lenders being amalgamated (think Lloyds TSB Halifax BOS) we cannot expect the good deals of 2006 2007 that made us change bank or open additional accounts.
With so many (often poor) new property developments across the country the demand for rented accommodation will be checked. This will of course see a rise in the numbers of property for sale at lower prices.