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2010-03-10 08:58:00
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How To Collect Late Payments
2010-01-19 09:07:00
Young businesses need cash and good credit control is an essential management tool. Try and get payments in advance, letters of credit or cash on delivery but if you must give credit to customers here is some advice.Get your customers to pay on time by talking to the regularly and building a good relationship.Make sure you have an agreement on how long the credit period will last and how payment will be made. The agreement can be verbal but it should preferably be in writing. Where there is neither an agreement in place nor industry custom and practice the law sets a default period of 30 days.Use the method called BEBO this means bill early and bill often – do not let things drift.Charging interest on late paymentsIf some customers still end up paying late you have rights under the late payment legislation to charge interest and debt recovery costs.Purchasers cannot contract out of the late payment legislation - ie they cannot deny the supplier their statutory right to, for exam...

First Time Buyer in 2010
2010-01-12 09:17:00
If you are planning the purchase of your first home this year then you need to consider some key areas.The Right Deposit - You need the best deposit you can arrange to get the best deal.The minimum deposit is likely to remain at 10% for the rest of 2010 and the 100% mortgage is not likely to be offered by major lenders for sometime.The bigger your deposit the better the interest rate and overall deal is going to be. 15%, 25% and 40% are threshold levels beyond which the rates get better so a 22% deposit is treated as a 15% deposit so try go the extra mile and save to the next threshold.Your credit score is still important and just having 10% deposit is no guarantee of a mortgage if your score isn’t good enough.Use a Broker - If you are uncertain it may pay you to consult a mortgage broker.Brokers should survey the whole market and match your circumstances to an appropriate mortgage deal.Brokers should ensure you don’t forget how costly a mortgage can be.Costs of Property Purchas...
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Credit Rating and Ex Partners
2009-12-03 15:01:00
Is Your Credit Damaged by Your Ex?Your former spouse or partner can have an impact on your current finance and here we will give you some tips to cut your financial ties. Applying jointly for credit to buy a car, negotiate a mortgage or having a joint bank account means you are linked in the eyes of credit reference agencies. If the other person then has financial difficulties you can suffer long term.Credit references should be related to individuals not addresses but be wary.Control Debts with your ExTalk openly about finance matters when you are together. Keep recordsIf you make any joint applications even if they are not taken up you will be linked to the other person. What is relevant is whose name is on the agreement, as this is the person who will be legally liable for the debt. If it is in joint names you both have 'joint and several liability' and both can be chased for the full amount.Check your credit report with the main agencies, Experian, Equifax or CreditExpert, it ...
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Financial Scams To Be Careful Of
2009-12-03 14:53:00
There are many ways companies can get us to part with our hard earned cash. Be wary of these following practices which can lose you money.Loan Protection Payments.Banks often sell very expensive loan insurance schemes. You can end up paying 50% of the cost in insurance premiums. Often banks give the impression these very profitable insurance schemes are essential to get the loan. Be very wary, if you really want loan payment protection, it may be better to get some from another company.See: Misselling of loan insurance protectionBank DetailsThough oft repeated, always be wary of any email that tries to get your login details to your bank account. Scammers can give the impression they are your bank when actually they aren'tInternet payment of Subscriptions by card.Recurring payments like magazine subscriptions, annual trip insurance, gym memberships etc are not covered by the save guards on debit cards or credit cards. even if you tell your bank to stop payment they wont! The suppli...
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A Good Time To Remortgage
2009-08-03 15:43:00
There are three good reasons to look to remortgage your property.1. If you want to take advantage of new interest rates or your old deal is coming to an end.2. When you need to increase your loan to pay for improvements, extensiond or serious repairs.3. When you want to change the terms of your mortgage by extending the repayment timeframe or adding another person to the mortgage for example.Watch out for these issues when Remortgaging• Costs of exiting your old deal plus the one off costs of the remortgage can be very expensive.• Can you get the same benefits from your current mortgage by negotiated variations. Try and talk to the company you are with• Beware hidden conditions that come into play in 2-4 years time such as nnew interest rates.• Do not do anything you are uncomfortable with, chew over the offer and look gift horses in the mouth.Is a second mortgage the same as remortgaging?• No they vary so ask your provider to explain all the issue...
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How Long WIll Interest Rates stay at 0%?
