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 NEWS DETAILS
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HIPS scrapped. |
20th May, 2010 |
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The new Conservative, Lib Dem coalition government has announced as one of it's first policies that they will be scrapping the controversial HIPS scheme.
We welcome this as quite frankly they were a total waste of time and money and an ill thought out policy in the first place. No one with any brains ever thought they'd achieve what the last labour government were suggesting.
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No Credit Score Mortgages |
21st April, 2010 |
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Legal & General Mortgage Club has launched a new mortgage where applicants do not need to be credit scored. The two-year fixed-rate mortgage, which has a rate of 3.35pc, is the only offer of its kind available to borrowers.
A spokesman for L&G said: "Credit scoring has its place but complex prime cases are not always catered for by this approach. There are many reasons why an otherwise creditworthy borrower might generate a low credit score. Ditching credit scoring is an innovative, back to basics way of looking at lending and the rate on this product is extremely competitive too."
The product, which is provided by Hanley Economic Building Society, comes with a £100 booking fee and a £1,399 administration fee and is available to a maximum loan-to-value (LTV of 75pc).
Any mortgage that uses old-style underwriting rather than a formulaic credit score is welcome as this is very rare in the mainstream market, and the rate is also reasonable competitive. |
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Buy To Let Needs To Loosen Up. |
16th April, 2010 |
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The National Landlords Association has said its members are really struggling to finance their buy-to-let properties because the banks and building soceities are very reluctant to release capital.
They claimed that it should come as no surprise that there are not many landlords thinking about taking on new properties.
The NLA representative claimed that tenant demand is already increasing, since many landlords are leaving the market.
If you are looking for a buy to let remortgage try here.
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CML says no change likley |
12th April, 2010 |
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has predicted that that there are unlikely to be any major changes in the housing market in the next couple of months as a result of the political uncertainty brought about by the upcoming general election.
Though the new stamp duty exemption for first-time buyers could boost the market a little bit.
Last month, the CML stressed that it was disappointed by the lack of detail in the chancellor's Budget about how the government is going to remedy the £300 billion funding gap in the housing industry.
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I'm a celeb get me out of here! |
21st December, 2009 |
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z-list celebrity Kerry Katona is reportedly set to be evicted from her £1.5million mansion after 'failing to keep up with mortgage repayments'.
The one time jungle celeb queen is believed to be close to being made homeless after being presented with a repossession order for her luxury home in Wilmslow, Cheshire.
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Mortgage Lending DOWN! |
17th December, 2009 |
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The latest figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed that UK mortgage lending declined by 10% in November.
The figures have raised concerns supported by the report on UK housing market environment for 2010 earlier published by the Bank of England.
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£50 Million Mortgage Fraud |
14th December, 2009 |
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Six people have been charged in relation to a series of alleged commercial mortgage frauds worth close to £50m.
The network of alleged fraudsters is accused of selling properties between one another in a number of back-to-back deals at highly-inflated prices. They are alleged to have then used the inflated sale prices, fraudulent valuations and forged leases to obtain loans from banks and building societies.
After receiving the mortgage cash, they then defaulted on the mortgages leading to large losses for the mortgage lenders.
The charges follow an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office and West Midlands Police, and date back to a complaint made by the Cheshire building society in 2006.
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Bradford & Bingley £8 Million Losses |
10th June, 2008 |
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More bad news for B&B as they announced an £8m pre-tax loss in the first quarter of 2008 (compared to a £108m profit in the same period last year) and has since suffered a 19% drop in its share price.
Most of there problems seem to stem from the fact that the number of its borrowers who have missed three monthly payments has jumped massively inn the first quarter of this year.
This is much faster than the buy-to-let market average, which has nevertheless seen a chunky rise in three-month arrears.
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Bradford & Bingley Raise Interest Rates |
7th June, 2008 |
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Bradford & Bingley has increased its mortgage rates by up to 0.55%, for new borrowers, from today.
On its standard range, its new two and three-year fixed rates have increased by 0.20%. Its 10 year fixed rates have increased by 0.10%, and its new
two-year and 10 year variable rate deals have increased by 0.10%.
Bradford and Bingley says it's going to charge more for new mortgages because of the increased cost of raising funds in the financial markets. |
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Scotland Doing Better |
5th June, 2008 |
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The housing market in Scotland is proving far more resilient to the devastating effects of the credit crunch than the rest of the UK.
Scotland's share of new UK mortgages grew by almost a third in the first three months of this year, and the fall in new lending over the same period was less than half that of England and Wales, according to the Council for Mortgage Lending.
The council's figures, drawn from 21 active mortgage lenders in Scotland, show that there were 20 per cent fewer home loans issued in Scotland in the first quarter of this year compared with the year before. In the UK as a whole, however, there was a 40 per cent decline, year on year.
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Northern Rock May Face Legal Action |
1st June, 2008 |
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VINCE CABLE, the Liberal Treasury spokes person, has asked Gordon Brown’s government to launch legal action against the former directors of Northern Rock, over allegations that they “misled” taxpayers.
Vince Cable claims Northern Rock used unconventional accounting practices that flattered the level of bad debts in its mortgage book.
An investigation by the mortgage bank’s new management has revealed that Northern Rock did not always consider customers to be in arrears until they were more than three months behind with their payments.
The Lib Dems claim this practice undermines the repeated claims by Adam Applegarth, Northern Rock’s former chief executive, that the bank’s mortgage book was of a higher quality than the industry average.
The Lib Dems are writing to Alistair Darling, the chancellor, calling for a full independent audit of Northern Rock’s previously issued accounts. It would be designed to assess whether the Bank of England and the Treasury were misled on the health of the company’s finances when agreeing to lend taxpayers’ money.
Cable said: “Given the amount of public funding that’s been involved, I would have thought there might well be a case here.
“The government tried to argue that all this was caused by events from outer space, that had nothing to do with Northern Rock, and that Northern Rock was run by entirely competent sensible people. It’s subsequently emerged that they weren’t and that they made serious errors.”
Northern Rock’s most recent trading statement revealed that the level of arrears in the bank’s mortgage book had doubled in the first four months of the year.
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Abbey Puts Rates Up |
30th May, 2008 |
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Abbey has reversed cuts it made to mortgage rates two weeks ago, one of two lenders lifting borrowing costs. The Abbey is raising rates on new fixed-rate deals by between 0.15% and 0.56% from 29 May.
On the same day, the Woolwich - the mortgage arm of Barclays - is putting up the cost of mortgages sold through brokers by up to 0.3%.
A survey shows that the average mortgage deal is now on offer for only 11 days, down from 30 days a year ago.
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Nationwide Mortgages Down 40% |
23rd May, 2008 |
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Nationwide, the UK's biggest building society and 2nd biggest mortgage lender, has reported a 40% fall in mortgage lending last year.
This is yet another sign of the credit crunch's effect on the housing market.
Nationwide said residential lending figures declined to £6.7bn in the year to April 4, from £11.2bn in the previous year. That gave it a market share of 7.1%, down from 11% in the previous year.
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House Price Fall of 7% Predicted |
22nd May, 2008 |
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The UK housing market will "get worse before they get better", with mortgage lending expected to fall by 21% this year while house prices will decline by 7%.
According to revised figures, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) house prices will fall by 7% in 2008, in contrast to its previous expectations of a 1% rise.
Today's figures also reveal gross mortgage lending had been expected to total £340 billion this year but is now forecast to reach £285 billion in 2008. Over the same period, the number of house sales are predicted to fall from one million to 770,000
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First Direct Back in the Market |
20th May, 2008 |
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First Direct, the online and telephone lender owned by HSBC, has started accepting mortgages again from new customers after withdrawing from the market seven weeks ago.
Mortgage Brokers are hoping that First Direct's resumption of new business signals an easing in the mortgage market and better times ahead for homeowners and First Time Buyers.
Since First Direct pulled out of the market, rates have risen significantly. It remains competitive but is not the cheapest on the market.
When they pulled out of the market it started a bit of a panic, though hopefully this will ease fears.
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5-10% Housing Price Fall |
14th May, 2008 |
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The housing minister inadvertantly heaped more pressure on Gordon Brown. House prices are expected to fall by at least 5-10% in real terms this year, the housing minister, Caroline Flint, was briefed to tell the cabinet yesterday - but she also admitted she did not know if the fall could be far worse.
With the government beset by near-daily gaffes, Caroline Flint inadvertently revealed her grim forecast when she was photographed walking into Downing Street with her briefing papers visible.
Closer inspection revealed details that said: "We can't tell how bad it will get." The briefing paper, which was visible to photographers through a plastic folder, also revealed that she intends to announce extra help for first time buyers today, mainly by extending shared equity schemes.
The unintended disclosure is deeply embarrassing for the government since ministers have privately said that they want to do nothing to increase pessimism about house prices for fear of talking the economy into a recession.
The government, as opposed to the Bank of England, does not normally make forecasts on house prices.
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Brokers at War with Banks |
7th May, 2008 |
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Britain's mortgage brokers have launched a war against the nation's high-street banks, complaining to the Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading following recent attempts by lenders to reduce the amount of business coming to them through the intermediary market.
Sales of mortgages through brokers have soared in recent months as consumers have sought help to get the best deal due to the tough conditions in the market. Many of the best deals have only been available for a few hours before being pulled, and consumers have preferred having a specialist on their side to help them to get the lowest-cost loan.
However, the increase in sales through intermediaries has seen lenders forced to pay more out in commission, as branch sales of mortgages, which deliver higher margins, have fallen away. As a result, many lenders have begun offering better deals in their branches, in an effort to tempt customers away from the brokers – creating a dual-priced market.
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has complained to the Financial Services Authority, claiming consumers are getting a raw deal because of the high-street lenders' actions. It is also believed to have brought the matter to the attention of the Office of Fair Trading, in the hope that they too may get involved in straightening out the market.
Chris Cummings, the director general of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said: "Lenders have seen branch-based business really suffering. So in order to try and balance their business, instead of offering equal access to products across all channels, they've started introducing mortgages that are only available directly and not to intermediaries.
"Lenders are under pressure to rebuild their capital position, and as a result are trying to increase margins and drive more people through their branches. But we've taken this up with the FSA and have said it's consumers who are losing out on this."
However, the Council of Mortgage Lenders denied consumers were losing out, insisting their members were not doing anything wrong. Sue Anderson of the CML said: "I think this is just a side-effect of the market conditions at the moment. There's nothing wrong contractually with what lenders are doing. Dual pricing already exists in a lot of other financial product lines.
"Lenders have to do what is right for their business, right for their customers and, as long as it's transparent, which it is, then there's nothing wrong with it."
So far, the FSA appears to have been unmoved by the mortgage brokers' arguments, pointing out under its regulations lenders are not obliged to deal through brokers. It said in a statement: "If certain lenders decide to offer their direct customers cheaper deals, we do not see that customers' best interests would be served by preventing this."
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Mortgage Approvals Plummet |
25th April, 2008 |
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Mortgage approvals dropped below 40,000 in March. This is its lowest level since the Labour government came to power in 1997.
British Bankers' Association said the number of approved mortgages for house purchases was down 46.2% in March from the same month last year.
The data emerged only 24 hours after mortgage lenders announced that they would work with the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to ensure as few homes as possible were repossessed during the credit crunch.
