Many householders and borrowers have suffered from the bad mortgage lending that was endemic for the last 15 years. Northern Rock came to epitomise the bad lending that contributed to the financial collapse and follow on credit crunch. UK lenders were bailed out by the tax payer and everyone is still paying for this action. [...]
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Ducks and Drakes with Mortgage Interest
Mortgage rate increases continue to flow as a fourth lender joins in this month. Hot on the heels of Halifax recent decision to increase the variable rate came Santander who are increasing rates for new borrowers. Nat West are also to increase their rates on 200,000 mortgages by a quarter to 4%. The Bank of [...]
Professional Mortgage Fraud
Three different stories this week highlight the ‘tip of the iceberg’ that is or was mortgage fraud. Are the problems finally coming home to roost in the courts or will we just be catching the small scale exploiters. According to Experian 90pc of mortgage fraud originated from genuine individuals misrepresenting their financial situations. President Obama [...]
Shared Ownership No Deposit Mortgage
Leeds Building Society (Leeds) has unveiled a new shared ownership mortgage designed to help first time buyers on to the housing ladder. Leeds are becoming innovators in the mortgage lending field. If you are looking for a mortgage on a shared ownership property with a registered housing association then try Leeds. They may lend the [...]
Mortgage Interest Tax Relief
Vested interests are currently squabbling over tax reductions when the country can afford them (if ever), Cut the 50p in the pound income tax rate! (To help the poor souls earning over £150,000 pa.) Cut the rate of Vat! (to stimulate imports?) Well we have another angle for George Osborne to consider. Reintroduce Mortgage interest [...]
What Is the Mortgage Verification Scheme
“The Mortgage Verification Scheme is a UK Government-backed scheme allegedly to tackle mortgage application fraud. Lenders can supply details on an application form to Her Majesties Revenue and Customs (HRMC) for checking. Why Is Mortgage Verification Needed Fraud prevention needs to be improved after a lengthy period of lax control by lenders. In some large [...]
Mortgage Management by Acronym
Arrangements for managing the Government’s shareholding in banks after the crash and bail outs were put in place in November 2008 by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. This note attempts to summarise the organisations involved. UK Financial Investments Limited (UKFI) is wholly owned by the Government. UKFI manages HM Treasury’s 100% shareholding in UK Asset [...]
Negative Equity -You are not Alone
Negative Equity revisited by this post in August 2011 with data from the Council for Mortgage Lenders CML. Recent reports and figures show you are not alone if you are in negative equity. Who Has Negative Equity For information on negative equity see What is Negative Equity More than 7% of home owners with a [...]
Low Fixed Rate Mortgages Revisited
Stock market doom and gloom continues. American interest rates look set in stone at all time lows for at least a couple more years. Our banks are still in turmoil with large pension deficits and short selling the latest problems to surface. What of Fixed Rate Mortgage Interest. The average two year fixed rate mortgage [...]
How Interest Rates Affect the Housing Market
Interest rates have a big affect on the Housing Market. Higher interest rates increase the cost of mortgage repayments making it less attractive to buy houses. Lower interest rates, with adequate supply of loan funds will make it attractive to buy houses. In the UK many homeowners have a variable mortgage. This means that the [...]