Right now it's first-time buyers who are ringing mortgage advisers phones off the hook after the Government offered them a lucrative tax break last month.

The Chancellor recently increased the stamp duty threshold to £250,000 for first-time buyers, giving them up to a £2,500 tax break. That has meant a lot more people are calling mortgage advisers to see whether they can finally get onto the UK housing ladder.

The latest figures from Unbiased.co.uk says that 40% of all enquiries to mortgage advisers right now through its website are from first-time buyers. People who have never had a home loan understand better than anyone that mortgages are complicated and fraught with danger so they are turning to professionals who they know will offer them the best mortgage possible and the best service possible.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of unbiased.co.uk, says: "Since the start of the year we have found that first-time buyers are seriously looking into getting their foot on the property ladder.

"However, buying your first property is daunting and requires careful planning and research – not only into finding the right house, but also ensuring you will be able to cover the monthly mortgage repayments, the fees and the extra costs involved in buying a house -  it is essential that both first-time buyers and those looking to remortgage seek professional advice to ensure they are making the best decisions for their individual circumstances.

"Only a whole of market mortgage adviser can give advice on products from across the market, which suit the individual's needs and financial position."

SOURCE: Unbiased.co.uk, 19/04/10

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

More than a fifth of Brits currently in debt are lying to their partner about the amount of cash they owe – if you are hiding your problems the only way to ever solve them is to deal with your debt head on.

According to the Post Office, the average person in the UK has £9731.51 worth of debt. However, on average, people will only admit to half of what they owe  – £4,603.17 – when talking to a partner or family member. It says nearly a third of people also admit to hiding the extent of their debt from other family members.

The report also revealed the serious emotional and physical consequences of covering up that debt, ranging from sleepless nights and anxiety, to turning to alcohol and problems at work – simply, if you hide your adverse debt you only make the problem worse and will make your journey out of debt more prolonged. Talking to a professional will not solve problems overnight, but it is a positive start.

The Post Office says more than three quarters of people who have an amount of hidden debt have never confessed to the true extent of their adverse debt. And of the 22% who did confess the true extent of their dishonesty, the majority were caught out rather than choosing to come clean.

Doug Strachan, director of financial services at the Post Office, says: "The recession has put a massive strain on many families and people may be, for the first time, experiencing levels of debt that they cannot control.

"The most important thing to remember is that if you do need to borrow money make sure you are responsible about it and set out a clear re-payment plan. Managing the debt effectively can mean there is no need to experience the terrible emotional and physical symptoms hiding debt can result in."

SOURCE: Post Office, 22/04/10

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

There is no need to go to extreme measures to hide from sub-prime debt – talking to an expert and facing it head on is a much better way of solving sub-prime debts and getting on with your life.

Some people feel like their only way to avoid the debts they have amassed is by hiding from them – and some people go to very, very extreme measures to do one. The Daily Telegraph recently reported on a man who was so desperate to run away from his debts he changed his sex.

The report says the Midlands man built up the massive debt of around £50,000 after falling behind on his mortgage repayments and credit card bills when he lost his job. The only way he thought he could be rid of the debt and the debt collectors was to have a sex change.

There is no need to be quite so drastic, obviously. Talking to a mortgage professional may go a long way in relieving some of your stresses and it may even show you that there is always ways to solve debt problems, either through credit repair loans, remortgaging or even debt management.

Ironically, the Telegraph's report says the man, now a woman, is tackling her debt and paying off her creditors, proving that even the most severe debt can be managed if it is tackled head on, with the help of a professional.

SOURCE: Daily Telegraph, 20/03/10

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

Research from moneysupermarket.com has found that 10% of British adults – five million people – are permanently in their overdraft as they continue to struggle with their adverse finances.

If you are in your overdraft more often than not it is time to take stock. An overdraft is not a right, it should be just warning sign to tell you that your finances are stretched too far and you are living beyond your means. An overdraft is an alarm bell to get some professional advice.

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, says: "We should be concerned that there are still such a large number of people permanently overdrawn. With rising inflation, it is going to be difficult for many to break the habit of living in the red, and it may be that more people will fall back into this position as living costs increase."

It doesn't make financial sense to live in the red – the website says that someone with an overdraft of £500 could be paying more than £240 a year more that they should for the privilege. Mountford adds: " The dangers of being overly, or entirely, reliant on your overdraft are clear; firstly this can be an extremely expensive debt to carry if it hasn't been agreed with your bank in advance, and secondly your bank can reduce the size of your overdraft with little warning."

The only way to drag yourself out of debt is to take charge of your finances – look at where your money is going and look where you can plug the gaps. Some changes may be easy, like spending less on luxuries, but others like mortgage repayments may not be so easy to reduce. Talk to a professional adviser about making meaningful changes to your finances so as to be able to live in the black, not the red.

SOURCE: Moneysupermarket.com, 24/02/10

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

We all know that this financial downturn came about, in part, because people spent too much and saved too little – don't make the same mistakes this Christmas time.

The shops are now in full festive swing and every advert on TV has celebrities playing in fake snow telling you how you need to get shopping now. Walk down the high street and there is a gift idea in every window. It is difficult not to get suckered in and begin spending.

But if you have been suffering through an adverse mortgage all year, the last thing you should be doing is spending foolishly again. House prices are slowly rising and evidence suggests that some lenders are wiping away the frost from their wallets and begin to offer more mortgages to more people. But no one is out of the woods yet.

