Mortgage Strategy
14 June 2004

  • 37 apply to join AMI board

    14 Jun 2004

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has revealed that it has received 37 applications for the 12 positions on its managing board. There will be two local members drawn from firms made up of one to five brokers; two regional members from firms of six to 99 brokers, and two national members who will be representatives of 100-plus adviser firms. There are also two positions for small networks of up to 1,000 brokers and two large networks made up of 1,001-plus brokers, ...

  • 5 x sub-prime deal launched

    14 Jun 2004

    Branded lender ICMG Homeloans has launched a sub-prime deal offering 5 x income. The deal, funded by Rooftop Mortgages, has been structured in response to concerns surrounding bogus self-cert applications and to encourage income verification by extending income multiples on status sub-prime cases. The new multiples are 5+1 or 3.5 x joint up to 85% LTV or 4+1 or 3.25 x joint. ICMG director Chris Gardner says: "We see this as a positive move to encourage income ...

  • A summary of the Scottish housing market

    14 Jun 2004

    • House prices in Scotland have risen by 207% since the beginning of 1983, from £27,800 to £85,212 in 2004 Q1. • During 1983-2003 house prices in Scotland increased at an average rate of 5.3% per annum. • There was no boom and bust cycle in Scottish house prices during the late 1980s and early 1990s. • House prices in Scotland have risen by nearly 40% over the past three years.

  • Abbey fast-track initiative

    14 Jun 2004

    Abbey for Intermediaries has introduced a fast-track service for loans up to £500,000 and below 60% LTV, which has been welcomed by brokers. The move is part of a new flexible lending policy, with brokers able to clearly see how much Abbey will lend based on affordability. It means employed borrowers with clean credit records have to submit no documentation up to 60% LTV, and just a payslip over that amount. Abbey has also formalised its policy of discretion for ...

  • Abbey for Intermediaries introduces lending policy based on affordability

    14 Jun 2004

    Abbey for Intermediaries has introduced a lending policy focussing on affordability which will apply to all mortgage applications across the Choices range. The policy centres around flexibility and transparency, with the intermediary able to clearly see how much Abbey will lend, focusing on affordability and the customer's ability to meet repayments. Lending multiples are set out in a grid which allows the intermediary to check the amount Abbey will lend, based on ...

  • Abbey launches variable tracker

    15 Jun 2004

    Abbey has launched a low rate variable tracker mortgage offering a discount of 0.31% off the Bank of England base rate. The two-year tracker mortgage, set at 4.19%, is available to all new Abbey customers. A remortgage solution is also available on a two-year variable tracker deal at a rate of 4.49%. The deals each offer the option to add the arrangement fee of (£499 to the loan or pay it upfront. Abbey is also introducing the Home Buyer Solution - a package of ...

  • Affordability hits Scottish FTBs

    14 Jun 2004

    This week we continue our round-Britain tour of the mortgage and housing markets. Halifax figures show Scottish house prices have risen 40% in the past three years and the majority of towns across the country have recorded strong increases over the past 12 months. Scotland escaped the boom and bust and resulting negative equity suffered by England and Wales in the late 1980s, and it seems likely that it will escape a crash this time round as well. Michael Luck, managing director ...

  • Assurant Solutions signs deal with D&D Homecare

    15 Jun 2004

    Assurant Solutions' UK has entered a six-year agreement with D&D Homecare of York to underwrite D&D's mortgage and income protection cover. The agreement covers 56 insurance products, including 48 mortgage protection solutions and eight income protection solutions. All are designed to meet the needs of individual consumercircumstances. Headquartered in Slough, Assurant Solutions UK is part of Assurant, a leading provider of specialty property and consumer protection ...