2009-05-21 09:24:00
source: BBCInterest rates could stay close to 0% for a long time, if the recession continues to worse and unemployment rises. The latest inflation forecast suggested CPI inflation will fall below the government's target and stay around 1%. Since this rate is below the governments target this will keep interest rates low.However, despite the magnitude of the recession, government policies mean inflation could return in a couple of months. If it did interest rates would rise.Inflationary policies includeLarge depreciation in the PoundQUantitative easing (increasing money supply)Budget deficit of 12% of GDPSee also: Interest Rate predictions
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95% Mortgages
2008-12-17 09:31:00
Nationwide are the first major building society to bring back a 95% mortgage. This may be helpful for first time buyers who are struggling to get a deposit. However, the rate at 7.19% is far above the base rate of 2%. Also there are still expectations of falling house prices so that many who take a 95% mortgage could be left with negative equity - where the value of the house is less than the value of the outstanding mortgage.Variable Mortgages Fixed Rate MortgagesInterest only mortgages90% mortgagesWill rate cuts revive flagging housing market?

Mortgage Interest Rates UK
2008-11-10 10:50:00
The recent cut in base rates by the Bank of England, will be welcome news for the UK's homeowners. However, despite the large base rate cuts, there is no guarantee that homeowners will benefit from cheaper mortgages. Banks are trying hard to improve their profit margins and improve their balance sheets.These are reasons why the base rate cut may not be passed on - Mortgage interest rate outlookHouse price trends in the UK - point to future rate cutsDrastic measures for desperate times on interest rate cuts
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Tesco Mortgage Deals
2008-10-03 08:57:00
Tesco's have announced an entry into the mortgage sector. Previously they have avoided entering the market because they felt it was too competitive and profit margins too low. However, with the increased concentration of the mortgage sector. (the Government is effectively the second biggest mortgage lender now) and merger of Lloyds TSB / HBOS.At the moment, Tesco's offer just a mortgage comparison service (link). But, now they feel that selling mortgages to be a good business plan. The new mortgage provider will help prevent the market get too monopolistic.Tesco's current financial sector - Tesco Personal Finance specialises in loans, and credit cards. Tesco is one of the UK's most profitable companies.
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Credit Crunch News
2008-09-24 12:26:00
The credit crunch continues to cause problems for finance markets and the wider economy.Losses from mortgage defaults caused big insurance firm AIG to require a bailout. Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, after the Fed decided they weren't important enough to bail out.The Credit Crunch continues to cause problems for the beleaguered housing market. House price transactions have fallen to their lowest level since 1959 (link). See: Effect of credit crunch on housing market The deteriorating housing market at least increases the hope for an interest rate cutBecause of continuing problems with the mortgage market and the economic slowdown, house prices are likely to continue to fall in 2009. However, house prices could rebound in the late 2009 - When Will house prices recoverThe Fed is proposing a $700bn bailout for bad debt in America. It is being intensely scrutinised with many questioning the nature and scope of the deal. - Questions about Bailout
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Banks at Risk from Collapse
2008-09-17 23:18:00
Another frentic day on the stockmarket saw more banks lined up as potential victims of the credit crunch.After the collapse of Lehmanh Brothers and rescue of HBOS by Lloyds TSB, share prices in investment banks plummeted on fears that the credit crunch could soon be hitting them.Amongst the big losers were Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.They lost 25% and 37% respectively. The FTSE closed at its lowest level for 3 years. at 4,900.The US government, who bailed out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, pumped over $80billion of money into insurance firm AIG. They didn't rescue Lehman Brothers, but, are looking closely at the financial state of Morgan Stanley. They will not want to let Morgan Stanley go under, but, are aware of the acute crisis occuring in the financial sector. With confidence on a knife edge, they will be reluctant to see another bank go under.Credit Crunch ExplainedCredit Crunch one year onTop British Banks
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UK Bank Profits Rise
2008-08-11 15:20:00
Banks Make Profit Despite Credit Crunch.Despite having to write off bad debts in an unprecedented large scale, British banks have proved adept at maintaining what they do best - making profit. British banks made £3.8billion profits in last 12 months.The Banks have used the credit crunch as an opportunity to increase bank charges on credit cards, mortgages. The result is that underlying profitability has continued to rise.For example, HSBC, posted a 28% drop in global profits in its latest results, yet its UK personal-banking division was up 85% to £605m. For example, Over the past 12 months HSBC has increased the cost of its two-year fix for borrowers with 25% equity in their home by half a percentage point, from 6.34% in July 2007 to 6.84% . This amounts to an extra £62 a month on a £200,000 loan, or £1,505 over the two-year period.The Royal Bank of Scotland also increased its operating profits by 9% and said it found the UK mortgage industry increasingly attractive and was tr...
