InsideUKMortgages

Simple, Quick and does the job

2010-03-10T13:48:00.001Z

A good mortgage calculator, simple and easy to understand. It will do for 95% of people looking to crunch some numbers.

For all those looking for a larger more complex calculator I have one on my blog here

in reference to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/mortgagecalculator.shtml (view on Google Sidewiki)

Interest Rates will go up in June

2010-03-10T08:40:00.002Z

Whilst we have all enjoyed the low cost mortgages of the past 12 months the inevitable was going to happen. We need to repay back the government for its quantative easing. So not only is your TV licence going up but so too will your interest rate on your mortgage.

I would expect mortgage lenders like mortgage express to react quicker than some of the high steet lenders to changes but the bottom line is all mortgage lenders react faster to a rate rise than a rate fall. Like income tax..... It disappears faster than you can open your pay check, however when a rebate comes around dont expect to see one as fast as it disappeared.

Anyway expect to see rates rise steady until october november time when we will be sitting at about 2.5% bank of england base rate.

Subscribtion Forex UK

2009-09-18T09:15:00.002+01:00

Allow me to show you a new method in forex trading forUK based traders who want to learn and follow a trader step by step. Although not mortgage related, I have been using these guys and earning enough to cover the interest only repayments. So I guess its relevant for me. Not only are you getting tips, you are getting taught why, where and when. The aim of www.aifx.co.uk is to turn you into a competant trader so you can find your own trades later on.

Heres the link Subscription Forex UK

New Search Engine

2009-08-10T10:37:00.001+01:00

Inside UK Mortgages are proud to present a new type of search engine, one that gives you twitter, video's, answers all on the same page.

Rates held again in June

2009-06-25T16:42:00.000+01:00

The Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5% and maintain its £125bn quantitative easing program.

The general consensus coming out of June’s meeting is that whilst things remain bleak in the medium term we are also looking a lot brighter than this time 3 months ago. We are still hearing of redundancies but not in the number or more alarmingly frequency that we were 6 months ago.

The minutes from the meeting go on to say…..

"Overall, the risk of a continued sharp contraction in output in the near term had receded somewhat, However, there was no reason to conclude that the medium-term outlook for the economy, and thus inflation, had changed materially since the Inflation Report had been finalized."

Many of our leading financial experts in the UK are still expecting interest rates to be at 0.5% until 2010, time will tell but I think the pressure on the Bank of England to raise sooner than then will be too great. Moving onto the ongoing efforts of quantitative easing on nominal demand, it acknowledged there were some ‘tentative signs’ it was boosting the money holdings of institutional investors - the first step in the transmission mechanism. We were warned many months ago that we would not really see any signs of the money filtering through until August but its nice to know they are still doing what they are saying.

Whilst we are happy that there are signs of improvement and we implore the government to keep going in this direction, we also want to understand that when the recovery is in full swing we are ready to handle this.

First time buyers need the advice

2009-06-24T17:01:00.000+01:00

Mortgage advisors are reporting that 4 in every 10 enquiries are from first time buyers, this is really no surprise to me but it does reaffirm the idea that now is the right time to buy as property is just within reach of these first time buyers.

The other bulk of enquiries came from people looking to secure their fixed rates in anticipation of rises of the bank of England base rate. Most people are expecting the interest rates to stay at an all time low for the rest of the year but with some lenders now moving their rates north it has prompted people to look at securing a deal. With some lenders holding rates it means the markets are no longer unanimous in burying their heads in the sand. Some are coming out and starting to spar with competition starting to warm. As we have said many times here just one little hint of a move by the bank of England and we will see one almighty scrap. When people are fighting to get business that is always good news for the consumer.

You really should consult your mortgage broker uk if your thinking of moving into a new fixed rate with your lender. These people have their ears to the ground are willing to help you out

Youngsters do not want a home!!

