Renting out empty driveways could offer a financial lifeline to panicked homeowners across the UK as experts forecast an imminent interest rate rise – the first for 10 years.
Indeed, online parking portal YourParkingSpace.co.uk predicts a surge in listings on their website as households look at creative ways to balance the books when interest rates start to creep up – very likely in the next month or so according to financial experts.
The current interest rate of 0.25% is the lowest ever in the Bank of England’s history but just a 0.25% increase on a 25-year £200,000 mortgage will mean almost an extra £300 a year in mortgage payments.
If rates shoot up by 1% then this would be about an extra £1,100 over 12 months – yet this is almost the same as householders with YourParkingSpace.co.uk earn on average in a year by renting out their empty driveways.
Harrison Woods, managing director at YourParkingSpace.co.uk, said: “Worried households all over the UK fear the inevitable will happen very soon with a rise in interest rates.
“However, it’s not all doom-and-gloom as our research shows that empty driveway owners in more than 30 towns and cities using YourParkingSpace.co.uk are earning just over £1,000 on average a year which can really help the household budget and offset an increase in interest rate payments.”
YourParkingSpace.co.uk also points out that there’s some good news for beleaguered homeowners in towns and cities where some properties are said to be worth less now than they were 10 years ago.
“People with empty driveways in Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Newcastle are earning over £900 a year on average with YourParkingSpace.co.uk, while in Bolton and Rotherham it’s more than £800 a year on average,” commented Harrison.