Darling is urging lenders to pass on the benefits of lower Bank of England interest rates to borrowers in the hope that a full-blown crash in house prices can be averted. The Nationwide and the Halifax both announced sharp drops in house prices in March, although both are still reporting that property prices are higher than a year ago. |
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Crane Company Gets a Lift |
3rd April, 2008 |
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Crane Firm AG-Cranes has set up shop in their new premises at The Slough, Studley, Warwickshire, B80 7EN thanks to a commercial mortgage arranged via a broker on the Mortgagemap website.
AG Cranes specialise in new and used crane sales and the new larger premises will allow further expansion of the business says Managing Director Alan Griffiths.
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First Direct Pulls the Plug |
2nd April, 2008 |
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First Direct has pulled out of the mortgage market. Though this may only be a temporary measure. Two other lenders are raising their rates for existing clients.
The internet and telephone bank said it was temporarily suspending its offers after receiving five times the usual number of applications recently cannot keep up with the demand.
At the same time, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have become the first lenders this year to raise their standard rates for existing customers.
First Direct said the "unprecedented" level of business it was receiving meant it was taking longer to process applications than it would like.
It has been inundated with enquiries as other lenders pull out because of the credit crunch.
It decided to withdraw its range from people who were not already customers until it had cleared the backlog, rather than raise its rates in an attempt to discourage borrowers.
First Direct Chief Executive Chris Pilling said: "The flood of interest in our mortgages has meant we're taking longer than we'd like to handle applications, especially from non-customers."
The group will continue to offer mortgages to existing customers. First Direct, is part of the HSBC group and has 1.2 million customers.
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Credit Crunch Hits Big Lenders |
29th March, 2008 |
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The Uk’s largest mortgage lenders are suffering most from the fallout from the credit crunch, according to research which shows that many consumers are turning to smaller rivals to find more competitive deals.
The credit crisis and a slowing housing market have forced lenders to reassess their attitude to risk-based lending and many have tightened up their lending criteria in the past couple of days.
Many big names have pulled rates, or stopped taking new business altogether as in the case of First Direct.
In 2006, these large lenders accounted for three-quarters of gross mortgage lending, but they now offer just 68 of the leading 250 mortgage products, down to 27 per cent.
As the credit crunch bites, consumers are finding it more difficult to get a mortgage. Lenders' funds are drying up, forcing them to scrap cheap fixed-rate deals and 100 per cent-plus loans. Abbey has vowed not to take any more 100% mortgage applications.
First-time buyers are finding it even more of a stretch to get a foot on the ladder as higher deposits are demanded from lenders.
A number of smaller building societies, including Bath Building Society and Earl Shilton Building Society, withdrew all their mortgage products this week after they were unable to secure funding.
As cheap deals disappear, mortgage borrowers are facing "payment shock" when their fixed-rate mortgage ends, analysts said. More than a million fixed-rate deals, which generally last for two years, are set to expire this year.
Among the big lenders, the Halifax and the Woolwich have increased the interest rates on certain tracker or fixed-rate deals while making other deals only available to those able to put down deposits of 40 per cent. The Cheltenham & Gloucester, part of Lloyds TSB, has also increased the interest rate charges on some deals.
However, larger banks with smaller subsidiary companies, such as the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) group, which owns the First Active, NatWest and Direct Line brands, as well as Ireland's Ulster Bank, appear to be better weathering the storm.
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Buy to Let Mortgage Arrears Rise |
25th February, 2008 |
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The number of buy to let landlords in mortgage arrears, of over 3 months payments, jumped by more than a quarter in the last three months of 2007.
The combined effect of interest rate rises and a tightening in the credit market has begun to take its toll.
According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), almost 7,600 landlords are in arrears. (up from about 6,050 in the previous quarter)
On last years figures the number is up 54 per cent.
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Mortgage Lending Drops |
22nd December, 2007 |
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Mortgage lending dropped by 8% in November, providing more evidence of a weakening housing market, lenders said. Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data showed gross lending fell to £30.7bn in November, down from £33.5bn in October and £33.2bn in November 2006. It is the first time that monthly lending levels have dropped below the same month in the previous year since July 2005.
The CML figures support other surveys showing a declining property market. Halifax and Nationwide both reported steep falls in house prices in November. The Bank of England also revealed the number of mortgage approvals was 88,000 in October, the lowest level since February 2005, while the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said buyer enquiries were continuing to decline.
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Citizens Advice Bureau Bad Credit Mortgages |
18th December, 2007 |
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Householders with troubled credit histories are being forced out of their homes because of the “irresponsible” actions of “sub-prime” lenders, according to claims made yesterday. In a damning report, the Citizens Advice Bureau said that irresponsible lending decisions and “aggressive arrears management” by sub-prime lenders was causing increasing numbers of homeowners with credit problems to miss mortgage payments or to have their homes repossessed. Numbers of home repossessions, already at a seven-year high, are expected to rise by 50 per cent this year to 45,000, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
Sub-prime lenders are responsible for a greater proportion of repossessions than their share of the mortgage market and, in some regions, are responsible for ten times more repossessions than leading lenders, figures show. Citizens Advice also attacked sub-prime mortgage brokers, saying that some of their advice was “dubious”. In some cases, they had failed to check that borrowers would be able to afford monthly repayments.
One in five people who sought advice on mortgage or loan arrears from Citizens Advice relied on means-tested benefits, while a third had household incomes below the UK poverty line. A childless couple with a weekly income of £217 would be on the poverty line. Tenants encouraged to buy their council flat under the right-to-buy scheme were particularly vulnerable to rogue brokers and bad lending decisions.
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House Price Fall |
17th December, 2007 |
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UK house prices slumped for the second month in a row from November to December, with the annual measure hitting a 21-month low, online estate agent Rightmove said today. House prices in mid-December were 3.2 per cent lower on the month, the sharpest monthly decline since the series began in January 2002. The largest decline was a 6.8 per cent drop in Greater London followed by a 3.8 per cent slide in south-east England. |
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Fraud on the Increase |
15th December, 2007 |
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Banks are seeking to crack down on mortgage fraud as evidence mounts of a rise in the number of fraudulent borrowers. Abbey and Lloyds TSB are among the banks reporting a surge in the volume of potentially fraudulent mortgage applications in recent months.The Council for Mortgage Lenders is also cracking down, working with police to investigate the possibility that organised criminals are operating in the market.
“We are identifying two or three times as many cases of possible fraud as we did in the first part of this year,” said Steve Williams, risk director at Abbey.
Amanda Glover of Lloyds TSB said: “We have seen an uplift in the numbers of cases investigated, as fraud operations have become increasingly sophisticated.”
“Although in the past, mortgage fraud has been largely associated with the subprime segment, there is growing evidence to suggest that the credit crunch and the increasing sophistication of fraud networks are requiring lenders to be ever more vigilant across all their mortgage businesses,” said Nigel Moden, Ernst & Young’s director of mortgage lending advisory.
About two-thirds of mortgages are handled via brokers, so lenders are taking steps to ensure these intermediaries do not extend loans to potentially unscrupulous customers. Lenders now require brokers to introduce “plausibility checks” before agreeing self-certified mortgage applications, which do not require borrowers to offer proof of income.
The self-employed, people who have not been working for long, or who have more than one job, can have difficulty proving their income and so may opt to pay a premium to obtain a self-certified mortgage.
More than 200 cases of fraud had been referred to the FSA in the past 18 months, Mr Bland said.
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Government Considers Northern Rock Options |
14th December, 2007 |
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The government has been selling national assets for the last 20 years. Now it is considering nationalisation for Northern Rock. “There are people looking at this in great detail,” admitted one government official on Thursday. “But in practice, something like this hasn’t really happened before, so precedent is no guide.”
As the number of potential buyers for Northern Rock has diminished, nationalisation is being looked at as an increasingly serious option by the government.
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Abbey Rate Cut |
12th December, 2007 |
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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's second largest mortgage lender said on Tuesday it would pass on last week's bank rate cut in interest to borrowers in full. Abbey said it would cut its standard variable rate (SVR) by 0.25 percent to 7.59 percent from the start of next year.
Many deals, such as discounted loans, are based on lenders' SVRs, and this is also the rate that a loan reverts too once an initial offer period, such as a fixed rate loan, expires.
This will be welcome news for Abbey customers.
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Mortgage Brain Award |
12th December, 2007 |
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Mortgage Brain has become the first mortgage sourcing supplier to achieve Microsoft Gold Certified Partner status. Being accredited with this status signals that Mortgage Brain has the highest level of industry experience providing services, software, or support for Microsoft-based technologies.
Mortgage Brain reached the status of Gold Certified Partner by demonstrating the significant levels of developer certification, deep real-world experience, and by providing completed customer reference project that were independently verified by Microsoft. Mark Lofthouse, Mortgage Brain's CEO said: “We are delighted to have attained such a prestigious accolade; this recognition shows once again that we are leading the mortgage technology market. "It sets us further ahead of our competitors and signals to the industry the in-house expertise and capability we have available for developing products and solutions based on Microsoft Technologies.”
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Cameron asks Banks to do more |
11th December, 2007 |
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David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party has called for banks and building societies to do more to help those struggling with rising mortgage costs.He said that mortgage lenders had a "social responsibility" to ensure that as few families as possible fell into arrears and were repossessed.He suggested that banks taper interest rate increases, so homeowners do not face sudden hikes in mortgage payments.
Cameron said that banks should offer better advice about payment options to those who are finding it difficult to keep up with their mortgage payments. Switching to an interest-only loan or extending a mortgage term can reduce the monthly cost although both can prove to be more costly in the long run.
The call from Cameron comes as homeowners spent the highest level of their income on mortgage payments in more than 15 years during October, according to latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
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High Street Robbery |
8th December, 2007 |
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HIGH STREET banks are already making millions from last week’s interest-rate cut, having sneakily slashed savings rates up to six weeks ahead of the announcement while mortgage rates for some borrowers will not come down until the new year.
Savers now face a second round of reductions, while experts warn that millions of borrowers are unlikely to see their repayments fall by the full quarter point – giving banks’ profits an instant boost.
Abbey, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds TSB have all hit savers with cuts of up to 0.25 points in recent weeks, but they have yet to announce their mortgage rates. Analysts said it was unusual for so many of the big banks to slash savings rates in anticipation of a rate cut – and have warned savers that they will probably fall again
The banks will now come under intense pressure to show their hands, as research for The Sunday Times by AWD Chase de Vere, an adviser, showed the rate ploy could make the banks an estimated £26m a monthThe Bank of England last week chopped rates from 5.75% to 5.5% – the first reduction since August 2005. While an estimated 3m borrowers on tracker mortgages benefited immediately because their loans automatically follow Bank rate, another 2.2m pay the lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) and a further 1.2m are on discounts linked to the standard rate.
Lenders have complete discretion over when they cut SVRs, and by how much, and there are growing fears that many will take the opportunity to rebuild their margins in the wake of the global credit crunch.
Sue Hannums of AWD Chase de Vere said: “Many banks have been quietly cutting savings rates over the past few weeks in the hope that we won’t notice when they chop rates again following the latest base-rate move. Add the fact that SVRs are unlikely to come down by the full quarter point, and banks have a great opportunity to boost their margins.”
Halifax, Britain’s biggest lender, was quick off the mark last week in announcing its SVR would go down by the full quarter point, from 7.75% to 7.5% – though not until January 1.
