HSBC announces 90 percent mortgage to end housing crash
September 30, 2009
Many first time buyers have been struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder thanks to the increased level of deposit required by all the mortgage lenders over the last year.
However, today the HSBC has announced the first 90 per cent loan to value mortgage we have seen in a while open to first time buyers and has said there is an available £500 million of additional lending to help first time buyers get their first mortgage.
The deal is only available to those purchasing property, not to those seeking remortgages and the best rate in 5.99 per cent for a two year fixed rate mortgage deal, which comes with an arrangement fee of £599.
The bank had already made mortgage loans worth £1 billion in 2009 so far to Read more
Do courses include the cost of the exams?
September 27, 2009
We are often asked if our CeMAP courses, or other courses such as CeFA or CeRER, include the cost of the exams within the courses.
None of our courses do actually include the exam prices within the advertised price and there is a very good reason for this.
The main reason is that although a large number of our course delegates do wish to study for and take the exams, a significant number do not. We are an approved training provider for many large corporations who buy Read more
Fewer borrowers taking fixed rate mortgages
September 24, 2009
According to mortgage brokerage John Charcol, the number of borrowers choosing fixed rate mortgage deals has decreased by half over the last two months and this is being attributed to the higher cost of fixed deals right now.
The brokerage stated 41.9 percent of their own customers took a fixed rate mortgage deal in the month of August, which is surprisingly low when you compare it to the 83 percent in June. It is also the lowest figure they have seen since December last year.
Instead it seems most people are opting for the Read more
Most mortgage complaints award goes to Bank of Scotland
September 21, 2009
According to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), the dubious title of receiving the highest number of mortgage related complaints goes to the Bank of Scotland. An article on mortgaesolutions-online.com reported that the FOS has received more than 550 complaints about the Bank of Scotland just in the first half of this year. Naturally not all were upheld but around 40 Read more
Woolwich launches mortgage at 1.98 percent
September 18, 2009
The Woolwich has launched a new one year tracker mortgage that has currently the lowest interest rate at just 1.98 percent, undercutting HSBC’s lowest 1.99 percent interest rate, yet Credit Choices and one or two other media sources have noted the ‘sting in the tail’ accompanying this mortgage.
Woolwich is owned by Barclays and stands as one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country. This new initial rate might be incredibly low but mortgage advisors would warn their Read more
House price rises – false dawn or economy hope?
September 15, 2009
This week the papers are full of conflicting stories. On the one hand, house prices and mortgage lending for the month of July are showing great promise with a 19 per cent increase of mortgage lending compared to last year and the monthly surveys from the Nationwide and the Halifax showing price rises on the incline over the last few months as sales increase and more mortgages are approved.
On the other hand, the economy group Ernst & Young’s ITEM group declare that this is just a false dawn. The group has forecast a price fall in early 2010 that will take three years to increase back to the levels of 2007.
Which prediction the public chooses to believe is Read more
Confidence in economy boosts mortgage market with reduced interest rates
September 12, 2009
It was announced on Thursday that the base interest rate would remain at 0.5 per cent as the Bank of England decided to hold the same interest rate for the seventh month in a row.
However despite this, several mortgage lenders decided to make ‘modest’ reductions in their interest rate, mortgage expert John Charcol reported this week.
John Charcol spokesperson Ray Boulger gave his thoughts behind Read more
Northern Rock products middle of the road
September 9, 2009
Northern Rock is cutting its fixed rate mortgage interest rate and launching a new tracker rate mortgage in an effort to stay ‘middle of the road’.
The interest rates on these new mortgage deals are just above the average from other competitors in the marketplace.
When the government nationalised Northern Rock, it was Read more
Abbey staff mortgage malpractice
September 6, 2009
According an article in the Daily Mail this weekend, staff at the Abbey’s mortgage operation centre in Leeds reportedly doctored the salary details of customers in order to get their mortgage applications through the computerised system as quickly as possible in the run up to the credit crunch and property crash. This kept sales ticking over through 2006 and 2007 and meant the staff received their bonuses.
This claim will be am embarrassment to the Spanish banking group Santander, which has alwasy maintained its pride on prudence throughout the property boom.
The discovery was made during an internal probe. A spokesman for Abbey said they found Read more
Does the course follow the syllabus?
September 3, 2009
When you are looking at CeMAP training, CeFA courses or studying for the CeRER exam, whatever the course may be, then it is important that you find a training company that is experienced in getting delegates through these exams.
Every course should follow the syllabus and should have been put together with the latest syllabus in mind. In the case of CeMAP, CeRER or CeFA this is Read more
