He is multilingual, and works all over the world and has gone about his business, building his company while other construction companies struggled for funding during the credit crunch. Oh, and his diggers talk.
Wow. What a guy.
Sure, most of his work is in the local community but he keeps employment up in his local areas, never really imports his materials and keeps his petrol costs down by only doing local work. A sound business model.
Is he concerned about the impact of GREXIT? Well, in a recent interview, I asked him about his views on interest rates and Bob said this:
“Can we fix it?”
And I said “Yes, we can.”
The man should be prime minister. He really knows what he is talking about.
Whilst having a pint together, I discussed with Bob that the pending exit of Greece from the eurozone could make the availability of funds harder for lenders and this would drive up the cost of borrowing.
So, with lenders this week cutting their fixed rates, Bob was all over it like a teenage girl at SoccerAid.
Many of the “big boys” have reduced their fixed mortgage rates, and Nationwide has even slashed its arrangement fee by 50% on their five year deals as well, making these options appear all the more tempting.
Much pressure has been placed on the Bank of England to cut the Base rate yet again if the eurozone starts to break apart, but a reduction in the base rate would not necessarily mean that the cost of borrowing would reduce.
It would suit people sitting on trackers right now, those that have the smaller margins above base on deals from the past, but the pricing of new deals would simply absorb this reduction and I would suspect we will see variable and tracker products become more expensive.
“So, can we fix it?”
Yes Bob we can, keep your hard hat on. There are some competitive deals out there right now and it would be a good time to assess your options, especially if you have been sitting on your lenders Standard Variable Rates thinking that it will see you through the tough times.
So, once again mortgage brokers should be actively working the market. Working hard for their clients to get them ready for the turbulence that lies ahead.
The captain has asked us to put our seatbelts on, and whilst I am not quite sitting with my life jacket on as well, I expect a rough ride.
Fixed rates are starting to make sense again, with an uncertain future to the economy, and rates appearing cheaper, its time to review.
So, another pint Bob? Oh… no, the pump has broken.
“Can we fix it?”
Most probably Bob, most probably. Where are your spanners?
Lea Karasavvas is managing director of Prolific Mortgage Finance
