Investigation into sale and rent back welcomed
News Category: Industry News
Published: 20-Mar-2008
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Plans for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to investigate sale and rent back, which were announced in Budget 2008, have been welcomed by the National Association of Sale and Rent Back (NASARB).
John Socha, NASARB committee chairman and NLA vice-chairman, indicated that the organisation was "very close to publishing a comprehensive code of practice" that is focused on protecting the "financially vulnerable".
He said that it was important for owner-occupiers to be made fully aware what they were committing themselves to when signing an agreement.
Mr Socha commented: "We are pleased that the OFT is going to be looking into the practices of sale and rent back providers, the majority of whom provide owner-occupiers with their only opportunity to stay in their home as an alternative to imminent repossession.
"Regrettably some providers have been targeting and abusing unwary and vulnerable customers.
"If the draft code of practice is satisfactory to the OFT, then there will be no reason why the good, smaller scale and rent back operator should be squeezed out of the market by the larger property investors in a similar way to what has happened in the equity release market."
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