However, those that are planning to sell their homes may face a number of issues that could get in the way of them selling up and moving on, and it is important to consider the possible hurdles and ensure that you know what you need to do to overcome them.

Many people assume that the existing mortgage that they have is portable and that if they move home they can take the mortgage with them. For instance those that move mid-way through a fixed rate mortgage may think that they can take the mortgage to the new property until the deal comes to an end, but this is not always the case these days.

Lenders will often only allow you to take the mortgage in the event that you meet up to date criteria as opposed to the criteria that you met when you first took out the mortgage. It is therefore important that you look into the portability of your mortgage before you make any decision on moving to a new home, as otherwise you may face crippling costs and may struggle to move to your new home.

Another problem that you will need to consider is that over the past couple of year mortgage lending has become extremely restricted, and this means that if you need to borrow additional money you may find that it is impossible to do so. In the past lenders may have taken into account things such as overtime, bonuses, etc, and may have ignored the odd credit card debt or loan.

However, with lending criteria now so tough lenders will be extremely strict over lending extra money, and therefore this may prove to be your downfall. To ensure that you do not come across this problem make sure that you check with the lender prior to making any offers on a property to see whether you meet the criteria for borrowing the extra cash that you need.

Something else to bear in mind is the valuation of your new home. The value that you put on the home and the value that the bank puts on it can vary widely, and with banks demanding large deposit levels you may find that you are struggling to get the amount that you need to buy the property. It is best to be as down to earth as possible with the valuation of the property, and you can do this by looking at the value of similar properties in the area as well as by getting valuations done.

Bear in mind that at present the number of homes on the market is far outstripped by the number of people that are interested in buying a home, and this means that at least for the moment property prices could continue to gain strength.

However, if and when you do put your property on the market you need to remember that it is important to be realistic with regards to your asking price, as otherwise your property could be left festering on the market because buyers simply cannot afford to go for a property that is not priced realistically and within their reach.

Are you thinking of selling your home? is a post from: Glitec Loans

Although first time buyers had access to a range of perks such as 100 percent and even 125 percent mortgages the high cost of properties coupled with high rates of interest made it impossible to get onto the property ladder for some.

When the property bubble burst a couple of years ago and house prices started to come down, many first time buyers may have thought that at last they had a chance to get their hands on a property and become a homeowners.

However, this was not to be. Just as property prices started to fall and the base interest rate hit an all time low of 0.5 percent lenders started to be far more stringent about giving out mortgages and started demanding far higher deposits from borrowers. With the 100 percent and 125 percent mortgages no longer available and lenders demanding extortionate deposits of 25 percent and even 40 percent in some cases many first time buyers had to once again put their dreams of homeownership on the back burner again.

However, for those that feel that they will never be able to get onto the property ladder because of high deposit levels or lack of mortgage availability there is one option that could prove to provide a helping hands. Shared ownership mortgages are a great help for many first time buyers as it allows them to get onto the property ladder one step at a time, and means that the process of buying a home becomes more manageable and more affordable.

With a shared ownership property you only have to take out a mortgage for the percentage of the property that you are buying. Some shared ownership properties offer 50 percent of the share, some offer 75 percent, some offer 25 percent, and so on.

If you are successful in getting the mortgage for the share that you are buying you then pay rent towards the remaining share to the appropriate housing association. However, the great thins is that you can slowly buy more shares – known as staircasing – as your situation improves. On the other hand, if you prefer you can continue to just own the share that you have taken the mortgage on and carry on renting the other share indefinitely.

With a shared ownership property you will only need a small mortgage depending on how much your share costs, and you could still end up with a really nice home. What’s more you will only need a small deposit because you will only be borrowing a small amount by way of a mortgage, and this can prove a real help.

You will find that many shared ownership properties are new build properties, so you could find yourself in a smart new home with all the mod cons. If you want to keep costs down further you could opt for a resale, which is where someone that had already bought a share of a property wants to sell their share on to another buyer.

Could shared ownership be the answer to your property dreams? is a post from: Glitec Loans

With this in mind the Financial Services Authority has recently announced some changes to the mortgage lending sector, which could cut the risks involved so that this sort of financial meltdown does not occur again, but could also make things difficult for lenders and borrowers, such as those that cannot prove their income.

