Mortgages
FeedCall for Budget clarity on mortgage gap
Christina Jordan
Mar 11th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Financial Crisis, Budget 2010, Mortgages
The Government is being urged to make clear in the Budget how it intends to address a looming mortgage funding gap once Government support is withdrawn from lenders.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) claims that "this is a matter of urgency in view of the scale of the problem and its potential implications on future funding to support economic recovery".
Rock losses narrow but bonuses are back
Adrian Holliday
Mar 10th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Loans, Mortgages, Banking
When you've made a £257m loss is it right to splash out on bonuses? For some, that would be an easy question to answer.Not for Gary Hoffman though, boss of Northern Rock. He's defending the decision to pay out bonuses because he claims Northern Rock is now £500m ahead of government targets put in place to turn the bank around.
Are we likely to see the return of mortgage rationing?
Money Expert
Mar 9th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages
The chances are if you're an aspiring first time buyer, you've never even heard of mortgage "rationing". That's because the last decade and more have seen banks and building societies bending over backwards to lend money, rather than check whether buyers have the means of repaying the vast sums they've been borrowing. Whilst the housing market boomed, that wasn't a problem as both banks and borrowers thought the rising cost of property would ensure no-one would lose out.
Budget 2010: Housing market forecast
Christina Jordan
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Financial Crisis, Budget 2010, Mortgages, News
Darling's final budget before the General Election is expected to throw more than a few crumbs to voters. But can the housing and mortgage markets expect to see any goodies or have they maxed out on State support over the last two years?
State-funded banks charge over the odds on mortgages
Christina Jordan
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Financial Crisis, Mortgages, News , Banking
Bail out the banks and how do they repay us?
By charging higher rates of interest on mortgages than those lenders that didn't require taxpayers' money.
Nationalised and part-nationalised banks priced their homeloans above average rates over the last year, according to financial information provider Moneyfacts.
First-time buyers should head for oldham
Money Expert
Mar 8th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
A recent report suggested first-time buyers should head to Oldham if they are looking to get on the property ladder. The report found that home buyers with a 25 per cent deposit could expect to pay the lowest monthly mortgage bill in any English city coming in at just £353 a month. Housing hunt
To buy a property with a 25 per cent deposit in Oldham requires savings of £22,754 compared against £32,362 and £25,917 in other areas such as Leeds and Liverpool. The average 25 per cent deposit is now equal to £29,901 but this figure varies considerably from town to town. A 25 per cent deposit on the average London property for example is equal to £79,892.
Interest rates on hold at 0.5%
Christina Jordan
Mar 4th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Mortgages, Savings and Accounts, News , Banking
The Bank of England has just announced it will keep the Base Rate at 0.5% in March.This marks the 12th month in a row that interest rates have been on hold at their record low, following the reduction of the Base Rate from 1% to 0.5% in March 2009.
The Bank also voted to maintain the size of the Asset Purchase Programme at £200 bn.
Distressed property sales set to rise
Christina Jordan
Mar 1st 2010
Filed under: Economy, Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Property
A substantial 76% of countries surveyed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors expect to see a rise in the number of distressed commercial properties in the next three months.And almost the same number (72%) report that they have witnessed a rise in distressed property sales – those that have been repossessed or foreclosed – in the last quarter.
Lloyds Banking Group tops table for customer complaints
Christina Jordan
Feb 28th 2010
Filed under: Credit Cards, Personal Finance, Mortgages, Insurance, Banking
More customers complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about bailed-out Lloyds Banking Group than any other financial group, according to the latest data.Over 20,000 complaints were made to the Ombudsman about Lloyds in last six months of 2009. The Group includes the Lloyds TSB, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.
Behind the headlines on house prices
Christina Jordan
Feb 26th 2010
Filed under: Economy, Mortgages, Property
Things looked pretty gloomy for the housing market first thing this morning, with Nationwide reporting that prices dropped back a whisker in February, as we reported in UK house prices suffer winter wobble.However, later reports from the Land Registry, citing an annual rise in UK prices of 5.2% to January, and Hometrack, reporting a jump of 0.4% in the year to February, will have helped calmed the nerves of worried homeowners.
But why do the indices paint such different pictures and how do they get their figures?
UK house prices throw a winter wobble
Adrian Holliday
Feb 26th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Economy, Personal Finance, Mortgages, Property
Was it bad weather or bad economics? UK house prices reversed in February – prices dropped by 1% compared with January – thanks, claims Nationwide, to a month of icy blasts and freezing temperatures. Nationwide is being cautious about any uplift for the rest of 2010. That's because house prices in 2009 still held up relatively well overall, despite an absolutely shocker of a year for the wider economy.
Northern Rock drops 100% guarantee
Helen Fowler
Feb 24th 2010
Filed under: Investing, Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Savings and Accounts, Banking
Savers in the Northern Rock bank will lose the 100% guarantee on their savings from May. The higher limit was introduced in 2007, as the government successfully sought to reduce a run on the bank. Savers will continue to have the first £50,000 of their deposits protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). But anything beyond that limit is potentially at risk. One exception will be fixed term deposits in existing Northern Rock accounts. They will be covered by the 100% guarantee until maturity.
Housing market set fair despite poor January figures
Christina Jordan
Feb 23rd 2010
Filed under: Economy, Personal Finance, Mortgages, News , Property
Mortgage lending fell massively in January according to figures published today by the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
This will no doubt give rise to the doom-mongers' predictions that the fragile housing market recovery could already be over – some have already said as much.
But the figures come on the back of a bumper December, so were widely expected to fall and bound to look bad in comparison. They do not necessarily mark the start of a slump.
OFT set to give estate agents the all clear
Adrian Holliday
Feb 18th 2010
Filed under: Debt, Personal Finance, Mortgages, Property
Have estate agents upped their game? Expect the Office of Fair Trading to think so. It shortly publishes its verdict on consumer protection and price competition amongst estate agency professionals. It won't be difficult for many estate agents to improve – it's a profession notorious for low standards and sloppy promises.
Tracker mortgages look like a safe bet
Money Expert
Feb 17th 2010
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
Whilst there's plenty of talk about whether the Bank of England's base interest rate will rise, there's no indication of it doing so in the near future.The talk, of course, has led to some lenders tentatively raising their rates recently. But unless the Bank makes a rapid change of course, further rises on the High Street look unlikely.
Economy doing worse than suspected?
Coutts AIG bond row may end in court
