I have £40,000 of unsecured debts - £20,000 on two credit card defaults which are both now in arrangements - but having never missed a mortgage payment in 12 years, is it possible to obtain a mortgage? We answer a reader's question on how to move home.

House prices hit a record average high of £213k this month, according to new figures from Nationwide Building Society. Property values climbed 0.2% month on month during April, reversing a 0.2% decline in March, the mortgage lender's latest house price index has revealed. The annual pace of UK house price growth also accelerated to 2.6%, from 2.1% when they slumped to a seven month low in March

House prices rising faster than wages meant 'housing affordability significantly worsened' in England last year, the ONS said today. The figures emerged in a report that laid bare the effect of two decades of house price inflation on workers' ability to buy a home. An interactive map using house price and local wage data since 1997 allows people to look up what has happened near them.

A loosening of the rules to allow interest-only mortgage lending into retirement will make it easier to tap into a home's value. On one hand it's another element of the disturbing financialisation of our homes, but who would deny someone a more enjoyable retirement, or the chance to help their children buy homes while they can still come round for dinner?

Volvo sold 46,139 new cars in the UK last year - it's second highest output in its history. That means some 23,000 new models will be 100% electric in 7 year's time, based on the brand's latest statement.

Few banks choose to boost savers' returns following a rate rise. Leeds BS has however launched a 12-month Tracker Cash Isa which promises to always pay 0.46 points above the BOE base rate. Should you open one?

The four-bedroom house occupies a magical position on Scotland's Isle of Skye and has an asking price of £545,000 - more than double the average £190,000 price of a property in Scotland, according to property website Zoopla.

As it plunged in to a fresh crisis, new boss Christian Sewing is dramatically scaling back the lender's ambitions and has instead pledged to focus on supporting businesses in Germany and Europe. It marks the end of a decades-long push to build a rival to Wall Street and the City in Frankfurt, and means the European Union is losing its last internationally important investment bank.

Elliott Advisors, who have been ploughing billions in to companies across the globe, are thought to have paid as much as £250m for the chain from current owner Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut. Usually when Elliot invests in a business it lays out an agenda to transform the business. It is not known what the firm wants to do with Waterstone's.

Homeowners who raffle their properties instead of selling through an estate agent are failing to make enough cash from ticket sales to cover the value. Raffles have become popular among desperate sellers who can't get the price they want through a traditional sale. But many have struggled to run a profitable draw within gambling rules. Helen and Gary Waller (inset) were running a £25-a-ticket spot-the-ball competition to win their £3.5m five-bedroom home in Berkshire (pictured). But the couple failed to sell enough tickets and are now having to give away a cash prize.

Like most car makers, BMW is ramping up its electric car plans - and this will be one of the first new vehicles it will add to its line-up. BMW says the iX3 will have a range of 249 miles. It will go head-to-head with the Tesla Model X (inset top) and new Jaguar I-Pace (inset bottom).

Parents will probably have all the kit necessary to take care of a new born. But what about the unromantic business of future planning - especially if you don't have the funds available to a Royal Prince. Here are our top seven things that new parents can do to set their child on a path to a strong financial future.

Our local theatre group faces having to close, after our Barclays bank account was emptied by a fraudster. In January, my father, who is the treasurer of the theatre group, posted a cheque for £336 in a sealed envelope to a publishing company for the performing rights to the play Billy Liar. Two weeks later, the cheque still hadn't arrived.

A botched upgrade to TSB's IT systems has caused the bank's online banking platform to fail, leaving up to 1.9 million customers locked out of their accounts. The bank warned customers last week that some services, including online banking and payments, would be down over the weekend. But customers were still unable to access their funds yesterday after TSB shut the entire system in a desperate bid to fix it.

House prices in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham have surged by at least 7 per cent in the last year, new figures reveal. They were the top five risers across Britain's 20 best-known cities, where house prices increased on average by 5.5 per cent in the year to March.

Investing allows you to put your money to work to earn better returns, but when is a good time to start? On this episode of the Investing Show, we ask Shaun Port, chief investment officer at Nutmeg, to explain why investing works, how to get started, and how to lower your risk.

'Completely out of the blue my sister received a message from HMRC asking her to call. She rang and a very rude and officious woman said my sister was liable for an £8,000 debt to HMRC.' The taxman warns the public about bogus calls from scammers pretending to collect debts, while a tax expert explains how HMRC imposters try to trick people and what to do if you are targeted.

Looking for a pretty two-bedroom house that's commuting distance from London for £265k? TV's Sarah Beeny reveals her bargain property of the month that fits the bill. The Edwardian home in Hythe, Kent, boasts sash windows, a garden and a wood-burner. It is a short stroll to Hythe town centre and the beach.

Mercedes has taken the covers off what could be the most lavish SUV ever created. First shown at the Beijing Motor Show on Tuesday, the jacked-up limo surrounds rear-seat passengers with soothing waves of blue lights, refreshes them with a bespoke tea set and promises to transport them in 'an unprecedented world of luxury'.

There are now 21 investment trusts investing in equities that have a dividend yield of 4 per cent - up from 13 six months ago according to new research. The highest yielding trust is European Assets at 6.3 per cent, the study by investment research firm Stifel found. We reveal the full list and take a look at some of the trusts on there.

TSB customers have seen problems with mobile and online accounts several hours after a system upgrade was supposed to have been completed. We answer some of the key questions - including why it isn't wise to spend any wrongly credited money that enters your account.

To clear the average national household debt of £13,000 at 6% interest with a monthly repayment of £100 will take around 17 years. There are, however, plenty of simple ways to make significant savings on your regular spending that could clear your debt - or boost your savings - in less than a year. This is Money's top 50 - updated - money-saving tips may appear light-hearted but are deadly serious.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

The amount you can save into a pension ultimately depends on what you can afford - but the longer you leave it the more you will need to save. We tend to put ambitious targets on our hoped-for income in retirement and then underestimate how much we will need to set aside to achieve that. So how much should you save?