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Rest in Peace 100% LTV Mortgages - What now for First Time Buyers ?
2008-03-14 10:52:00
And then there where none.Last week saw a couple of Mortgage lenders bravely soldiering on in the 100 LTV (no deposit)market, today these mortgages are only available to the likes of solicitors and dentists and only from one lender !Some shared ownership are still available but the bulk of the products now require a guarantor with charges been taken on both properties.So the bank of mum and dad will once again have to bear the brunt as mortgage lenders continue to run for the hills.
More About: Peace , Rest In Peace , Time , Mortgages , Rest

Northern Rock soldier on.
2007-09-27 10:09:00
Northern Rock 's shares today began the long road to recovery, from a tad over 800 pence high in July the belegaured mortgage lender is to today up 10 p at 192p.The lender re-iterated its stance this week stating 'we are still open for business, mortgage applications remain in effect and proceed in line with the usual process and we thank you for your continued support' this in response to been asked if the recent bad publicity would effect its relationship with mortgage advisers.Undoubtedly some customers will flatly refuse a northern rock mortgage at the moment, i believe the majority will still be happy to go with their advisor's recommendation.The one massive plus point for northern rock and it may prove to be its saviour if public opinion hits its new business is its mortgage system.Quite simply it is second to none for advisors to use and allows huge amounts of business to be processed reasonably quickly, there may be many potential suitors eyeing up northern rock for this...
More About: Soldier , Northern , Northern Rock , Hern

Sub Prime Mortgage Crisis
2007-09-07 19:37:00
The sub prime mortgage crash in America claimed it's first UK victim (apart from stock market investors) as Lehmann Brothers announced the closure of SPPL (Southern Pacific Personal Loans)Sppl was a sub prime second charge lender. It is part of the same group as SPML which now handles all sub prime mortgage business on behalf of Northern Rock. SPML has announced huge rate rises of 1.25% just this week as th UK market begins to catch the flu from the American markets cold.2 major US banks are belived to be filing for bankruptcy this month ! as the continued fall out from the no status loans of 4-5 years ago when US interest rates were cut to 1% in an attempt to boost the economy. A lot of those rates are now up leaving customers looking at a 3/4 hundred % increase in payments.So who's next ?Gmac have revised their rates 8 times in a month as well as toughening up criteria 4 times!Advantage (morgan stanley bank) have cut the maximum LTV on second charges from 90 to 75 %Preffered ...
More About: Mortgage , Crisis , Prime , Rime , Prim

What does a Mortgage broker or mortgage adviser do ?
2007-07-30 23:48:00
See this interesting article detailing how a mortgage broker or mortgage adviser can help you .Mort gage advice
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Portman and Nationwide Building Society's to merge
2007-07-27 15:26:00
The Financial Services Authority have given the go-ahead for the merger of the two building societies and they will officially merge on the 28th August 2007. Portman is now in the process of withdrawing its mortgage range. It will create the second largest retail mortgage lender and also the second largest retail savings provider with over 13 million members on the savings side.The company will assets of £150 million GBP . The average shareholder payout is expected to be £445 GBP.In the initial release it gave details of a commitment by Portman to maintain its branch network, significantly though there was more emphasis on the £300 million GBP investment in the nationwide network.
More About: Building , Merge

Mortgage Exit Fee's
2007-07-26 11:01:00
An often overlooked cost when comparing or arranging a mortgage is the exit fee. This is not the redemption penalty but a charge by your mortgage provider for releasing their hold on the title of your property.The Financial Services Authority have given mortgage lenders until the 31st of July to respond with their justification for the fees. This has already proved too much for HSBC, C & G and Bristol and west who have already decided to scrap their fees. ING Direct and Stafford Railway Building Society have not charged fees for some time.Alliance and Leicester currently leads the market with an exit fee of £295 which has rocketed over the last couple of years.Whilst there is an obvious cost to mortgage companies due to the work required to release their charge there is also a massive difference between a reasonable £30 cost and blatant profiteering by charging £295. If you are currently looking for a mortgage this cost is well worth considering a mortgage broker such as www.firs...
More About: Mortgage , Mort

Link to this site
2007-07-24 16:00:00
To any webmasters or bloggers out there, if you are interested in linking to this site please drop me an email on uk.mortgage.news@googlemail.com . In particular any finance and property sites.
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Labours 8bn affordable housing investment
2007-07-24 15:55:00
Labour’s Housing Green Paper has outlined new investment, targets and proposals as part of Gordon Brown’s target to build three million more homes by 2020.Key proposals for housing include investing £8 billion for affordable housing in 2008 to 2011, a £2.5 billion increase compared to the previous three years.More homes to meet growing demand - 3 million new homes by 2020 - backed by new building targets, increased investment and new ways of identifying land for development. More affordable housing - at least 70,000 more affordable homes a year by 2010-11, including 45,000 social homes a year and a goal of 50,000 social homes a year in the next spending review.Building homes more quickly - unblocking the planning system and releasing land for development. New incentives for councils and developers to bring forward land more quickly.Well designed and greener zero carbon homes - with higher environmental standards designed to link to the transport, schools and health infrastruct...
More About: Investment , Affordable housing

Average London House Price ??
2007-07-23 11:38:00
Go on have a guess !Well its risen just a tad under 20% in a year and now stands at a whopping £313KYep a third of a million.The government must be rubbing its hands together at the Inheritance Tax due in the next 10 years.
More About: House , London , Price , Ouse , Average

Home Information Packs
2007-07-22 18:32:00
Hip's as they have come to be know are finally due be launched on the 1st August - don't hold your breath though ! The process was started before Tony Blair was elected and is still not in place yet despite a massive watering down of the initial idea.So whats in a Home Information Pack ?An energy performance certificate - like the one you get on a new fridge ! One of the main reasons the Hip has probably survived given the 'carbon footprint' awareness campaign we are currently experiencing. Watch this space regarding these certificate's, probably another tax coming your way soon.Sale Statement - confirms the address, if they property is freehold/leasehold/common hold and also if the property is registered or unregistered. All 3 of them can be confirmed for £3 from the land registry. The last part confirms if the property is vacant possession.Standard Searches - local land charges register, planning and road building proposals, water and drainage searches. Slight problem here t...
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Different Mortgage Types
2007-07-22 16:55:00
We have all seen the TV adverts for a famous high street bank where the guy reels of hundreds of different mortgage products, triple decker tracker and so on.There are several types available; they are all different ways of funding your house purchase or remortgage.Below is a list of common mortgage types, though not conclusive it will at least give you an idea.Standard Variable RateThe SVR is the standard rate of interest charged by the lender. The rate can go up and down. This is the rate your mortgage will go to when your initial discounted, fixed, tracker, capped or cashback rate has run its course. This rate is set by the mortgage lender.DiscountA certain percentage below the lenders SVR. For example a 2% discount from an SVR of 6.5% gives a rate payable of 4.5% for an agreed period. Some discounts are 'stepped' over a period of time e.g. a 2% discount in year 1 and a 1% discount in year 2. Early repayment charges may apply.Fixed RateA fixed monthly interest rate. It will not...
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