The Co-operative Bank has announced plans to increase its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by 0.5 percentage points to 4.74 per cent from 1 May. The increase means that 54,000 mortgage borrowers will have to pay an average of £15 a month more on their mortgage. The bank has increased its rates to help offset [...]
Lenders are softening up on their loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, according to MoneyExpert.com. Research by the price comparison website shows the number of fixed-rate deals at 90% LTV or above almost doubling in the last 12 months, with 147 products to choose from today, up from 78 this time last year. However, those seeking LTVs of [...]
Nationwide has lowered the deposit required for some of its most competitive remortaging deals, from 40% to 30%. From today, all the lender’s existing 60% loan-to-value (LTV) fixed and tracker remortgage loans are available at up to 70%. Since the onset of the credit crisis, remortgaging activity has been in a steady decline as lower [...]
The average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio on house purchase loans increased to 70% in December 2009, leaving the typical homebuyer requiring a 30% deposit. According to research from the Mortgage Advice Bureau, the tendency for lenders to require large deposits in exchange for reasonable rates is softening, having improved from an average LTV of 67% in [...]
First-time buyers are finding it easier to get a foot on the property ladder, according to independent mortgage adviser, Mortgageforce.co.uk. Better deals for high loan to value (LTV) borrowers meant that in November, 14% of all transactions arranged by the online broker were for those buying their first home, compared to the usual 10%. The [...]
Figures from realpricecomparison.com show that in October and November, first-time buyers accounted for nearly a third of all mortgage searches. However, small deposits mean would-be homeowners are seeking out deals at 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or above, with around 8.5% of searches for mortgages with LTVs of between 90% and 95%. According to the price [...]
Lenders continue to offer mortgages at an “obscene” rate of interest despite the cost of interbank borrowing falling to a record low. Paul Holmes, chief executive of first-time buyer advice site Firstrung, said lenders have “no excuse” for the rates they are charging. Banks and building societies are simply using record low interest rates to [...]
Homeowners are gradually being offered a larger choice of mortgage products, although lenders remain cagey about attracting too much business, MoneyFacts.co.uk claimed this week The number of mortgage products available dropped to a record low of 1,209 at the beginning of April, down from a peak of 11,951 products that were available in July 2007. [...]
Leeds Building Society has launched a new fixed-rate mortgage for customers with a deposit of at least 25%. Interest on the five-year mortgage is fixed at 5.35%, and customers can borrow at up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV). Borrowers can make up to 10% capital repayments each year without penalty. Kim Rebecchi, Leeds director of sales [...]
Clydesdale Bank has approved more mortgages in the past two months than it did this time last year. The bank approved 30% more home loans in May and June compared to the same period in 2008. This rise in approvals follows Clydesdale’s pledge last week to release a further £1 billion of new lending to [...]
First time buyers are taking advantage of plummeting house prices, according to figures released this week by mortgage experts John Charcol. A fifth of mortgage applications during the first four months of 2009 came from first time buyers – an increase of 350% compared to the final four months of 2008. A significant proportion of [...]
Proposals from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) on future regulation of the UK banking sector include the possibility of a cap on mortgages, in terms of their loan-to-value (LTV) or loan-to-income ratios. The woes of the recession are linked to a decade of house price inflation fuelled by irresponsible lending by banks and others and [...]
Mortgage search engine, mform.co.uk, is convinced that first-time buyers are returning to the market in force. According to the firm’s research, applications from this group of house purchasers have increased 30% and people buying their first home now account for 40% of all users of the mform website. In October of last year, the figure [...]
Financial data provider, Moneyfacts.co.uk, has published new figures showing that 25% of mortgages available in the UK to new borrowers require a deposit of at least 40%. Those who can only manage a deposit of 5% or less have a mere 21 home loans to choose from, compared with over 1,200 in February of last [...]
Nationwide Building Society has reintroduced a mortgage with a 95% loan-to-value ratio (LTV). The deal is only available to existing customers who are moving house and borrowers signing up for the loan will be on a two-year fix at 7.18% for the no fee version. The minimum loan size is £25,000 and for those prepared [...]
New research from fool.co.uk shows just how dramatically the mortgage market has swung in favour of those who have large deposits. According to the financial website, home buyers looking for a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 60% can access around 4,588 mortgage products. For those even better placed and needing to borrow less than 60% of [...]
Woolwich has become the latest mortgage company to reduce its loan-to-value (LTV) ratio for new customers. The lender, which forms part of the Barclays group, is withdrawing all products with LTVs exceeding 90% from Thursday 8 May. These include a 5% LTV lifetime tracker plus five-year fixed-rate and standard variable rate loans. The move, which [...]
Gender directive could slash men’s annuity payouts
The EU Gender Directive, which came into force today, could see men losing up to £10,000 from their annuity payouts, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Under the new rules insurers are no longer allowed to take gender into account when setting annuity rates and premiums on insurance products. Men previously enjoyed higher annuity rates than [...]
Home rental costs down in November
The cost of renting a house in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent in November, its first dip since March, according to a survey by LSL Property Services. Average rent was £741m during the month, returning to the level seen in September. However, it was 3.4 per higher than in November last year. [...]
Lloyds TSB halts sale of packaged accounts in branches
Lloyds TSB will stop selling packaged account in its branches from 1 January 2013, until its sales procedures are brought into line with those operated by sister bank The Halifax. Lloyds TSB is one of the main providers of packaged accounts in Britain, with around one in three of its customers choosing to pay fees [...]
Housing market recovery to continue next year
Recent improvements in the housing market should continue into next year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Gross lending is estimated to have increased to £12.9 billion in November, helped by the Funding for Lending scheme which provides banks and building societies with lower-cost funding, which they are then supposed to pass on [...]
Newcastle Building Society exits interest-only mortgages
Newcastle Building Society has stopped offering interest-only mortgages to new borrowers, following the lead of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Co-operative bank and Coventry Building Society. The decision will not affect existing Newcastle customers and applications for interest-only mortgages received before 14 December will still be processed. Prior to the credit crunch, interest-only mortgages [...]
Less than half of Brits considered creditworthy
Fifty-seven per cent of UK adults are at risk of having an application for credit turned down by a mainstream lender according to a new report. The ‘Mind the Credit Gap‘ report commissioned by aqua credit cards suggests that even people with a good credit rating and earning more than £50,000 could have a credit [...]
Monthly incomes £22 lower in 2012
The average monthly income of UK households fell by £22 in real terms compared with last year, according to a survey carried out for the Bank of England (BoE) by NMG Consulting. People on lower incomes have seen their income eroded more than higher earners and households still have high levels of debt the BoE [...]
Savers dig deep to fund Christmas
New research from the Halifax suggests that savers are funding their Christmas spending with money set aside for other purposes. Thirty-seven per cent of 2,138 savers surveyed by the bank at the end of November had withdrawn savings in the last three months. The average amount withdrawn was £1,186, more than double the average savings [...]
Financial data at risk from unsafe passwords
According to a survey by the Payments Council the problem of having to remember a different password for several accounts means that many internet users are compromising the security of their financial data. Internet users have 22 password-protected accounts on average and many use the same log-in details for more than one account, even though [...]
Wonga launches Paylater loans on retailer website
Payday loan company Wonga has launched a new Paylater service on furniture firm Cotswold Company’s website. The service, which allows customers to “buy now, pay later” will be introduced on other retailers’ sites in the near future. Although the Paylater branding is similar to Wonga’s, the Wonga name only appears in the small print. A [...]
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