2009-06-23T17:11:00.000+01:00

According to research commissioned by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) youngsters are not looking to own a house. They are frighten by the thought of negative equity. Rightly so in my eyes. Who really wants to start out adult life by paying for a mortgage and having your debt increase every month. I think it shows some maturity on the part of youth here too. They get a bad name for their hoodie wearing practices but they are looking at the financial aspect very carefully.

The biggest change occurred in those aged 25- 34. Before the credit crunch in July last year, 83% of respondents in this age group said owning their own home was their ideal living situation. This figure has now fallen 14%. In this age bracket, 28% of those who own their own home were either currently in negative equity, or expecting to be in negative equity in the next 12 months.

What is clear is that people have become very educated of the past couple of years, we are now seeing people understand what these terms mean and more importantly how it will affect them. I say well done to everyone that has expanded their knowledge during these difficult times.

Housing market creeping up :)

2009-06-22T17:16:00.000+01:00

More people want to buy and less people are selling. Supply and demand on mortgages are into overdrive. We are getting used to these half baked goodwill stories now but we keep publishing them none the less. We are now in a massive drive to boost consumer confidence and therefore we are happy to report the following…….

· Enquiries are up

· House prices are up

· Mortgage applications are up

· Mortgage approvals are steady

Well well well ladies and gentlemen, it looks like its the uk mortgage lenders that are holding everyone back again, the sooner we get a grip on them the better we will be.

Property Prices to RISE !!!

2009-06-20T16:35:00.000+01:00

Good news for homeowners, many experts are saying property prices will rise by an average of 1.4% over the next 12 months. This is a very positive change when compared to the 6.1% forecasted drop off released in March, These figures are coutesy of some stats produced by the BSE. It is also reported that the number of mortgages applied for is increasing by the day however the number of approvals is still lurking in the low to rock bottom section.

The main survey found that just under 60% of people thought that now is the right time to buy your property. You can therefore deduce from this that more buyers are on the market and let supply and demand graphs take over from here. It’s the latest in a long line of statistics being blurted about, each carrying the same message. Things are turning but we are not out of the woods yet.

Lenders make money again!

2009-06-18T17:23:00.000+01:00

Despite the Bank base rate being held at 0.5%, lenders are increasing average mortgage rates, this means that whilst they are making a nice profit at current rates they are becoming greedy again. Now people want to borrow and there is significantly less competition for the loan. Our lovely lenders in the UK are capitalizing on this and are charging the consumer more.

We do not seem to have an answer and these banks can do what the hell they like, I find it outrageous they can forget about the last 2 years and just start squeezing again at the first sign of a few quid. What the government should be doing is enforcing the rates as they said they would. However even after my little rant here I doubt I will get the support to make a difference.

Abbey and A&L increase rates

2009-06-17T17:21:00.002+01:00

Abbey for Intermediaries and Alliance & Leicester Intermediary Sales or Santander if you please will be changing their fixed and tracker mortgage rates from tomorrow (18^th June 2009) with increases on fixed rates between 0.30% and 0.50%. This is a shock to my system seeing as the base rate has not moved. We are not seeing any criteria changing either. So what are the reasons for the increased cost?

Well apparently this is because of competitor movement. Well we have news for you Mr Santander….. Nobody has moved for many months. It is just a ploy. With the base rate expected to rise in the not too distant future Abbey can increase rates now and then when the other lenders all jump and move their rates Abbey will appear to be the ones holding. I am really not impressed and I am not satisfied with the explanation we are getting.

More and more pay day uk sites

2009-06-16T20:26:00.000+01:00

It would seem that more and more of these type of lenders are springing up. Why I ask myself. Most come with an APR of around 2000% (that was not a typo, I really mean two thousand!!)

So what do they do and how do they charge so much?

Basically the lender will lend against your next paycheck and they are very fast at this too. The average cost is about 25 quid for every ton you borrow. So this is best illustrated by an example....

I need 200 notes...
I go to the site, enter my details....
If my credit is good enough they transfer the money there and then...
On my next payday, They direct debit me 250 notes.

