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 NEWS DETAILS
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LLoyds TSB - Northern Rock Deal |
7th June, 2008 |
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Lloyd's TSB will offer mortgages to Northern Rock customers when their current fixed rate deal ends. But only for the Northern Rock customers who match Lloyd's TSB credit criteria.
Northern Rock's mortgage customers will receive a letter when their current fixed-rate term is close to its end, offering them an opportunity to apply for a new fixed-rate mortgage from Lloyd's.
Lloyd's TSB attempted to buy Northern Rock when the Newcastle bank's funding dried up last August but the deal was not allowed to go through by the Bank of England and the Treasury over competition concerns.
The new deal between the two lenders is set to run for 3 years.
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Downturn Gets Worse |
6th June, 2008 |
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According to figures released by the Bank of England, the number of new house purchase mortgages approved in April 2008 was 58,000.This is the lowest number since the bank started recording the figures in 1993, and 8% fewer than the March total.
For twelve consecutive months, the amount of money offered to borrowers, and the number of loans approved, has fallen.
This trend is expected to continue, at least for the short-term.
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Payment Holidays On the Up |
4th June, 2008 |
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There has been a big increase in numbers of homeowners taking a holiday from mortgage payments as the pressure on their finances intensifies.
Several major lenders have reported a rise in borrowers taking or planning to take a mortgage holiday, which allows them to skip payments for up to a year.
It is yet another indicator that borrowers are struggling to cope with household expenses, as interest rates have soared and food and utility bills are also spiralling
Sue Anderson, of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: A lender would make an assumption that an inquiry about a payment holiday is a likely indicator of financial trouble.
Nationwide Building Society has also reported an increased number of people looking to take a break from payments at the present time.
Bradford & Bingley, which this week reported a rise in the number of borrowers who had fallen into arrears, said that it had experienced a rise in inquiries about payment holidays.
Yorkshire Building Society said that more of its customers were expressing an interest in payment options that would cut monthly bills.
The spokesman said: There has been an increase in the number of inquiries about payment holidays and interest-only loans, but this could partly be due to the fact that we are contacting people who we think are having difficulties.
Switching to an interest-only deal on a 150,000 25-year mortgage at 5.5 per cent would cut repayments by nearly 250, while extending the mortgage term by five years would only save about 70 a month off the repayments.
You should think very carefully though before opting to switch to an interest only loan or extending the term, and take professional advice.
The housing market has stalled recently as lenders have tightened their criteria as well as raising their rates, denying mortgages to all but the most cash-rich first-time buyers.
The latest signal of this slowdown in the UK economy emerged yesterday as data showed that the building of new homes slumped to a record low.
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Abbey Yo Yo's Rates |
1st June, 2008 |
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Abbey, has raised rates on some fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.44 percent on the back of rising borrowing costs, just a week after announcing rate cuts!
The move has prompted criticism from industry watchers, who say it adds to confusion in an already volatile and uncertain mortgage market.
Abbey said on Wednesday, however, that it was responding to a "dramatic increase" in interest rate swaps last week, when hopes of a further rate cut were dampened by the Bank of England's bearish prognosis on British economic prospects.
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Mortgage Market Growth |
27th May, 2008 |
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Growth in the UK mortgage market edged up in April from March, mainly thanks to remortgaging as new purchases remained scarce, a leading banking group said.
The British Bankers' Association said mortgage approvals, an indicator of future mortgage lending, followed a similar trend, rebounding from the previous month thanks to remortgaging activity.
It is still proving to be a difficult time to sell a property. |
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Mortgage Situation Improves |
26th May, 2008 |
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The mortgage market may have turned a corner. Some stability seems to have returned to the mortgage market, with several high-profile lenders even moving to cut rates.
Nationwide and Abbey, have both reduced their prices recently, with Nationwide's 0.3 per cent cut on a range of fixed-rate mortgage products cited by some brokers as particularly significant.
Nationwide has been very careful about its lending policies during the credit crunch, introducing tiered rates benefiting those with big deposits, but raising costs for those with not much money to put down.
The Nationwide's interest rate cut now shows that it is more confident about what is going on. Overall, the good news is that the rush of lenders withdrawing or raising their rates seems to have halted.
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Fixed Rates More Popular |
9th May, 2008 |
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The number of mortgage & remortgage customers opting for fixed-rate mortgage deals rose to an all-time high during the final quarter of 2007, according to industry figures.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed that during the last three months of the year, fixed-rate deals accounted for 76 per cent of all mortgage lending, up from 68 per cent during the third quarter and 56 per cent in Q2.
