4 Sep

Mansfield Building Society launches in Scotland.

Mansfield Building Society has launched its residential mortgage proposition - including its prime residential, self-build, retirement interest-only and Versatility products - in Scotland. https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/mortgages/mansfield-bs-launches-in-scotland.html read more

29 Nov

Business is down for broker

Looks like a slightly lower business levels is explained in this article. Broker produce over 70% of the mortgage business so, why are people not moving? https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/broker-business-volumes-lowest-in-over-two-years-imla/ read more

21 Aug

Is it hard to get a mortgage from a bank?

Planning to buy a home, or switch your existing mortgage? Prepare to answer a litany of questions, spend hours at the bank and endure forensic analysis of your daily spending habits. Even after jumping through all those hoops, success is not guaranteed, as there are now strict affordability rules that force lenders to ensure borrowers will be able to afford to pay their mortgage in the future. The main bulk of the current rules surrounding lending came into force in 2014 through the Mortgage Market Review, which read more

26 Jul

First time buyers outstrip home movers since 1995

This is a good article. http://www.financialreporter.co.uk/finance-news/first-time-buyers-outstrip-homemovers-for-first-time-since-1995.html I have noticed that home movers are reluctant to move until they have found the perfect home. In the past they would list there property and then go find a new house. Not anymore. This makes for a shortage in the house market. Perhaps people are choosing to stay put. read more

21 Aug

Newly-built homes will have to last at least 2,000 years if the sluggish rate of house building continues

The LGA, which represents local authorities in England and Wales, said that the failure to build enough homes for decades meant existing properties will have to house more people and last for much longer. This has led to the country spending nearly as much on the repair and maintenance of existing homes as it does building new ones. Cllr Judith Blake, LGA Housing spokesperson, said: “Our country’s failure to build enough homes over the past few decades is putting huge pressure on our existing housing read more

19 Aug

New regulation on how much you can borrower on a mortgage

Such "reversion" rates are often the same as the lender's standard variable rate, or SVR. According to Ray Boulger of John Charcol, the broker, SVRs can currently be as high as 5.75pc. This could mean that some banks are forced to stress test at a very high rate of 8.75pc. Stringent new rules on mortgage affordability could force borrowers to prove that they could afford repayments almost twice as high as the expected monthly cost of their loan. The Bank of England announced the beefed-up rules on affordability or read more

17 Aug

Could 100% mortgages make a return???

There are growing calls for Britain’s financial watchdogs to relax aspects of the post-crisis regulations and allow the resumption of controversial “100pc mortgages” – where homebuyers put down no deposit whatever. Lenders, brokers, academics and other property commentators claim the “kneejerk” response to ban 100pc home loans lacks logic, is socially divisive and will “store up enormous social and financial difficulties in decades to come”. High “loan-to-value” mortgages have been controversial for many years. read more

28 Jun

Mortgages could be harder to get. “AGAIN!!!!!!”

Lenders will have to make sure that customers can manage repayments at a rate of around seven per cent - far higher than the rate they are likely to be applying for. It means borrowers will only be able to qualify for a loan if they could afford bills at the higher rate, which is around three percentage points above the typical Standard Variable Rate (SVR), It comes as the Bank of England today warned in its bi-annual Financial Stability Report that credit card debt, personal loans and motor finance grew much read more