Top stories of the week: This is Money | Financial Mail

The credit crunch and the end of the ‘Noughties’ boom has polarised opinion, and the internet is stoking the debate. Last week Financial Mail revealed how Rosemary Jane, 57, has seen her retirement dreams dashed by her late entry into buy-to-let.

Some sympathise, many don’t and, in fact, vocalise a passionate dislike of property investors. ‘I struggle to find sympathy for what is total greed, you have created an overpriced market which has caused more misery than you can imagine,’ writes Andrew from High Wycombe, Bucks, in one of the dozens of reader comments left on the story.

As editor of This is Money I have seen the division become further entrenched. On one side, the property speculators and optimists; on the other, a mix of priced-out  house-hunters and conservative owners of single homes. The division is replicated on the debt debate: people seduced into borrowing too much during the good times are now demonised by readers who took a more sensible approach.

This week, I start a weekly column in Financial Mail which will summarise the big issues and top stories of the week.  This week’s agenda was led by HSBC’s suspiciously generous offer to remortgagers, pulled apart by Helen Loveless in this week's paper, and Halifax’s report of the biggest fall in house prices since the early Nineties crash. That one has attracted 61 comments so far. If you’re feeling brave, join the (heated) debate in the story below.

This is Money top stories
1. Buy-to-let novices face mortgage ruin
2. House prices fell by £5,000 in March
3. HSBC offers to pick up mortgage casualties
4. Are you at risk? The sub-prime crisis map
5. The top 10 cash Isas of the year
_______________

Financial Mail top stories
1. Buy-to-let novices face mortgage ruin
2. Bank to cut rates as economic gloom grips
3. Taking stock: Profit warnings will kill bear rally
4. Mutual bosses' pay: Crunch? What crunch?
5. Terminal 5 workforce backs BA boss

- Andrew Oxlade, Editor, thisismoney.co.uk

editor@thisismoney.co.uk

Comments

[Sue Worthing]

I am not surprised things have got into such a state. I had no financial problems and had my mortgage with Abbey National for 17 years. I switched to the Halifax and subsequently Allliance & Leicester who proved to be lacking in basic administration skills and completely meesed up my finances. When you complain you get the usual "We are sorry but unfortunately" letters from them when in fact they couldn't give a damn. Fighting them has made me ill and without employment. I don't deserve this as I have always been responsible. My only crime was to trust that the banks and building societies had the integrity they used to have years ago, when they realised that yes, they were supplying a service but without us customers they would have no business to run. I am really scared about my future now whereas I had planned quite well for my retirement.