  • AToM appoints manager for direct sales operation

    17 Jun 2004

    All Types of Mortgages has appointed Tracey Field as manager of its direct sales operation. Field has over six years experience in the mortgage industry and joins AToM from The Mortgage Times. This newly created position will see Tracey report directly into Darrell Scholes, business development director. Tracey joined Mortgage Times in 2001 as a team leader where she was responsible for managing 14 underwriting staff in the prime team. Prior to that Tracey was a senior ...

  • Average house price £168,600 in April, government index reveals

    15 Jun 2004

    The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in April stood at £168,600, up from £161,306 in March, the latest goverment house price index reveals. The index shows that UK annual house price inflation in April was 10.0%, upfrom 7.8% from the previous month. Annual house price inflation in London was 7.9% in Aprilup from 4.9% in March. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister says the market over the past year in most regions has been characterised by stronger ...

  • Average house prices have risen by 40% in the past three years

    14 Jun 2004

    Paul Fincham, spokesman, Halifax The housing market in Scotland remains strong with house prices increasing by 1.2% during the first quarter of 2004. They are now 16.5% higher than a year ago (UK 19.1%), with an average property price of £85,212 (below the UK average of £154,304.) House prices in Scotland have increased by nearly 40% during the past three years and most towns across the country have seen strong increases in the past 12 months. While Scotland still has ...

  • Baby boomers beat first-time buyers to cheap property

    16 Jun 2004

    Baby boomers are beating first-time buyers to cheaper property as they use their home to form part of their pension and downsize, says property developer MDA. Battles between first-time buyers and retirees for the same properties could further fuel the market. Mark Evans, director of MDA, says: "Around four million homeowners are relying on property to boost their retirement income but could face stiff competition from first-time buyers." Evans adds: "People ...

  • Bank of England warns of risk of house prices falling

    15 Jun 2004

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King last night warned housebuyers of a growing risk that house prices could fall. Speaking in Glasgow to CBI Scotland, King told delegates: "Anyone entering or moving within the housing market should consider carefully the possible future paths of house prices and interest rates." He went on to say that houses may be overvalued: "After the hectic pace of price rises over the past year it is clear that the chances of falls in house prices ...

  • Barclays and The Woolwich hike standard variable rate

    15 Jun 2004

    Barclays and The Woolwich will increase their standard variable mortgage rate by 0.25% to 6.54% for both new and existing borrowers from July 1 2004. This will cost the average homeowner with a £75,000 repayment mortgage over 25 years an extra £11.67 a month. As with previous rate changes, savings rate increases from Barclays and The Woolwich will be effective from the same day as the new mortgage rates (July 1 2004). Savings rate details will be announced ...

  • Best Advice to launch specialist sub-prime division

    14 Jun 2004

    Surrey-based advisory firm Best Advice Financial Planning is to launch a specialist sub-prime division to cater for increasing demand in the sector. The firm, which has traditionally dealt in the prime market, says that with rising levels of consumer debt, this is a good time to enter the sub-prime market. It is developing closer links with major sub-prime lenders including Kensington, igroup, Mortgages PLC and GMAC-RFC. Tony Moss, partner at Best Advice Financial Planning, ...

  • Bidding is a real kick

    14 Jun 2004

    To coincide with the start of Euro 2004 Mortgage Strategy has teamed up with Platform to auction a signed David Beckham football boot, with the money raised going to Cancer Research UK. To take part in the auction, go to http://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk

  • Bradford & Bingley reacts to Bank of England comments

    16 Jun 2004

    Gary Verity, managing director of Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents, has reacted to the Bank of England's comments on the UK housing market. Verity says: "Warnings of price growth slowdown should not set the alarm bells ringing. Although the price hikes of late have been gaining pace, they are patchy and confined to certain hotspot areas. "The impact of interest rate rises may also have begun to take effect across some parts of the UK. However, we have experienced ...

  • Brokers back MS to take TMW Euro 2004 crown

    14 Jun 2004

    Betting on The Mortgage Works charity five-a-side football tournament on June 21 went supernova last week with Mortgage Strategy clear favourites to win the title. Visitors to Mortgage Strategy Online punting to win a jeroboam of champagne reckon the scribblers' team is tops for the title, ranking Alexander Hall a close second. After a dazzling display at Molyneux last month at the BM Solutions charity match, James Rodea's Hamptons players seemed nailed-on favourites, ...

  • Brown has failed on fairer tax system, says Cable

    16 Jun 2004

    Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, has criticised Gordon Brown's performance as chancellor. Cable says: "The chancellor has failed to make the tax system fairer and to tackle the risks posed by the house price boom. Gordon Brown's greatest single achievement has been copying a policy by the Liberal Democrats - independence for the Bank of England. Under Brown taxes have become even less fair, with council tax rocketing. The chancellor has failed to even ...

  • CA granted formal 'super-complaint' status

    18 Jun 2004

    The Consumers' Association announced yesterday that it has been granted formal super-complaint status by the Department of Trade and Industry. Super-complainant powers will allow the Consumers' Association to make formal complaints to a number of government regulators including the Office of Fair Trading about markets failing to work for consumers and where consumer detriment has been identified. In the past two years the Consumers' Association has made two super-complaints ...

  • Closing the savings gap is the top priority for government, says ABI

    18 Jun 2004

    The Association of British Insurers yesterday announced that reducing Britain's £27bn annual savings gap should be a top government priority. Commenting on yesterday's announcements on the Sandler suite of products, Mary Francis, director-general of the ABI, says: "This decision is a step in the right direction. The government has recognised that the 1% price cap on stakeholder pensions was hindering saving, not helping it. "But the new price cap is certainly ...

  • Comments spark speculation on Abbey takeover

    14 Jun 2004

    A Call by Lloyds TSB for the government to relax banking merger rules has led to speculation in the City that the bank is set to resume its attempts to acquire rival Abbey. The speculation began after comments made by Lloyds TSB chairman Maarten van den Bergh at a banking conference last week. At the event he questioned secretary to the Treasury Ruth Kelly on why banks should not be allowed to consolidate further. The comments seemed to have an immediate positive effect ...

  • Compliance officers are a secret army

    14 Jun 2004

    Does the network you are considering joining have an adequate compliance team in place, staffed with people with experience of both the mortgage industry and dealing with the FSA? If the answer is 'yes' then this should be a significant contributory factor to your signing on the dotted line. But there must be a secret army of top compliance people just waiting to unleash themselves on the market like superheroes if networks are to reach the numbers they want in their teams. Mortgag

  • Consumers say house prices will carry on rising

    15 Jun 2004

    The Woolwich yesterday released May figures on consumer confidence in the housing market. The percentage of consumers who expect house prices to increase has soared by 11% already this year from 56% to 67%. These figures are close to the peak levels ever recorded by The Woolwich - when in 2002 confidence peaked at 68%. Andy Gray, head of mortgages for The Woolwich and Barclays, says: "Consumer confidence goes from strength to strength, but with further rate ...

  • Country's conveyancing system has its tensions but remains popular

    14 Jun 2004

    Scotland operates a different conveyancing system to England and Wales, and although generally considered less tortuous, it does put different pressures on buyers and sellers. In Scotland, the contract is formed in a series of letters known as missives which are signed by both the buyer's and the seller's solicitors. It becomes legally binding at an early stage in the housebuying process. Sellers put their houses on the market on an 'offers over' basis, usually ...

  • Countrywide announces strong start to year

    17 Jun 2004

    Countrywide PLC has reported a strong start to the year with activity across all major parts of its business contimuing to grow. During the first six months of 2004 Countrywide says its the estate agency division has benefited from an increase in the number of sales being arranged compared to last year and at increased house prices which feeds through into increased revenues per home sold. Consequently the value of the pipeline of commissions for contracts in the hands of conveyancers ...