Halifax savers, meanwhile, have already had rates slashed by up to 0.25 percentage points and the chances are they will fall again after the bank refused to rule out further cuts.
Nationwide is the only other major lender to have moved with a full quarter-point reduction in its SVR.
Ray Boulger at John Charcol, a broker, said: “I think the number of lenders who pass on the full rate cut will be in the minority, and I expect a few will not cut their SVRs at all.”
Egg set the tone when it reduced its SVR by just 0.15 points last week, from 6.94% to 6.79%, from January 1.
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Mortgages Playing hard to get |
3rd December, 2007 |
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Raised borrowing costs are dealing a severe blow to smaller lenders, who have few alternative financing options, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said this week.
Lending requirements are becoming stricter as mortgage companies look to cut loan-to-value rates and "clean up" their mortgage books by weeding out less creditworthy customers, pointed out Jonathan Cornell, managing director of Hamptons Mortgages.
He said: "Lenders are finding it harder and harder to securitise subprime mortgages, so they are trying to make their subprime books cleaner."
Lenders such as Accord Mortgages have cut loan-to-value rates for medium and heavy adverse borrowers to 75 per cent, down from 85 per cent. They have also reduced the number of county court judgments acceptable. C&G has changed the rates for its higher LTV products of 90 to 100 per cent, as well. Its two-year fixed-rate mortgage with £995 fee for LTVs in this range is up from 6.38 per cent to 6.58 per cent. And its two-year tracker is now 6.48 per cent with a £995 fee instead of 6.28 per cent.
Analysts expect other lenders will begin to charge steeper rates for higher LTVs, leaving the competitive rates on LTVs of 75 per cent or less.
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House Sellers Fearful |
1st December, 2007 |
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People trying to sell are caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment. Caught between a tight supply of mortgage credit and weakening demand at current asking prices.
Ever since the US credit problems and Northern Rock this summer, it has looked likely to make mortgages scarcer and more expensive. Hard evidence of that arrived on Thursday as the Bank of England published figures showing that mortgage approvals fell to 88,000 in October, down 12 per cent in a month and the lowest level in almost three years.
The supply of mortgages must be playing a factor here: it is banks and specialist lenders – both of whom rely on financing from the wholesale markets – that have pulled back sharply. Building societies, who rely on depositors, seem to be doing business as usual.
Mervyn King, governor of the Bank, has blamed this fall on a drop in demand. True, since mortgage rates have not spiked upwards, demand seems to have fallen to match the supply shortage. That is not wholly comforting.
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House Prices Fall |
11th October, 2007 |
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House prices have fallen at their fastest for two years. The housing market is at its weakest for 4.5 years. This is mainly due to buyers lack of confidence in the mortgage interest rate.
Buy to let investers have been put off investing in property, in the short term.
Enquiries from new buyers fell for the 10th month in a row and at the fastest rate since March 2003.
RICS said the prospect of tighter borrowing criteria as a result of recent turbulence caused by the Northern Rock's problems was mainly to blame for the slide in demand.
The introduction of the governments ill advised Home Information Packs was also causing problems.
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New Life Insurance Service |
4th September, 2007 |
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A new type of Life Insurance Aggregator has entered the market, offering the best of all worlds. Covercheck doesn't just give you some quotes, it analyses literally hundreds of Life Insurance quotes from many of the UK's top Insurance brokers.
So if you need life and or critical illness cover for your mortgage, we suggest that you give it a try the service is free to use.
Visit Covercheck Ltd
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Buy to Let Confidence Up |
7th August, 2007 |
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Potential buy-to-let property investors in the UK will be buoyed with confidence by this week's figures concerning the strong mortgage lending figures in 2006.
With ongoing growth and the UK property market brimming with confidence as investors make their first forays in the market, the positive figures form the British Bankers' Association (BBA) may well spur people on to purchase.
The research by the BBA found the highest-ever recorded mortgage figures for the year, with the gross lending total reaching new records.
The figures come off the back of further research this week that many students' parents are considering exposure to the buy-to-let property market as the rates for student rent rocket nationwide. A well executed buy-to-let property plan allows investors the opportunity to gain capital returns while accruing the market value for their investment.
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Mortgage for man aged 102 |
3rd July, 2007 |
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An old age pensioner aged 102 has been granted a 25-year mortgage!
The property investor from East Sussex has taken out a £200,000 buy-to-let mortgage.
Most lenders set a limit at 75 years for mortgage applicants but a handful, including Woolwich, and Bristol & West, have no such restrictions. This has led to a rush of applications from older investors.
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Loans With Guaranteed Acceptance |
10th March, 2007 |
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For people who have suffered the ignominy of being turned down for a mortgage, remortgage or loan, perhaps because they've struggled to prove their earnings or have been classed as a high-risk borrower, it's about to get a whole lot easier. A price war, fuelled by renewed competition, is erupting in the so-called sub-prime market.
Mortgagmap can get you a mortgage or loan whatever your credit situation. For a mortgage, CLICK HERE. For a Loan, CLICK HERE.
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Mortgage Fee Rip Off |
4th January, 2007 |
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Telegraphic transfer fees are charged for transferring mortgage funds from the mortgage provider to the buyer’s solicitor, with another charge made by the solicitor to send this money on to the seller’s solicitor.
However research shows that these fees can be inflated by as much as 1,500 %.
Most lenders charge £25-£30 for one off electronic payments, but large users such as mortgage lenders can negotiate a discount of around 90 per cent, so the real cost is under £3.
Not only that, but lenders that are clearing banks will not even incur this charge. With well over a miliion mortgage transactions a year borrowers are collectively overpaying for these fees by £23 million.
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Automated Mortgage Valuations |
15th September, 2006 |
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GMAC has become the first UK mortgage lender to launch instant mortgage offers using automated valuations. The new system removes delays in the mortgage offer process which can often cause unnecessary stress, extra cost and hassle.
The pioneering technology now means that the time-line for obtaining a full mortgage offer has been reduced from weeks to a matter of minutes.
GMAC, which offers mortgages only through brokers like Mortgagemap has made point of sale offers available to a controlled group of mortgage brokers and packagers with effect from today.
If you want to find out more information on standard valuation types please visit our House Buying Process section where you will find pages that give information on Valuations.
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New First Time Mortgage Rates |
30th August, 2006 |
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Abbey has re-launched its range of mortgages for first-time buyers with loan to values available upto 97%.
Abbey is aiming to make life easier for first-time buyers to enter the property market. Many of Abbey's first-time buyer mortgages come with free valuation fees and £250 cashback upon completion to help firts timers with costs.
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Mortgage Rates Slow to Rise |
17th August, 2006 |
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Only half of mortgage providers have so far followed the Bank of England's lead by raising interest rates, data showed on Thursday.Some of the big players on the high street -- including Woolwich, HSBC and NatWest -- are yet to announce changes to their standard variable rate, two weeks after the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee hiked base rate 0.25 percent to 4.75 percent.
How refreshing is that -- not all lenders imposing a rate rise straight away? However, eight lenders have upped their SVR by more than the base rate increase, some by as much as 0.35 percent.
Britannia, Nationwide and National Counties building societies have risen 0.35 percent, while a string of others have lifted their rates by 0.30 or 0.27 percent.
Britannia and Nationwide rises -- to 6.45 and 6.24 percent respectively -- came as little surprise. With both rates still below the market average, they will have used the opportunity to squeeze a bit more profit from their borrowers.
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Mortgage rate rise |
3rd August, 2006 |
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As the Bank of England announces an increase of 0.25% to 4.75%, the first change since August 2005 and the first rise for 2 years, many mortgage holders will see an increase in their monthly outgoings.
As a result, those customers will now need to review their current mortgage deal and look to lock in good value.
With this in mind, Leeds Building Society has launched a new 3-year fixed rate mortgage at only 4.49%, which is currently the lowest 3-year fixed rate available in the market.
Stuart Fearn, Product Development Manager said "This product allows customers to fix their payments at a rate which is significantly lower than any other 3-year fixed rate in the market and 0.26% below base rate. It is available up to 80% loan to value, provides flexibility by allowing 10% capital repayments each year without penalty and there is no higher lending charge.
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New Offset Mortgage Rates |
27th July, 2006 |
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House buyers can get an offset mortgage from Intelligent Finance at base rate plus 0.09%, giving a current pay rate of 4.59%, while those looking to remortgage will pay base rate plus 0.29%, giving a rate of 4.79%. Both of these new trackers are fixed until September 2008 and have an arrangement fee of £399. Monthly costs on a 25-year £100,000 repayment loan are £563 at 4.59% and £575 on the mortgage at 4.79%.
Rival Woolwich's offset lifetime tracker has no time limit. It will track base rate plus 0.48% (4.98%) for the life of the loan making monthly repayments of £584 and has an arrangement fee of £595. There are no penalties for paying off the mortgage early and you can borrow up to 80% of your home's value.
Offset mortgages work best for those with savings and healthy current account balances. By linking the mortgage to your credit balances, much of your mortgage does not attract interest. Someone with a £100,000 loan and £15,000 in savings, would pay interest only on the difference of £85,000.
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Wine Mortgages |
24th July, 2006 |
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You might have got your fingers badly burned with an endowment mortgage, but now you have a chance to invest your mortgage in your cellar.
Home Cellars, the brainchild of investment company and wine merchant Premier Cru Fine Wine Investments, is a mortgage repayment plan in which your mortgage is secured on the basis of the wine in your cellar.
Home Cellars works in a roughly similar way to the now-discredited endowment mortgages of the early 1990s. The money you invest as a borrower is used to buy a portfolio of fine wines. The idea is that over the years the value of the wines increases to the value of the loan.
If you are lucky you may have enough to pay off the loan and get to keep some of the wine at the end.
Apparently this has already happened, Stacey-Lea Golding, investment director of Premier Cru told decanter.com.
One client arranged a £60,000 mortgage ten years ago. The entire value of the £60,000 was put into wine. 'Now the mortgage has not only been repaid in full but she also has £90,000 of wine left.'
The portfolio of wines is constantly changing, but its core is blue-chip Bordeaux hedged with top-level cru-bourgeois and solid lower growths. In the 82s there will be all the first growths as well as wines like Lynch Bages and Leoville Las Cases. In the 2005s they are avoiding the most outrageously priced and going for quality lower down the scale. The company concentrates on increasing the quality of the portfolio by selling off lesser wines as they mature and buying more blue-chip like Petrus.
As proof of the solidity of the investment, Premier Cru demonstrates via a graph on its website how a £10,000 investment in a fine wine fund in 1990 is now worth £89,760. This is against the £39,145 that the FTSE All Share Index would have delivered over the same period.
The plan is similar to an endowment policy, with a mortgage holder paying monthly sums into the Home Cellars scheme. That money is then used to buy fine wines, which belong to the mortgage holder, who pays a monthly charge for their cellaring. The owner can even drink some the wines, bearing in mind this will reduce the value of the overall holding.
Whether this will attract new mortgage buyers – Golding insists the plan is for all homeowners, not just super-rich wine investors – is a moot point.
We at Mortgagemap are unconvinced of its reliability. We would never recommend anyone using this as the sole repayment vehicle for their home unless they have a very high attitude to mortgage risk.
