If you’ve got a bit of spare cash left after the festive season, you may want to consider ways of keeping the roof over your head and your stress level at a minimum.

The majority of people in the UK are dreading 2011 and two-thirds of British households expect to see the economy nose-dive again.

First Direct has launched a 1.99% tracker mortgage in an attempt to capture an even larger slice of the UK mortgage market. Monthly repayments are pegged for two years at 1.49% above the Bank of England base rate, but of course these will increase when interest rates rise.

Who’s to blame for the disastrous state of the housing market? Some people have blamed the banks for irresponsible lending whilst others say the stricter regulations the FSA have imposed on mortgage lending institutions are the cause of the problem.

Last week, Paul Fisher, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee said the MPC wants interest rates to normalise as soon as possible. Normalisation in this case is around 5%. This would not spell good news for home owners who have variable rate or tracker mortgages.

Christopher Farrell thought he could become Alan Sugar’s next apprentice but instead he stands charged with four counts of mortgage fraud.

Although it has been predicted that mortgage lending may increase next year, first time buyers are not likely to feel any immediate benefit, according to housing specialist Savills. This will not come as any comfort to freelancers looking for their first contractor mortgage.

The CBI has warned that interest rates will go up soon, a message that will send a chill through the bones of hard strapped home owners.

Residential property could be targeted by the taxman if the government ratifies a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

House hunters will be pleased to hear that there are people in the UK who think that next year will be a good time to buy a property.

The Bank of England recently polled nearly 2,000 UK homes and discovered that over 50% of them are struggling to make credit card and other unsecured debt repayments.

Freelancers shopping around for a contractor mortgage have a difficult choice to make. Should they fix or float?