A number of industry groups and experts have offered their opinions on these changes, with a number of reactions to the changes, as reported in the Guardian, outlined below.

An official from the British Bankers’ Association stated: “When they offer mortgages, the UK’s high street banks pay particular attention to their affordability for each individual customer, considering a range of factors which is not limited to salary multiples or loan-to-value ratios. Therefore the banks welcome the FSA’s similar emphasis in this paper on the overall affordability of the mortgage for the customer, and their focus on mortgage-broking activity and higher-risk lending. It should be a firm principle of mortgage regulation that higher-risk borrowers, such as self-employed people and first-time buyers, are not effectively cut out of the market. The issue that faces all of us – lenders, borrowers and regulators – is ensuring the risk of taking out a mortgage can be shared effectively. Any new rules must not serve to create unreasonable obstacles either for lenders or for borrowers.”

The consumer campaign group Which? has welcomed the reforms, but is concerned over why the FSA left it so long before taking action. A spokesperson for the group said: “We’re pleased that the FSA is looking to take a more robust approach to regulating the mortgage market, although we would like to see tougher measures, such as a ban on mortgages over 100% and the naming of lenders that mistreat their customers. Mortgage providers are already responsible for assessing affordability, so why is the FSA only getting tough on it now? Many borrowers are suffering the consequences of irresponsible lending.”

The Citizen’s Advice Bureau also responded to the changes, stating: Stricter tests to ascertain consumers’ ability to afford a mortgage, banning the sale of mortgage products that put consumers at risk and, in particular, a ban on arrears charges when borrowers are already repaying, should ensure enhanced protection for borrowers which is long overdue. Citizens Advice would like assurance that the measures requiring mortgage advisers to be personally accountable to the FSA will work in practice. We would also like to see uniform consumer protection for all secured lending and for the FSA’s scope to cover this, as well as lending secured on a home.”

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ Michael Coogan stated: “We agree with the FSA that regulation in itself cannot resolve the problems of the recent market. However, we also agree that clearly delineated responsibilities, which remove regulatory ambivalence, will help lenders, intermediaries and consumers to know where they stand, and to accept the consequences of their actions. As always with regulatory change, the devil may be in the detail. But we welcome the consultative approach, and look forward to working with the FSA to ensure that the objective of regulatory fairness between lenders, intermediaries and consumers is achieved in practice.”

Experts give opinions on FSA mortgage lending regulation changes is a post from: Glitec Loans

Many industry officials, homeowners, and industry groups have been encouraged by the property price increases over the past few months, but there are also many industry experts that have said that this house price revival is only a temporary one that simply cannot be sustained.

According to the Nationwide measure property prices have increased by over 8 percent since February, but one property expert has described the price increase as ‘irrational’ and has stated that towards the end of the year property prices could start to fall again. James Thomas, head of the residential department at Jones Lang LaSalle is one of a number of industry experts who think that the current revival in property prices cannot be sustained.

He stated: ‘The unforeseen and seemingly irrational pick-up in prices has altered the outlook for UK house prices but it is likely that this recovery will prove temporary. The economic fundamentals that have supported the upturn, most notably the constrained supply of housing for sale, will be eroded as unemployment hits a peak and mortgage lending remains weak.’

He added: ‘While the recent improvement in the market is encouraging, it is impossible to ignore the short-term risks posed to the UK residential sector by rising unemployment and poor credit availability. We anticipate the current market revival to be unsustainable and predict a further contraction in prices during 2010 by -7%.’

It also seems that banks are treating the current revival with caution, as they are still being very careful with regards to mortgage lending. Despite the increases in property values over the past few months most lenders are still looking for high deposit levels from potential borrowers and are still charging high rates of interest despite the fact that the base rate is still at its all time low of just 0.5 percent. This has resulted in an under supply of mortgages, which could also put an end to the revival.

One industry expert said: ‘Whilst some commentators believe that prices have further to fall, the increase in prices over the last four months tentatively suggests that the market has bottomed out and that we are slowly climbing out of the trough. Whilst indications are that the market is ‘bottoming out’, the price gains achieved in completed transactions, as reflected in FTHPI, are very small and the potential for further reductions remains, not least because of the continuing under-supply of mortgages.’