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Hips in Disarray |
20th July, 2006 |
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Mortgage lenders have broadly welcomed the government's decision to delay inclusion of building surveys in the much-criticised launch of Home Information Packs (HIPs). The industry had long been pressing for the so-called Home Condition Reports (HCRs) to be phased in on a voluntary basis.
Housing minister Yvette Cooper announced this week that the expected 7,000 new inspectors needed to write the reports may not be in place by next June when mandatory sellers' packs begin. The packs, estimated to cost sellers about £1,000 to compile, are an attempt to speed up the process of buying and selling houses.
But did you really expect anything organised by John Prescott to be a success?
Mortgagemap believes that the cost to the seller and the workload related to HCRs would have a major detrimental effect on the housing market.
Without the HCR survey, the packs will now merely contain legal documents, building work guarantees and an energy certificate.
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Mortgage Fees Increasing |
14th July, 2006 |
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The cost of applying for a fixed rate mortgage has soared by almost a quarter as banks and building societies seek to squeeze more cash out of borrowers. Research released today has shown that the cost of arranging a fixed rate homeloan imposed by mortgage lenders has risen by 22% in a year to stand at an average of £494.
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New Pension Websites Launched |
13th July, 2006 |
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Two new pension websites have been launched today that specialise in Pension Transfers and comparisons of all the available pension funds. So if you are not happy with your current pension provider we suggest that you visit Pension-forecast.co.uk or Pension-Comparison.co.uk. |
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Shared Ownership, With Bad Credit |
5th July, 2006 |
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Borrowers with poor credit history's who wish to purchase a property on a shared ownership basis may now be able to take out a bad credit mortgage from the Leeds Building Society.
The new mortgage allows people to borrow 100% of their share of the property without any higher lending fee.(MIG) The Leeds will consider applicants with county court judgments (CCJ's), mortgage or rent arrears and defaults.
If you wish to speak to a bad credit mortgage broker complete our ENQUIRY FORM.
For more information on bad credit mortgages, click here. For information on shared ownership, click here.
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Mortgages Hit a Trillion |
3rd July, 2006 |
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According to the new Bank of England (BoE) figures released at the end of last week, mortgage lending has now broken through the £1 trillion barrier. |
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Instant Mortgages |
23rd June, 2006 |
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Several specialist mortgage lenders are drawing up plans for instant mortgage approvals. This will enable house buyers access to immediate mortgage offers without even requiring them to obtain a property valuation.
The idea comes about due to the growth in the availability of electronic information.
Stiff competition among lenders is also driving greater product innovation as they seek new ways to attract new business.
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New 10 Year Fixed Mortgage |
20th June, 2006 |
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A rate of less than five per cent is being offered on the new Leeds Building Society Ten-year Fixed Rate Mortgage, it has been announced today. The Leeds Building Society Ten-year Fixed Rate Mortgage allows ten per cent capital repayments each year without penalty.
A fees free version of its latest mortgage product is also available from Leeds Building Society for those who require help with fees.
Free in-house legal services for remortgages, no completion fees and free valuation up to £335 are all part of the latest Leeds Building Society Ten-year Fixed Rate Mortgage offer.
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Mortgage for Trainee Professionals |
14th June, 2006 |
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The new Bradford & Bingley Professional First-Time Buyer Mortgage has been launched today.
Aimed at first-time buyers training or working in specific professions, the Bradford and Bingley First-Time Buyer Mortgage is the first mortgage of its type. Solicitors, accountants and actuaries are now able to apply for the mortgage for their first home even as they are training to be fully qualified.
Most similar mortgages aimed at first-time buyers insist that the applicant is fully qualified already, but Bradford & Bingley is prepared people still training.
A spokesman at Bradford & Bingley, said: "We felt that there was a gap in the first time buyer market, which other lenders had been slow to explore."
TV shows such as the BBC's Would You Buy a House with a Stranger? Demonstrate the lengths to which some people will now go to get onto the property ladder.
There are similar mortgages already available but this offers more attractive features such as a mix of higher income multiples and lower interest rates.
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Spanish Mortgage Fraud |
4th June, 2006 |
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Three Britons have been arrested on the Costa del Sol for alleged defrauding of European tourists. They were apparently offering them mortgages and investment plans which in reality did not exist.
The man considered to be the head of the group, 54 year old John Michael Doust, was arrested at Málaga airport as he was trying to leave the country with his wife Marina who has also been arrested.
It’s thought the couple belonged to a group based in Estepona which had been offering ‘attractive conditions’ to investors since 2000 for mortages. The conditions however meant high initial payments. A third un-named person was also arrested in Estepona as part of the operation.
The name used by the group was The Mortgage Group Iberia, a company registered in the Dominican Republic and promised a 98% success rate to find mortgages in 30 days. They used a company called Midas Foundation which supposedly supplied the credit, but never actually made the credit firm, despite charging an initial 650 € for costs and between 1% and 2% of the mortgage in charges, monies which were never returned to the victims.
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Direct Line Mortgages |
3rd June, 2006 |
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A new Direct Line Mortgage has been launched today; the two year fixed rate tracker mortgage will offer a rate of 4.79 per cent.
Direct Line Mortgages (Part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group) believes that people looking to take on a remortgage face a dilemma about whether to take on a fixed rate or a tracker mortgage.
When taking up either mortgage option with Direct Line, customers are entitled to 20 per cent off Direct line home insurance and which comes with two years' free Direct Line home emergency cover.
David Dyer, Direct Line Mortgages commercial director, said: "Fixed rate mortgages offer the security which many customers feel most comfortable with and of late, the two year fixed rate has been the most popular type of mortgage in the country."
The new Direct Line Mortgage has been launched at a time when lenders are tending towards tracker mortgages because of the lower rates offered but Direct Line's three and five year fixed rate mortgages are still being offered at very competitive rates.
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New Mortgage Deals |
1st June, 2006 |
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The Alliance & Leicester have launched new mortgage deals today, including an intermediary special and five-year discount mortgage deal.
The new Alliance & Leicester mortgages offer a two-year base rate tracker for remortgagers with the intermediary special while the five-year discount mortgage has been described as fully flexible.
Remortgagers can borrow 95% loan to value, at 0.01 per cent below the Bank of England base rate for two years with the new base rate tracker and free valuation is included in the package.
With the five-year discount mortgage the offer is a 1.8 % discount on Alliance & Leicester's standard variable rate for five years, the fully flexible features allow borrowers to make overpayments and then borrow money back later.
Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages, said: "We are introducing a special two year base rate tracker re-mortgage; this deal offers a highly competitive tracker rate. We're also continuing to buck the trend by cutting the product fee on our five-year discount deal."
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Mortgage Market Slows |
26th May, 2006 |
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The number of mortgages approved edged down in April to record their first fall in nine months, suggesting that recent sharp gains in the housing market have now stabilised. According to the British Bankers’ Association, mortgage approvals - loans agreed but not completed - fell to 64,683 over the month after March’s sharp jump to 85,698.
Signs of a cooler housing market will ease pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates in the short term. |
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New Abbey Mortgage |
18th May, 2006 |
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Abbey today will be launching its new 2 year tracker mortgage at 4.38% (Base Rate minus 0.12%). With a booking fee of £699 and a maximum loan of £500,000, this mortgage is available up to 90% loan-to-value.
This rate is now Abbey's lowest 2 year tracker. It offers remortgagers and movers faced with rising fixed rates a very competitive deal allowing them to keep their monthly payments as low as possible.
At 0.46% cheaper than Abbey's current cheapest 2 year fixed rate, the new 2 year tracker is a very good deal. |
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New Tracker Mortgage |
18th May, 2006 |
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A Coventry Flexx Base Rate Tracker mortgage is one of the new products to be launced by the Midlands based lender, which will track the Bank of England base rate (BBR) until September 30th 2008 ? giving it a current rate of 4.5 per cent.
This will be followed by a tracker rate at 0.75 per cent above the base interest level for the term of the mortgage.
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Mortgages in Retirement |
11th May, 2006 |
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One in six pensioners are still paying off their mortgage in retirement, new research shows.
Some 1.76 million British pensioners are still making payments on their homes, the survey by bank Scottish Widows found, with most still owing mortgage lenders an average of more than £45,000 each.
The research, conducted by YouGov last August, found that a third of those who still have mortgages owe more than £50,000, while one in ten have an outstanding debt of over £100,000 to clear.
The online survey, which interviewed 1472 people aged over 55, also found that those on higher incomes were more likely to have mortgage liabilities in the run up to their retirement.
Four in ten of those aged between 55 and 65 who had an annual income of over £40,000 still owed money on a home loan, while just 18 per cent of those who earned less than £20,000 still had a mortgage.
Pension expert Pension-Forecast.co.uk said the growing number of pensioners still paying off mortgages was placing increasing pressure on their limited retirement funds.
The levels of pensioner debt are higher because people were increasingly taking out mortgages later in life and then using the equity in their home as a means to provide income in their retirement.
The trend is likely to continue as more home-buyers struggle to afford to get onto the housing ladder before the age of 35, Scottish Widows claims. As a result, they would use money that would have been put into a pension fund to cover monthly mortgage payments.
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New Fixed Rate Mortgage |
11th May, 2006 |
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A new Leeds Three-Year Fixed-Rate mortgage has been launched today, with a rate of 5.39 per cent until July 31st 2009. This offer is available at up to 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) and has a £595 completion fee for loans up to £500,000.
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Mortgage Fees Increasing |
7th May, 2006 |
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Changes have been announced in the range of fixed-rate mortgages offered by the Nationwide Building Society today, including a £100 increase in reservation fee on their Two-Year Fixed-Rate mortgage.
This offer now has a reservation fee of £699 and is available with rates starting at an increased level of 4.55 per cent.
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Woolwich Lifetime Tracker Mortgage |
2nd May, 2006 |
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A Woolwich Lifetime Tracker mortgage has been unveiled, with a guarantee that its rate will stay at 0.19 per cent above the Bank of England base rate for life ? giving it a current rate of 4.69 per cent.
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Mortgage Debt Hits £1 Trillion |
28th April, 2006 |
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Outstanding mortgage debt is set to break through the £1 trillion barrier for the first time in early May, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said today.
But despite the amount consumers owe on their home loans breaching the 13-figure mark, the group said the debt was dwarfed by the equity contained in property.
The council said borrowers' homes were collectively worth £3.6 trillion more than the mortgages they had taken out to buy them, with housing equity the largest component of wealth for people in the UK. Despite the recent expansion in lending, it said there were few signs that borrowing had reached its limit, with continuing growth expected for the foreseeable future.
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Abbey Buy 2 Let Mortgage |
24th April, 2006 |
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The Abbey Buy-To-Let mortgage range has been re-launched today and includes new fixed and tracker rate products.
For landlords owning up to and including five properties, there are two three-year fixed-rate options available, with a rate of 5.59 per cent with no booking fee or 5.24 per cent with a £499 fee. The latter of the two is the best deal of its kind available on the high street, according to Abbey.
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Alliance & Leicester Mortgage |
22nd April, 2006 |
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An Alliance & Leicester Two-Year Base Rate Tracker mortgage is currently on the market, with an initial rate of 4.44 per cent, which is variable for two years. The interest level on this account will then revert to the Bank of England base rate plus 0.99 per cent for the remaining term of the mortgage ? this is currently 5.49 per cent.
