Banks sued over mortgages

Barclays and HBOS were given notice yesterday that they would be sued by up to 8,000 homeowners who took out shared appreciation mortgages in the late 1990s. Solicitors claim the mortgages were ‘unfair’ and that information in the marketing was ‘misleading’. The mortgages allowed older borrowers to release cash from the equity in their properties without paying interest or loan payment during their lifetime. Many homeowners who took out these deals are now unable to sell their properties as they will not have enough left to buy a replacement home.