I see how this fluid cash can work for some people, it can be used in an emergency but those who use this regularly will find there money slipping from there grasp.

Lloyds cut further jobs

2009-06-15T07:42:00.000+01:00

Lloyds group are still going to cut nore jobs, basically removing cheltenham and glouster from the high street and turning it in to a broker facing outfit.

I am not sure what impact this will bring as most mortgage brokers seem to go direct to the main lenders now anyway. Packaging seems to have disappear completely so I fail to understand the decision.

It would have been much better if they just closed that one brand and left the others the same as it is diluting the mortgages available to the consumer this way.

Top 5 things to improve your house value this summer.

2009-06-14T13:26:00.000+01:00

No intros, straight to the list.....

1) Insulation ready for the winter
2) Replace old windows while the weather is warm
3) Change the garden around
4) Fit some security to your house
5) Have your boiler serviced

By doing any of these you will give the impression that you love your house and you are working hard to maintain its appearence and livability!! This works well for those looking to sell.

They are not expensive projects really and you should get back the money you put in plus some. More importantly it makes your house stand out to the prospective buyer.

House prices are steady and rising!! Why

2009-06-13T10:26:00.000+01:00

Short post on this one as it is covered in the media very well. House prices are rising but not because of normal mortgage lending. Nope!!!

They are rising because people cannot be bothered to move and are happy sticking on their current mortgage. Therefore supply and demand tells us that less houses on the market means prices rise.

Its simple really and the coverage in the media should not be giving out these false positives, in my humble opinion of course.

SVR's: June 9th 2009

2009-06-12T08:38:00.000+01:00

Standard Variable Rates

No real change since April but I thought I would update you all just incase, as my base rate predictions are about to change. At the time of writting this the following rates are correct as found on each lenders website. I will be updating these lender svr's each month. It is important to follow the trend in Standard Variable Rate's as they move more often than not against the bank of england base rate.

Abbey = 4.24%
Alliance & Leicester = 4.99%
Nationwide = 2.50%
Halifax = 3.50%
Mortgage Express = 2.50%
Northern Rock = 4.79%

Interest rates will rise in August

2009-06-11T08:33:00.000+01:00

It is a bold statement, but looking at the finacial services sector we can see that things have stabalised. They are not getting any better at the moment but the ship has turned.

With many companies folded over the last year we are left with just the big players and a few carefully managed smaller firms that are set to flourish. I make this interest rate prediction with sound knolwedge that the finacial waters that had turned to ice are now moving due to quantative easing and a record low base rate. Therfore the Bank of England will now be disscussing when is the right time to move rates back up.

With savers still getting the raw end of the deal we are seeing more and more pressure to raise the base rate. Therfore I predict that in August we will see the base rate move up by point five percent and then hold for a further 2 months then a quarter of a percent for the next 4 months taking us into 2010 with a base rate of 2%.

If my interest rate prediction is correct we can expect all mortgage compaines (brokers, lenders and IFA's) returning to a profit with everyone eventually remortgaging to secure the lowest fixed rate.

Now is a good time to look into what lenders have what on offer and move yourself into a position to take advantage. Still be mindful of the lower LTV's that are available.

Interest rate prediction and Mortgage markets

2009-06-10T10:26:00.004+01:00

So with interest rates said to rise in the coming months, we will see a big influx of remortgage deals coming on. However with most lenders in the UK having cut staff to stay afloat during the downturn they will not be in a posistion to handle the extra business.

So where will this business go?

With only a small amount of mortgage packagers left running we should see them picking up the slack. However they are in the same boat as the lenders....

During the quite period of the last year did our mortgage lenders rise to the challenge and invest in technology to cope with more applications with less bodies to process them? Probably not.

Therfore I expect lenders to price them selves out of remortgages because they do not want the business. Thus leaving the consumer nowhere to go. I think we will be expecting a massive increase but in reality it will all be enquiries as it will be difficult to place people on the right deal.