Early repayment charges apply to the package, if customers repay any of their loan in the first two years then three per cent of the amount repaid will be charged.
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Interest Only Mortgages more popular |
21st April, 2006 |
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The number of interest-only mortgages being taken out has doubled over the last four years, as more and more people try to get on the property ladder. This rise in interest-only mortgages has coincided with a rise in average house prices of 41 % over the same period.
Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal that in 2002 the percentage of first-time buyer mortgages that were interest-only was 11 per cent, a number which rose to 21% in 2005.
Meanwhile, the average house price rose from £95,356 in 2002 to £160,319 in 2006, according to Nationwide figures.
Interest-only mortgages are often more attractive to the first-time buyer because the monthly repayments are lower than repayment mortgages. This is because the mortgage-holder only pays the interest on the loan.
However, the draw-back is that when it comes to selling the property, all the money borrowed has to be given back, and if the price of the house has fallen since the loan was taken out, this can cause big problems for the mortgagee.
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Mortgage Lending Increases |
20th April, 2006 |
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Mortgage lending soared to a new high during March, boosted by the housing market's traditional spring revival, figures showed today. A total of £28.31bn was advanced during the month, the highest figure on record for March and 26% higher than February's total, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
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Lloyd-Webber Biggest Ever Mortgage |
16th April, 2006 |
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(LORD) Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the composer, has taken out what is thought to be Britain’s biggest home mortgage and used the money to become the sole owner of seven West End theatres, including the London Palladium. He has borrowed £35m from Barclays bank, secured against his £10m London town house and his sprawling Hampshire estate.
The monthly repayments are in the region of £150,000, more than the average cost of a terraced house in Britain. Each quarter-point rise in the Bank of England base rate will add more than £7,000 a month to his repayments.
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HSBC New Rates |
11th April, 2006 |
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HSBC has re-vamped its mortgage range to provide new customers with greater choice whilst attempting to retain its simplicity.
HSBC’s new mortgage range is available at the following rates:
Two, three and five year fixed rates from 4.69 per cent.
Two year discounts from 4.85 per cent.
Trackers, linked to Bank of England Base Rate for the term of the loan with no early repayment charges, from 5.20 per cent.
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New Fixed Rates |
7th April, 2006 |
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UCB Home Loans has launced a new range of fixed rate mortgages and flexible tracker rate mortgages.
Available from April 10th, UCB is providing a two-year and three-year flexible fixed-rate mortgage deal at 5.29 per cent. It is also offering a two-year non-flexible tracker mortgage at 5.19 per cent and a two-year flexible tracker at 5.49 per cent for advances up to £199,999. Anything in excess of this will be available at 5.39 per cent.
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Spanish Mortgage Rates Rise |
1st April, 2006 |
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The Euribor, which governs most Spanish mortgage rates, has increased recently 3.105%. This is the highest its been since Oct 2002, and the sixth consecutive monthly increase, according to provisional figures published today.
The Euribor rose 0.191 points from the 2.914% registered at the end of February, and 0.77 points higher than at the end of March 2005. If confirmed, this will mean an inevitable rise in the cost of mortgages, the annual rates of which will be revised over the next few days.
We predict that the Euribor could rise to 3.5% by the summer, while some believe that it will hit 4% by the end of the year.
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Mortgage Growth |
28th March, 2006 |
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The number of new mortgages approved rose sharply last month as the housing market continued to show signs of recovery from its 2005 slump.
According to the British Bankers Association (BBA), which accounts for an estimated two-thirds of total UK mortgage activity, 166,526 mortgages were approved last month, with a total value of £15.8 billion.
This represented a 19 % increase on January and a five % year-on-year rise, with the average value of mortgages approved rising to £132,300.
However, seasonally adjusted net mortgage lending rose by £4.4 billion in February, lower than the £4.6 billion figure recorded in January and down on the six-month average of £4.8 billion.
The figures show an increase in remortgaging activity last month, with the value of remortgage approvals 16 % higher than in February 2005.
Overall, gross lending by banks last month totalled £14 billion, the highest February total ever recorded and an 18 per cent increase on the same month in 2005.
This was boosted by strong overdraft and loan lending, suggesting that consumer confidence may be improving slightly after a cautious 2005.
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Nationwide Cut Rates |
28th March, 2006 |
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It has been announced today that the interest rate will be reduced on the Nationwide Two-Year Fixed-Rate mortgages.
The rate will be reduced by 0.05% from its current level of 4.44% to 4.39% for all customers borrowing up to 90% loan to value (LTV).
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Self Certification Mortgage |
26th March, 2006 |
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The Bank of Scotland has launced a new 1 year fixed rate mortgage for self-certification customers. Which will be particularly useful for the self employed.
It is available at up to 85% loan to value (LTV) and has a rate of 4.75% until June 30th 2007. Charles Haresnape, managing director of Bank of Scotland mortgages, said: "Customers within the self-certification market want flexibility and choice. By reviewing our range of products and rates we are enabling brokers to truly meet the varied needs of this market."
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Budget Boost for First Time Buyers |
24th March, 2006 |
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First time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder received a budget boost this week, with the expansion of the Open Market Homebuy Scheme.
Chancellor Gordon Brown announced on Wednesday plans to spend £970 million over the next two years in promoting shared equity ownership.
Under existing schemes, new buyers can seek a mortgage for 75 per cent of a property's value, while the government makes up the remaining 25 per cent.
The government charges no interest on this loan, but instead is entitled to a quarter of the proceeds from any future sale of the property – including profits. |
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Stamp Duty Threshold Raised |
24th March, 2006 |
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has welcomed the chancellor's decision to raise the threshold for stamp duty liability in his budget this week.
Gordon Brown announced that the value at which properties will not be liable for stamp duty at all on sale would rise from £120,000 to £125,000.
The move came after considerable clamour from the housing and lending industries for comprehensive reform of the stamp duty regime, particularly after it was revealed by Halifax that the average detached house costs more than the three per cent stamp duty threshold of £250,000 in most parts of England.
In our opinion the stamp duty level should be raised to £200,000 plus to help first time buyers, and the £5,000 raise by Gordon Brown really makes no difference to the average FTB purchase.
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Record Mortgage Month |
23rd March, 2006 |
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MORTGAGE lending for February hit a new record. In what is usually the quietest period for the housing market.
Gross mortgage lending totalled £21.8 billion in February, 22% up on the £17.9bn in the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
It pointed to a sustained renewal of confidence among house-hunters and supported a widespread view that the housing market has achieved a soft landing - helped by the Bank of England's August base rate cut to 4.5%.
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Woolwich offer new capped rate deal |
17th March, 2006 |
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Woolwich today launced a 3-Year Capped Rate mortgage. The rate will not rise above 4.89% throughout the 3 year period.
The rate will be linked to the company's standard variable rate for the three-year period, reflecting that level if it moves below 4.89 per cent.
An early redemption charge will apply during the three-year capped period, this will equate to three per cent of the overall balance. The arrangement fee is £495.
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Natwest 10 year fixed rate mortgage |
14th March, 2006 |
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Natwest has introduced a competitive 10-Year fixed rate deal and a First Time Buyer stepped tracker. This is the latest move in NatWest’s commitment to delivering mortgages ‘another way’.
For those looking for long term peace of mind, the new NatWest 10-Year Fixed deal at 4.99% offers set mortgage payments for a longer period.
It is available with up to 95% loan to value and an annual 10% overpayment option which means that every year, NatWest mortgage customers can overpay by a maximum of 10% of their outstanding mortgage balance without incurring an Early Repayment Charge. This overpayment can take the form of lump sums or regular over-payments.
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Tony Blair £4 Million Mortgage |
12th March, 2006 |
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Tony and Cherie Blair's housing debt is enough to make the eyes water. The Prime Minister and his wife owe almost £4million, part of it in a 95 per cent mortgage on a single property.
How could they have possibly arranged mortgages for such high amounts? Both are reasonably high earners by middle class standards but they are not among the super-rich. Our brokers at mortgage-map pride themselves on being able to get people the mortgage they want but this would even be beyond us. |
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New RBS Mortgage |
10th March, 2006 |
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A Royal Bank of Scotland Three-Year Fixed-Rate mortgage has been launced today.
The 3-year package has a rate set at 4.84% til May 31st 2008 and a maximum loan to value (LTV) of 75%. The annual percentage rate (APR) on the deal is 6.4%
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New Capped Rate Deal |
7th March, 2006 |
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Coventry Building Society have launcehed a new Capped-Rate mortgage. The maximum rate will be 4.99% until May 31st 2009.
For the duration of the term after this date, the product's interest rate will track at 0.75% above the Bank of England base rate. The deal includes free legal fees and a free valuation. The Capped-Rate mortgage has a £199 booking fee and a £350 arrangement fee which will be added to the loan on completion.
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Re-mortgage on the increase |
3rd March, 2006 |
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Many homeowners are paying off their high interest debts from credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts by re-mortgaging, according to the Bank of England.
Some 100,000 families remortgaged their homes in January 06, and the amount borrowed in this way has increased by over £10bn each month since last summer.The amount Britons owe to banks and building societies increased by £10.5bn in January - the biggest monthly jump in 18 months.
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New Mortgages on the Increase |
1st March, 2006 |
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Mortgage lending has unexpectedly risen by its largest amount in nearly two years figures for January showed on Wednesday, further evidence of a strengthening housing market.
The data is likely to underpin expectations that the Bank of England will hold rates at 4.5 % for some time.
The Bank of England said mortgage lending rose by 9.16 billion pounds in January, well ahead of the 8.4 billion pound rise forecast by analysts and even stronger than December's 8.85 billion pound increase.
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Tessa Jowell One Month Mortgage |
28th February, 2006 |
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Anyone taking out a mortgage and paying it off within a month is likely to be investigated under laws designed to combat money-laundering.
It has emerged that Tessa Jowell and her husband, David Mills, raised a mortgage against their north London home in September 2000, and repaid it in October.
It is understood that the mortgage was advanced by SG Hambros, a private banking subsidiary of the French giant Société Générale Group.
Banks and building societies have a legal obligation to inform the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) where transactions by customers might suggest any attempt to evade tax or legitimise the proceeds of crime.
Adrian Coles, the director-general of the Building Societies' Association, said: "Taking out a mortgage and repaying it within a month would be one of the grounds for recognising suspicion, set out in the legislation. For example, one of the illustrations of the type of situation that might give rise to reasonable grounds for suspicion is described as: 'where a customer has entered into a business relationship for a single transaction or for only a very short period of time.' Another is: 'where, without reasonable explanation, the size or pattern of transactions is out of line with any pattern that has previously emerged.'
"But, of course, it may be that the institution's doubts were allayed by other factors of which we are unaware."
Sue Anderson, of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, agreed. She said: "Arranging a mortgage and repaying it within a month would cause eyebrows to be raised because of the potential for this to be a suspicious or fraudulent transaction".
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Government Scheme A Waste of Time |
25th February, 2006 |
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First-time buyers will still have to pay for a full property valuation, despite government hopes of easing their burden by introducing Home Information Packs (HIPs), lenders have warned.
From June 2007, anyone selling their home has to compile a HIP, costing around £700, that includes local authority searches, work guarantees and a Home Condition Report.