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www.moneysupermarket.com | Price Comparison Site
2008-08-05 20:07:00
www.moneysupermaket.com is one of the market's leading price comparison sites. By having access to many different suppliers they make it easier for customers to compare prices and find the cheapest deal. Money supermarket specialise in financial services such as mortgage deals, insurance quotes and loans. However, they also run price comparison services for other services such as mobile phones, travel, broadband and shopping. www.moneysupermarket.com has been valued at over £1billion and has an estimated 35% of the market share.If you are looking to save money on finance products, it is also worth considering these practical tips for saving money:Top 10 Financial Tips for saving money7 Tips to saving money on a mortgage10 Simple Ways to save money at WorkSaving money on grocery shoppingTen Tips for saving money and environmentSaving Money on petrol and Driving
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Mortgage Application Fees
2008-07-23 14:05:00
Fees on fixed rate Mortgage s have shot up in recent months. The cost of many fixed rate mortgage deals have increased by nearly 55%. Application fees on variable mortgages have increased, but, at a slower rate. Research by mform.co.uk suggest that best-buy discounted rate mortgages only increased 11%.The shorter the mortgage, the bigger application fees will be as a % of the total mortgage. If you have a small mortgage, which you hope to pay off quickly, avoid paying high application fees.It also shows that when choosing a mortgage application fees can be as important as the basic interest rate for determining competitiveness.Mortgage firms have been happy to increase application fees to ration mortgage lending. The market is becoming increasingly uncompetitive with potential lenders being in an unenviable position of facing high costs and difficulty in getting loans.Check out a variety of mortgage lenders because often the biggest mortgage lenders are not the most competitive.Fixe...
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Dealing With Empty Houses In the UK
2008-07-17 14:16:00
The Problem of Empty Homes in the UKIt is estimate that there are nearly 1 million empty homes in the UK. Often landlords leave homes empty because they don't want to spend any money on redoing their house. However, an empty house is likely to lead to a depreciation in your asset and gives no rentable income. If you have an empty house it is better to make use of it rather than leaving it idle for a long time. These are some options for empty houses.Approach council for refurbishment grantApproach housing association who may buy the house quickly or even offer support for refurbishmentLet the house via the local council. They manage the letting side, you are responsible for external and structural repairs. the cost is usually 1/12th of the total rent.RelatedUK Housing MarketHow To Rescue an Empty House at BBCWhy is there a shortage of housing in UK?
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Credit Card 0% Interest
2008-07-16 17:59:00
Credit cards which offer 0% interest on balance transfers can be an excellent way of saving money on debt payments. They require careful management because if you miss a payment, you will end up paying Standard rates of upto 18% and also incur a penalty.If you are careful, you can keep transferring a balance of a few thousand pounds at 0% interest. This enables better cash flow and avoids more expensive forms of borrowing.Cost of Balance transfersThe only thing to be aware of is that these days most 0% balance transfers incur a balance transfer fee, usually around 2-3%. Therefore, it is best to try and get a credit card balance transfer for a longer period (some go upto 12-15 months). This means that in effect you are paying an interest rate of 2% a year, which is still very good and less than inflation.Transferring 0% interest Credit cardsTop 7 Tips for using credit cardsPaying Your Mortgage with a credit card
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Top 10 Finance Companies
2008-07-16 17:53:00
Some of the top 10 companies grouped into different aspects of finance such as mortgages, building societies, banks and investment trustsTop 10 Mortgage Companies Top 10 Richest People in the WorldTop 10 Financial Mistakes to avoidTop 10 Finance Products to avoidTop 10 Building societiesTop 10 British BanksTop 10 Investment TrustsTop 10 Insurance Firms

Housing Market Bust Threatens Recession
2008-07-03 16:34:00
Continued falls in house prices threaten to cause a wider recession. Falling house prices combined with the credit crunch and rising oil prices have proved a toxic mix for high street retailers. Evidence suggests that hard pressed consumers are reluctant to spend. This lower disposable income is particularly affecting higher value shops such as Marks and Spencers.Is UK at risk from recessionCan we blame media for housing boom and Bust ? Former BBC journalist Evan Davis suggests yes.Regional House Prices - Northern Ireland has seen the biggest drop in house prices following spectacular gains. Scotland is one of the few areas to avoid a drop in house prices, but, Scottish prices still remain below the UK average.Average House prices in UK since 1980.
