According to the BBA the market was still being affected by the rush of buyers that tried to get property purchases completed before the end of last year due to the stamp duty holiday coming to an end.

An official from the BBA said: “House purchase approvals were some 16% higher than in February last year but still well below the figure in December as the aftermath of the year-end change to stamp duty was still working through. The average value of house purchase approvals (£140,800) was 11.5% higher than a year ago. Volumes of remortgaging and equity withdrawal approvals continued to be lower than a year earlier.”

The levels of mortgage lending had been increasing but over the past couple of months this trend has been hindered because of the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of last year. Officials believe that the restrictions on mortgages have also had an effect on mortgage lending levels, and this could be made worse by plans by the Financial Services Authority to ensure that mortgage lenders carry out more stringent checks before approving any mortgage loans to make sure that borrowers can afford to repay their loans.

The FSA action to make lenders carry out more stringent checks has divided the industry according to recent reports, with some lenders agreeing with the proposals of the FSA and others stating that they could make it very difficult for groups such as the self employed to get mortgages.

BBA says mortgage lending still subdued is a post from: Glitec

The downside of having no internet access has been highlighted in a number of reports, and those without this facility may suffer in terms of money saving resources, education, careers, and being able to get vital advice.

In the current climate, with the UK having only just come out of recession and the effects of both the recession and the global financial crisis still impacting on many households, financial advice is something that many people are desperate for, but those that have no Internet access at home may not know how to go about getting this help.

Recent reports have shown that millions of people are now worried about their finances, and are desperate to get advice and assistance to help them sort out their money problems.

However, so much of the advice and assistance relating to money matters now seems to be predominantly online that those without computer or internet access may feel as though they have nowhere to turn. There are many reasons why people do not have access to the Internet, ranging from living in an area where access is poor or restricted to being unable to afford these services, but no matter what the reason those without the Internet should not have to suffer when it comes to getting vital advice about finances.

There are still many financial helplines that are available for those with money worries to ring, and with more and more of these helplines having been set up over the past couple of years the number of people contacting them has been increasing steadily.

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau is a good place to start for those that need financial advice, and those that volunteer at this charity will be able to offer contacts and advice that may otherwise be difficult to find without access to the Internet.

Most people that want advice on finances and debts do not want to go to a financial advisor because they may be mid-informed or charged for the advice, and this is where charity helplines can help. There are a number of these helplines now in operation, and consumers can simply phone up and get advice on the phone or in some cases make an appointment to go and see someone for face to face advice.

One official from the consumer campaign group Which? said that the group had set up its own helpline last year. She said: ‘The average age of callers is between 60 and 65 and it has been worrying to see the numbers who are reporting debt concerns and also the high incidence of mis-selling of investment bonds by the banks. Jargon-free money help is desperately needed, particularly for those with no access to the internet. Our members tell us they are not comfortable going to a financial adviser because they may be sold more products that they don’t understand.’

Getting advice on finances without Internet access is a post from: Glitec

This equated to a total of 58,000 completed property sales for the month. Whilst the figure was higher than that seen in January, which experienced a real slump, it was much lower than the figure for December according to the figures.

The number of completed property sales in December came in at 103,000, and it is thought that the higher figure was the result of buyers rushing to complete property sales because of the fact that the stamp duty holiday was due to come to an end at the end of December. However, this February’s figure was higher than the figure for February of last year, where only 43,000 properties were sold.

Officials have said that the mad rush to complete property sales in December of last year due to the end of the stamp duty holiday meant that the figures for January and February of this year were lower than normal. The lower figures were also attributed to cold weather conditions. February also saw property prices fall after months of steady increases.

In the meantime the British Banker’s Association has stated that the property market is likely to remain subdued for the foreseeable future. However, this prediction may be affected by the recent budget, where the chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced that stamp duty exemption would be increased to properties up to the value of £250,000, which is double the standard value of £125,000. This exemption is set to remain in place for at least two years.

Increase in property sales in February is a post from: Glitec

One firm that offers credit cards for those with damaged credit ratings is Provident Financial, which offers the Vanquis credit card. The company claims that it has been receiving a massive 2700 applications a day for its credit card, which charges some consumers an astonishing rate of interest based on their credit rating and risk. With so many people getting turned down for credit, and others having their credit limits slashed or their accounts closed, firms like Provident are enjoying a roaring trade.