The government department responsible for introducing HIPs, said they would speed up the home-buying process, provide greater transparency and cut costs for first time buyers by shifting the cost burden from buyer to seller. In reality this is a load of nonsense. HIPs will not capture all the information required to agree a mortgage.
In the vast majority of cases, mortgage lenders will still insist on a valuation report, for which there will be a separate charge.
Over 40% of all mortgages for house purchase have a loan-to-value ratio of 80% or more. For First time buyers it is virtually every single case. Therefore mortgage lenders are certain to require a separate inspection carried out for there purposes of checking the house is adequate security for the loan.
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Nationwide Launch New Rates |
14th February, 2006 |
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The Nationwide Building Society has announced today that a tracker mortgage and a new fixed-rate deal have been added to the mortgage lender's existing range. Both of these products have been introduced to specifically target the mortgage broker market.
The two-year tracker mortgage will start with an interest rate of 4.39% and a rate of 4.44% for the two-year fixed rate. Both of these new offers charge a reservation fee of £599, which can be added to the mortgage if required.
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10 Year Fixed Rate |
8th February, 2006 |
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The Woolwich have launched a new 10 year fixed-rate mortgage which has an interest rate of just 4.67%. A loan-to-value level of up to 95% is available on the rate which is great for first time buyers.
Flexibility is claimed to be the deals main feature, as it includes aspects such as allowing customers to make over payments without being charged. If you wish to talk to one of our mortgage brokers about a 10 year fixed rate, please complete our enquiry form at the top of the page, or ring 0800 019 6459.
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Endowment Shortfall Timebomb |
7th February, 2006 |
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Mortgage lenders are concerned that most of the compensation customers are receiving for mis-sold endowments is not being used to make up for the shortfalls on the mortgage. Over a million homeowners are estimated to have received endowment compensation cheques, typically for around £5,000. Instead of using the money to reduce the capital owed, a large number of people are spending the money on holidays, cars or paying off credit cards.
This means that as they approach the end of their mortgage terms, the initial shortfall will remain, leading many in the industry to call for compensation to be used on the mortgage in question automatically.
Watchdogs, including the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have echoed lenders' concerns that homeowners will end up with interest-only mortgages they cannot afford to repay.
Which? spokeswoman, Teresa Fritz, told the Telegraph: "Borrowers are burying their heads in the sand. We know many are spending this money, but the reckoning will come when their mortgages mature and they are unable to repay them."
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New Buy to Let Mortgage |
3rd February, 2006 |
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Mortgage Trust, one of the specialist buy-to-let lenders, has launched two new fixed-rate products through MT Select.The three-year fixed-rate mortgage comes with a rate of 4.75% and has a loan to value (LTV) of 85 per cent.
Second of the new products is the Mortgage Trust MT Select two-year fixed-rate product with a rate of 4.9 per cent.This product comes with an LTV of 85% and an arrangement fee of £699.
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Skipton Building Society |
1st February, 2006 |
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Skipton Building Society is expanding its mortgage range, it has today launched a new Base Rate Tracker Extra mortgage at 4.99% – equivalent to initial monthly payments of just £585 for a £100,000 repayment mortgage over a 25-year term. |
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N&P New Rates |
30th January, 2006 |
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Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (N&P) is reducing rates on its UK and Spanish fixed rate mortgages, with immediate effect.
A spokesman for N&P said: "Following recent reductions in money market rates, we will be reducing our fixed rate mortgages, with immediate effect. Our longer term fixed rates will see the most significant reductions. As the market currently stands, our new 4.68% 10-year fixed rate, without incentives, will be the lowest rate in its category - undercutting the current best buy at 4.69%. This is also true for the Four Year Fixed rate at 4.88%."
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New Direct Line Mortgage |
30th January, 2006 |
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Direct Line has unveiled a new mortgage product which combines a cheap mortgage with reduced price home insurance. The Living for Less deal offers a two-year tracker mortgage at 4.5 per cent, plus free legal and valuation fees for remortgage customers or a fixed rate mortgage at 4.74 per cent.
Consumers also receive a 20 per cent discount on home insurance for two years and free home emergency cover worth at least £71.55 per year.
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Nationwide Tracker Deal |
10th January, 2006 |
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Nationwide Building Society is launching a new mortgage product that will provide borrowers with a hassle-free tracker mortgage for life. The lifetime tracker will track the Bank of England Base Rate for the term of the mortgage (up to a maximum of 40 years).
In addition, Nationwide is introducing an innovative switch and fix facility enabling borrowers to leave any tracker product reserved after 10 January and move to a fixed rate deal without incurring any early repayment charges.
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Lifetime Mortgage Rate Reduction |
9th January, 2006 |
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Norwich Union is reducing the interest rate on its Fixed Rate Lifetime Mortgage from 9 January to its lowest fixed rate ever.
The fixed rate will be reduced to 5.98% (6.40% APR).
In addition, Norwich Union is making it easier for customers to increase their borrowing in the future. From 1st February 2006, customers with a Norwich Union Lifetime Mortgage will be able to apply for additional borrowing after three years. Previously customers were able to borrow extra money only after five years.
Daren Carter, director of sales and marketing at Norwich Union Personal Finance, said: "Norwich Union is the leading provider of lifetime mortgages in the market. Our fixed interest rate is now the lowest it has ever been, which is great news for customers. Also, in response to feedback from customers and intermediaries I am pleased to announce that we are making our lifetime mortgages more flexible from February."
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Equity Release Slows |
3rd January, 2006 |
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The Bank of England said mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) was down to 8.3 billion pounds in the third quarter from an upwardly revised 10 billion in the second quarter.
Sharply rising house prices in the last few years encouraged many Britons to refinance mortgages to extract cash which economists say helped support spending. But house price inflation has slowed sharply since the middle of 2004 to low single-digits and mortgage equity withdrawal has also weakened.
"The markedly reduced mortgage equity withdrawal since its fourth-quarter 2003 peak has undoubtedly weighed down significantly on consumer spending since mid-2004," said Howard Archer, economist at Global Insight.
"This reinforces our belief that consumer spending will remain relatively muted over the coming months."
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Agreed Mortgages Rise |
29th December, 2005 |
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Mortgage approvals for home purchases soared by 51 per cent on the year in November, according to data published this morning by the British Bankers’ Association. Tough at least one leading economics analyst said that this would not mean that house prices will start to increase rapidly in 2006.
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Buy to Let Increases |
13th December, 2005 |
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The number of buy-to-let mortgages increased by 16 per cent in November, new figures show. The increase in the buy-to-let mortgage market followed a series of steady rises over the last six months as property investors geared themselves up to invest tax-free in residential property as part of self-invested pension plans (Sipps).
November also saw a large increase in the number of borrowers who are opting for an interest-only mortgage – from 26 per cent to 39 per cent.
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Credit Difficulties? |
9th December, 2005 |
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Mortgage Lender Platform have launched new non-conforming two-year fixed rate mortgages, aimed at customers who have had credit difficulties.
Available across the range, from Almost Prime to heavy Adverse, none of the mortgages have an early redemption penalty and the arrangement fee of 1.5% is added to the loan.
Paul Hunt, head of marketing at Platform, said: "Having over eight years experience in the non-conforming market, we understand that borrowers in this sector are primarily concerned with being able to comfortably afford the mortgage repayments and repair their credit as soon as possible."
He went on to say that the new Platform non-conforming two-year fixed rate mortgages "meet both of these needs".
If you have or have had credit problems in the past Mortgagemap can help. Speak to one of our friendly advisers now. CLICK HERE.
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New 3 Year Fixed Rate |
8th December, 2005 |
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The Skipton Building Society has expanded its range of mortgage products by adding a new three-year fixed rate product to its current portfolio.
The new Skipton three-year Fixed Rate Mortgage product has a rate of just 3.99%.
Jennifer Holloway, head of media relations at Skipton, said: "Feedback from our branches and brokers alike is that fixed rate mortgages are still the loan of choice for many borrowers."
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New Self Cert Buy to Let |
6th December, 2005 |
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A buy to let mortgage product which uses self-certified income rather than rental income to assess the borrower’s ability to repay, has been launched on the market.
This innovative mortgage product enables borrowers to enter into the buy to let market without the need to prove their rental income, unlike standard buy to let products. In simple terms, the borrower is only required to certify that their income will be sufficient to cover both the residential and buy to let mortgage payments.
This will no doubt prove very popular with mortgage intermediaries, who will doubtless have many clients unable to prove rental income.
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Fraudster Goes to Jail |
2nd December, 2005 |
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A multi-millionaire property dealer who launched an empire using fraudulent mortgage applications was jailed today for two years. Father-of-three David Dale, 49, of Bryncoch, Port Talbot, South Wales, saw his empire crumble today when a judge confiscated £4.2million and ordered him to pay £100,000 towards prosecution costs.
Once regarded as one of the richest men in Wales, still with a property empire of 450 homes and an estimated fortune of £15 million, Dale was led away in what appeared to be shock after the sentence.
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Tax Threshold Too Low |
2nd December, 2005 |
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Chancellor Gordon Brown should raise the threshold on inheritance tax as the huge increase in house prices over the last 5 years means an increasing number of people will be caught in the IHT tax trap, some of Britain's biggest mortgage lenders said on Friday.
Brown raised the threshold for inheritance tax (IHT) in March 2005 to 275,000 pounds from 260,000 pounds. It will rise further to 300,000 pounds by 2009. However, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, the Halifax, said house prices had risen so fast that one in three detached property sales in Britain was now above the threshold.
"According to our figures, the inheritance tax threshold would be raised to 406,000 pounds if it were increased in line with the increase in house prices over the past ten years. We call on the government to link the threshold to house price," said Halifax chief economist, Martin Ellis.
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Increase in Mortgage Activity |
30th November, 2005 |
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Mortgage applications rose to their highest level in almost 18 months, the Bank of England said on Tuesday, in a further sign that housing market is picking up.
Official figures showed the number of loans agreed for house purchase, widely viewed as a good indicator of house prices six months out, rose to 113,000 in October from an upwardly revised 108,000 the month before.
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Football Fan Mortgage |
29th November, 2005 |
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Yorkshire Building Society is offering football fans of Huddersfield Town a special incentive when they take out a new Terriers Mortgage. Town supporters will be able to claim a free season ticket and a signed football shirt when they choose the new mortgage from Yorkshire Building Society.
The Terriers Mortgage offers a rate of 5.09 per cent, gives 0.6 per cent cash-back of the total loan and there is no arrangement fee. “Our affinity partnership with Huddersfield Town gives us a great opportunity to look at special deals for the fans," said a spokesperson for the building society.
Mortgagemap Broker Peter Watson says “people looking for a mortgage or remortgage should be cautious of incentives and think of what are the really important features they want from a mortgage”
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Remortgage Prior to Xmas |
2nd November, 2005 |
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Gary Hockey-Morley, Abbey mortgage director, has spoken about the possibility of borrowers obtaining good-value mortgages this side of Christmas. Speaking at a time when many borrowers are hoping for another rate cut, Mr Hockey-Morley said the majority of the cheapest fixed rates for this year will have gone. However, he went on to say that customers could still borrow, knowing they will have a fixed repayment each month.
And finally, speaking on those coming to the end of a current deal, Mr Hockey-Morley suggests looking around for a remortgage as soon as possible. "Abbey calculates that each month a borrower stays on an industry average SVR rather than remortgaging to a better rate can cost up to £148," he concluded.