He added: ‘Going forward, this could comprise a serious continuing downward pressure on the market. Given that interest rates will almost certainly rise in late 2010, it is clear that we are some distance from what might be seen as a stable and sustainable recovery. In that regard, the progress we report in the England and Wales housing markets has to be viewed with continuing caution.’

Can house price revival be sustained? is a post from: Glitec Loans

In the past few years, banks and credit card companies have come under fire for forcing loans on consumers and raising the credit limits without being asked to do so.

However, many of the consumers who have received letters by mail telling them that they qualified for a loan are surprised to find that when they do apply now, they have been refused and ask why this is so.

As banks are left with bad debts due to borrowers’ inability to pay, they have become more discerning about the consumers for whom they approve loans.

The best deals with the lowest rates of interest are reserved for the lenders’ best customers who have repaid their loans regularly in the past, have not missed any payments and who do have an income to support their debt to income ratio.

According to the largest credit card company in the UK, Barclaycard, bad debts assumed by the lender have risen to £696 million – 33% more than it was in the past.

Every customer that applies for a loan undergoes an application process. This involves using information gained from the borrower’s credit record and application to calculate a credit score. The number of this credit score will determine your eligibility to borrow money. It is also important to keep in mind that different lenders use different criteria to arrive at this score so that while you may not qualify for a loan from one lender, you may from another.

If you do not have an established credit record, you will find it difficult to gain approval for a loan. This is because the lender does not have any information on which to base your payment records in the past and is one of the main reasons why first-time borrowers are turned down for a loan.

According to Jill Stevens, the affairs director at Experian, one of the credit reference agencies, “If you have no track record, they cannot tell how you might behave in future and could mark you down because they have no evidence of your being someone who manages credit well.”

For those with no credit records, it is essential that they look at taking out a credit card or store card and using it for a small amount of money. When you start making regular payments, then you will establish a credit history and lenders will be able to calculate a credit score based on this information.

Applying for too many loans is very harmful to your credit record and will have a direct impact on your ability to take out a loan. When lenders take a look at your record and see that you have made several applications within a short period of time, they will assume that you are in financial difficulty and will turn down your loan application.

If you have had financial difficulties in the past and have missed or late payments on your record, you will also encounter difficulty in being able to borrow money. When this information comes to the attention of a potential lender, you are seen as a poor risk to repay.

In these uncertain economic times, lenders want to minimize their risk and will therefore turn down your application. It is important to keep your payments up to date and repay your debts if you hope to be able to borrow money in the future.

Why You May be Turned Down for a Loan is a post from: Glitec Loans

For many families these dire situations have led to severe difficulties in keeping up with debt repayments on unsecured finance such as credit cards and loans, and for some the only option available has been to consider becoming insolvent.

Recent research has shown that there has been a stark rise in personal insolvencies in the UK, and during the first quarter of this year personal insolvencies hit a record high.

Worse still, a report has recently been released predicting that the figures for the second quarter, which are due for release shortly, will see personal insolvency figures reaching fresh highs, as they are expected to exceed thirty thousand for the quarter for the first time ever.

Personal insolvencies include bankruptcy and IVAs, which are Individual Voluntary Agreements, and a rising number of people have been turning to these measures in order to cope with their unmanageable debt levels.

Figures have shown that the number of bankruptcies since the start of this year have hit nearly 42,000, and this means that one person is filing for bankruptcy every six seconds. The number of IVAs since the start of the year came in at almost 23,000, equating to five people entering into one of these arrangements every hour.

One official that carried out research into personal insolvency levels stated: “The figures for the first quarter of 2009 showed record highs of personal insolvencies, and it is likely this will again be the case when the latest statistics are announced.”

He added that personal insolvency levels were likely to increase, stating: “They are proving popular with those struggling with severe burdens and we are likely to see increasing numbers of people making use of these to address their financial issues.”

Whilst personal insolvency may be the only solution for some households in the current financial climate, industry experts have warned that they should be considered a last resort rather than a way to escape debt, and have urged consumers to consider the long term financial effects of becoming insolvent.