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Buy to Let Problems |
27th February, 2008 |
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The number of buy to let landlords in mortgage arrears, of over 3 months payments, jumped by more than a quarter in the last three months of 2007.
The combined effect of interest rate rises and a tightening in the credit market has begun to take its toll.
According to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), almost 7,600 landlords are in arrears. (up from about 6,050 in the previous quarter)
On last years figures the number is up 54 per cent.
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Citizens Advice Bureau Credit problems |
14th December, 2007 |
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Nearly 60,000 people sought advice on mortgage and loan arrears from Citizens Advice in the year to April 2007, and it expects next years figures to be even higher.
If you are in need of Loan, Mortgage or Remortgage advice please speak to one of our qualified advisers.
Mortgage Adviser
Remortgage Adviser
Loan Adviser
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Abbey Cuts Rate |
12th December, 2007 |
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The UK's third biggest mortgage lender announced that it is passing on last week's interest rate cut to borrowers in full. Abbey said it was reducing its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by 0.25% to 7.59% from January 1.
The move follows decisions by mortgage giants Halifax and Nationwide to reduce their SVR rates by the full amounts within minutes of the Bank of England announcing that the base rate was being cut to 5.5%.
A handful of other lenders have since announced they will also be cutting their rates, with Egg so far the only group not to pass on the full reduction, slashing its rate by just 0.15%.
But other big players have been slow to announce their intentions. So far only eight of the UK's 120-plus lenders have announced that they will reduce their rates. It had been speculated by many that lenders would cynically delay passing on the cut, with many expected to pass on only some of the reduction, while others were expected to not cut their rates at all in a bid to boost their margins.
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Bank Rate Rip Off |
8th December, 2007 |
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HIGH STREET banks are already making millions from last weeks interest-rate cut, having sneakily slashed savings rates up to six weeks ahead of the announcement while mortgage rates for some borrowers will not come down until the new year.
Savers now face a second round of reductions, while experts warn that millions of borrowers are unlikely to see their repayments fall by the full quarter point giving banks profits an instant boost.
Abbey, Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds TSB have all hit savers with cuts of up to 0.25 points in recent weeks, but they have yet to announce their mortgage rates. Analysts said it was unusual for so many of the big banks to slash savings rates in anticipation of a rate cut and have warned savers that they will probably fall again
The banks will now come under intense pressure to show their hands, as research for The Sunday Times by AWD Chase de Vere, an adviser, showed the rate ploy could make the banks an estimated 26m a monthThe Bank of England last week chopped rates from 5.75% to 5.5% the first reduction since August 2005. While an estimated 3m borrowers on tracker mortgages benefited immediately because their loans automatically follow Bank rate, another 2.2m pay the lenders standard variable rate (SVR) and a further 1.2m are on discounts linked to the standard rate.
Lenders have complete discretion over when they cut SVRs, and by how much, and there are growing fears that many will take the opportunity to rebuild their margins in the wake of the global credit crunch.
Sue Hannums of AWD Chase de Vere said: Many banks have been quietly cutting savings rates over the past few weeks in the hope that we wont notice when they chop rates again following the latest base-rate move. Add the fact that SVRs are unlikely to come down by the full quarter point, and banks have a great opportunity to boost their margins.
Halifax, Britains biggest lender, was quick off the mark last week in announcing its SVR would go down by the full quarter point, from 7.75% to 7.5% though not until January 1.
Halifax savers, meanwhile, have already had rates slashed by up to 0.25 percentage points and the chances are they will fall again after the bank refused to rule out further cuts.
Nationwide is the only other major lender to have moved with a full quarter-point reduction in its SVR.
Ray Boulger at John Charcol, a broker, said: I think the number of lenders who pass on the full rate cut will be in the minority, and I expect a few will not cut their SVRs at all.
Egg set the tone when it reduced its SVR by just 0.15 points last week, from 6.94% to 6.79%, from January 1.
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Prices Slowing Down |
30th August, 2007 |
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Rising interest rates and falling yields are encouraging a growing number of landlords to sell their properties. This can only have a detremental effect on prices.
Cheap credit and a booming housing market have spawned hundreds of buy-to-let investors in recent years.
The latest survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, however, suggests easy returns may be a thing of the past and is another sign the housing market is beginning to slow down after four interest rate rises since August.
More than five percent of landlords opted to sell properties when their tenants' lease expired in the quarter to April, the highest percentage in two years.
Just 4.1 percent of landlords opted to sell in the quarter to January and less than four percent in the same quarter last year. The Bank raised interest rates to 5.5 percent this month and some economists predict rates could go to 6 percent by the end of the year.
