Archive for May, 2009


FSA takes action against broker

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

The UK’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, has recently taken action against a mortgage broker that was said to be involved in fraudulent activity. (more…)

Tags: FSA, Herald Finance Ltd, mortgage broker, Abiola Agbalaya

Huge increase in mortgage rejections

Friday, May 29th, 2009

The number of mortgages that are being rejected has increased by around four times, according to a national newspaper report. It is said that despite the fact that these mortgage applications fit with the lenders’ criteria on paper, an increasing number of lenders are still finding reasons to turn them down. (more…)

Tags: mortgages, mortgage application, mortgage rejections

Buyer interest increases and house price falls slow

Wednesday, May 27th, 2009

Recently released figures for the month of April have shown that whilst interest from buyers in the housing market increase the pace of house price falls slowed down. (more…)

Tags: mortgages, house market, house prices

Is it a Good Idea to Lock in Your Mortgage at the Lower Rates Now Available?

Tuesday, May 26th, 2009

The interest rates for mortgages in the UK are at the lowest level they have been in 300 years. Many homeowners are wondering if they should lock in their mortgage at these lower rates in an attempt to save money on their mortgage payments. (more…)

Tags: base rate, fixed rate mortgages, mortgages, interest rates, variable rate mortgages, lock mortgage rates

More money to be ploughed into the economy

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

After the recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting earlier this month the Bank of England announced that the base interest rate was to be left on hold at 0.5 percent. (more…)

Tags: interest rates, base rate, economy

Watchdog to keep close eye on loan adverts and comparison sites

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

It has been revealed recently that an industry watchdog is going to be keeping a closer than usual eye on loan advertisements and financial comparison sites in order to try and provide consumers with increased protection during the recession. (more…)

Tags: secured loans, loans, Advertising Standards Authority, Picture Financial Services, debt consolidation, loan advertisements

Good News from Lenders for First Time Home Buyers

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

For the first time in many months, lenders are starting to compete for the business of first time home buyers. Just yesterday, Halifax announced a plan in which it would pay the stamp duty for first time home buyers. (more…)

Tags: halifax pay stamp duty, stamp duty, abbey, first time buyers

Slight fall in house prices for April

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

Figures that were recently released by the Nationwide Building Society have shown that despite the surprise increase in house prices in March, property prices in England and Wales are continuing to fall, with April seeing a slight dip in house prices. (more…)

Tags: house prices, mortgages, house market

Surveyors claim increased interest from buyers

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Surveyors from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors have stated that whilst property sales levels in the UK still remain low there has been rising interest from would be buyers. Officials from RICS said that rising interest from potential buyers was gaining ‘real momentum’. (more…)

Tags: surveyors, mortgages, house market

Overdrafts being cut by banks to cut credit

Monday, May 18th, 2009

It has been revealed that many banks are cracking down on overdraft facilities and limits in a bid to try and reign in credit. Some banks are now conducting regular reviews on overdraft limits, and are giving consumes just one month in which to repay the money after slashing their overdraft limit. (more…)

Tags: cut credit, bank overdrafts

Recession Forcing Britons to Do Their Own Renovations

Saturday, May 16th, 2009

The crash of the real estate market has dashed the hopes of many Britons who expected to sell their homes this year and move into large properties. The inventory of homes on the market is in excess with foreclosures and the homes that have been languishing on the market for many months. (more…)

Tags: DIY, recession, save money, renovations

PPI ban sees spike in loan rates

Friday, May 15th, 2009

According to recent reports the PPI ban that has recently been announced by authorities will result in further spikes to loan rates, which many industry officials have said are already spiralling despite the all time low base interest rates, which stands at just 0.5 percent. (more…)

Tags: personal loans, secured loans, payment protection insurance, loan rates, loans

Nationwide hikes standard mortgage rate

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

Britain’s largest building society, Nationwide, decided earlier this month to increase its interest rates on standard variable rate mortgages, which has sparked fears that other lenders will follow suit. (more…)

Tags: bank of england, natoionwide mortgages, mortgage

Cost of buying a home has rocketed in past five years

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

Recent reports have indicated that the cost of buying a home in the UK has soared by around £2000 in the past five years, and this has come as a result of rocketing fees, low valuations, and more. (more…)

Tags: valuation fees, house buying, mortgage fees, property market

House price decline slowest in a year in March

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

According to industry official the decline of house prices across England and Wales continued in March, but was at its slowest level in the space of a year. In addition to this there was also an increase in sales levels, which picked up from record lows. (more…)

Tags: Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, house prices, council of mortgage lenders

Markets are Finally Opening for First Time Home Buyers

Monday, May 11th, 2009

When the real estate market started to show signs of decline in 2007, the first step taken by lenders was to tighten the lending restrictions for first time home buyers making it more difficult for them to obtain a mortgage. (more…)

Tags: HomeBuy Direct, first time buyers, mortgage deals, first time buyer mortgages, 10% first time buyer mortgage

CML releases official negative equity figures

Monday, May 11th, 2009

A couple of weeks ago the Council of Mortgage Lender released worrying figures with regards to negative equity levels amongst homeowners in the UK, claiming that 900,000 homeowners had been plunged into negative equity as a result of falling house prices. (more…)

Tags: council of mortgage lenders, negative equity, mortgages

Quantitative easing will prove successful

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

A number of economists have predicted that the governments plan to try quantitative easing in order to boost the economy will prove successful. (more…)

Tags: credit crunch, quantative easing

Estate agents more upbeat about property market

Monday, May 4th, 2009

Nobody can argue about the fact that the past year has been a particularly turbulent one for estate agents and other industries connected to the property market, as the slump in property sales has made things very difficult. (more…)

Tags: Association of Estate Agents, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, property market, house prices

DROs could speed up insolvencies

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009

Some industry officials have expressed concern that the level of insolvencies in the UK could be increased and sped up as a result of a new scheme that has come into play recently. (more…)

Tags: debts, debt relief order, insolvencies

Are lenders being too optimistic about house price increases?

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

Since October of 2007 house prices in the UK have been falling month on month, and have so far plunged by around 20 percent compared to their peak. (more…)

Tags: mortgages, house prices, property market

Credit to become more readily available over coming months

Friday, May 1st, 2009

According to a recent report lenders have said that there is a good chance that credit will become more readily available for businesses and consumers over the coming months, although demand for credit is likely to remain subdued for some time to come. (more…)

Tags: loans, credit, Credit Conditions Survey

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