Time will tell, however as the market turns we should not be expecting lenders to lend. Hey who ever thought that the power players that lenders are actually had its customers interests at heart?

Interest rate prediction for July

2009-06-09T08:33:00.002+01:00

Enjoy the last month of a record low base rate, my prediction is that the base rate will rise in August. We are not talking masses of rises just yet and the rise back to the region of 5% will take almost 2 years. It will be nothing life the vertical drop we saw in 2008

So make the most of that extra cash you have for your very nice SVR and get ready to get your remortgage on. So my predictions for both June and July are to hold as we are.

August will see a change.......

Mortgage Markets

2009-05-20T10:08:00.003+01:00

Over 70% of the homes in the United Kingdom are owned by those living in them. For the majority of families, buying their residential dwelling is the most expensive and arguably the most important single purchase in a lifetime. Except for the most fortunate, buying a home has to be undertaken with the assistance of a mortgage from a financial institution. It is for this reason that mortgage finance plays such a prominent role in the lives of individuals and families.

To start with we will describe the types of financial institution that offer mortgages and explore the underlying determinants of the demand for mortgages. We will go on to examine how mortgages and related products are marketed, and some point in the future we will conclude with a look at trends and developments in the market place.

LENDING INSTITUTIONS

Mortgage lending was once the exclusive preserve of the building societies. Until the early 1980s, these mutual institutions were responsible for facilitating over 80% of mortgage finance for private residential purposes. Radical deregulation of financial markets took place during the 1980s, enabling different types of financial institutions to enter the mortgage market, all part of the general breakdown in barriers between different market segments. Today mortgages are available from several different types of institution.

Retail banks:

The retail banks are made up of the following sets of institutions:

• the larger banks with wide product ranges, national networks of branches, call centre operations and Internet banking services – these include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds TSB and

• other smaller retail banks such as Clydesdale, Cooperative and Yorkshire;

• overseas and specialist banks who offer retail banking services.

The retail banks are the largest financial institutions in the UK economy. It is therefore surprising to some to learn that they were not major players in the mortgage market until comparatively recently.

There are several reasons for this:

• As banks were responsible for holding the current and deposit account balances of personal and

business customers, the government sought to regulate them through monetary policy controls.

Faced with these controls, banks found it impossible to offer mortgages alongside other types of

commercial lending.

• Prior to 1982, building societies offered mortgages at rates of interest that were often lower than the market rate for funds. The system was administered through a recommended rate system operated under the auspices of the Building Societies Association.

• It is only in recent times that financial institutions have used the demand for mortgages as a

springboard for lucrative cross-selling of mortgage related products and services, such as general and life assurances.

• Prior to deregulation the building societies operated a recommended rate agreement through their trade association, the Building Societies Association (BSA). The members of the BSA agreed

recommended rates of interest for basic savings accounts and mortgages on a monthly basis. This ‘cartel’ broke down in 1982 and opened the door to new entrants. With the abandonment of the recommended rate system, mortgage rates converged on market rates of interest and this made mortgage business more attractive to the major banks and other financial institutions. Moreover, most of the larger banks recognised that it was in their interest to offer customers a ‘one stop shop’ for financial products in order to develop longer term customer relationships.

Some of the major building societies shed their mutual status to become listed public limited

companies. Some of these were in turn purchased by larger banking groups.

Banks are incredibly powerful players in the market. When a customer approaches a bank for a

mortgage, the bank may already have provided a whole range of general banking services for the

same customer, enabling a complete financial profile of the customer’s financial and personal

circumstances to be formed before a risk decision is taken.

As a result of these factors, all of the major retail banks now offer mortgages. Not all banks are the same, of course. Some see themselves as general providers whilst others seek to offer more specialist services.

As well as offering mortgages for residential purposes, many banks provide:

• mortgages for part business and part residential purposes;

• commercial mortgages;

• mortgages for high net worth clients.