You may have got into a new pattern of saving and not spending. You may have spent the year diligently paying down debt and doing all you can to be a better borrower – so now is not the time to undo all that good work.

Don't get back into bad habits of spending beyond your means this Christmas. Spend what you can but if you cannot afford it now then think and stop. Next year looks like it is going to be a little better than this one, but it's not as if January 1 will bring back the good times – we will all still have to be very careful with our money. You need to keep saving, keep reducing debt and keep living within your means. If you don't, next year will be just as tough as 2009 was for many adverse mortgage borrowers.

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

If you are worried about your adverse mortgage, being pessimistic about the future will not help – by seeking out some mortgage help you might find that you actually have something to smile about.

Unfortunately, people living in Britain are more pessimistic about their standard of living improving than they were five years ago. One in five people questioned by Scottish Provident believe that their standard of living is likely to decline over the next ten years – this is in comparison to just 14% of people when asked the same question five years ago.

Worryingly, the research found that one-fifth of those questioned are not only concerned for the future – they think things have gotten worse now.

Susan Barclay, head of marketing at Scottish Provident says: "Against a backdrop of economic turmoil it is understandable that people are uncertain about the outlook for their standard of living. What is worrying though is the level of gloom with the majority of people saying they don't see an improvement in their standard of living for at least ten years.

"It is important that where possible, consumers protect their standard of living for themselves and those around them. Whether there are improvements or not, it is vital consumers do not take their existing lifestyle for granted and take out adequate protection."

If you are pessimistic about your future because of bills, debts and adverse mortgage problems you may find that there are things to smile about. Talk to a mortgage adviser about your options, now and in the long-term. You might find that you can access credit or you might find that your finances can be adapted to handle your debt problems.

After talking to an adviser you might find that you actually have something to smile about.

SOURCE: Scottish Provident, 04/11/09

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

People struggling with both adverse secured and unsecured debts will be happy to hear that the Government has announced new proposals to ensure that credit and store card companies give people a fairer deal.

For a start, it wants to change the rules that set out the order in which debts built up on a credit card are paid off – most credit card companies make customers pay the cheapest debt off first, which means the costlier debts languish and collect more interest, but the Government is considering rules that would mean the most expensive debt is paid off first.

It also wants to raise the minimum monthly repayments levels to encourage people to pay off their debt faster – it says around one third of people who don't pay off their credit card bill in full each month make only the minimum repayment. So, to try and help people to work their way out of debt, the Government is considering the introduction of a mandatory higher minimum payment each month.

There are also new proposals to ban increasing credit limits without prior consent, as well as a ban on lenders' ability to change the rate of debt without telling the borrower.

Kevin Brennan, Consumer Minister says: "Card companies have to get their act together and do more for consumers. It is not acceptable for card companies to impose complex and confusing terms and conditions that can leave people baffled, or to increase interest rates without a proper explanation. Consumers have a real responsibility to manage their finances properly, but they also have a right to clear information to enable them to do that. Consumers should not feel each month as if they've been exploited or disadvantaged."

According to Moneysupermarket.com, by introducing a minimum limit of debt that must be paid off, with a balance transfer of £2,000 and a purchase of £1,500, the newly suggested system would mean consumers would pay off their debt in nine years and nine months and would incur £802 in interest. At the moment, with only interest payments, that same debt would take 24 years and three months to pay off and would rack up £3,175 in interest using the current typical system.

Peter Harrison, credit cards expert at moneysupermarket.com, said: "The lack of understanding of the current repayments hierarchy system by consumers means many end up paying a huge amount of interest and the debt sentence can last for years – decades in some cases. These figures show the extent to which the Government's proposed reforms will help consumers lower their personal debt. However, consumers shouldn't wait until any changes take place."

SOURCE: Dep. of Business, Innovation and Skills, Moneysupermarket.com, 27/10/09

To Keep up with news and comments on the current adverse credit market please visit the Adverse Mortgage Blog.

How can any debt be good debt? Owing money to anyone is bad news for homeowners – it means monthly repayments, it means possibly rising rates and it means it is all the harder to save money for a rainy day. Well there is a good debt – mortgage debt. Owing lots of money to a lender after having them finance your home is a good debt in so much as it gives you scope to save, invest, be clear of other debts and actually make money. Here are several ways in which you can save and even earn with mortgage debt.

Read more on Mortgage Debt

So, you are in debt. You have been spending faster than you have been earning and now you need some help. But what debt solutions are there on the financial market? Millions of Brits are indebted, and there are options for everyone, its just picking the right one that will see you through into the future. Some work for the very heavily indebted, some are a better choice for those with less debt. But whatever debt solutions you pick it will be hard work and it will mean sacrifice, but it will also mean a life of no debt and one of possibility instead of limitations.

Read more about Debt Solutions

If debt is taking over your life, like it is for many other Brits in this time of rising mortgage costs, its time to decide how to best go about some sensible debt reduction. This means making a choice that will make your life better in the long term, not just the short term. No unsecured loan is going to help in the long term, nor is a glut of new credit cards and store cards. Listed below are the choices that lay in front of you if you wish for debt reduction that will last the test of time and set you up for a brighter financial future.

Learn more about the options for Debt Reduction