Ms Jane Howard:

When somebody approaches us for a mortgage, we look at the totality of affordability. In that, we would look at all outgoings. We have a team of very experienced mortgage advisers who would be thoughtful about what the costs are going to be when somebody moves into or buys a new home. To that extent, we would expect property taxes to be included. We look at people's future outgoings to make sure that people can afford the mortgage they are taking on. I have not heard that it is a particular issue.