In fact, a recent survey that was carried out has confirmed that the vast majority of adults in Britain are confused about a variety of financial products, which can be quite dangerous in the current financial climate when it pays to have some level of knowledge about different financial products and some level of understanding about how they work.

The study was performed by the University of Bristol and the insurance comparison site confused.com. As part of the study around six thousand consumers were polled, and the research found that a huge number of people were confused about various financial products suc

h as savings, mortgages, pensions, and more.

The study found that the least confusing financial product or service for consumers was credit cards, with 40 percent of respondents stating that they were not confused at all by credit cards. However, a massive 83 percent of respondents expressed confusion when it came to mortgages and pensions.

Banker bonuses created confusion for 84 percent of respondents, and 80 percent said that they were confused by changes to tax rates. When it came to unemployment rates 75 percent of those responding to the survey were confused. The survey even showed that 42 percent of people lay in bed at night pondering over this confusion.

An official from Confused.com said: “It’s not surprising that financial products and terms account for so much confusion in modern life. It’s easy to see how making decisions could lead to stress and worry.”

Many people confused about mortgages and finance is a post from: Glitec

For many of those that are unable to buy a property due to these restrictions the only way that they can put a roof over their heads is through renting. The waiting lists for council properties and registered social landlords can be very lengthy, and for this reason many people are opting to rent within the private sector.

This increase in the number of people looking for properties within the private sector has impacted on buy to let mortgages and properties, with the number of landlords investing in buy to let property having increased in order to meet the rising demand of consumers that want to rent in this sector. Figures show that 10 percent of landlords said that they would invest in buy to let property in the first quarter of the year, but this increased to 12 percent for the second quarter of the year.

The data was released by the Paragon Group, which said: “Demand for property investment has remained strong during the recession and has improved since house prices stabilised. Landlords know that the long-term forecast for tenant demand is extremely healthy, with socio-economic and demographic changes leading to growth in the number of households calling the private rented sector home. Government figures show that the private rented sector is the only housing tenure that is currently growing.”

Mortgage restrictions lead to increase in buy to let activity is a post from: Glitec

With the fixed rate mortgage homebuyers were able to relax in the knowledge that for a set period of time their mortgage interest rate, and therefore their monthly mortgage repayments, would not change even if there were changes to the UK base rate. Whilst this also meant that the rate and repayment could not fall most buyers were happy knowing that it would not go up.

However, due to existing market conditions it seems that the popularity of fixed rate mortgages has declined, with a sharp fall reported in the popularity and take up of these mortgages. For over a year now the base interest rate has stood at its lowest level in the history of the Bank of England, at just 0.5 percent. With this in mind many have decided that it is no longer viable to opt for fixed rate deals.

One mortgage broker, Ray Boulger, said that today’s fixed rate deals were more expensive than they were a year ago despite the lower base rate. He also said that the percentage of clients at his firm that were taking out fixed rate mortgages had plummeted from a healthy 80 percent to a paltry 20 percent, with many realising that tracker products were the best bet at the moment.

Mr Boulger stated: “I think you will see the proportion of fixed-rates continuing to fall on the CML reports for at least the next two or three months.”

Sharp fall in popularity of fixed rate mortgages is a post from: Glitec

Gross mortgage lending came to £12 billion for the month, and the fall came after a steady increase in mortgage lending over previous months. Whilst seasonal factors have been taken into consideration by the CML officials from the group have said that the latest fall could not be attributed to seasonal factors alone.

The group said that whilst it was normal for a slight decline in mortgage lending to be seen between October and November the 10 percent decline was unusually large.

An economist from the CML, Paul Samter, also commented on the up and coming end of the stamp duty holiday, which is set to finish at the end of this year. He said that despite the imminent end of the stamp duty suspension the long term outlook for the sector appeared to be one of stability.

He said that he doubted that there would be much underlying change over the next few months as a result of the stamp duty holiday coming to an end.

He also said that things continued to look bleak for first time buyers, who continued to struggle to get mortgage finance, stating: “There has been a modest increase in the availability of mortgage credit recently, including some tentative signs of a few higher loan-to-value products emerging. But there is no sign of a swift recovery in lending volumes, especially with remortgaging set to remain at subdued levels while low interest rates persist.”

Fall of 10 percent in mortgage lending is a post from: Glitec

Properties under the value of £125,000 have always been exempt from stamp duty, and by increasing this threshold to £175,000 on a temporary basis the government hoped to help more people onto the property ladder whilst at the same time boosting property sales in a struggling market.

However, recent figures have shown that whilst many consumers were optimistic about the move and welcomed the suspension of stamp duty the measure has not helped as many people as was hoped.

The government had predicted that based on the number of people that would save on stamp duty buyers would collectively save £600 million on house purchases in the first twelve months. However, according to figures released by the property website zoopla.co.uk only £173 million was saved during this period.

It is thought that there are a number of reasons why the figures have been so disappointing compared to the figures that had been predicted.

One of the main factors is that many would be first time buyers have found it extremely difficult to get a mortgage at all in the current climate regardless of stamp duty requirements, partly due to increased stringency from lenders and partly due to the high deposit levels that lenders have been demanding.

Nicholas Leeming from Zoopla said: “The stamp-duty holiday has so far failed to reinvigorate the housing market. Rather than ending it, the Government should consider extending it by making first-time buyers permanently exempt and by giving others the ability to defer payment for up to, say, five years.”

Stamp duty suspension was not as useful as hoped is a post from: Glitec

The number of enquiries from first time buyers is said to have peaked in September, and some industry officials have claimed that this marks an increase in confidence in the property market.

