’sale and rent back’ probed by Office of Fair Trading
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is to study whether people facing repossession are adequately protected in so-called “mortgage rescue” schemes.
Householders in difficulty are offered a quick sale of their home at a discount by buy-to-let investors and in return become a tenant in the house.
Consumer groups have called for regulation of these schemes, also called “sale and rent back”.
The OFT is aiming to report on the industry by September.
House sales fall surveyors warn
Surveyors warn of home sales fall
For Sale signs
Sales may be a much rarer sight this coming year
Property sales may fall by 40% this year because of the credit crunch, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has warned.
In its updated forecast for the housing market in 2008, Rics also predicted that prices would fall by 5%.
Such a sales drop would represent the biggest shrinkage in the housing market since modern records began and could cut consumer spending by 8%, Rics said.