Provident now has over four hundred thousand borrowers on its books, although officials from the company said that it had also had to turn down well over three quarter of a million applications from desperate applicants. The figures from Provident have raised concerns that more and more people could be forced into finding finance from companies such as door step lenders where the rates of interest charges are extortionate.

An official from the debt charity, Credit Action, said: ‘These people are not being served by the high street banks and it just goes to show the appetite that there still is out there for credit. The rates on these cards are very high if you cannot manage your debts. The fear is that while some of these people will hopefully have been put off, many will have to turn to doorstep lenders or pay day loans companies which can charge exceptionally high amounts.’

Many borrowers turning to high interest sub-prime credit cards is a post from: Glitec

The measure was put into place in the hope of boosting the property market and making things more affordable for first time buyers, who were struggling to raise the money for a deposit to get onto the property ladder. Previously the stamp duty exemption had only applied to properties up to the value of £125,000, so the threshold was increased by £50,000 on a temporary basis.

The temporary suspension of stamp duty has now come to an end, and once again anyone purchasing a home over the value of £125,000 will now have to pay stamp duty.

However, it has been claimed that when the stamp duty holiday was still in place first time buyers may actually have ended up paying more money than they saved making the stamp duty suspension something of a false economy.

Figures have been released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showing that in December of last year, just before the stamp duty holiday came to an end, the number of first time buyers reached a two year high.

This was because many were trying to push through their purchases as quickly as possible so that they could benefit from the savings that would come from the stamp duty suspension before the holiday came to an end.

However, the CML figures also show that whilst buyers saved a maximum of £1750 as a result of the stamp duty suspension the average mortgage loan advance was around £5300 more than in November because of the increase in the value of the properties being bought. This meant that buyers paid out a lot more due to price increases than they saved in stamp duty.

Stamp duty holiday may have cost first time buyers more than it saved them is a post from: Glitec

There could be some good news in the pipeline for homeowners that are thinking of selling their properties in the future, however, following a report from the Office of Fair Trading. Officials from the OFT have said that they want to try and make it easier for homeowners to sell their own properties. If their plans to make this process easier are successful then homeowners could make big savings on the cost of selling their property, which will prove invaluable in the current financial climate.

Should the OFT plans be successful homeowners that want to sell their properties will be able to enjoy a greater number of options when it comes to selling their property. Whilst some people may still prefer to go through an estate agency so that they have less involvement in the sale of the property others may be able to benefit from revised regulations to get more involved in the sale of their property, which gives them more control as well as potentially saving them money.

The decision to shake up the property selling market was made after the OFT carried out a study into the buying and selling of properties. Officials from the OFT believe that sellers could get a far better deal if changes are made to the property sales market, and in addition to this small firms that want to benefit from getting involved in the online sale of homes could also benefit because the changes would provide them with new opportunities.

The OFT has also stated that current regulations are outdated and need to be changed, but added that sometimes home sellers do themselves no favours because they fail to shop around for the best deal when it comes to finding an estate agent that charges reasonable commission.

The decision to make changes has been welcomed by many people, and one buying agent stated: ‘The OFT is keen to encourage new businesses to challenge the traditional estate agent model and this is positive news for buyers and sellers alike. It’s saying “bring change on, let it happen” and this is fantastic news for the property market moving forward. The fact that it is recommending legislation be updated shows it is serious about the way the industry needs to be changed. The findings of the report are by no means anti-estate agent, in fact they are quite the opposite. The OFT has merely concluded that additional cost and service benefits can be provided to buyers and sellers through innovative new business models and it wants to create an environment where these can thrive.’

DIY homes sales could be easier with new regulations is a post from: Glitec

There has been a lot of talk about green shoots in the property market, and confidence in the property sector seems to be growing all the time.

However, with the greed apparently returning to the property sector there are now concerns that the market could be heading for another price crash, which could be devastating for the market.

Last April there were annual falls of 14 percent being reported in the property sector, but according to Halifax in the last seven months the average property price has increased by over £15,000.

However, some industry officials are concerned that all of the talk about the housing market recovery is leading to sellers asking for too much for their properties. A number of experts have said that despite the increase in house prices the average value of homes could fall by around 10 percent by the end of this year.

One property market expert said that the housing market in the UK was both artificial and unrealistic, adding that had the government not intervened with various measures there would have been more job losses and repossessions, and property prices would have been lower.