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Help With Mortgage Arreas
2008-06-26 15:24:00
Recent predictions by the Council of Mortgage lenders suggest that the coming months will see a marked increase in the number of home repossessions. If you are struggling to meet mortgage payments and fear slipping into arreas, there are a number of strategies that you can take.Government Help. The government doesn't give much financial help for dealing with mortgage payments. The main thing is that the government offers advice through bodies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and National Debt Helpline. See: Government help for MortgagesReducing Mortgage Payments. There are various things we can do to increase affordability of mortgage payments. For example: Struggling to pay mortgage?How to avoid defaulting on mortgage paymentsSee also:Mortgages and affordability

Current Mortgage Issues / Problems
2008-06-25 10:28:00
Flats for Sale - But Who is Able to Buy Them? - How the credit crunch has affected the market for flats. - Flat for sale anybody?The dilemma of the Bank of England - which is worse inflation or a recession. In the current climate it is difficult to reduce both inflationary pressure and prevent a slowdown. Rising oil prices have really made their job difficult. - What should Bank of England do to interest rates?In the longer term, the UK may still face a housing shortage which doesn't bode well for long term housing prospects. - Why the UK still has a housing shortageTrying to understand inflation - Why is their scepticism of the official figure? - Measuring inflationUnderstanding Interest Rates - guide to interest rates at economics help
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Interest Rates for Dummies
2008-06-16 16:36:00
Interest rates can be confusing. There is a huge range of interest rates - anything from 0% a year to 2,000% on some extortionate pay day loans.Interest rates basically reflect the cost of borrowing money. The most important interest rate is the base rate (or repo Rate) set by the Bank of England.The Bank of England change interest rates to try and influence the inflation rate in the economy. The bank of England need to try and meet the government's target of 2% inflation. However, they will also be sensitive to other objectives such as economic growth and unemployment.How Interest rates affect individuals and the economyHigher interest rates increase the cost of borrowingHigher interest rates increase mortgage interest payments causing consumers to have less disposable incomeHigher interest rates cause an appreciation in the exchange rate. An appreciating exchange rate causes lower aggregate demand and lower inflationBank Rates and Bank of England RatesDespite the Bank of England ...
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Negative Equity in the UK
2008-05-14 14:16:00
Definition of Negative equity: Negative Equity occurs when the value of a house is worth less than the mortgage debt.Negative equity is a real problem for people who need to sell their house and then still end up owing money to the bank.Many UK Banks remain heavily exposed to negative equity because in the past few years, 100% and 95% mortgages were very common. The annual rate of house price inflation is now negative and if house prices fall by 30%, it is estimated 20% of mortgages could be at risk of negative equity.Negative Equity and Impact on the EconomyNegative equity can have a powerful influence over the economy. If people see prices falling and their mortgage debt bigger than their wealth it is liable to reduce consumer confidence and see a decline in spending.Negative equity also makes it impossible to engage in equity withdrawal or remortgage to clear other debts.What Can Be Done About Negative Equity?Not much. Often the only option is to downsize. Sell the house and buy ...

HSBC Mortgage Offer Brings in New Customers
2008-05-14 14:10:00
With most of the mortgage news focusing on mortgage products being withdrawn, HSBC were able to announce that they have seen a fourfold increase in the number of mortgages taken out.Previously HSBC, had a low share of the market with only 3% of the market. This has enabled them to take advantage of the credit crisis and offer a 'mortgage price matching offer' This means that they will offer the same rates as any other market deal.HSBC, say that many of the new customers have good credit ratings and are borrowing a low % of their total house value.IN other news, the Council of mortgage lenders reported that the average cost of a UK mortgage increased last month, despite Bank of England Base rates remaining the same.Prospects of future rate cuts were hurt on the news that inflation increased to 3%
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Building Society Mortgages
2008-05-05 12:10:00
Research by the Council of Mortgage lending shows that lending by Britain's building societies has slumped in the past few months. Total mortgage lending in March was down by £1 billion on the same level last year. It also shows that building socities have been hit harder by the credit crunch that the big banks.Building societies typically fund their mortgage lending mostly from savings. (about 70%) in the current climate they have had difficulty raising additional funds for mortgages. Instead building societies have been focusing on attracting saving deposits.Ironically, the mortgage market has changed so much that building societies no longer want to appear at the top of the 'best buys for mortgages' because they then struggle to deal with the demand coming in.Top 10 Building Societies
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Best Value Nationwide Mortgages
2008-04-28 17:06:00
The Nationwide recently moved to increase the deposit ratio on all but 2 of its mortgage products. New customers are now required to have a deposit of 10%. For an average house price of £200,000 this means new first time buyers must find an extra £10,000.However, the Nationwide did cut its standard variable rate, in line with the Bank of England. It's standard variable rate, with no costs for signing up presents one of its most attractive mortgage deals. This is unusual for a mortgage market where the best deals are usually found in fixed rate or tracker mortgage deals.The increase in the deposit ratio, is a sign that the Bank of England's recent injection of liquidity into the money markets may be insufficient to boost mortgage liquidity.It also came on a day when house prices showed their first annual year on year fall, for many years
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Should I Get a Fixed or Variable Mortgage?
