Archive for April, 2008
Monday, April 28th, 2008
In a six month exercise Lord Hunt of Wirral has carried out an extensive review into the UK’s Financial Ombudsman Service, and based on this review he has come up with a list of over seventy recommendations that he states are designed to make the service more accessible and more affordable for consumers. Lord Hunt is now hoping that some of these recommendations will not be taken on board, stating that they could really help to make the service more accessible to all. (more…)
Tags:
financial ombudsman
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Friday, April 25th, 2008
With many different living costs and bills rising in price over recent weeks, and with mortgage repayments still high, it is hardly surprising that so many households are struggling financially, with many unable to keep up with repayments on their bills and debts. Bills such as water, gas, electricity, and council tax have all gone up over recent weeks, and the cost of essentials such as food and petrol have also gone up. Whilst interest rates have been cut by the Bank of England some lenders have continued to hike up their rates as a result of the credit crunch, and many people are still coping with high repayments on their mortgage. (more…)
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
The mortgage industry is in complete turmoil at the moment as the result of the global credit crunch that swept across the UK last summer. Since this time the number of mortgage approvals has plummeted, the number of mortgage products on the market has plunged by two thirds, and many consumers have been left out in the cold when it comes to getting a mortgage or remortgaging. With lenders making it more and more difficult for consumers, many as a result of increased difficulties in getting finance on the wholesale money markets to fund their lending, the situation is set to get worse. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
Over recent months there has been a great deal of speculation with regards to house price movement in the UK, and a wide range of data has pointed to the fact that house prices are falling, which could create real problems for those that have recently taken out huge mortgages on expensive properties, although it does spell good news for first time buyers. The financial headlines are still filled with reports and speculation about house prices, leaving many concerned over just how fast and how hard house prices across England and Wales could fall over the coming year. (more…)
Tags:
house prices
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
According to a recent report the well known broker, John Charcol, could be facing immense future difficulties, which could see it losing the ability to continue operating. The broker’s own auditor has warned the firm that it faces ‘material uncertainty’ over its future. This comes at a time when many lenders and brokers in the mortgage industry are suffering real problems as the result of the global credit crunch, which has been wreaking havoc across the UK since last summer. (more…)
Posted in Loan News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
According to a recent report house prices in the UK are set to face the first annual fall since the middle of the 1990s, as experts continue to make predictions over forthcoming movement on house prices. Officials have said that house prices will fall in 2008 on an annual basis for the first time since the mid 90s. This comes as the result of a combination of the global credit crunch, fears of a recession, and even concerns over unemployment levels according to a recent report. (more…)
Tags:
house market,
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Saturday, April 19th, 2008
The Bank of England announced earlier this week that the base rate was being cut by 0.25%, taking the base rate from 5.25% down to 5%. The announcement came after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Thursday, but did not come as a surprise to many industry experts who had been expecting the bank to cut rates as a result of the slowing economy and the credit squeeze. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
interest rates,
bank of england
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Many people plan to make a large purchase each year, despite the fact that they may not have the funds available upfront to pay for this purchase. In the past this wasn’t too much of a problem, as most of us could enjoy pretty easy access to finance from a range of lenders, and getting finance such as a credit card, loan, or increased overdraft was not a problem for most. However, over recent months this situation has changed, and gaining access to affordable finance has now become extremely difficult. With lenders struggling to get the finance that they need to fund their lending operations consumers have really had to suffer when it comes to availability of and access to credit. (more…)
Tags:
equity,
mortgages,
home
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
Officials from the British Bankers Association have revealed that mortgage approval levels in the UK are still low, with February’s approval figures reflecting a drop of around one third compared to February of last year, although the figure was slightly higher than January of this year. Experts state that the low level of mortgage approvals for home movers came from a range of factors. In February £43,870 was lent to home movers. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has indicated that an April interest rate cut has become more likely as a result of the tighter credit conditions that are in place in the UK – news that will be welcomed by struggling homeowners that need to cut back on their outgoings. The governor was asked by the Treasury Select Committee whether an April cut was more likely due to current credit conditions, and he replied that it was. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
