Mortgages
Stop: when not to buy a house
Filed under: Mortgages, Property, House and Home, Insurance
If you've ever purchased property, you'll know that it is an incredibly emotional experience. We tend to get attached to houses for aesthetic reasons like a beautiful period features or a cool kitchen, and it's easy to overlook the really important issues like the structure and condition of the house.But the are some warning signs to look out for when viewing a property, that signal you should walk away or put your haggling hat on for some serious negotiation.
Banks using "tied" offers to trap consumers in uncompetitive deals
Filed under: Mortgages, Saving
Britain's banks are trapping consumers in lacklustre deals by pushing mortgages and savings accounts that are limited to customers who have another product such as a current account with the same provider, according to consumer Champion Which?.
Its new research reveals that the number of deals offer on this basis has jumped since the beginning of the year as banks try to drum up business for their less competitive products by linking them to exclusive, but not always best buy, mortgage and savings offers.
Economy booming again?
Filed under: Financial Crisis, Mortgages, Saving
The good news is that the economy's recovery from recession gathered steam between April and June. Britain grew by a whopping 1.1% - the highest growth rate in four years and almost twice as fast as expected in the second quarter.The bad news is that this will be seen by the government as justification for its drastic austerity measures. It will also give ammunition to those on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee who want to put up interest rates sooner rather than later - which would be bad for mortgage holders but good for savers.
Thinking of becoming a buy-to-let landlord? Read this first.
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
With the latest figures from the Association of Residential Letting Agents showing that supply of rental housing is at an all-time low, now could be a good time to invest in a buy-to-let investment property.In fact, some people are ahead of the curve, with recent figures from specialist lender Paragon Mortgages showing that 21% of existing landlords plan to purchase more properties during the next three months – up from just 11% at the beginning of the year.
More house hunters on the prowl, but fewer properties on the market
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
The number of prospective buyers searching for a new home rose in June, according to new figures out today from the National Association of Estate Agents.Meanwhile, the number of properties on the market fell for the first time in four months, indicating that house prices are likely to increase if the trend continues.
Check your credit file for £2 to avoid fraud and improve your score
Filed under: Credit Cards, Financial Crisis, Mortgages
Consumers can now access their statutory credit report online for just £2, thanks to an agreement between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the three major UK credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, and Callcredit.Meanwhile, both victims of identity fraud and people who are classed as financially vulnerable can view their reports free of charge.
It's going to get even harder to get a mortgage
Filed under: Mortgages
It's just too easy to get a mortgage nowadays. All you need is a 10% or 15% deposit, and a brilliantly well-paying job, and you can borrow all you need - as long as you don't need very much. For the average couple, unless you have £25,000 in the bank, you can wave goodbye to buying your first home. To me that sounds difficult enough.The figures seem to bear it out. There were fewer than 50,000 mortgages approved in May. Everyone else was simply resigned to renting until they are old and grey. But the FSA disagrees, it wants to make it even harder to get a mortgage - putting even more hurdles in he way of would-be buyers.
Homeowners wasting £1.8 billion a year on standard mortgage rates
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
About 1.7 million homeowners who have built up equity of at least 15% in their properties are wasting up to £1.8 billion a year by sticking with their mortgage lender's standard rate deals rather than switching to a cheaper home loan, figures show.The research, from mortgage lender Yorkshire Building Society, also reveals that more than 2.3 million Britons are currently paying their lender's Standard Variable Rate (SVR), rather than signing up for a discounted, fixed-rate or variable-rate deal. That means that more than a quarter of mortgages in the UK are charged under these terms.
Renewing your mortgage deal? Gear up for a fight.
Filed under: Mortgages
A few months ago, I found a near-unprecedented cause for celebration. Marriage? Birth of a child? Not quite. My fixed rate mortgage came to an end. Not a conventional reason to crack out the bubbly, but it did half my mortgage payments every month, giving me the equivalent of a 20% pay rise. What I hadn't bargained on was the post-crunch era experience of renewing a fixed rate mortgage. A warning to the uninitiated....
How to get a decent mortgage rate with a deposit of just 5%
Filed under: Mortgages, Property
Lloyds TSB is extending its "Lend a Hand" mortgages, which give lower rates to first-time buyers with family members willing to put savings in an interest-bearing account to act as security, to homeowners looking to move up the housing ladder.The change, which is effective today, means that movers as well as first timers can benefit from rates only generally available to those with large deposits, even if they have a deposit of just 5%, the bank says.