One mortgage advice website stated that September saw the highest level of searches by first time buyers, and separate reports have claimed that it is now first time buyers that are keeping the property market buoyant, with remortgaging levels having gone through the floor.

Many first time buyers are keen to get onto the property ladder as soon as possible, as many fear that property prices may start rising sharply again and that mortgage interest rates may soar if the base rate goes up in the coming months.

There are, in fact, many reasons why first time buyers may be clamouring to get onto the property ladder sooner rather than later.

Firstly, property prices have been rising over recent months but are still far lower than their peak in 2007.

Secondly, with the base rate at an all time low some first time buyers are hoping to get a good deal that will help to keep their repayments down.

Finally, the government’s stamp duty suspension on properties up to £175,000 is still on till the end of the year, and many may want to take advantage of this.

However, there are still obstacles in the way for first time buyers, the major one being the level of deposit that most lenders are demanding in return for access to their more favourable and competitive mortgage deals.

Increased demand for mortgage advice from first time buyers seen as sign of recovery is a post from: Glitec

Lenders are being accused to encouraging customers to come off standard variable rates, which at present are the best option due to the all time low base rate, and persuading them to opt for the more costly fixed rate mortgage option. This is despite the fact that many industry experts expect the base rate to remain low for quite some time yet.

Banks and building societies are also being accused of trying to get customers that are coming to the end of current deals to switch to more expensive deals rather than allowing them to revert to the standard variable rate.

Some are even being accused of failing to let customers know that they have the option of reverting to the SVR at the end of their current deal, making them think that they have to take out another deal that is more expensive than reverting to the SVR.

One industry expert stated: “Lenders appear to be encouraging borrowers on their cheap SVRs to switch to fixes; it is far from clear that this is the best advice. Borrowers may find that they are buying themselves security when there is little need to do so. When they come to the end of the deal, interest rates may be rising, and they will find themselves on a variable rate looking for another fix, which will inevitably be priced higher.”

There has also been controversy over the failure of banks to explain why it is a good idea for customers to pay a fee to switch to another deal, and an offiial from the Financial Ombudsman Service said: “We expect lenders to fully explain why it would be a good idea to get borrowers to pay a fee to switch deals. It is not enough simply to say ‘we don’t give advice’. If a customer feels that he or she is getting advice and it was not made clear that it was not advice, we will investigate.”

Borrowers being pushed onto costly fixed rates by lenders is a post from: Glitec

The month saw a drop in the number of people looking to remortgage, but there was a return to the market – albeit a gradual one – of first time buyers who helped to keep the sector buoyant.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders there was an increase of 29 percent in new mortgage lending in August compared to the same period last year.

One official from the CML said that property purchasing was definitely back on a stronger footing even though recovery of the property market would be a gradual and drawn out process.

He said: “It will be a drawn-out recovery process, with seasonal ups and downs, but house purchase activity is now on a firmer footing.” The CML figures did show that remortgaging acticity remained weak at present.

The reports also showed that many people are now coming to an end of their fixed rate mortgage deals, which many took out for two or three years when interest rates were on the increase in the hope of protecting themselves against soaring repayments. However, interest rates have been at an all time low of just 0.5 percent for seven months, so many will be relieved that these higher rate fixed mortgages are coming to an end.

Industry officials have predicted that those whose fixed rate mortgages are coming to an end will shy away from remortgaging to another fixed rate deal for the moment, as the base rate is so low that they will want to benefit from the savings that are available on standard variable rate mortgages.

However, remortgaging activity may pick up later in the year when there is a greater threat of the base rate increasing again.

Mortgage lending propped up by first time buyers is a post from: Glitec

This was a safety net for landlords who wanted to ensure that they would not be left high and dry with tenants that could not actually afford the rental payments on the home.

However, following the turbulent times that the mortgage market has been through over the past couple of years there has now been a turnaround in this trend, and tenants are now running their own checks on landlords to ensure that everything is above board and the landlord is not on the verge of having the home repossessed, which would quickly leave the tenant stuck without any place to live.

One lettings official said that there had been a marked shift in the trend when it came to landlords and tenants running checks, and he added that prospective tenants were asking far more about the backgrounds of the landlords as well as about where their deposits will be held.

He said: “Tenants have been far more interested in landlords’ backgrounds and are asking more questions about where their deposit is being held.” Speaking of the relatively new arrangement with regards to deposits being held in government approved schemes he added: “As the deposit typically amounts to six weeks’ rent, we are finding fewer tenants are comfortable with this arrangement although in the vast majority of cases the lettings agent keeps hold of the funds.”

Turnaround with buy to let reference checks is a post from: Glitec

There has now been another blow for first time buyers, after another lender decided to withdraw its 90 percent mortgages.

A tenth of 90 percent mortgages that were taken out over the past three months are thought to have come from Britannia, but the lender has now joined a plethora of other nervous lenders by withdrawing this offering from its shelves, leaving even more first time buyers high and dry.

There are still some 90 percent loan to value mortgage left on the market, but buyers are rapidly running out of choice. In the past the traditional mortgage loan was for 95 percent of the property value, which meant that buyers only had to find 5 percent of the property value in order to get the loan.

In some cases first time buyers were able to borrow 100 percent of the property value and even 125 percent of the value of the property, but these jumbo mortgages disappeared shortly after the onset of the global credit crunch.

For those that are able to raise higher deposit levels such as 25 percent or even 40 percent there are some very good deals available in terms of mortgage interest rates, but those that can only raise small deposit levels such as 10 percent will not find that not only will they pay far higher rates of interest, despite the base rate being just 0.5 percent, but also that they will have very little choice.

90 percent mortgages withdrawn by Britannia is a post from: Glitec