Trackers have never been so expensive
December 11, 2008
The difference between the price that homeowners pay for a tracker mortgage and the base rate from the Bank of England has never been so high since records began in 1997 according to the Daily Mail.
An average figure of the difference used to be around 1 percent, as mortgage lenders always charge a mark up over the base rate.
The latest figures, however, show Read more
Abbey National increases mortgage rate
December 10, 2008
Following our report yesterday about how Lloyds TSB, Britain’s largest mortgage lender had increased its interest rates, now Abbey National, Britain’s second largest lender has increased its interest rates too.
Abbey has really increased its market share in the mortgage sector this year, taking advantage of its rivals troubles, and yet despite a drop in the cost of lending and the interest rates by the Bank of England, it has increased its Read more
Lloyds TSB increase tracker mortgage interest rate
December 9, 2008
Lloyds TSB has increased its interest rates on tracker mortgages by up to 0.4 percent.
The mortgage lender is the fifth largest in Britain and has increased the rates in a move that effectively prevents any new borrowers from taking advantage of the full 1 percent interest cut put in place by the Bank of England last Thursday.
Lloyds TSB has pushed up Read more
HSBC makes 2009 mortgage pledge
December 8, 2008
HSBC has become the first bank to make a new year’s resolution for 2009 and one that pleases the government. The bank has pledged that next year it will increase its volume of mortgage lending by around 20 percent, taking its total mortgage lending to £15 billion, double the amount from 2007.
Although HSBC has said it will be increasing its lending because it sees the credit crunch as an opportunity to increase its market share, it will not Read more
Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme to be extended to buy-to-let?
December 7, 2008
The recent announcement from the government concerning the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme, that is to help homeowners who are behind on the mortgage payments, should be extended to include buy-to-let mortgages, according to the National Landlords Association.
The new government scheme has been set up to provide support for homeowners who are in mortgage arrears as a result of redundancy or sickness. While the announcement was welcomed, it has come to light that only a fraction of people who are in arrears would Read more
Return of 90 Percent Mortgages
December 6, 2008
With good news for first time buyers, those looking for remortgages, mortgage advisors and those looking to take CeMAP training courses, the 90 percent mortgage has returned this week after disappearing for the last couple of months during the credit crunch.
The first to reintroduce this level Read more
Government mortgage help plan
December 5, 2008
In an interesting move this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced moves to help people avoid repossession.
The moves include homeowners being able to defer part of their mortgage interest for up to two years. The exact portion to be deferred would be agreed with the mortgage lender but could be up to 100 percent.
It is believed the scheme will cover mortgages worth up to £400,000 and include allowing customers to switch from repayment to interest only as well.
It is estimated that the scheme could help up to 9,000 families and the government believes that there is a more widespread fear of repossession than could actually face it and it is this fear they want to dispel more than anything.
Brown also revealed that Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley are Read more
Interest rate cut to lowest level since 1951
December 4, 2008
Today, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee met and agreed to cut interest rates by a full 1 per cent as predicted by experts earlier this week, taking them from 3 per cent to just 2 per cent – this is the lowest level since 1951.
Since the Bank of England was founded in 1694, interest rates have never been lower than 2 per cent. This decision has been taken in an effort to stop the UK from sliding into an economic recession.
Data received this week has Read more
Mortgages require government intervention
December 3, 2008
According to a lenders group, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), mortgage lenders have less money to lend out on mortgages and if the government does not intervene, then the situation is unlikely to improve in 2009.
The CML’s Director General, Michael Coogan, said:
“Consumer borrowing will simply not return to the levels seen in 2007, even if funds increased and a wide variety of lenders were to become active in the mortgage market again. In fact, unless government takes further targeted action to help market participants, we will see a worsening of the picture next year compared to this.”
Some lenders, like the Royal Bank of Scotland, have Read more
1 percent interest rate cut predicted
December 2, 2008
This Thursday, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is due to meet again and in the midst of more gloomy recession figures, the news could be good for mortgage holders with variable rate or capped rate mortgages.
Following last month’s 1.75 percent reduction in the base rate, experts are predicting Read more