Building societies

The building society industry developed as a response to the massive increase in the demand for

housing during the industrial revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Building societies are mutual organisations and as such are owned by their members. They began as small housing clubs where people would get together to build up a fund that would be used to purchase (and often actually build) houses for the members.

Despite the fact that many modern building societies offer virtually a full range of banking services, they retain their mutual origins. To this day, every member has a single vote regardless of size of savings or borrowing balance, so no individual or group can dominate or control the society.

Until 1986, building societies were restricted by law to offering only retail savings accounts and

residential mortgages. The Building Societies Act 1986 enabled them to extend their services so that they could compete with retail banks to offer more ‘mainstream’ banking services. Further

deregulation followed with the Building Societies Act 1997, which eased many of the controls that

remained.

As well as residential mortgages, building societies can offer money transmission services, other types of lending, land services and insurances. They are allowed to own subsidiary companies and invest in associated bodies (such as the LINK shared cash dispenser network). What distinguishes societies from other banking institutions is that they must continue to operate in a manner that is consistent with their ‘principal purpose’ as laid down by the above Acts:

• at least 75% of their lending must be secured on residential land; and

• at least 50% of their funding must be derived from retail sources – mainly from personal customers.

One of the great difficulties that have faced the building society industry in recent years is that many of the larger societies have relinquished mutual status to become public limited companies. These include the Halifax (which was the largest building society prior to conversion), Alliance and Leicester and Woolwich. In most cases, this change in corporate form has brought with it instant dividends to members in the form of ‘free shares’. In turn, considerable pressure has been brought to bear on the remaining societies to shed their mutual status. Following a spate of conversions in the 1990s, the building society industry has stabilised to some extent. Most societies have pledged themselves to mutuality and have become more pro-active in selling the benefits of this mode of operation.

Next time we will look into insurace compaines and supermarkets

How to select the best mortgage lender

2009-04-23T17:22:00.001+01:00

Most borrowers always ask the most obvious questions about fees, what the interest rate is and how long the term is. However there is so much more you need to take into consideration. In your quest for the best mortgage lender there are many steps you need to take and many questions you need to get answered before you make the next move. Some of the questions below relate to using a mortgage broker.

What is their level of experience? how long have they been a financial advisor ask them if they only sell mortgages or do they cater for insurance, pension and investments.

What understanding do they have of the mortgage market, economics and now the credit crunch?
While no one can predict what the bank of england will do with the base interest rate will do tomorrow, next week, next month or years if your looking long term. Your advisor should be able to guide you with facts and figures to support each case.

How long should you lock into a fixed rate for?
If the economy is at its lowest it might be wise to lock in for longer, When the credit crunch first arrived people were still taking fixed rates for 5 years and now they are stuck when the Bank of Englands base rate is at 0.5%. Your broker should be able to advise you on this.

If you follow these steps and asked these questions, along with the usual questions you will feel more comfortable making the big decision. You should also get a better understanding and sense that your mortgage broker is giving you sound advice. Compare these answers to others you have got whilst shopping around and you will get a consensus for what is believed to be true.

Doing this research yourself will expand your knowledge and you will feel more at home in the mine field of financial services.

Once all of this has been done, you will feel confident that you have made the correct decision and found the best mortgage lender for your needs. Dont do it all on your own speak to a professional mortgage broker.

Use a Mortgage Broker is a Good Idea

2009-04-23T11:42:00.001+01:00

Getting yourself a mortgage is stressfull, take it from me. So why should you use a mortgage broker and what will he or she bring to the table?

Well, to start with even just applying for a mortgage is a bit of a daunting process there are usually 20 or so pages to an application form, but on the whole most consumers feel they are able to make this step. Some people in the interests of saving a few quid try to tough it out on there own and go straight to a high street lender and try to get the lowest interest rate. If you do this and your not 100% sure what your doing you could make a costly mistake. Using a mortgage broker or mortgage professional is a good idea for Joe Public in search of that perfect mortgage and although there is sometimes a fee involved, it is nothing compared to the procuration fee a mortgage broker would recieve when you complete your mortgage.

