Each week, Mortgage Solutions and its sister title Specialist Lending Solutions run a Star Letter feature, in which we collate the top comments posted under our articles.
The first comment was a reaction to the article: FCA considers 12-month mortgage payment holiday – reports
Terry Arch said: “I am all for helping people out but, I have come across people who have spent their money on other things such as decorating, buying stuff for the garden, iPads or televisions.
“This is not what the payment break was designed for.”
“We must not forget about the lenders’ cash flow. This could put those lenders at risk with no income. We need to think things through before making blanket statements,” he added.
Scrap stamp duty
The second comment was in response to last week’s reader comments, under the article: ‘Stamp duty should be replaced with property taxes’ – Star Letter 15/05/2020
Michael Hall said: “Window tax was dropped because of its unpopularity – and the fact owners bricked them up to save money – and it’s time for stamp duty to go the same way.
“Every potential house purchase not proceeded with because of the ridiculous ‘cost to move’ loses the Treasury a small fortune in VAT on the replacement of carpets, curtains, furniture and other renovations.”
He added: “But of course, this expenditure of moving pumps money into the economy.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS