In the past, many homeowners have found mortgage charges and tariffs difficult to understand. That looks set to change though, as the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and Which? have just released a new standardised format for mortgage charges. The new tariff has already been tested on current Which? customers. This has allowed the tariff … Continue reading “New Mortgage Tariff Launched by Council of Mortgage Lenders and Which?”

Most people recognise a property is the largest and most expensive thing they will buy in a lifetime. It makes sense then that a mortgage contract should be the most important document anyone will ever read and sign. All of which makes new research from Habito that bit more worrying. The research looked at people’s … Continue reading “New Research Indicates 75% of Homeowners Signed Mortgage Contract Without Reading it in Full”

It will hardly come as a surprise but the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review now in force across the UK has led to dozens of news sites and magazine style websites commenting on the new situation. Some have reported on the straight facts as we currently know them, while others have looked into specific … Continue reading “News Outlets Seize on New Mortgage Rules Introduction”

A mortgage broker in Northern Ireland was fined and banned from operating this week by the watchdog Financial Services Authority (FSA). Gareth Flanagan, of Londonderry’s GMF Marketing Services was fined £95,200, although this was reduced by 30 per cent from £136,000 due to an early settlement. Flanagan was found to have failed to act with … Continue reading “NI Mortgage Broker Fined and Banned”

A study by Moneyfacts showed that there are 3,054 residential mortgage deals available on the market, although average rates are down the standard rate for a two-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped from 4.48 per cent to 4.22 per cent in the last year. Nevertheless there has been a significant expansion of the mortgage sector … Continue reading “Number of Mortgage Products at Highest Level Since April 2009”

The White House revealed yesterday that US President Barack Obama is to launch a new task force with the job of investigating alleged mortgage fraud. The new initiative will be jointly operated with New York attorney-general Eric Schneiderman, who has long been interested in untangling alleged fraud cases involving mortgage-backed securities and general household mortgages. … Continue reading “Obama Heralds New Mortgage Task Force”

Most people looking to buy a property will need to save a four-figure sum to put down as a deposit. Now, a recent survey has discovered almost one in four people (23%) looking to buy a property for the first time take between five and 10 years to save the required amount of money. The … Continue reading “One in Four First Time Buyers Take Over Five Years to Save a Deposit”

Think of property prices and the highest ones that come to mind will undoubtedly be in London, followed by the South East. However, as recent research by Savills has revealed, the London properties are those with the greatest loan-to-value ratios. While property prices in other parts of the country are much lower than those in … Continue reading “Outstanding Loan-to-Value Amounts Are Lowest in the Capital”

There was a time when people got mortgages at a young age and paid them off before they retired. But new figures from Prudential have revealed this is becoming less likely today. The insurer has found a proportion of those retiring in 2017 will still have outstanding mortgage payments to make. Currently, 38% of retirees … Continue reading “Outstanding Mortgages Common Among Retiring People”

A little over one million households could be in for a shock if interest rates rise in the near future. Thats the verdict of experts from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). The ONS has released the information as part of its Economic Review for October 2015. It refers to households that are highly leveraged … Continue reading “Over 1 Million Households Owe Mortgage Debts of 4.5 Times Their Income”