Mortgage Advisors need to diversify
November 20, 2008
Mark Roberts, development manager for the ifs School of Finance, said while the number of advisers taking CeMAP (Certificate in Mortgage Advice & Practice) had decreased, the number of advisers registering for the CeFA (Certificate for Financial Advisers), which allows advisers to offer full financial advice, had increased by 10 per cent during the same period.
The development manager for the ifs School of Finance, Mark Roberts, stated this week:
“The credit crunch continues to have a significant impact on the mortgage advice community and adverse market conditions are rapidly becoming the accepted status quo. Mortgage lending slumped by 10 per cent in September to its lowest level for more than three-and-a-half years as the housing market slowdown dented demand for new home loans.
“In such a climate there can be little doubt that mortgage advisers need to consider ways of diversifying their business models. With tougher times ahead, those brokers who distinguish themselves from their competition are likely to reap the rewards, not simply of maintaining business volumes but of actually increasing them.”
According to Mr Roberts, the number of mortgage advisers taking CeMAP as a standalone qualification has decreased, however, those taking the CeFA exam has increased by approximately 10 per cent over the same timeframe.
The ifs School of Finance has seen an increase in mortgage advisors looking to take additional qualifications, with the CeRER qualification (Certificate in Regulated Equity Release) proving the most popular.
Despite the current turmoil, the ifs School of Finance is Read more
Wakefield Council offers financial support
November 19, 2008
Wakefield, a city in West Yorkshire, has become one of the first cities to offer financial support to those who need it the most in the midst of the financial downturn.
Wakefield Council is offering a limited number of loans of up to £15,000 interest free to those worst hit, who are struggling to meet their mortgage arrears and council tax bills. Naturally, the loans are only available to those in the Wakefield area.
Councillors expect to run this Mortgage Assistance Scheme for three years and are also offering discounted council tax to some. The loans are restricted to just two or three applicants each month.
The scheme actually launched in April, has had 64 applicants and awarded 11, with the average loan working out at just under £7,000.
Council leader Peter Box said: “The global economic situation is affecting all of us. As a council, we want to do all we can to ease the impact on citizens and on local business by being as flexible as possible and by working with people to understand any problems they might have in completing transactions with us. In some cases, the help we can offer may be limited, but we want to do as much as we can. The moves are part of the council’s commitment to ease the burden on local people of the worldwide financial banking crisis and the credit crunch, which is expected to hit hard in the run-up to Christmas.”
In a report last week, a spokesperson for the Local Government Assocation (LGA) said:
“Local authorities are at the centre of helping people, businesses and other groups through tough economic times ahead. When things go wrong, councils step in, both to help kick-start the economy when it hits rock bottom and to provide a safety net for people in need. Wakefield council is offering people at risk of repossession interest free loans to make sure they can stay in their own homes; Lancashire County Council has identified over 500 people who weren’t claiming benefits to which they were entitled;
Leeds council is offering debt advice and counselling for local families.”
Negative Equity Fears for Landlords
November 18, 2008
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services have estimated that between 20 and 40 percent of landlords could be in negative equity next year so will owe more on their property than it is worth if the prices of property fall by 25 to 30 percent as experts predict.
Similar figures for homeowners are predicted at 14 to 20 percent.
Part of the larger problem with landlords is Read more
Northern Rock May Cause Remortgagees Nightmare
November 17, 2008
Before Northern Rock got itself into a little trouble and was subsequently nationalised, its mortgages proved popular predominantly because of its flexibility. The mortgage lender offered 125 percent mortgages and offered home loans up to five times a person’s salary at a time when other banks only offered three-and-a-half.
However, it has now increased its interest rates because it doesn’t want as many mortgages on its books now that its priority is to pay back its loan to the government.
Katie Tucker of John Charcol, a mortgage broker, says: “Northern Rock’s mortgages are currently extremely uncompetitive, with rates, in some cases, more than 1.5% higher than other lenders.”
As current borrowers of Northern Rock come to Read more
Large deposits required for most mortgage deals
November 16, 2008
Despite last week’s drop in interest rates, which many lenders have passed on in their variable rates for mortgage offers, and the increasing drop in property prices, many first time buyers are still finding it difficult to get on the property ladder. The reason for this is that most mortgage deals available to borrowers require a sizable deposit.
Figures released by Moneyfacts recently showed that on thirty-five mortgage deals available required a 5% purchase price deposit, and just sixty-six mortgage deals were available with a 10% deposit. The means that first time buyers are having to scrimp and save in order to Read more
Alternatives to Repossession
November 15, 2008
In the current economic climate, repossessions are in nobody’s interest according to one market expert.
According to Al Elliot at the Homeowners Advice Centre, mortgage lenders should be supporting their customers and look for alternatives to repossessions in a climate such as this, because with falling house prices there is no point in forcing a sale where the mortgage value is unlikely to be reclaimed.
Instead, the mortgage market should change in accordance with the times, and Read more
Barclays 3.99 percent fixed rate mortgage
November 14, 2008
In the wake of the new fall in costs of wholesale lending between the banks to the lowest level seen since 2003, the mortgage arm of Barclays, the Woolwich has launched a special one year fixed rate deal at just 3.99 percent.
The Woolwich is the UK’s sixth largest mortgage lender and the new mortgage is available to borrowers with Read more
New Tracker Mortgages Launched
November 13, 2008
As predicted yesterday, three of the major lenders have relaunched new tracker mortgage products following the mass exodus of tracker mortgages from the market last week.
The three major mortgage lenders were Read more
Tracker Mortgage Deals Set To Return
November 12, 2008
Following an increase in the costs to lend money between banks, mortgage rates reached a seven year high last month according to figures from the Bank of England based upon deals available to those with a 25 per cent deposit.
Experts say that the high mortgage rates were predominantly due to the sharp rise in the cost of lending between banks, following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the US bank, in mid-September.
The three month sterling Libor rate is the key rate for the banks and a strong indicator for mortgage lending in the UK. It hit its highest point for the last ten months last month at 6.29 percent and the banks were nervous.
Since then though, the Libor rate has fallen significantly giving increased confidence to the mortgage lenders. After the Bank of England cut the base rate by 1.5 per cent last week, mortgage lenders started to withdraw their tracker rates, but now that the Libor rate has followed suit, they are starting to reconsider.
Today, the Abbey is expected to be the first bank to announce a reintroduction of a base rate tracker mortgage product and others, such as the Halifax and Lloyds TSB, are expected to follow suit.
HSBC Boss Says Government Bailout Could Encourage Reckless Banks
November 11, 2008
HSBS is the world’s fourth largest bank and responsible for many UK mortgages and yesterday, its Chief Executive warned that the bailout from the government, worth £37 billion, could lead us back to the days of reckless banks and finance houses.
Michael Geoghegan stated Read more