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Mortgage Fees Too High |
24th September, 2005 |
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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is holding talks with mortgage lenders who it feels are charging excessive mortgage administration fees.
The FSA wants more explanation on why mortgage entry and exit fees have increased significantly. Firms have to justify their claims that the rise in fees reflects lenders' increased costs and extra work. Customers have been growing increasingly annoyed with the lenders who have hiked their fees.
Alliance and Leicester has raised its mortgage exit fee by £100 to £295 in the past year. Northern Rock now charges £250, Cheltenham and Gloucester (C&G) charges £225, and Nationwide has introduced a fee for the first time and charges £90. |
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Apathy Rules, ££'s Wasted |
16th September, 2005 |
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Homeowners coming to the end of a mortgage deal are collectively wasting £20 million a month by failing to switch to a better rate, it has been claimed. A recent survey found that the majority of homeowners have no idea what rate they are paying.
Around 50 per cent of homeowners have a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, but 35 per cent of these say they will not bother remortgaging when their current deal expires, according to High Street bank Abbey. Abbey claim this means an estimated 280,000 people stay on their lender's standard variable rate, which their rate automatically reverts to at he end of the offer period, at a collective cost of £20 million each month.
Mortgage rates have risen from an average of 4.21 per cent in September 2003 to 5.5 per cent now. If a borrower had taken out a two-year fixed rate in 2003 they would have paid an average of 4 per cent, but when this deal runs out they will revert to an average standard variable rate of 6.5 per cent, increasing monthly mortgage repayments on a £100,000 loan by £148.
We at Mortgagemap suggest you look at our remortgage section to find out more.
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Mortgage Lenders Fail to Cut Rates |
12th August, 2005 |
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75% of UK Mortgage lenders have so far failed to pass on last weeks Bank of England interest rate cut to customers. Only 30 of the 120 lenders surveyed have cut their rates, with the rest still not having made a decision.
Among those dragging their feet are Bradford & Bingley, Barclays and the Woolwich. It’s typical of a lot of lenders who are double quick when it comes to increasing loans but drag their feet when it comes to reducing them.
Borrowers with BoE Tracker mortgages have the advantage over rates that just track the lenders Standard Variable. See Best Mortgage Rates for more info on the various types of Mortgage. |
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Two Jags, Dealt Double Blow. |
11th August, 2005 |
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John Prescott’s crusade to create 100,000 new homeowners was delivered a huge blow today when two of the UK’s Biggest Mortgage Lenders said they will not take part in the trial scheme. The Abbey and the Alliance & Leicester felt the scheme would not be cost effective. There is still a lot to do to get this scheme off the ground and it might end up being a complete disaster.
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House Price Slow Down |
7th August, 2005 |
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UK house price growth slowed down in July, pointing to further evidence of market deceleration. Prices rose 0.2% last month, up from 0.1% in June, the Halifax said. But during the three months to July, annual price inflation slowed to 2.3% - its worst performance since April 1996, the UK's largest mortgage lender said. July's slight increase left average house prices at a seasonally adjusted £162,994, from £162,605 in June. |
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Rate Cut At Last |
4th August, 2005 |
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Finally the Bank of England announced an interest rate cut, the first for two years. The BoE has reduced the base rate by 0.25% to 4.50%. The move was warmly welcomed by property developers and residential homeowners alike. |
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Location, Location, Location |
21st July, 2005 |
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You can meet Phil Spencer (Location, Location, Location) at Bluewater shopping centre as the First Active road show reaches Kent this weekend. He'll be running seminars throughout the day on Saturday 23 July at the First Active stand where shoppers will be able to hear first hand his views on home improvements, what to look for when choosing a location and what the latest property trends are to look out for.
This event is the second in the First Active road show tour which aims to raise the brand's profile and get more people interested in considering its mortgages. As well as Phil at Bluewater, there will be a promotional team who will be enticing people to the stand where they will be greeted by members of the sales team who will be able to talk to them about the First Active range of mortgage products. Visitors to the stand will be able to enter a national competition to win a £20,000 home makeover that includes a one-to-one consultation with Phil Spencer. |
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London Olympics House Boom |
6th July, 2005 |
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What effect will the Olympics have on London House prices? Rental property is expected to be in great demand with in excess of 500,000 visitors to the capital. The East End will get a great deal of new housing as a result with around 30% being affordable housing available through Shared Ownership schemes. |
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No Crash in Prices |
12th June, 2005 |
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The expected crash in the housing market for 2005 is looking less likely, experts believe. Towards the end of 2004, the gloomiest forecasts were predicting a fall in prices of up to 7% this year. Almost half way through the year, however, there have been few signs of prices falling dramatically, with data showing instead a market largely stagnant. Stable interest rates, steady economic growth and underlying confidence in future prospects are expected to limit any price falls, experts say. |
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Good News For First Time Buyers |
31st May, 2005 |
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According to the latest report by Estate Agents Rightmove, “The number of properties coming on the market is almost twice that coming off". The report says that 110,000 new sellers had added to the growing over-supply as stock levels per estate Agent rose by 6% this month to stand 33% higher than a year ago. This makes the market much more difficult to sell in and gives First Time Buyers even more bargaining power.
First Time Buyers should not be afraid to negotiate hard to get a good deal, and even be prepared to walk away. There are plenty more fish in the sea in the current market.
If you are thinking of buying a property read our "Making an Offer" page, it may be of some help.
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Abbey Fined by Regulator |
25th May, 2005 |
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Abbey (formerly Abbey National) has been fined £800,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The fine is for mishandling complaints from customers over endowment miss-selling.
The FSA also said Abbey gave the regulator inaccurate information while failing to treat its customers fairly. The FSA said Abbey mishandled about 5,000 complaints between October 2001 and September 2003. Abbey which was recently taken over by Spanish bank Santander, would have been in line for a far higher fine if Santander had not acted quickly to address the problem it inherited.
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Gordon Brown's Madcap Scheme |
23rd May, 2005 |
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First-time home buyers (FTB’s) desperately trying to get on the property ladder might get some help to have cheap mortgages funded by taxpayers' money. Buyers would only have to raise as little as half of the cost of a property, Chancellor Gordon Brown told the Observer.
The rest of the equity in the house would be shared by the government and the bank or building society.
This sounds like a completely bonkers idea to us at MortgageMap. It’s all to do with supply and demand, that’s why prices are rising. If FTB’s don’t purchase at all, prices will come down. If the government launches this scheme it will just make prices rocket even more.
In some city streets 95% of all the houses are owned by one person. The buy to let boom has added fuel to the house price flames over recent years. Until something is done to correct that, prices will always remain inflated.
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Key Workers Struggle to Buy |
23rd May, 2005 |
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Key workers are finding it increasingly difficult to get onto the property ladder. A study by the Halifax says that nurses, teachers, firefighters and police officers all have to borrow more than double the standard rate of three times their salary if they wish to buy a property.
Nurses now find themselves priced out of the market in 93% of towns in the UK, while firefighters would be unable to get on to the property ladder in 90%, according to Britain's biggest mortgage lender. The number of locations where teachers cannot afford to buy a home has nearly doubled from 34% to 77% since 2001, while houses in 71% of towns are now beyond the reach of police officers.
Something needs to be done by the government and the mortgage industry to help these key workers. Un-affordability was previously a London phenomenon but has now become a national issue.
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Mortgage Industry Treats Customers Fairly |
16th May, 2005 |
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The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has received unequivocal support for a new qualification that teaches financial services industry professionals how to ‘Treat Customers Fairly’.
The now defunct, non-statutory mortgage industry regulator, the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB), has awarded the ifs £200,000 to contribute towards ‘qualifications development’ - three quarters of which is to help pay for the new ifs’ Certificate of Regulated Customer Care (CeRCC).
Contrary to often bad publicity, mortgage brokers are clearly committed to helping improve levels of professionalism throughout the financial services industry. The new statutory regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has placed ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ high on its list of priorities. Therefore this new qualification will be a way of measuring that.The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is the UK’s leading School of Finance and is the provider of the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP®), which UK mortgage brokers/advisers must have in order to arrange mortgages for people.
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Sales Down 35% |
11th May, 2005 |
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The number of houses sold in both England and Wales dropped an alarming 35% compared with last year, according to figures from the Land Registry Office.
A new survey released by the government reveals 159,116 properties changed hands during the first three months of 2005, down on the 243,914 homes sold during the same period last year.
House sale completions in the capital decreased by 36%, which could suggest a cooling period in the market, however the average property price in London increased by 9.83% from £262,685 in 2004 to £288,507 for the period ending in March. For the rest of England and Wales, prices also continue to climb, up 10.27% on average in 2005 to £183,486, as opposed to a 14.06% increase to £163,404 recorded last year.
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Rates Remain The Same |
10th May, 2005 |
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Mortgages rates will remain on hold in May after the Bank of England decided to maintain the base rate at its current level.
The announcement, put back by four days to avoid a clash with the general election, was in line with economists' expectations following weak retail sales and manufacturing data.
Interest rates have now been at their current level for nine concecutive months; and recent data on manufacturing, house prices and retail sales led analysts to believe a further rise was unnecessary at this stage.
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House Market Gets a Boost |
1st May, 2005 |
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Good news for the Housing Market is the fact that the number of Mortgages approved reached a seven-month high in March, according to new figures from the Bank of England.(BoE)
The number of loans approved for home purchases was at its highest level since August last year, though the overall number of mortgages approved was still considerably lower than it was at the start of last year.
But the figures are being taken as suggesting that the housing market is now at least stable and possibly set to rise again.
"The further modest rise in mortgage approvals to a seven-month high in March adds to the recent overall evidence suggesting that housing market activity has at least stabilised after slowing markedly in the second half of 2004," commented Howard Archer, UK economist with Global Insight.
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Slight Rise in Prices |
30th April, 2005 |
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The Nationwide Building Society said the price of an average home rose 0.9% to £156,128 in April, reversing March's 0.6% fall. The news will help boost confidence among some home owners and doom-mongers that the market is not heading for a damaging crash.
Nationwide said that despite the latest price gains, the market is much more subdued than during last year's boom. Ironing out the ups and downs, price rises have averaged 0.3% a month over the past three months compared with 2% a year earlier. The annual rate of increase now stands at 7%, the weakest for four years.
Some buyers may be waiting to see the result of the general election before taking the plunge.
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Rise in Mortgage Lending |
21st April, 2005 |
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The UK mortgage market has "stabilised" in March after several months of falling mortgage completions, UK banks & building societies have said.
The Building Societies Association (BSA) saw mortgage lending rise slightly, while the British Bankers Association (BBA) said lending was a little weaker. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said mortgage lending rose overall from £17.8bn in February to £20.1bn in March.
The fact remains though that total lending is less than March last year.
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Another House Price Fall |
19th April, 2005 |
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House prices fell for the eighth consecutive month in March, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' monthly index, published today, 19th April. Property prices fell further and at a slightly faster pace in March than previous months, pointing to the fact that it’s becoming a buyers' market. 37% more chartered surveyors reported a fall than a rise in prices during the month, down from 34% in February, the seasonally adjusted figures showed. |
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MG Rover, Doom & Gloom |
16th April, 2005 |
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Thousands of workers in the West Midlands are facing a desperate scramble to find new jobs in the wake of the collapse of MG Rover and the news of 5,000 redundancies at its Longbridge plant. The knock effect on the supply firms is difficult to assess at this time, but is sure to be considerable. Among workers gathered at the main gate of the giant car plant yesterday the mood was somber, the talk of redundancy, retraining and how to pay the mortgage.