Some experts involved in the research offered some tips and advice for consumes that wanted to try and avoid insolvency at all costs, some of which are outlined below:

One of the tips given by experts is to ensure that you have a regular financial healthcheck, and this includes checking your credit report on a regular basis as well as getting profession advice whenever necessary, which is usually available for free. Budgeting is another important aspect of staying in the black, and consumers are urged to set themselves a realistic and sensible budget and ensure that they stick to it.

Sensible financial management was also highlighted, with experts suggesting that consumers make cutbacks on luxuries, and ensure that they prioritise on necessary outgoings before considering spending money on things that are deemed unnecessary.

Finally, experts advised that wherever possible consumers should try and stick to cash for their spending, as credit card use can quickly spiral out of control and can also come with high fees and charges attached.

Avoiding insolvency in the current difficult climate is a post from: Glitec Loans

But what if you didn’t have the pick of these retailers? If your credit history (or lack of), the fact you were on benefits or your age prevented you from applying for the best deals available?

You may turn to a specialist rent-to-own company, a company that rents all sorts of goods from games consoles to plasma tvs with pay weekly, monthly or upfront options. A company such as BrightHouse. With 179 stores so far, it’s the biggest such chain in the country.

The trouble is, it’s not exactly a cheap option, this chain offers an eye-watering 29.9% APR and that doesn’t include extras like the optional service cover which most customers take out. In the end, you may up paying two or three times the cash price for the item.

With buy now pay later becoming ever more popular during the credit crunch, BrightHouse took advantage and, during the spring, ran an eight-week intensive marketing campaign including TV commercials and a leaflet drop and employed- for the first time- TNT’s Home-in Targeting postcode modelling tool for precise targeting. It worked, with the chain thriving and planning on adding 20 stores during 2009.

BrightHouse head of marketing Alan Beesley said. ‘Brand awareness of BrightHouse has grown rapidly thanks largely to our TV activity, which comprises of advertising and sponsorship of the Trisha Goddard Show. As we continue to open in new locations across the UK our highly targeted spring marketing campaign will support our growth by promoting the brand as a customer-friendly weekly payment store.’

With such an increase in awareness however, has come an inevitable rise in unhappy customers. The company recently hit the headlines when it was investigated by BBC radio 1’s Newsbeat programme.

Complaints had been made to the BBC from customers claiming that BrightHouse used threatening, bullying and rude behaviour towards them if they fell behind on payments. Customers were apparently ‘hounded’ by calls from staff urging them to borrow money from friends and family, had employees turn up on their doorstep trying to talk their way into house to repossess goods the day after a missed payment and threatened with police action.

Technically, on any rent to buy or buy-now-pay-later scheme, the item doesn’t belong to the customer until the final payment is made, and goods may be repossessed if payments fall into arrears. However, there are very strict guidelines governing how companies can do that. Without a court order, NO ONE can gain entry to your home to repossess goods.

The many complaints seem to be backed up by ex-staff who have claimed that talking their way into houses to reclaim items was exactly what they were encouraged to do. One former employee spoke of taking playstations back just before Christmas, women crying and even removing goods from a dead woman’s home.

BrightHouse director Hamish Paton denies that’s how the company operates although he didn’t want to discuss individual customers. He claimed that 96% of customers are satisfied with their service and that repossession is a last resort- goods only being taken with the consent of the customer. He also said that if guidelines weren’t being followed, he apologised and that he was keen to put any less-than-perfect service right.

Chris Tapp director of charity Credit Action is keen to have the company investigated, as he’s seen an ‘enormous’ rise in the number of people getting into difficulties with this type of company. With a staggering 40% of BrightHouse customers receiving state benefits, it seems that number may keep rising.

Newsbeat have forwarded on details of its investigation to the OFT who said they are looking into the complaints.

Although weekly payments may seem small and affordable, just remember that the items are only ‘rented’ until the final payment is made, and it may end up costing a lot more in the long run.

Brighthouse In The Headlines is a post from: Glitec Loans

This is because of all the legal aspects involved in finalizing the purchase. For this reason, you do need to have a solicitor when you decide to purchase a home and this carries a price tag that you can either pay on your own or have added to the mortgage.

