CLARITY NEEDED FROM GOVERNMENT ON CROFT HOUSE LOAN INTEREST

The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has called on the Scottish Government to explain in full to crofters the implications of changing from fixed to variable interest rates on their croft house loans. SCF director Donald MacDonald said, “We don’t want to appear to be looking a gift horse in the mouth, and the cut in interest rates is of course welcome, but interest rates can go up as well as down. Many of us can remember interest rates as high as 15% and in these uncertain economic times it is not unthinkable that lenders will start to recoup losses by increasing interest on loans. We really need to know how much above base rate borrowers will be charged, and how often the Scottish Government will review the interest rate. As things stand, crofters do not have enough information to make a decision to move away from the fixed rate.”