Should mortgage and rent payments be abandoned?

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Compulsory overtime. Work harder, get run down and become more susceptible to health issues
BBC News - Amazon: Staff told to work overtime as virus spikes demand

Amazon: Staff told to work overtime as virus spikes demand

Unions say the retailer is putting "profit before safety" as it tells some warehouse staff to work overtime.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[danny la rouge]

Amazon: Staff told to work overtime as virus spikes demand

I demand that Amazon bosses are spiked.

 

[Proper Tidy]

My mortgage lender (Halifax - so assume this would also apply to Lloyds and Bank of Scotland as all the same bank) has just sent mass email.

No fees for missed payments on mortgages, loans, and credit cards. No other clear changes, they don't mention credit files, how long grace once crisis over, and just reiterate stance on payment holidays. Still, no fees is something, am resigned to ending up in mortgage arrears and fucking up my credit file (again), would just like reassurance it won't be sell or repossession if I miss three payments

 

[SpookyFrank]

There’s no substance to anything so far. We need to demand a working class bail out. Fuck pissing around with applying for this and that case by case. They can bail the banks out? Bail us out. Now.

We should bail ourselves out. National rent strike from now until (checks watch) forever.

 

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On the other side of a similar coin
BBC News - Coronavirus: Morrisons delivery demand 'to create 3,500 new jobs'

Coronavirus: Morrisons delivery demand 'to create 3,500 new jobs'

The retailer will be recruiting 2,500 pickers and drivers, plus 1,000 extra distribution staff.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Dogsauce]

I reckon if you’ve had the virus and come out the other side you’ll be able to sell your skills for a decent price to distribution centres etc. that usually depend on agency staff. Make them beg.

OTOH, I can foresee the bunch of cunts running the country doing stuff like ‘suspending’ the national minimum wage in order to help out small businesses during this time of need. Be prepared for this kind of shit. Oh, and probably making it easier to fire people too.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

At least some of Labour coming out for it:

 

[maomao]

At least some of Labour coming out for it:

So the government have announced that they're getting the banks to do something banks do anyway? Fucking scumbags. Mortgage holidays for btl landlords and no help with rents? Hang the fucking lot of them.

 

[maomao]

Apparently the automatic mortgage holiday thing doesn't apply to btl mortgages but it's still bollocks. Interest will not stop building up.

 

[danny la rouge]

Apparently the automatic mortgage holiday thing doesn't apply to btl mortgages but it's still bollocks. Interest will not stop building up.

And payment backlog. It’s not a favour.

 

[girasol]

Total debt amnesty, everything written off, all occupants now own their homes outright. NOW.

Imagine if EVERYONE refused to pay rent/mortage - not defer either. Just NOT PAY at all until society is back to normal. No interest added, no 'pay later' bullshit. Deferring payment means everyone will be in debt. Even the government backed loans means business will be in debt at the end of this, because they will have had no income but still had to take up a loan to keep afloat. This will ruin a lot of small businesses and freelancers.

 

[Proper Tidy]

Thing is, and as much as I'd dislike any help for landlords, govt intervention to freeze interest (which would probably mean govt underwriting lender losses) and defer collections activity on all mortgages with legislation that private landlords in return have to pass the benefit on to tenants in rent freezes would probably be the most (not very likely but most) we could expect from a tory govt even during a crisis like this.

 

[maomao]

And payment backlog. It’s not a favour.

The line in the Guardian article that really hammered that home was ''The banks said they remain obliged under Financial Conduct Authority rules to ensure that any "forbearance" will still assume an eventual full repayment of arrears."

Oh we' d give you the money (that we just pulled out of thin air in the first place) but we're not allowed.

Shitcunts.

 

[MickiQ]

The banks and building societies aren't being as generous as they try to let on, 3 months payments on a 25 year mortgage is 1% of the total amount you're going to pay. Depending on how much the borrower has left on the term, they can recoup that money by just adding a few pounds a month on the payments plus they still have the ultimate get out of jail card that the mortgage is secured on the house, they're not actually risking much and it saves them the expense both in money and public image of mass evictions.
Renting is a totally different kettle of fish, if the landlord lets the tenant off three months rent then the landlord is entirely bearing the risk, there is nothing he can do except evict them from non-payment either via section 8 which is expensive or section 21 which takes time (and thus more rent arrears). Either way he ends up with thousands in debt and pretty much no hope of ever getting it back.
No landlord is going to agree to rent holidays unless he is absolutely sure that the tenant is going to repay at some future date or someone (which means the Govt) is willing to step up and underwrite the risk. Is the current Govt willing to do that? I doubt it The current bunch are a bit more socially concious than Cameron/Osbourne and their "Let Them Eat Cake" approach but I am doutbful they would go so far as agreeing to underwriting unpaid rents.

 

[Proper Tidy]

The banks and building societies aren't being as generous as they try to let on, 3 months payments on a 25 year mortgage is 1% of the total amount you're going to pay. Depending on how much the borrower has left on the term, they can recoup that money by just adding a few pounds a month on the payments plus they still have the ultimate get out of jail card that the mortgage is secured on the house, they're not actually risking much and it saves them the expense both in money and public image of mass evictions.
Renting is a totally different kettle of fish, if the landlord lets the tenant off three months rent then the landlord is entirely bearing the risk, there is nothing he can do except evict them from non-payment either via section 8 which is expensive or section 21 which takes time (and thus more rent arrears). Either way he ends up with thousands in debt and pretty much no hope of ever getting it back.
No landlord is going to agree to rent holidays unless he is absolutely sure that the tenant is going to repay at some future date or someone (which means the Govt) is willing to step up and underwrite the risk. Is the current Govt willing to do that? I doubt it The current bunch are a bit more socially concious than Cameron/Osbourne and their "Let Them Eat Cake" approach but I am doutbful they would go so far as agreeing to underwriting unpaid rents.

This is what I was getting at when I said best that could be hoped for is a govt backed freeze on mortgage interest (not forbearance eg permitted arrears, freeze as in written off) for 3 or 6 months of whatever, backed by legislation that landlords also have to freeze (write off) rent for same period. Probably funded by govt through QE. Seems the only viable 'from above' measure I can think of that stands any chance of tories being pressured into

Edit - this would be a freeze on interest so most homeowners (not BTL) will still have capital arrears as no capital being paid off alongside the interest for the 3 or 6 months. Easily solved for most by extending term by the same period, those who can't because of eg age would face a slightly higher future repayment to catch up on the capital shortfall, although it wouldn't be significant unless its a fucking huge mortgage

 

[elbows]

Johnson says Corbyn is making “very powerful points”. He says he will be legislating to protect private renters from eviction. But he does not just want to pass on the problem, so other “actors in the economy” will be protected.

45m ago 12:10