The rates charged by various solicitors vary, but almost always include:

Bank Transfer Fee

This is the fee charged for a CHAPS transfer to pay off the outstanding balance of a mortgage, to transfer the funds to a seller’s account or, if you are the seller, to transfer the profit from the sale to your bank account. Such a fee is usually in the range of £20.

Bankruptcy Search Fee

Anyone who takes out a mortgage to purchase a home is subject to a search to determine if you have declared bankruptcy in the past. This cost runs about £2 for each name that is searched. In the case of a couple buying a home, a search has to be conducted for both names.

Chancel Liability Search Fee

In the past, homes that have been purchased with a mortgage have been repossessed because the homeowner failed to live up to the responsibility of contributing towards the repairs needed by the parish or chancel. Such a search, which usually costs £17, must be carried out before the lender will finalize the loan documents.r

Disbursements

Some solicitors do not charge for disbursements, which involves the paying of amounts of money to others on your behalf.

Water and Drainage Search

For an average fee of £45, the lender requires that the solicitor conduct a search to make sure that property you are purchasing is connected to a public drain.

Environmental Search Fee

If you or the lender suspects that there may be environmental concerns associated with the property you are buying, this search will determine if there is any risk of flooding, industrial contamination, or subsidence that would leave you vulnerable. This search usually costs £40.

Freehold/Leasehold Land

Determining whether the land is freehold or leasehold is an important part of doing the background check on any property that is to be sold and therefore is the most costly part of the process. This usually carries a fee of £100 and is necessary in order to determine if the seller has full ownership of the land.

Land Registry Document Fee

All government offices charge a fee for issuing documents. A copy of your title to the land costs between £6 and £12.

Land Registration Fee

When you buy a piece of property, it has to be registered in your name or in the names of those who are taking out a mortgage. In order to have the work done to establish your full ownership, solicitors charge £220.

Land Registry Search Fee

A further fee of £ is charged to check out previous titles for the property that you are buying to make sure that the land has not already been registered in a different name. Once the land is registered in your name, another party has 30 days in which they must come forward with documentation that disputes your claim. If this does not occur in the 30-day period, then you won’t have any problems.

Local Authority Search Fee

It is essential that your solicitor check to make sure there are no liens against the property by local authorities for any unpaid fees owed by the seller. The fees for this service can vary a great deal from £40 to £300 depending on the amount of work such a search entails.

Legal Fees

In addition to the fees charged for the various searches and dispersal of funds, solicitors charge for their time. This usually depends on the amount of money you borrow. A typical £200,000 mortgage will cost between £300 and £500.

Mortgage Fees Purchase

This is an additional charge of £50 to £75 when the solicitor has to act as the lender in making sure that all the documents are signed.

Mortgage Fees Sale

In the case of these fees of between £50 and £75, they are for the work performed by the solicitor in receiving the funds for the sale of a home, paying off the balance of a mortgage and sending the rest of the money to the seller.

SDLT Completion Fee

For every sale, the Stamp Duty Land Tax return has to be completed and sent into HM revenue. The solicitor will complete this form for you for a fee of £25.

Search Fees

While most solicitors include these in the overall work of handling the purchase or sale of property, online conveyances may also charge extra fees of £80 to £140 for the various searches that must be carried out.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Also called the SDLT, this is a government tax that you must pay on the value of the home you purchase. If the selling price is less than £25,000, you won’t have to pay any tax. When the price is more than that amount, there is schedule in place to determine the amount of tax you owe, which is:

• 1% of the price up to £250,000
• 3% of the price if it is between £250,000 and £500,000
• 4% of the price over £500,000

VAT

This is the amount of tax you must pay on the legal fees you pay the solicitor for his/her work.

A Glossary of Home Buying Costs is a post from: Glitec Loans

This is a tax that is payable on the purchase of land in the UK. This is in addition to the offer to help home buyers pay the taxes charged by the councils in different areas on the transaction of the sale of a home.