People who have a mortgage are advised to contact their lender ASAP rather than bury their head in the sand. Anyone with a flexible type mortgage may well be able to take a payment holiday for a period of time, but even they will need to be back in work by July or the arrears will be mounting.
Alongside worries about redundancy packages and mortgage repayments, the workers are angry at the Phoenix consortium which bought MG Rover for £10 from BMW in 2000 and whose subsequent stewardship is coming under increasing scrutiny.
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Remortgage Needed To Avoid Rate Rises |
11th April, 2005 |
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More than 450,000 homeowners have fixed or discount mortgages that end this year. They could face payment increases of up to £200 a month.
More than a third of all mortgages taken out in 2003 were 2 year fixed rate deals, which are now due to end. Average fixed rates in 03 were 4.23%, the standard variable rate now is approximately 6.64%. This means a huge rise of over 2%, and even if they re-mortgage to a new fixed rate, the average fixed rate now is around the 5.5% mark.
Visit our Remortgage section if you are concerned that your rate is about to increase.
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U.K. Mortgage Lending Down 10% by 2007 |
10th April, 2005 |
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New York research firm Datamonitor said mortgage lending in Britain will decline 10% by 2007. The fall will occur due to flattening out of house price growth. The report forecasts total mortgage lending in Britain will fall from £292 billion to £264 billion.
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No Base Rate Change This Month |
7th April, 2005 |
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The Bank of England left its base interest rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent today amid signs of slowing economic growth.
In a widely expected decision, the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee held its base rate steady for the eighth consecutive month, after recent data showed subdued consumer spending and further stagnation in the housing market. This is good news for all mortgage customers who are on any sort of variable or tracker rate as their rates will not increase this month. |
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House Prices Up In March |
6th April, 2005 |
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House prices went up by 0.5% in March, according to the Halifax, this see's a reverse of the 0.5% fall that occurred in Feb. However annual price inflation continued to slow, dropping to 9.7% in the twelve months to March - the first time it had slipped below 10% since November 2001. Halifax said the market was stabilising and prices were largely static at a national level. |
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Get Advice From Channel 4's Sarah Beeny |
31st March, 2005 |
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Visitors to the national Homebuilding and Renovating show at the NEC soon are able to take advantage of the unique programme of free seminars. All aspects of homebuilding and renovating will be covered at the show which runs from Thursday April 14th till Sunday 17th.
One of the highlights of the show will be when Sarah Beeny from Channel 4’s Property Ladder  joins a panel, hosted by Ian Davies, director general of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) to present a seminar on Thursday April 14th discussing the thorny issues of financing any building project.
The comprehensive programme of twelve seminars, compiled by Homebuilding and Renovating magazine, are held in two theatres throughout the four days of the show. Tickets for the seminars are FREE to anyone inside the show and issued on a first come, first served basis, so visitors are advised to arrive early to avoid disappointment. Tickets for the show are £7 in advance by calling the ticket hotline on 0800 906 2002. Tickets bought on the door will be £10. |
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Highest Level Of New Loans For 4 Months |
29th March, 2005 |
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The number of new mortgages approved rose to their highest level for four months in February, new figures reveal. According to the British Bankers' Association (BBA), 47,365 home loans were agreed during the month, up nearly 14,000 on January's figure. The BBA said the figures could indicate the recent slowdown in the UK housing market could be "bottoming out". However, February's figure represents a 35% fall from the 72,339 home loans recorded for the same month last year. Overall, gross mortgage lending rose from £11.6bn to £11.9bn between January and February the BBA said.
"Whilst mortgage lending is clearly running at levels below those a year earlier, February's figures indicate that the declining trend seen during 2004 may be bottoming out," David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said.
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Interest Rate Rise “By June” |
27th March, 2005 |
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City analysts still expect an interest rate rise by June, in spite of the fact that retail sales remain stagnant and hints from members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee that they are in no mood to change interest rates. A survey of analysts for The Sunday Times shows a median expectation that the base rate will be raised from 4.75% to 5% by June.
The expected date for a rise is May, when the Bank produces its next quarterly inflation report. If, as expected, the general election is on May 5, the Bank will delay the meeting scheduled for that day, announcing its interest-rate decision on May 9. |
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Lloyds TSB has today launched an Islamic mortgage |
21st March, 2005 |
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Under Sharia, or Islamic, law Muslims are forbidden to pay or receive interest, this excludes them from the majority of financial products on offer from banks. With more than two million Muslims living in the UK, three quarters of which are estimated to live in accordance with Islamic principals, the growth in Sharia compliant products is growing.
And now Lloyds is joining HSBC, West Bromich Building Society and Ahli United Bank in offering home finance deals that comply with Sharia law.
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Remortgages now account for 61% of market. |
18th March, 2005 |
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders said today that the number of mortgages for house purchases fell to 59,000 in February from 61,000 in January and compared with 88,000 a year ago. That was a new low since comparable records began in 1998.
Lending for house purchase was only 39 percent of total mortgage lending, the lowest proportion since May 2003 and the second lowest monthly figure on record, the CML said.
Mortgage lenders are being forced into trying to increase their share of the UK Remortgage market, which is getting ever more competitive.
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Stamp Duty Limits Raised In Budget |
16th March, 2005 |
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At last the Stamp Duty threshold has been raised. Chancellor Gordon Brown has finally got around to lifting the limit above the paltry £60,000 it's been for the last six years. The new limit now means that only properties above £120,000 will be liable. If you live in London though it's effect is minimal, as fewer than 1 in 20 properties sell for less than £120,000.
The Government may champion what it's doing to help first time buyers (FTB's) and the housing market, but if the £60,000 limit had been raised inline with house prices it would now be in excess of £150,000. The average price paid by a FTB's is now £131,024.
New Thresholds are as follows;
Up to £120,000 - nil
£120,001 to £250,000 - 1%
£250,001 to £500,000 - 3%
More than £500,000 - 4%
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Desperate Housewives? |
15th March, 2005 |
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It seems that keeping up with the Joneses is costing Britains around £5bn a year. The competitive lifestyle shown by the fictional characters of Wisteria Drive isn’t so far from the truth in the UK either. Women are shelling out £5bn a year to keep up with their neighbours a report claimed today. A report from Virgin money found that on average they spend £3,488 a year, with the biggest chunk, £1,633 going on the house and garden. |
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Painting a Bleak Picture. |
14th March, 2005 |
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If your house was built before 1980, Lead paint is probably on the walls, and this could be harmful to you and your family. It’s known to impair mental development and IQ in children and has been linked with hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease.
Lead in old types of paint is posing a higher health risk than previously thought. 75% of houses built before 1980 still contain it. The use of lead in paint was phased out from the 1960’s and banned all together from 1992, but it’s thought millions of houses could still have it.
Danger areas are friction surfaces such as doors and windows where there is regular grinding, knocks and scrapes. Painting over lead-based paint does contain it (most will be painted over several times by now), but when the paint starts to crack, chip or peel the problems potentially arise. Few companies offer lead testing and removal services in the UK, but you could try www.leadtest.co.uk. |
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Beware of Mortgage Spam Emails |
8th March, 2005 |
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Mortgage Spam emails are the way unscrupulous e-mail scammers have devised to get your personal banking information, credit card numbers, passwords, pin numbers, national insurance numbers, and all of your personal income and debt information. Once they have your vital information they have the opportunity to access your financial accounts and help themselves. They can charge your credit cards past the limits and empty out your current and savings accounts. All this can happen while you wait for the quick reply to your on-line mortgage application.
The e-mail mortgage scams are tempting, especially to those with weak or poor credit. They state that even if your credit record is not good, and even if other finance companies have turned you down, they are willing to remortgage your home and consolidate your debts and loan you between £30,000 and £500,000. They offer low payments and say you're already pre-approved, so just fill out the short application and they will help you out right away.
There are millions of e-mails for these mortgage promotional scams sent out each month. Statistically, it doesn't take a large percent of the people responding to make it a lucrative business. Always beware of email Spam.
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Mortgages Repaid Early |
7th March, 2005 |
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Wales has the highest proportion of people who own their homes outright in the UK, according to new figures out today. More than a third of people have paid off their mortgages, a survey by the Royal Bank of Scotland found. The poll also found that the average age of homeowners who have paid their mortgages off was 50 - slightly younger than across the rest of the UK. Homeowners in Wales seemed to be paying off their mortgages 15 years ahead of the official retirement age. An RBS spokesman said it meant "a mortgage-free future" could be a reality for many people in Wales.
Sue Roberts of Mortgages-By-Phone said, " New style current account mortgages with daily rate interest calculations, are helping people to repay their loans off much quicker".
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Identity Fraud Concern in the UK Mortgage Market |
5th March, 2005 |
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UK Mortgage Lenders are now having to be ever more vigilant against the fraudsters. A growing number of conmen have graduated form stealing a few thousand at a time via credit cards and small loans and are attempting to steal hundreds of thousands via fraudulent mortgage applications.
The government have recently admitted that a figure of £1.3 billion pa is the minimum quantifiable cost to the economy arising from identity fraud. "Identity theft is Britain's fastest-growing white-collar crime, increasing at nearly 500% a year.” BBC Money programme. According to APACS (Association for Payment Clearing Services) more than £1.6 million worth of card fraud occurs on UK plastic cards every day. "A fraudulent transaction takes place every eight seconds”. |
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Affordability Issues for First Time Buyers |
23rd February, 2005 |
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Mortgage payments for first-time buyers have nearly reached levels seen in the last housing boom, Shelter has said. According to Shelter's Roof magazine, first-time buyers in England are spending 20.4% of their pay on their mortgage, compared with 20.5% in 1990.
There are concerns that some first-time buyers may have taken on too much debt and could struggle if rates rise. Shelter said a typical first home in England is now 60% less affordable than a decade ago. |
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Boom Mentality Fuels House Market |
21st February, 2005 |
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House prices have risen sharply in the last four weeks, figures show. The average asking price rose 2.3%, from £189,509 to £193,830, claimed Rightmove. But it said the increase was unlikely to be sustained because it was being fuelled by “unrealistic” sellers and estate agents unable to shake off the spring boom mentality of recent years.
February saw a record surge of 132,000 newly marketed homes, which are competing against a large existing supply. It means there is 30% more property available than last February. The time properties spend on the market fell slightly, from 87 to 85 days, but still remains far longer than last summers 53 days. |
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2 Million Working from Home |
11th February, 2005 |
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More than 2million people have turned their back on their desk jobs to work from home, research out today shows.
Another 8million spend at least some of their week in the house instead of the office, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The trend has been fuelled by the Internet, which now reaches about half of all homes in Britain.
And with higher speed broadband services expected to reach a third of homes by the end of the year, it is likely to continue growing.
Saving money is also a big incentive, with the average office worker forking out an estimated £4,000 a year on commuting, lunch, drink and work clothing. People who commute into London pay almost double that figure.
Half of all men asked would work from home if their boss agreed, compared to a third of women.
People now give extra consideration to finding a property that would accommodate office space.
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