April 2007 Archives
- Mortgages for Muslims grow in popularity
Posted on 22 Apr, 2007
The number of Muslim people taking out Shariah-compliant mortgages has risen sharply in the last six months – and is expected to continue growing. Under Shariah law it is forbidden to earn money from money - prohibiting interest payments - but specialist provider alburaq, in partnership with leading mortgage lender ....Continue Reading >> - Stamp duty threatens more first-time buyers
Posted on 24 Apr, 2007
A leading financial group has warned that repossession rates may grow this year as more first-time buyers are hit with higher prices and stamp duty fees. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) has responded to lending figures for 2006, released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday. According ....Continue Reading >> - First-time buyers paying more than ever
Posted on 24 Apr, 2007
First-time buyers are being battered by a double-whammy as house prices and interest rates continue to rise, according to a new report by a leading mortgage lender. Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society, has released research showing that some homebuyers may be spending almost £300 more a month than they would ....Continue Reading >> - Secured Loans
Posted on 24 Apr, 2007
For most people, acquiring loans have become a normal task to achieving their life goals. When making an expensive purchase such as a home, new vehicle, college tuition, or a home renovation project, in most cases, the best option is to take out a loan. One type of loan ....Continue Reading >> - More first-time buyers committing to long-term mortgages
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
New homeowners will be spending longer than ever paying off a mortgage as they look at ways round increased affordability issues. A new report by leading mortgage lender Nationwide has found that, with house prices and interest rates steadily rising, many people are now willing to look beyond a normal ....Continue Reading >> - Coventry offers cut-rate mortgage deal
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
A leading mortgage lender has announced a new discounted mortgage which it hopes will interest homebuyers looking to reduce their monthly outgoings. Coventry Building Society will introduce its discounted mortgage from February 15th, offering a 2.45 per cent saving on its standard variable rate until the end of March 2009. ....Continue Reading >> - FSA clamps down on dubious lenders
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is clamping down on brokers specialising in sub-prime mortgage products. Britain's financial regulator has warned brokers that supply products for borrowers with impaired credit that they must raise their standards, particularly in terms of their advertising tactics. In the past year, the FSA has forced ....Continue Reading >> - Nationwide revamps mortgage range
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
Nationwide has unveiled a new range of mortgage products that will become available. The lender is to scrap its £99 remortgaging administration fee and will remove the reservation fee from its lifetime tracker. Higher lending charges will not apply to any mortgage deals and all interest will be calculated on ....Continue Reading >> - Portman launches 100% mortgage range
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
Portman Building Society has introduced a series of new 100 per cent mortgages. A rate of 5.69 per cent now applies to the lender's two-year fixed-rate 100 per cent mortgage deal, another 100 per cent deal is fixed at 5.63 per cent for three years, while a five-year deal offers ....Continue Reading >> - Paragon: Buy-to-let remains strong
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
Contrary to a report published yesterday by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), rental yields in the UK's buy-to-let sector remain high, according to a leading lender. Rics' quarterly assessment of the rental market concluded that the Bank of England's interest rate rises had eaten into profits and dented ....Continue Reading >> - Spanish Barclays launches 80% LTV mortgage
Posted on 25 Apr, 2007
Potential property investors in Spain are getting a little nudge closer to owning their dream house as Barclays Spain launches a low loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage for Brits in Spain. The new '80 per cent mortgage' has the highest LTV ever offered in Spain by Barclays and allows borrowers to take ....Continue Reading >> - UCB simplifies buy-to-let criteria
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Home specialist lender subsidiary to Nationwide, UCB, has just announced a reorganisation of lending criteria for the buy-to-let mortgage. The new mortgage can be lent to companies, housing associations and local authorities, and will now consider properties with multiple occupancy on a single assured shorthold tenancy agreement. "We're now one ....Continue Reading >> - CML shatters interest-only mortgage myths
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Interest-only mortgage borrowers are no less equipped to repay their home loans than homeowners with capital and interest mortgages, a new report shows. Conducted by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), the research shatters the apparent misconception that interest-only products are forcing ill-equipped buyers into unassailable debt. Mortgage deals that ....Continue Reading >> - New landlord mortgage product from A&L
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Alliance & Leicester has unveiled a new buy-to-let mortgage product designed to cater for professional residential landlords. The 'wholesale buy-to-let' home loan deal allows full-time landlords to manage and expand their portfolio. Only available on portfolios of five or more properties with a total value in excess of £1 million, ....Continue Reading >> - Non-green homes will fail to sell in 2007
