In a recent report released earlier this month officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders claimed that the number of value of homes loans had fallen to the lowest level of record, with the number of home loans dished out in the month of August standing at just 42,000, which reflects a drop of 59% [...]

Over the last couple of years we have heard more and more about sale and rent back schemes, which many of us may never have heard of before. However, since interest rates started to soar in 2006, many homeowners found that they were not able to keep up with rising mortgage repayments, and this resulted [...]

A mortgage broker from the UK has been fined a massive £30,000 by authorities after being accused of giving advice that put consumers at risk during the ongoing global credit crunch and financial crisis. William John Evans, along with a fellow director from Abbey Mortgages, were fined by the Financial Services Authority earlier this month. [...]

A recent report has indicated that following the collapse and part nationalisation of the lender Bradford & Bingley, which dealt primarily with buy to let mortgages, many landlords could find themselves faced with the prospect of either selling their properties or being repossessed. Many landlords that are coming to the end of special deals such [...]

According to a recent report a huge number of mortgage products from lenders were axed following the high profile collapse of Bradford & Bingley, which was recently part nationalised. Shortly after the collapse over 10% of mortgage that were on offer to borrowers, buy to let investors, and those looking to remortgage were pulled from [...]

According to a recent report house prices have fallen again in September, with officials from the Halifax claiming that prices have dropped by around 1.3% for the month. The Halifax has stated that the September fall means that the annual price drop now registers at 12.4%, and the average house price has now fallen to [...]

Earlier this week the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, announced that the UK base rate was being cut by 0.5% from 5% to 4.5% in a surprise move one day ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting. Other central banks around the globe, including the US Federal Reserve [...]

Earlier this week the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, called a press conference where they announced that the UK’s base interest rate had been cut by 0.5% in an unprecedented move that saw central banks around the glob cutting their interest rates. The move came just one day [...]

A recent report has indicated that the traditional 95% mortgage, with just a 5% deposit from the borrower, is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Until the onset of the credit crunch borrowers could easily get 95% mortgages, 100% mortgages, and even 125% mortgages, but over the past year all of this has changed. The 125% [...]

A recent report has suggested that it could take seven years or longer for a recovery in house prices to be seen in the UK. Researchers have said that it could take until around 2016 for house prices to reach the same level as they did last year when they peaked before starting to plummet. [...]

Officials from the Office of Fair Trading have stated that more help is needed for homebuyers in the UK from house builders. Following an investigation by the OFT, house builders are to set up a new code of conduct to address issues relating to dissatisfied customers. The investigation showed that many home buyers had experienced [...]

Over the years an understanding has developed between sellers and buyers when it comes to the property market. Buyers are well aware that sellers will pull out all the stops to try and get the asking price on a property, and that many would put their property up at a slightly higher price so that [...]

According to officials from the Council of Mortgage Lenders mortgage lending levels fell in August, with the value of mortgage lending having fallen by 12 percent compared to July and by 36 percent compared to August of the previous year. The total amount of new mortgage lending for the month came to just £21.8 billion. [...]

Although the subject of loan insurance, otherwise known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI, has been at the centre of heated controversy for some time, this product still continues to attract complaints from customers and concerns from a variety of industry professionals. In fact, the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and the Financial [...]

Potential property purchasers that want to take their chances on properties that go up for sale at auction could benefit according to a recent report, which suggests that auctions are cutting the prices of their properties. Auctioneers are being forced to cut the prices on properties going under the hammer due to the housing slump, [...]

With interest rates still high and consumer affordability stretched many people looking to remortgage or take out a new home loan are looking out for competitive headline rates to try and get the best deal possible at a financially difficult time. However, industry experts have stated that consumers need to be careful that they do [...]

Industry experts have pointed out that some homeowners who want to sell their properties and want to try and recoup some of the money lost through falling property prices could actually benefit financially by selling their home online rather than through the traditional and expensive route of using an estate agent. This could be especially [...]

Early this year the government announced that it was taking over the stricken bank Northern Rock, and passed legislation to allow the rapid nationalisation of the bank. The government has now used this same legislation to rush through the nationalisation of another struggling lender, the Bradford & Bingley. The government has announced that it is [...]

Although the subject of loan insurance, otherwise known as Payment Protection Insurance or PPI, has been at the centre of heated controversy for some time, this product still continues to attract complaints from customers and concerns from a variety of industry professionals. In fact, the UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, and the Financial [...]

Barratt Homes, a giant in the housing development sector, has recently launched a new incentive to try and boost the property market by offering to pay the stamp duty for buyers purchasing properties between £175,000 and £500,000. Properties under the value of £125,000 are exempt from stamp duty, and properties between £125,000 and £175,000 are [...]

The government in the UK has made a number of new proposals recently to try and kick start the slow housing market, and amongst the actions taken by the government are a suspension in stamp duty for properties up to £175,000, and also the provision of loans for first time buyers looking to purchase new [...]

A man has decided to sue an estate agent over the £2.9 million sale of his property. The man, Barry McKay, claims that he was tricked into selling the property to the one person that he did not want to purchase it. He claims that he told the estate agent that he did not want [...]

There is no doubt that when legislation relating to Home Information Packs was brought in the year before last there was a great deal of controversy and dissatisfaction amongst both homeowners and various industry groups, such as estate agents. Officials from the Labour government have been insisting that these packs are a good idea, and [...]

According to recent reports the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has been under increasing pressure over the past few days to follow the example of the United States is devising some sort of bailout plan for the housing market. The US government recently announced a $700 billion proposal that would be aimed at bailing out Wall [...]

Over recent months industry officials, housing developers, and the government have been desperately looking at ways to breathe life back onto the housing market, after house sales plummeted to record lows and estate agents reported average property sales equating to less than one home per week. With a number of factors affecting the housing market [...]

According to recent reports properties in rural areas are now feeling the effects of the housing slump and the global credit crunch, with the value of homes in rural areas having fallen by 7.9 percent in the space of a year. This includes cottages and country mansions, and with fewer people now able to afford [...]

According to some officials plans being looked into by ministers and the government to try and rescue the mortgage market could end up costing taxpayers around £40 billion. Reports have suggested that the government may will looking to underwrite billions of pounds worth of mortgages in a scheme that would see the type of government [...]

The interest rates on some mortgage products are now almost the same as they were in the summer of last year before the onset of the global credit crunch, according to a recent report. Officials from Moneyfacts have recently researched mortgage interest rates, and have found that in many cases they average rates are only [...]

There is little doubt that the mortgage market in the UK is still reeling from the havoc caused by the global credit crunch, which made its way across the Atlantic last summer, leaving a trail of destruction in its path. The mortgage industry has been suffering for a year now, with lenders unable to raise [...]

There has been a great deal of speculation over when and by how much the Bank of England will cut the base interest rate over the next year, with inflationary pressures coupled with the threat of recession making decisions challenging for the Monetary Policy Committee. A number of industry officials have now said that the [...]