Credit crunch could cut years off mortgages
January 21, 2009
The recent falls in the Bank of England’s base interest rate could mean a saving of thousands of pounds and cut years off mortgages for many people.
As the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee has Read more
Could RBS be next for nationalisation?
January 20, 2009
Amid fears yesterday that the plans from the government would be insufficient to save the credit crisis, the shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) dropped to just 11p, a drop of more than 65 per cent.
Lloyds Bank did not fare much better as it lost Read more
Government bailout phase 2
January 19, 2009
It’s the talk of the town today, how the £37 billion already given to banks by the government from taxpayers money was apparently not enough.
The government has stated that it appears not all the banks were honest about how bad the debts and mortgages on their books were and now the taxpayers will need to bail them out yet again with billions of pounds more to an extent that they cannot yet quantify.
There will be a condition on this latest bailout that Read more
A big deposit means a lower fixed rate mortgage
January 18, 2009
Last week, interest rates were cut by a number of mortgage lenders for buyers who were able to put down a sizable deposit. If you’re able to raise a 60% deposit on a new home, you can take advantage of a 3.19% rate with the Alliance & Leicester, subject to a 2% fee. For a slightly smaller 25% deposit home buyers can find rates at 3.69%.
If you have a 60% deposit and want to pay less than the 2% fee, can you pay a 1% fee and take a rate at 3.69% which is fixed for Read more
Mortgagee or mortgagor?
January 17, 2009
When you are preparing for your CeMAP exam, there is a lot of jargon you need to familiarise yourself with, particularly if you are not from a mortgage background. Often, people who want to study for the CeMAP qualification themselves are wanting to show initiative in order to get into the financial services industry or sometimes they work in the back office, perhaps doing administration Read more
Standard variable rates more popular
January 16, 2009
Now that the Bank of England’s base interest rate has plummeted so much, it seems this is leading to a huge increase in the number of people content to stay on their mortgage lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) when their special deal comes to an end.
In recent years, fixed rate and discount deals have been more popular than variable rates and at Read more
HSBC lowest ever mortgage rate
January 15, 2009
You might remember that HSBC pledged its New Year’s resolution for 2009 was to double the volume of lending it had back in 2007 and it seems that one way it intends to do this is to offer its lowest ever mortgage interest rate at just 2.99 per cent.
However, as you might imagine, there is a catch. The new Read more
Lenders still holding back first time buyers
January 14, 2009
The mortgage scene today is certainly very different to how it was just a few short years ago.
For a long time, potential home buyers have become accustomed to being able to purchase a new property with a deposit of as little as 5 percent, sometimes without any deposit at all and occasionally the banks would even give you money to purchase a property with loan to values as high as 120 per cent!
Today the story is certainly very different with only the Abbey and Read more
Relocation, Relocation new series
January 13, 2009
Kirsty and Phil returned to our screens this week in the latest series of their home buying programme, Relocation, Relocation. Unlike in previous years, where buying houses has been relatively easy with couples able to get high mortgage to value loans, this series of the property show acknowledge that the housing market has drastically changed. Even though prices are falling, finding the right property can be even more difficult now than it was at the height of the housing boom.
The show followed a couple that were initially looking to take advantage of their luck in the property market over the last five years, where’d they bought and sold at the right times and were now renting, with the proceeds from three properties in the last five years Read more
Maximising lead generation for mortgage advisors
January 12, 2009
As we discussed earlier this month, particularly when you have just finished your CeMAP training and are just getting started, lead generation is particularly important.
We’ve already discussed where to get your leads from and what to check for, but there are other ways of making sure that you get the best value from your leads.
Firstly, as discussed, you need to get fresh leads and respond as quickly as possible, but even when you have made that call and found that you cannot provide a service to that person – no matter what the reason – that does not mean that you cannot get value from Read more
