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BankruptcyNews
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 Posted - 30 May 2007 : 10:03:59
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Mega-mortgages 'turning us into slaves'
Massive mortgages are turning a generation of young couples into wage slaves, it was claimed yesterday.
A report warned that the spiralling price of housing means Britain is in danger of becoming the 'grossly divided' society of have and have-nots not seen since Victorian times.
First-time buyers who manage to make it on to the property ladder and parents with young families are like 'bonded labourers' tied to their jobs.
The bleak report by academics - called On The Treadmill - says 'super-size' loans are pushing soaring numbers of parents to desert their children in order to work long hours. Many are taking on second jobs to pay a mortgage which could be up to seven times' bigger than their salary.
The warning came as figures from the British Bankers' Association showed the average home loan is now a record-breaking £152,800 - compared with £50,000 in 1994.
With a £150,000 mortgage, the monthly repayments are about £1,100, or 75% of the take-home pay of a worker on average earnings. Many buyers in the South, however, have to borrow more than double this amount, with average asking prices of nearly £400,000 in the capital.
The report, from the universities of Aberdeen and Loughborough, claims many young couples are being turned into 'bonded labourers' by their mortgage. This is someone who works to repay a loan, typically trapped into doing excessively long hours for little money.
Dr John Bone, a sociology lecturer at Aberdeen, said: 'They are like bonded labourers because they are so heavily indebted. For these young homeowners, the burden of mortgage debt will place great stress on those who have families.
'Both debt-harassed parents are forced to work increasingly long hours to meet the payments. Little time will be left for family life and little disposable income with which to enjoy it.'
The problem is likely to get worse, with the size of the average mortgage increasing by nearly £12,500 over the past 12 months.
The preliminary findings from the universities' 18-month study of the 18 to 40 age group says the cost of buying a home will create a 'grossly divided society last seen in the 19th and early 20th Century'. Those who do buy will be taking on levels of debt which would have been 'inconceivable' to previous generations.
Meanwhile, those who cannot afford to buy will feel forced to delay getting married or having children because they want to own before making such an important commitment. Without their own home, many will have to live with their parents, rent at vast expense or live in 'student-style' house shares, even in their thirties.
A spokesman for the think-tank, the Relationships Foundation, said: 'This report highlights a very difficult situation for many families. When taking on these huge mortgages, parents mustn't forget that a good home is more than just a large house. It involves time together as a family.
'There is a wealth of research showing that keeping time for children is essential for their well-being and helps them educationally, socially and emotionally.'
One family involved in the study, which will continue for another two years, spoke of the misery involved in renting. They have moved five times in four years, as their landlords decided to sell up or start charging an extortionate rent. House prices have been increasing for more than a decade to reach a record of nearly £200,000 for the average home.
They are still rising at an inflation-busting 10.9% per year, according to the biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax. It estimates that buying a home is impossible in 70% of towns for key workers, such as teachers, police, firemen and nurses. Four interest rate rises since last summer have made the situation even worse.
Rates are now at their highest level for six years at 5.5%, with economists warning they could reach 6% this year.
David Stubbs, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said: 'Stretched affordability among first-time buyers means many cannot contemplate buying a home at the increased rates of interest now been demanded by mortgage providers.'
Recent research found rising numbers of under-30s can only afford to buy with the help of their parents. About 40% who have bought over the past three years had help from their parents, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
Historically, just one in four buyers had help from the so-called 'Bank of Mum and Dad'.
Source: thisismoney.co.uk
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Mega-mortgages turning us into slaves