A decent mortgage broker will know all of the current deals available across all lenders not just the ones from the high street, with this knoweldge he/she will also understand the different requirements for each lender. Say for example you only have 3 months bank statments. One lender might require 6 months but if the affordability stacks up they will accept 3 months. Its these little quirkes that make using a mortgage broker the right choice for many.

Who would benefit most from a mortgage broker?

New home owners
People who are uncertain about there choices
Those with a blip on the credit file
Those who want to understand the requirements
You might want a more personal service
Let someone else worry about the stress and the constant chasing

Obviously its completley up to you but my advice....... give one a ring, it doesnt cost to talk

SVR's: April 29th 2009

2009-04-22T08:01:00.002+01:00

Standard Variable Rates

At the time of writting this the following rates are correct as found on each lenders website. I will be updating these lender svr's each month. It is important to follow the trend in Standard Variable Rate's as they move more often than not against the bank of england base rate.

Abbey = 4.24%
Alliance & Leicester = 4.99%
Nationwide = 2.50%
Halifax = 3.50%
Mortgage Express = 2.50%
Northern Rock = 4.79%

4 Things For Low Mortgage Rates - Do You Fit?

2009-04-21T12:34:00.001+01:00

With new low mortgage rates below 5% advertised by mortgage lenders, it would appear it's a good time to refinance or purchase that property you have been dreaming of? After all, it seems we are in the region of the bottoming out of house prices.

When you look close at these wonderful rates published by mortgage lenders it is difficult to see who will actually qualify for these deals and in my view the rates published by mortgage lenders are not proportionate to the rates that will be recieved.

Recently the administration that goes into a mortgage application has risen dramitically, I have been working in this industry for 7 years now and all we were doing is reducing the amount of signatures required, pay slips to be provided etc. Due to recent events all mortgage lenders have now increased the criteria to get a mortgage thus tightening thier compliance belts and managing the risk accordingly.

It is now not un comman to be asked for 2 years financial rcords, for someone who has never missed a payment on any credit.

Those with a small credit blip, like a late payment will never be offered these fantastic rates which are advertised.

So what are Mortgage Lenders basing their decisions on:

Your credit report

Your income against debt

How much deposit your putting in

Value of the house your purchasing / Remortgaging

So what has changed:

Deposits are given more weighting to the balance

Your credit rating required has gone up in the last year or so

Valuation values of homes are down significantly

More documentation is required

It is a great time to buy still, but visit a mortgage broker or lender to make sure you qualify for these good rates. Then you wont be disappointed. Happ house hunting.

Get a 10 year mortgage

2009-04-21T12:20:00.001+01:00

Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions for all of us. However most of us will need to get a loan from a finacial institution to make this a realtity. As most people are now aware after the credit crunch and all the press surrounding it, mortgage lending is the backbone of this economy and all economies around the globe. We have found ourselves in recession which all started back from Northern Rock and other lenders running out of readies because the american banks had no money to buy books of mortgages from us.

Banks used to lend you the money against the house value you whished to purchase or remortgage. The monthly cost of your mortgage depends on many factors but mostly its the loan borrowed over time. Then an interest rate is added to this and your interest rate depends on your credit score. I would like to focus on the time aspect of borrowing for your mortgage and what benefits you can get by reducing the term of your mortgage.

The only thing you need to remember is the less time you take to pay the loan back means the less money it costs you. In some cases its not unheard of to pay twice what your house is worth over the term of your mortgage. However if you were to over pay by £50 then you will be suprised at how much that comes down. I am quite luck as I am with Mortgage Express and they have a system called "choices" which allows me to overpay when I can.

I am overpaying currently and my mortgage term has shrunk by 8 years.

Thus in later life I will be better off financially and I will not have to worry about paying mortgages or even using the extra money to top up a pension fund.

It is important to work out your outgoings and what you can afford to pay off, always talk to your lender or mortgage broker before making any decisions.