Estate agents have also confirmed that many sellers that are putting their homes up for sale are putting over-inflated price tags on their homes.

Even the frustrating tactic of gazumping has returned to the market over recent months, and one buyer who was gazumped was told weeks after his offer had been accepted that a higher one had been accepted.

He said: ‘I was absolutely furious. I told them I wasn’t going to play their game, they could take my offer or I’d walk. ‘So it was with great satisfaction when the agent rang me three weeks later to say they were willing to accept my original offer, as the other one had fallen through. ‘There are so many buyers and so few homes for sale that sellers have again got the upper hand.’

Possibility of fresh house price crash according to experts is a post from: Glitec

However, despite its apparent financial success the High Street bank has announced that it is hitting two million customers with increases on overdraft charges. This means that around one fifth of the bank’s customers will be affected by the interest rate hikes, which are set to be put in place from the end of April of this year.

The affected customers will be shocked to learn that the rates that they are being charged on their overdraft could go up by as much as 5 percent. The move to increase the rate on overdrafts for these customers has been criticised by campaign groups, particularly in lights of the fact that the banking giant has reported a 92 percent jump in pre-tax profits.

The fact the base interest rate is also still at an all time low of just 0.5 percent makes the move by Barclays questionable too.

The biggest overdraft rate increase will be seen on the Graduate Additional Account from Barclays, where the rate of interest is set to increase from 9.9 percent to 14.9 percent for authorised overdraft borrowing. The Additions Active account and the First Additions Account will both see the rate of interest increase to 18.3 percent, reflecting an increase of 3.4 percent.

A spokesperson from the consumer campaign group, Which? stated: ‘The base rate hasn’t gone up and Barclays have just announced bumper profits, so many of their current account holders will be angry at this sudden increase in overdraft rates. Barclays customer who’s unhappy with this rate hike should vote with their feet by shopping around and switching to a current account that best suits their needs.’

Overdraft fees hiked up by Barclays is a post from: Glitec

For many people the cost of selling a home can run into thousands of pounds, and in the current climate this is something that most people can ill afford, particularly in cases where they have already seen the value of their property drop following the financial crisis.

The OFT has carried out a study into the buying and selling of homes, and officials from the watchdog believe that the market needs a shake up. The OFT believes that changes could be made in the way that homes are sold that could result in the homeowners getting a much better deal.

The move would also make it easier for smaller firms that want to set up online to help homeowners to sell their properties.

According to the OFT the current legislation is out of date, and has made it difficult for firms that have wanted to start operating online to help people to sell their own homes.

It believes that changing the regulations to make it easier for these firms would ultimately help both property owners that are looking to sell their homes and buyers who are looking for a good deal.

The proposed changes have been welcomed by some industry workers, with one buying agent stating: “The OFT is keen to encourage new businesses to challenge the traditional estate agent model and this is positive news for buyers and sellers alike. It’s saying “bring change on, let it happen” and this is fantastic news for the property market moving forward. The fact that it is recommending legislation be updated shows it is serious about the way the industry needs to be changed.”

OFT to make DIY home sales easier is a post from: Glitec

The London based mortgage broker was accused of negligence in failing to prevent fraud and incompetence. The FSA said that Kevin Byrne, who was working at Forest Financial, did not have the competence of integrity to stop mortgage fraudsters from targeting the business.

According to the FSA mortgage referrals were accepted by Byrne from third parties. However, he simply accepted these referrals without bothering to verify or check the information on them.

This resulted in him submitting seven applications that contained false and misleading information and in the case of one application that was submitted the person on the application did not even exist.

The FSA has been cracking down on mortgage fraud over the past couple of years, and in particular since its mortgage review last year it has been clamping down on this type of activity. Already a number of mortgage related firms and brokers have been fined or banned by the FSA for mortgage related fraud.

In the case of Forest Financial, Mr Byrne was not only found to have been incompetent and lacking in diligence with regards to the applications that he submitted, but also found to have certified a number of supporting documents that were sent in with the applications without carrying out any of the necessary checks.

An official from the FSA stated: “This made him an easy target for the introducer to obtain mortgage advances from lenders on a fraudulent basis, which could have been prevented if Forest Financial had put in place basic financial crime checks.”

Mortgage broker banned by FSA is a post from: Glitec