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ÌýHouse repossessions (April 2008)

Debt advisers are reporting record numbers of people facing repossession of their homes after taking on unaffordable mortgages and other debts - in South Yorkshire as well as in the rest of the country.

In April 2008, Toby Foster spoke to Alexa Walker from Sheffield Debt Line, which has a free legal advice service at the county court.

Repossessed house

:: Listen to what Alexa had to say about the threat of repossession by clicking on the link below, and if you need help or advice, visit Useful Links on the right of the page.

Alexa says that seeking advice early is always best: "There's been a lot of irresponsible borrowing, lending and marketing. People can be mis-sold products that are not right for them.

"You start to be at risk of being served with a claim for repossession notice after you've missed about three mortgage repayments. Sub-prime lenders (the sort of finance company you don’t find on the high street) tend to take action much earlier than high street lenders.

"Sheffield Debt Line looks at people's circumstances and give reasons to the judge why they shouldn’t make a repossession order. We used to do one mortgage possession list (with 30-35 cases on each) a fortnight at Sheffield County Court. Now it's two or three lists a fortnight, so that's 30-40-or more repossession notices per week.

"A small percentage of these will end up in possession orders, especially when people don’t turn up to court. But when people seek advice and if the judge can see that the borrower can make some reasonable arrangements to repay the arrears and the mortgage installments long-term, it's very rare that possession orders are made in those circumstances. The thing is to seek advice early."

Abandoned pets (May 2008)

Jeanette Hollywood from Barnsley's animal rescue centre came in to Radio Sheffield in May 2008 to speak to Phil Bodmer about the rise she's seen in abandoned animals, probably due to the cost of keeping pets. She said that their kennels were at full capacity at the time.

"In the past few weeks we've seen an increase in dogs being abandoned because people can't afford them - especially bigger dogs.

Woof woof

"Having a pet is expensive; there's food, vet's fees, vaccination, flea treatments... and then if people can't afford to get the animal neutered or spayed, you get more and more pregnancies and it's an ongoing cycle."

Staffordshire Bull Terriers and their cross-breeds are being abandoned in particular, according to Jeanette: "Lots of idiots get these dogs and breed them. There are lots of cross-breeds but no homes."

Elderly dogs are also a problem, and contrary to popular belief, Christmas is not the worst time for the animal refuge home: "The two or three months over summer is worse than Christmas because people go on holiday and don't want to pay for kennels."

So the message is clear: don't get a pet if you can't afford to keep it.

The price paid by pubs (June 2008)

Brincliffe Oaks in Nether Edge and The Coach and Horses on Sheffield Road in Barnsley are just two South Yorkshire pubs which have closed their doors recently. You don’t have to go far to see a pub for sale or lease any more; many have closed and been boarded up already.

In fact in July 2008, Â鶹ԼÅÄ Look North reported that a landlady in Sheffield was struggling to sell her pub for a penny! She reduced the price after receiving no offers at the asking price of £30,000. Watch the video via the link below.

A Keynote market research report into the pub trade has said that the downturn in the trade will continue owing to the smoking ban, the increase in sales of supermarket alcohol, and now the credit crunch!

On Bigger at Breakfast in June 2008, Toby Foster spoke to Matt Cooney - a License Trade Consultant who specialises in turning licensed premises around.

Boarded up pub, Attercliffe, Sheffield

"A lot of people fail to realise the cost of opening your doors in 2008. There have been a lot of increases; beer prices, budgets, VAT, minimum wage creeping up...

"A landlord should be looking at increasing by 25p-35p per pint per year just to stay still. Compare that to a can of supermarket lafer at 55p-60p - you can see the difficulties a licensee is up against."

Matt says the future doesn't look rosy either: "In the next decade to 15 years, I'd expect the industry to half. We’ve got a 12% annual decline just through different trends, an ageing population (because there's a decline in youngsters compared to the 1970s for example), and now the credit crunch. Luxuries and entertainment are the first things to go when faced with increased costs."

Coupled with that is the fact that purchasing a pub for alternative use (for example for housing) is more lucrative than buying a pub to use as a pub. "The pub is typically at the hub of a community so they're in an attractive position for property developers. You can see the pressure and attraction of selling on for alternative use."

Matt's advice is perhaps an unpopular solution; landlords need to start charging more, but also offering something different...

"A lot of people are in competition with supermarkets so they're reluctant to increase prices. But you should charge a bit more than the average and then offer a bit more in terms of entertainment, character etc.Ìý

"Also landlords must keep a very tight rein on their wage bill - this has crept up significantly because of the minimum wage increase. Not so long ago the wage for bar staff was £3 an hour. In October this year it will by nearly £6 an hour. So if your wage bill was £50,000 in 2001, it'll be about £100,000 in 2008. The cost of that increase has to go on to the price of the product you're selling."

So next time you moan about the credit crunch over your pint, spare a thought for the pub landlords!

:: Is the credit crunch affecting you or your business? If you have a story to tell us, let us know.