The fragility of the UK mortgage market is a concern to many homeowners as well as first time buyers.  The BBC’s Business Editor Robert Preston gives an interesting insight into the current state of play and how the mortgage market may play out in the next few years. Here is his blog article in full: http://www.bbc.co.uk /blogs/thereporters/ robertpeston/2010/02 /the_acute_vulnerabi lity_of_the.html Your comments are welcome.   read more

95% mortgage deals in Jan 2010   As we move into the new decade 95% mortgage deals are still hard to come by.  The recently reported 95% mortgage deals are still available but there are very few new deals coming to the table.   It also appears that these deals are mainly for current borrowers, which still leaves first time buyers out in the cold.   The following lenders are offering 95% mortgage deals to current borrowers:   Nationwide   Halifax   Ipswich Building Society   Northern Bank   Given the current climate it is likely that 95% mortgage deals are not going to be prevalent in 2010 but according   read more

Mortgage interest takes less income   According to new data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) in November 2009 homeowners needed to use less of their income to pay for their mortgage interest.   On average the homeowner used 10.6% of gross income on their mortgage interest payments in November, compared to 11.1% in November.  A figure of 10.2% was recorded in the middle of 1996, but apart from this the November figure is the lowest debt burden figure for homeowners since the CML started recording the data.   For first time buyers the figure has reduced to 14.4% of gross income in   read more

100 percent mortgages in 2010   First time buyers are set to struggle as we move into 2010 and those looking for 100 percent mortgages are not going to find any in the market.  There are no lenders willing to take the risk on 100 percent mortgages, and the maximum they are willing to risk is a LTV of 95 percent.   Given the fact that the credit crunch was brought about by reckless lending then the removal of these deals makes sense.  100 percent mortgages in a climate where we may still see a collapse in house prices, rising unemployment and uncertainty in the market is absurd.   The current issue   read more

Mortgage paid with a credit card   A survey carried out by the housing and homelessness charity has revealed the shocking fact that more than 1 million homeowners have used a credit card to pay for their mortgage or rent in the past 12 months.   The respondents of the survey were asked if they paid their rent or mortgage by credit card in the past 12 months. 6% of those who were responsible for their rent or mortgage said yes - which suggests nationally more than a million people have done so.    Cash withdrawals in order to make a mortgage payment have a much higher interest rate than using the   read more

Re-mortgage - What is a re-mortgage? A re-mortgage is the process of changing your current mortgage deal to a financially more attractive deal with a new lender, for the existing property.  The borrower pays off the existing mortgage with the proceeds of the new mortgage and uses the current property as security for the loan.  A re-mortgage may also be taken out as a way of borrowing at a higher level so that equity, if it is available, is released from the property. Most lenders are trying to attract borrowers to re-mortgage and switch to their products. But as with any mortgage a re-mortgage   read more

  Mortgage Rate Cuts From Nationwide   Nationwide has announced that it will be reducing interest rates for a number of its tracker mortgages and fixed rate mortgages.   The main winners will be those customers looking to borrow between 70 percent and 85 percent LTV as the rates will be reduced on these deals.   Borrowers who are looking at a two year fixed rate mortgage at 80 percent LTV can expect the largest reduction in the rate at 0.6%.   Two year fixed rate available from 3.69% (up to 70% LTV) and two year tracker available from 2.64% (up to 70% LTV) New customers can borrow up to 85% LTV   read more

90% Mortgages - November 09 Although the market has been quite flat and high LTV mortgages have fast disappeared over the past couple of years new deals are becoming available.  There are currently a few choices for 90% mortgages.  The Nationwide has introduced a new range of mortgages with the requirement of only a 10% deposit.  These are fixed rate mortgages starting at 5.98% for two years with a fee of £495.  These deals are available to existing customers to those who sign up to their FlexAccount. Halifax offers a choice of two 3 year fixed rate 90% mortgages.  The first is at 6.79%   read more

Bank of England Shows Mortgage Approvals Are Tailing Off   Just when the CML released figures that mortgage approvals had risen by 81% the Bank of England has released figures showing the number of new mortgages approved, but not yet lent, has fallen for the first time in 10 months. There were 52,317 approvals in August, compared to 52,404 recorded in July.This new data is adding to growing evidence that the recent improvement in the property market may have reached a plateau. Commenting   read more

Mortgage Approvals Hit A New High  The number of mortgage approvals has increased by 81% when compared to the same month a year ago and more than double the low of 18,330 reached in November 2008.  However the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said the annual rise was exaggerated by the unusually low lending levels around August 2008. Mortgage lending by the major banks increased by 46% in August which followed a dip during the previous month of July, figures have also shown.  The   read more