interest only mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 14th, 2008
There seems to be some confusion over just how the credit crunch is affecting building societies in the UK, with conflicting opinions from various officials within the building societies industry. When the global credit crunch took a hold it became quite apparent very quickly that the larger banks and financial institutions in the UK were going tom experience massive problems. Indeed, larger banks and lenders did start to experience many problems, with increasing difficulties when it came to securing finances on the wholesale markets in order to fund their lending operations. (more…)
Tags:
building society,
credit crunch
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Monday, April 14th, 2008
There has been a huge drop in the range of mortgage deals that are available in the UK according to a recent report, which suggests that the number of different mortgage deals has dropped by two thirds since the onset of the global credit crunch. Over recent months more and more lenders have been taking various deals off the shelves, such as 100% mortgages and various other special mortgage types. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
A recent report indicated that many consumers with poor credit were becoming increasingly reliant upon mortgage brokers in order to find them a suitable mortgage deal, with many assuming that they will not be able to find a mortgage on their own due to their credit. Whilst it is more difficult to find a suitable mortgage if you have bad credit, particularly in the current financial climate, authorities are concerned that some may be a little too reliant on mortgage brokers. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
bad credit mortgages,
mortgage brokers
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Saturday, April 12th, 2008
All mortgages in the UK come under two main categories, which are repayment mortgages, also known as capital and interest mortgages, and interest only mortgages. With repayment mortgage the monthly repayment made by the borrower is applied to both the loan and the interest on the loan, which means that at the end of the mortgage term the mortgage should be paid off in full. (more…)
Tags:
interest only mortgages,
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 11th, 2008
Most homeowners have become increasingly aware of just what a valuable asset their home is over the past few years. Over recent years property prices in the UK have rocketed, and those that have owned their homes for some time have found that the value of the home has shot up compared to when they bought the property, leaving them sitting on a tidy sum of equity that is tied into the home. Equity levels have increased significantly for many homeowners across the UK over recent years, and because of this many have realised that their home could be the ideal asset against which to borrow money for a range of purposes. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
homes,
equity
Posted in Featured Articles | 2 Comments »
Friday, April 11th, 2008
Homeowners, many of whom are already struggling to try and keep up with mortgage repayments despite the recent interest rate cuts, are facing a real struggle when it comes to coping with their finances according to a recent report, with many expecting to face difficulties in coping financially due to strained household finances. The report suggests that millions of homeowners could find it increasingly difficult to cope financially due to a number of factors. (more…)
Tags:
interest rates,
homeowners
Posted in Loan News | 1 Comment »
Friday, April 11th, 2008
With many homeowners struggling financially due to rising living costs and high mortgage repayments, along with predictions that house prices could plummet over the coming year or two, many people may be thinking of selling up whilst prices are still high in order to avoid falling into negative equity. However, recent reports have shown how many homeowners are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their homes, as tight credit conditions and increased wariness over purchasing property continue to wreak havoc in the housing market. (more…)
Tags:
sale and rent back,
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | No Comments »
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Since the global credit crunch took a hold in the UK in the late summer of last year, there has been growing concerns over the state of the economy. Consumers were already facing financial difficulties as the result of five interest rate rises between August 2006 and July 2007, and consumer confidence levels had already fallen as a result of financial woes, which were affecting the economy. However, the global credit crunch brought with it a whole host of new problems, making it increasingly difficult for consumers to sort out their finances as a result of tighter credit conditions that lenders put in place. (more…)
Tags:
recession,
economy,
queen
Posted in New Articles | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 10th, 2008
Fixed rate mortgages for short periods have become popular in the UK over recent years. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, is pushing for consumers to consider very long term fixed rate deals, such as those for 20 and 25 years in order to increase security and peace of mind. However, lenders have stated that most consumers in the UK do not want to tie themselves into a fixed rate for such a long period, and prefer the more traditional two and three year fixed rate terms. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
fixed rate mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
For many months now the UK has seen the mortgage sector experiencing increased difficulties, with lack of funding resulting in the inability to meet demand and increased cautiousness over who to lend to and how much business to take on.