Not to be outdone by Halifax, other lenders entered the competition with deals of their own in order to attract first time home buyers as customers. Abbey cut the loan rate for those who could even make a small amount of deposit on the mortgage. This lender, which has Spanish ownership, cut the mortgage rate to 6.89% from 7.09% for those who could place a deposit of 10% of the purchase price. In addition, they cut almost £2499 to £995.

Even this slight decrease in the interest rate will mean a savings of £46 per month on the mortgage payment on a home costing £150,000, which is the current price of the average home in the UK at the present time.

Co-op Bank, which is planning to merge with the Britannia Building Society, recently announced that first time home buyers applying for a mortgage can have a co-signer on the document by using the income of a family member or friend who is willing to guarantee the repayment of the loan.

It was actually HSBC who initiated this competition in the mortgage lending business. It shocked the lending world by slashing its interest rates for first time home buyers to the low rate of 4.99% if they could make a 10% deposit on the loan. Experts in the industry were not impressed by this move.

This was not what buyers need at the present time, according to David Hollingworth of London & Country brokers, who stated “What first-time buyers need is better choice and better rates on loans for those with just small deposits. Incentives are fine, but you have to work out what they are really worth.”

The amount of deposit that first time home buyers can afford is what will determine the rate of interest that lenders charge for mortgages. Those who do not have the 10% deposit are still subject to the higher rates of interest on the loan. Lenders are still apply a rigid set of criteria in approving mortgages because in these uncertain economic times having a stellar credit rating remains an all-important issue in being able to receive a mortgage.

The number of mortgage approvals in January, 2009 was only a little less than 9000, according to the figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders. When you compare this to the number of approvals when the housing boom was at its peak it is only about 25% of the total number of approvals for the same month. At that time, first time borrowers needed to make a deposit of just over £12,000 whereas today, they need to have an average of £30,000.

Good News from Lenders for First Time Home Buyers is a post from: Glitec Loans

Anyone that is looking to get a car loan, a mortgage, or any other type of finance in the future will need to ensure that their credit is in check, as the future looks very bleak at present for those with a bad credit rating.

With this in mind it is important to ensure that your credit report is accurate and up to date, and to ensure that you do all you can to boost your credit rating in order to improve your chances of getting the finance that you want in the future.

One of the most important things that you need to do is ensure that you regularly check your credit report, and make sure that your credit information is accurate and up to date, as otherwise your credit rating, and your chances of getting credit, could severely affected.

If you do find anything that is not right on your credit report, such as transactions that you do not recognise, mistakes, inaccurate information, or out of date information, make sure that you contact the credit reference agency and get this information looked into or updated, as otherwise your credit rating could again take an unnecessary knock.

Remember, if there are loan applications and other transactions that you do not recognise on your credit report you could find that you have been the victim of attempted or actual identity fraud, so make sure you look into these.

Another thing to remember is that your credit rating can be affected by your financial ties. In other words, if you are tied to someone with poor credit, such as sharing an address with someone that had poor credit or having a joint account with them, this can also affect your credit score. You should make sure that if you are no longer tied to the person that has poor credit you ensure that this is reflected on the credit report, as otherwise you could be dragged down as a result of someone else’s bad financial choices.

Any financial applications that you make will be listed on your credit report, and in some cases they can adversely affect your credit score. For example, if you apply for a lot of credit in a short period of time or if you are turned down for credit, your rating can take a knock.

Therefore, do not let companies run credit checks on you unless you are sure you are applying for the finance – instead simply ask for a quote on the loan you are looking for and then apply for the one that you definitely want rather than letting them all run credit checks on you for no real reason.

It can be tempting for those that think they may not get credit to lie on their applications forms, but this is something that you should never do. The chances are the lender will find out about the lie with ease, and this could then be listed as fraud on your credit report, further scuppering your chances of getting any form of credit in the future.

Also, make sure that you make your bill and debt payments on time and for the right amounts, as failure to do this will result in your credit rating plummeting. Finally, do not turn to credit repair firms to repair your credit, as these will offer no long term benefit to your credit. Instead, focus on working on your own credit rating, and exercise vigilance, care, and responsibility with your finances to improve your credit rating.

Boosting your credit rating to improve your financial future is a post from: Glitec Loans