2008-04-15 11:43:00
A fixed mortgage prevents security against rising interest rates. At the moment, interest rate increases are mainly driven by a rise in interbank lending, rather than an increase in the base rate.Predictions for Interest Rates in UKWith house prices falling and the economy slowing, the Bank of England will be looking to cut rates. If house prices continue to fall at a very quick rate, we could see the UK face the prospect of a recession. IF the UK enters a recession, interest rates could fall as low as 3.5%. However, a recession is unlikely at the moment. Also the interest rate predictions are complicated by the impact of cost push inflation. Driven primarily by rising oil prices, manufacturers are experiencing unprecedented rises in the cost of production. Therefore, the Bank has to be more cautious in cutting rates.Prediction for beginning of 2009, interest rates 4.25%.Therefore, with the prospect of lower interest rates, current fixed rates may not offer good value. However, with...
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Finding Best Mortgage Deals
2008-04-03 11:01:00
Finding the best mortgage deals has become alot more difficult recently with many big mortgage lenders withdrawing mortgage products and increasing the cost of mortgages. within the past month the number of mortgages on offer has fallen by 40%, with big names like first Direct, Co-op Bank and others restricting the number of new mortgages.The difficulty of getting a mortgage has encouraged many customers to borrow through alternative means such as credit cards and unsecured loans.Finding the best mortgage deals has become a lot more difficult because the gap between the bank's commercial rates and the bank of England Base rate has risen. For example, at the moment the 3 month libor rate is 6%, whearas the Base rate is 5.25%. The gap between the base rate and the 3 month libor rate has increased due to the shortage of funds in credit markets. With the increased difficult of getting a mortgage it is harder to find a cheap mortgage. However, there are still some things worth trying.Se...
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What Factors Affect Interest Rates?
2008-03-19 12:58:00
Interest rates are the main tool for influencing economic activity and therefore affecting the inflation rate. In the UK, interest rates are set by the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee MPC. In the US, interest rates are set by the federal Reserve.In the UK, the MPC have been set an inflation target of CPI 2% +/- 1. Therefore, the most important factor affecting interest rates are the prospects for inflation.Generally, a rise in inflation will cause interest rates to rise. A fall in inflation will enable lower interest rates.Inflation Predictions.The MPC produce an inflation report. This tries to predict inflation in the coming months and is important for determining interest rate movements. These are the kind of factors that can cause inflationary pressures to increase and therefore cause an increase in interest ratesHigh economic growth. If growth is above the average sustainable growth rate, inflation is likelyDepreciation of Exchange Rate. When exchange rate fall, import...
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Mortgages and the Credit Crunch
2008-03-18 13:39:00
The credit crunch refers to the difficulties of borrowing money in the financial sector.There is a detailed explanation of the Credit crunch hereThis is a simple step by step guide to how the credit crunch is likely to affect UK mortgages.Rapid increase in mortgage defaults in US mean that many mortgage lenders have to write off bad debts. These Bad debts were often rebundled and sold onto other finance insitutions and banks. This means many investment banks and commercial banks have also had to write off bad debts, sometimes totalling billions of pounds. These bad debts have overwhelmed banks such as Bear Sterns and threatens Lehman brothers.Because so much debt has had to be written off there has been a drop in banking confidence. Banks are hesitant to lend to each other because they fear they could lose it.This means there has been a shortgage of lending and money on the money markets and in particular the interbank lending markets.Therefore, it has become difficult to finance re...
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