Mortgage broker, John Charcol, is urging homeowners coming to the end of their fixed-rate mortgages to find a new deal as soon as possible. According to the firm’s senior technical manager, Ray Boulger, borrowers should start investigating their options six months before their current deals expire. The financial turmoil of the past three weeks means [...]
Retired homeowners who have opted for equity release as a means of boosting their incomes are being advised to review the deal offered by their provider, and consider remortgaging. According to Key Retirement Solutions, a firm of independent financial advisers specialising in equity release, retirees who have raised cash from their homes over the last [...]
Homeowning Britons have stopped using their properties as banks, according to figures from the Bank of England. For the first time since 1998, consumers have become more focused on paying off their mortgages rather than remortgaging to fund their lifestyles, or consolidate debts. In the three months to the end of June, the UK’s mortgage [...]
Financial news and price comparison website, Fool.co.uk, is urging homeowners who need to remortgage, to act quickly because competitive deals are likely to disappear. The firm has been watching Libor, the interest rate at which banks lend to one another and is predicting that mortgage rates will be on the rise again marking the end [...]
The British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has reported a 64% annual decline in mortgage approvals for house purchases, in August. In all, 21,086 new home loans were sanctioned during the month, compared with 58,564 in August 2007. The figure is 5% down on July 2008 and at its lowest since BBA records began in 1997. August [...]
Another mortgage company is prepared to pay its customers to take their business elsewhere. Oakwood Global Finance, which specialises in buying residential mortgages from other lenders, is offering a 15% discount to certain customers who can redeem their home loans, either by remortgaging or from their own funds. In addition, the firm’s usual early repayment [...]
Latest figures from the Bank of England show that in June, new mortgage approvals fell to their lowest level since the Bank’s records began, in 1993. During the month, home loans approved for house purchases fell to 36,000, representing a 69% decline on June 2007 and 12% down on May. Approvals for remortgages also fell, [...]
John Charcol has reported that increasing numbers of homeowners struggling with higher interest payments are opting to extend the terms of their mortgages to reduce monthly repayments. According to research by the mortgage broker, between 10% and 15% of borrowers who have remortgaged in the past two months extended the lifetime of their loans, or [...]
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders’ Association (IMLA) has reported a further rise in remortgaging, which made up 49% of all home loan business for its members during the first three months of 2008. The figure stood at 48% during the previous quarter and the IMLA is predicting strong growth in remortgage cases in the coming months. [...]
The British Bankers’ Association has reported a small increase in the number of mortgages for house purchases approved in April, which rose to 38,704, compared with March’s record low of 35,546. The figure is well below the average of the past six months and 39.4% down on April 2007. While last month’s rise shows promise, [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