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Homes that lack green innovations or are not energy efficient will fail to sell next year, according to a leading property consultant. The growing importance of measures to curb climate change should encourage homeowners to think carefully about their energy usage, says Andrew Leech, technical consultant at the National Home ....Continue Reading >> - Kensington revamps fixed-rate mortgages
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Specialist lender Kensington Mortgages has slashed interest on one of its fixed-rate mortgage ranges as part of an ongoing initiative to update its home loan offerings. Interest on the provider's 85 per cent loan to value (LTV) mortgages has been cut by up to a quarter point, notwithstanding the Bank ....Continue Reading >> - First-time buyers need government aid
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
More should be done to ease the plight of first-time buyers, according to a new survey. Six in ten Brits believe the government should be taking greater steps to help the growing number of families priced out of the housing market, a YouGov poll published by the Council of Mortgage ....Continue Reading >> - Quirky homebuyers drive property market
Posted on 26 Apr, 2007
Quirky buyers are driving the housing market, a new report suggests. Same sex couples constitute more than a fifth of the millions planning a home purchase in the next 12 months, with buyers in their 20s or on their own representing similar proportions, according to a study by Birmingham Midshires. ....Continue Reading >> - London drives record house price growth
Posted on 27 Apr, 2007
Increases in the average UK house value are being led by rapidly rising London prices, according to new data released by Hometrack. The capital saw average price growth of 12.1 per cent through 2006, far above that of the rest of the country. In Kensington and Chelsea, an already very ....Continue Reading >> - Fixed-rate mortgages rise in popularity
Posted on 27 Apr, 2007
Fixed-rate mortgage uptake surged as quarter point base rate rise put in place. More than 124,000 home loans with interest at fixed levels were withdrawn during the month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reports, up from over 109,000 in September. The widely-anticipated November interest rate hike led 62 per ....Continue Reading >> - Property prices up 10.5%
Posted on 27 Apr, 2007
Property prices are set to increase by 1.2 per cent this month, pushing up the annual rate of inflation to 10.5 per cent, according to a market survey. Mortgage lender Nationwide estimates that the average home in the UK now costs £173,746, up from £172,185 last month, after an unseasonably ....Continue Reading >> - New report offers hope to first-time buyers
Posted on 27 Apr, 2007
New figures from a leading mortgage lender have offered hope to first-time buyers struggling to get a foothold on the housing market. In its quarterly bulletin, Bristol & West has announced that it feels interest rates may now have peaked, expecting them to stay at 5.25 per cent for the ....Continue Reading >> - Long-term mortgages becoming the norm
Posted on 27 Apr, 2007
Buyers and lenders alike are increasingly willing to commit to long-term mortgages as the best way to combat further affordability issues on the housing market. An investigation by financial website moneyfacts.co.uk found that 80 per cent of leading lenders now offer mortgage options beyond the normal 25-year term – with ....Continue Reading >> - January is record month for mortgage lending
Posted on 28 Apr, 2007
Further evidence of the buoyant housing market at the end of 2006 and start of 2007 has come as the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) release their mortgage lending figures for January. The latest data shows that January's lending amount, at £26.8 billion, is the highest figure on record for ....Continue Reading >> - Building societies continue mortgage boom
Posted on 28 Apr, 2007
Latest figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) show the housing market boom of 2006 continued strongly into 2007. January lending figures showed a number of record highs as lending and approval amounts were upped by almost a third compared to last year. Gross mortgage advances from building societies rose ....Continue Reading >> - Less mandatory content may lead to "confusion" over Hips
Posted on 28 Apr, 2007
Financial services provider Legal & General has launched a full report to evaluate what it sees as the likely positive and negative aspects of the government's new Home Information Packs (Hips), which will be launched fully on June 1st. After trials of the packs, sellers will now no longer have ....Continue Reading >> - Welsh first-time buyers need help
Posted on 28 Apr, 2007
Recent figures show house prices are rising at their steepest levels in Wales, making it increasingly difficult for young Welsh people to get onto the property ladder. Data released by property website mouseprice.com found that Welsh property prices have risen by 140 per cent in the last six years – ....Continue Reading >> - Sellers need to go green to get the best price for their home
Posted on 28 Apr, 2007
Environmental issues could soon have a direct impact on how much people are paying for homes. The government's new Home Information Pack scheme (Hips) will launch on June 1st with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) now confirmed as coming as a mandatory requirement for every pack. EPCs will rate a ....Continue Reading >> - Buy-to-let investors need to get taxes in order
Posted on 29 Apr, 2007
Buy-to-let investors are being warned to get their affairs in order as the government launches a crackdown on landlords paying erroneous amounts of tax. With a huge increase in the number of buy-to-let properties in recent years, tax officials are now using new computer software to look through letting ads ....Continue Reading >> - Stamp duty can cause mortgage payments to mount
Posted on 29 Apr, 2007
Some homeowners are having to add up to £10,000 onto their mortgages to cover stamp duty payments, according to a new report. Research by mortgage website mform.co.uk found that nearly three-quarters of all homebuyers are now liable to pay the tax – which is currently levied on properties worth £125,000 ....Continue Reading >>