While tenant demand remained strong, rental growth failed to keep pace with property price inflation causing yields to fall.
"Falling yields set against rising interest rates can only have squeezed landlords' operating margins even further, making residential property less enticing for new investors," said Kelvin Davidson, property economist at Capital Economics.
Bank policymakers have made no secret of their wish to see house price inflation moderate and have raised interest rates four times in the past year to curb price pressures.
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Remortgage and Save 's |
29th April, 2007 |
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Homeowners coming to the end of a mortgage deal are collectively wasting 20 million a month by failing to switch to a better rate, it has been claimed. A recent survey found that the majority of homeowners do not know how competitive their mortgage is, with more than half of people not knowing what rate they are paying.
Around 50 per cent of homeowners have a fixed or tracker rate mortgage, but 35 per cent of these say they will not bother remortgaging when their current deal expires, according to High Street bank Abbey. Abbey claim this means an estimated 280,000 people stay on their lender's standard variable rate, which their rate automatically reverts to at he end of the offer period, at a collective cost of 20 million each month.
Mortgage rates have risen from an average of 4.21 per cent in September 2003 to 5.5 per cent now. If a borrower had taken out a two-year fixed rate in 2003 they would have paid an average of 4 per cent, but when this deal runs out they will revert to an average standard variable rate of 6.5 per cent, increasing monthly mortgage repayments on a 100,000 loan by 148.
We at Mortgages-by-Phone suggest you look at getting a remortgage quote to see how much you could save. Visit our remortgage section for more details.
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New Bad Credit Mortgage Range |
9th April, 2007 |
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Platform Mortgages have announced the launch of a range of new non-conforming 2 Year fixed rates offering borrowers rates that are lower, by up to 0.50%, than standard products available.
This new range has been developed to offer borrowers, who have had credit difficulties in the past, the option of a 2 year fixed rate which is priced as low as possible to make it easier for them to budget and repair their credit history.
The fixed rates are available across Platforms Non-Conforming range from Almost Prime to Heavy Adverse (with the exception of Right to Buy and Buy to Let) and all have no early repayment charge overhang. An arrangement fee of 1.5% is added to the loan.
Paul Hunt, Head of Marketing comments: Having over 8 years experience in the non-conforming market, we understand that borrowers in this sector are primarily concerned with being able to comfortably afford the mortgage repayments and repair their credit as soon as possible. These new products meet both these needs and offer intermediaries an alternative option within the non-conforming market.
If you have problems with "bad credit" we can help. Speak to one of our expert advisers. CLICK HERE
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Rate Tarts |
28th March, 2007 |
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The banks might not share this view, but when a certain market force is benefiting the consumer, you're hardly likely to lose too much sleep worrying about what any particular lender thinks.
But among the millions of people with mortgages those with shrewdness are somewhat discourteously called "rate tarts" - people prepared to hop on and off any number of investment vehicles in order to shave a slice off their monthly repayments.
With as much as 40 per cent of the mortgage market coming from remortgaging, Mortgages-by-phone brokers have a vested interest in such apparent rate-hopping promiscuity.
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New Alliance & Leicester Mortgages |
1st June, 2006 |
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Two new Alliance & Leicester mortgage deals have been launched today, including an intermediary special and five-year discount mortgage deal.
The new Alliance & Leicester mortgages offer a two-year base rate tracker for remortgagers with the intermediary special while the five-year discount mortgage has been described as being fully flexible.
Remortgagers can borrow 95 per cent of the total value of a property, at 0.01 per cent below the Bank of England base rate for two years with the new base rate tracker and free valuation is included in the package.
With the five-year discount mortgage the offer is a 1.8 per cent discount on Alliance & Leicester's standard variable rate for five years, the fully flexible features allow borrowers to make overpayments and then borrow money back later.
Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages, said: "We are introducing a special two year base rate tracker re-mortgage; this deal offers a highly competitive tracker rate. We're also continuing to buck the trend by cutting the product fee on our five-year discount deal."
The new Alliance & Leicester mortgage deals are part of a range of mortgage deals available to property investors who might also consider lending under a fixed rate agreement.
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New 1 year Fixed |
25th March, 2006 |
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A Bank of Scotland One-Year Fixed-Rate mortgage is among a selection of self-certified products that have been launched today.