(more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in New Articles | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
A number of mortgage brokers have been stressing the importance of quick action to consumers, stating that in order to get a competitive mortgage they need to act quickly. These brokers claim that competitive mortgages are coming off the shelves so quickly that failure to take fast action could mean that consumers are left with much higher rate mortgages and far less choice. Consumers are therefore warned not to dither and delay if they are looking to take on a new mortgage.
A number of dangers have been highlighted for those that do not make a quick decision with regards to getting their new mortgage. The first is that many lenders are taking their best deals off the market very quickly, so accessibility to these mortgages is restricted. Another danger is that lenders are also quickly changing their lending criteria and this is making it increasingly difficult for some borrowers to get the finance that they need.
Industry professional state that lenders are having to be much more careful about who they lend money to, and are not willing to take risks on higher risk consumers. They are also having to take care with regards to how much they are willing to lend, as their own restricted funds are making it difficult for many to meet demand. The credit crunch and low liquidity levels in the money markets have had a profound impact on lenders’ ability and willingness to offer finance.
Those due to come off cheap fixed rate mortgages in the coming months need to start acting quickly so that they are not left with only expensive mortgage deals to choose from, as this could result in their mortgage repayments rising to crippling levels in some cases.
Recent news:
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
According to police authority officials the level of mortgage fraud in the UK has rocketed to £700 million a year, and is an industry that is continuing to grow and attract the attention of organised criminals. This information has come from the Association of Chief Police Officers, which is calling for a specialist team to be put together to deal with the issue of mortgage related fraud. However, the £700 million figure is disputed by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. (more…)
Tags:
mortgage fraud,
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
Until last year Northern Rock enjoyed a reputation as the nation’s fifth largest mortgage lender, and had enjoyed great success and an impressive reputation. However, in the summer of last year everything fell apart for the mortgage lender when it became a high profile victim of the global credit crunch. It became public knowledge that the bank had asked the Bank of England for an emergency loan, and once this had happened share prices plummeted, billion of pounds were withdrawn by savers in a few days, and the bank’s reputation went down the drain. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages,
northern rock
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 8th, 2008
A recent survey has revealed that the Citizen’s Advice Bureau has seen a rise in the number of enquiries relating to mortgage arrears and debt related issues over the first part of this year. Money issues have always been one of the most commonly dealt with problems by the CAB, but with credit conditions tighter than ever and households facing huge financial woes, there has been a marked increase in the number of money related matters, including worries about mortgage arrears, that the CAB has been dealing with. (more…)
Tags:
debt,
mortgages
Posted in Debt News | No Comments »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Many homeowners in the UK may already be harbouring concerns over falling property values, with industry professionals predicting that property prices could fall by up to 20% over the next couple of years. This could really affect those that have recently taken on huge mortgage for expensive properties, as it could mean that their home loses value very quickly, leaving them in negative equity, where they owe more on their property than the property is actually worse. (more…)
Tags:
DIY,
house prices
Posted in Mortgage News | 2 Comments »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Many homeowners will have heard the Chancellor of the Exchequer addressing the issue of 20 and 25 year fixed rate mortgages lately. Alistair Darling is convinced that 25 year fixed rate deals or longer term fixed rate mortgages are the way forward in the UK, stating that their popularity abroad shows just how effective they can be, and adding that they will bring stability to the housing and mortgage markets, as well as providing peace of mind and security for homeowners. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Taking on a mortgage is a very important commitment, and for most people a mortgage is one of the larges financial commitments that they will ever make. When you are taking out such a large loan it is vital that you make sure that you choose the right product, but this is not necessarily an easy task given the wide range of different mortgage products that are on the market, such as tracker mortgages, 100% mortgages, fixed rate mortgages, discount mortgages, and more. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Featured Articles | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, recently announced that the central bank is injecting a total of £11 billion into the banking sector in order to try and increase liquidity, with this total being made up of £6 billion that was previously pledged and an additional £5 billion that the Bank of England has decided to inject into the banking sector. The move comes after calls from banking and mortgage industry professionals to loosen up the money markets and increase liquidity through increased cash. (more…)
Tags:
mortgages
Posted in Mortgage News | 1 Comment »