The deal is available at up to 85 per cent loan to value (LTV) and has a rate of 4.75 per cent until June 30th 2007. |
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Leeds Extend Fixed Rate |
6th February, 2006 |
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Leeds Building Society spokesman Jeff Kirk says, "Continuing consumer uncertainty surrounding the impact of future bank base rate changes means that short term fixes are very popular. We have extended our 2-year fixed at only 4.75 per cent, which has proved to be extremely attractive to clients looking to remortgage or purchase.
There is no higher lending charge up to 90 per cent loan to value and the product is fully portable, so if customers do wish to move within the 2 years, they can take this deal with them.
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Help with Paying for Xmas |
3rd January, 2006 |
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The Bradford & Bingley could help with the cost of Christmas, the lender said it has launched a debt campaign together with TV cleaning stars Kim Woodburn and Aggie MacKenzie. The stars will scour the mortgage and loan markets for the best deals in an in-store campaign aimed at relieving the pressure of debt.
Duncan Pownall, Bradford & Bingley mortgage development manager, said: "Wrapping multiple borrowings into one place ? either through remortgaging or taking out a personal loan - is a good way of structuring payments and making sure the debt gets cleared."
This process would almost certainly save money on interest payments as well, he added, though if people are unsure they should talk to a mortgage adviser.
Bradford & Bingley mortgage and loan tips include consolidating debts and watching out for the end of introductory zero per cent rates on new credit cards.
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Record Month For Mortgages |
20th December, 2005 |
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Mortgage lending in November reached its highest level since July 2004, the second strongest figure on record, according to lenders today. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said that gross mortgage lending rose by 5% to reach an estimated 28.5bn last month, just 1% lower than the 28.9bn lent in July 2004 and 30% higher than last November's figure of 21.76bn.
The CML said that these figures suggested a "robust underlying picture" due to the fact that lending activity is generally slow at the end of the year.
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Mortgage Boom |
30th November, 2005 |
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Mortgage lending for home purchases last month returned to levels not seen since the height of the property boom. The Bank of England data shows that there were 113,000 mortgage approvals for home purchases in October, up from 108,000 in September.
This is the highest number of mortgages taken out in a month since June 2004 when mortgage lenders Nationwide and Halifax were recording annual house price inflation of 19 and 22 per cent respectively.
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Beware the low rate |
3rd November, 2005 |
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People buying properties and taking out mortgages or re-mortgages, are still being ripped off a year after regulations were brought in to protect consumers, says Nationwide Building Society.
The building society says that Britain's 150 mortgage lenders are still taking advantage of homebuyers, even though statutory regulation was brought in on October 31st last year. The building society has warned those hunting for a suitable mortgage not to be drawn in by low interest rates.
"Dont be fooled by an initial low interest rate that has extended redemption penalties. Rarely, if ever, does the benefit received from the low initial rate outweigh the burden of the higher rate at the end of the period, so be careful!" said Nationwide spokesman Stuart Bernau.
Nationwide has also warned those looking for a new mortgage to avoid mortgages which charge annual interest, ask for higher lending fees and offer insurance products tied in with mortgages. If you speak to an independent mortgage adviser they will warn you of the pitfalls.
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RBS New Rates |
16th September, 2005 |
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New products launched. Royal Bank of Scotland have launched 2 new High Value Tracker products. Bristol & West , have launched 2 new 1st Start Fixed rates. Leek United have revised their 10 year Discount rate.
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Interest Rate Cut |
4th August, 2005 |
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The first interest rate cut in two years was announced today. The Bank of England has reduced the base rate by 0.25% to 4.50%. The move was as expected with retail sales slowing down in July. |
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Property Glut |
1st June, 2005 |
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According to the latest report by the Estate Agents Rightmove, “The number of properties coming on the market is almost twice that coming off".
The report says that over 100,000 new properties have been added to the growing over-supply. Stock levels per estate agent rose by 6% this month to stand 33% higher than a year ago. This makes the market much more difficult to sell in and gives First Time Buyers even more bargaining power.
It appears that sellers may have to take a small “hit” to their asking price of about 10% below the peak boom prices of last year. This is good news for First Time Buyers, though not so great for anyone trying to sell.
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Abbey Fined £800,000 |
26th May, 2005 |
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Mortgage lender Abbey, has been fined £800,000 by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The fine is for mishandling complaints from customers over endowment policies. The FSA also said Abbey gave the regulator inaccurate information and failed to treat its customers fairly.
The FSA said Abbey mishandled around 5,000 complaints between October 01 and September 03. Abbey which was recently taken over by Spanish bank Santander, would have been in line for a far higher fine if Santander had not acted as quickly as it did to address the problem.
This news follows hard on the heels of the recent announcement that Abbey is to cut an extra 1,000 posts, bringing the total number of planned job losses since takeover by Santander to 4,000.
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More Customer Care From Your Broker |
16th May, 2005 |
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The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) has received support for a new qualification that helps teach mortgage advisers how to ‘Treat Customers Fairly’.
The old, non-statutory mortgage industry regulator, the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB), has awarded the ifs £200,000 to contribute towards ‘qualifications development’ - three quarters of which is to help pay for the new ifs’ Certificate of Regulated Customer Care (CeRCC).
Contrary to often bad publicity, mortgage brokers are clearly committed to improving levels of professionalism throughout the financial services industry. The new statutory regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has placed ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ high on its list of priorities.
This new qualification will be a way of showing that they mean what they say. The Institute of Financial Services (ifs) is the UK’s leading School of Finance and is the organisation that provides the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP®), which UK mortgage advisers have to have in order to arrange mortgages for their customers.
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House Sales Slump |
11th May, 2005 |
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The number of house sales in both England and Wales dropped by an alarming 35% compared with last year, according to figures from the Land Registry Office.
A survey released by the government reveals 159,116 properties changed hands during the first three months of 2005, down on the 243,914 homes sold during the same period last year.
House sale completions in the capital decreased by 36%, which could suggest a cooling period in the market, however the average property price in London increased by 9.83% from £262,685 in 2004 to £288,507 for the period ending in March.
For the rest of the country, prices also continue to rise, up by a healthy 10.27% on average in 2005 to £183,486, as opposed to a 14.06% increase to £163,404 recorded last year.
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UK Bank Rate Un-changed |
9th May, 2005 |
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UK Mortgages rates will remain on hold in May after the Bank of England decided to maintain the base rate at its current level. The announcement, put back by four days to avoid a clash with the general election, was in line with economists' expectations following weak retail sales and manufacturing data. Interest rates have now been at their current level for nine concecutive months.
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Mortgage Applications On The Way Up |
30th April, 2005 |
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The number of Mortgages approved reached a seven-month high in March, according to new figures from the Bank of England. The number of loans approved for home purchases was at its highest level since August last year, though the overall number of mortgages approved was still considerably lower than it was at the start of last year.But the figures are being taken as suggesting that the housing market is now at least stable and possibly set to rise again.
"The further modest rise in mortgage approvals to a seven-month high in March adds to the recent overall evidence suggesting that housing market activity has at least stabilised after slowing markedly in the second half of 2004," commented Howard Archer, UK economist with Global Insight.
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Prices Rise |
29th April, 2005 |
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One of the leading Building Societies, the Nationwide said that the price of an average home rose 0.9% to £156,128 in April, reversing March's 0.6% fall. The news will help boost confidence among some home owners and doom-mongers that the market is not heading for a damaging crash. Nationwide said that despite the latest price gains, the market is much more subdued than during last year's boom. Ironing out the ups and downs, price rises have averaged 0.3% a month over the past three months compared with 2% a year earlier. The annual rate of increase now stands at 7%, the weakest for four years.
Some buyers may be waiting to see the result of the general election before taking the plunge, as Michael Howard has said he would raise the stamp duty threshold to £250,000.
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Mortgage Lending Rises |
22nd April, 2005 |
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The Building Societies Association (BSA) saw mortgage lending rise slightly, while the British Bankers Association (BBA) said lending was a little weaker. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said mortgage lending rose overall from £17.8bn in February to £20.1bn in March.
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Sarah Beeny Gives Advice |
2nd April, 2005 |
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People visiting the national Homebuilding and Renovating show at the NEC soon will be able to take advantage of a unique programmed set of free seminars. All aspects of homebuilding and renovating will be covered at the show which runs from Thursday April 14th till Sunday 17th. One of the highlights of the show will be when Sarah Beeny from Channel 4’s Property Ladder joins a panel, hosted by Ian Davies, director general of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) to present a seminar on Thursday April 14th discussing the thorny issues of financing any building project.
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Stamp Duty Limits Raised |
16th March, 2005 |
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The Stamp Duty threshold has been raised. Gordon Brown has eventually got round to lifting the limit above the paltry £60,000 it’s been for the last six years. The threshold now means that only properties above £120,000 will have to pay. If you live in London though it’s hardly anything to get excited about, less than one in 20 properties sold in the capital last year, cost less than £120,000. The government may champion what it’s doing to help first time buyers and the housing market, but if the old £60,000 limit had been raised inline with house prices it would now be in excess of £150,000. The average price paid by first-time-buyers is now £131,024. |
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