  • Countrywide to set up UK lender

    14 Jun 2004

    Countrywide Home Loans, the largest independent originator of mortgages in the US, is planning to launch a sub-prime lender in the UK. A source at the US-based lender tells Mortgage Strategy: "We're definitely launching into the UK and we're definitely launching into the sub-prime market." Loans will be funded through warehouse lines and then securitised with products being distributed through intermediaries - although Mortgage Strategy understands that the prospect ...

  • County appoints Kensington to lending panel

    15 Jun 2004

    Branded lender and packager County Mortgage Services has appointed Kensington Mortgages to its lending panel, taking its total to 17.   David Wylie, managing director of County Mortgages, says: "It will enhance our ability to provide solutions to our introducers enquiries as we believe Kensington Mortgages offer niche areas of criteria in the sub-prime market that were previously unavailable to us."   To celebrate the appointment of Kensington Mortgages, County Mortgages ...

  • Curriculum Vitae - Graeme Winser

    14 Jun 2004

    Name: Graeme Winse Age: 44 Company: UKValuation Job title: Chief executive officer Where do you live? Sandhurst in the Weald of Kent Current Job: My role with UKValuation started last summer. The challenge is divided into two areas - building the marketplace for automated valuation models in the UK mortgage market, and taking the lion's share of what is created. As a chartered surveyor I ...

  • Dear Dippy

    14 Jun 2004

    Dear Dippy Mrs Harvey has five CCJs totalling £3,800 and was discharged as a bankrupt seven months ago. She missed two payments on her mortgage 10 months ago but is now up-to-date. Mrs Harvey and her husband want to move as she has a new job. Their a joint income is £50,000 and they want to buy a home for £148,000. They must complete quickly. What are their options? Dippy says: With a growing number of lenders catering for the nonconforming market, ...

  • DEFRA wants better buildings

    14 Jun 2004

    The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs is calling for all new houses to meet an EcoHomes 'very good' or 'excellent' rating to reduce their impact on the environment. Its study into the environmental impact of increasing the supply of housing shows that carbon dioxide emissions associated with construction of homes in the year 2015/16 could add up to 5% of emissions currently associated with all industries. The figure for housing construction ...

  • Don't ignore your clients' emotions

    14 Jun 2004

    A brand is more than just a logo on letterheads and business cards. It dictates how your business is perceived by the outside world. An effective brand not only tells your customers who you are and what you do, it also establishes relevance to and credibility with your prospective customers and therefore builds trust. A brand represents the relationship between the seller and buyer - and trust is an integral component of any relationship, business or personal. If your brand has high perceived .

  • DVH believed to be making B&B assets bid

    14 Jun 2004

    Direct Valuations Holdings is believed to be mounting a £62m bid for Bradford & Bingley's estate agency, surveyors Secure Move and Charcol. DVH already has a 75% stake in franchise brokerage mortgageforce and controls some 200,000 valuations a year for eight lenders including Northern Rock, Standard Life and HSBC. Sources say DVH group chief executive Christopher Hickling is eager to start talks early, despite the official information memorandum from B&B ...

  • e.surv completes roll out of integrated broadband network

    17 Jun 2004

    Mortgage valuation firm e.surv has completed the roll out of a secure integrated broadband network in more than 300 locations across England and Northern Ireland. The firm says it is aiming to integrate the next generation of technology which will serve to further enhance its proposition. It says it is committed to investing more than £5m in IT development over the next 18 months. Paul Latham, e.surv managing director, says: "e.surv's investment in this broadband ...

  • Elephant Loans appoints BDM

    17 Jun 2004

    Elephant Loans has appointed Mike Parker to the newly-created post of business development manager. Parker takes up the position 16 months after joining the company as sales manager within the secured lending division. In his new role Parker will be directly responsible for the management of Elephant Loan's broker services, providing professional introducers with a dedicated manager to handle their new business enquiries. Parker says: "With October 31 looming, the ...

  • Ensure you have run-off PI

    14 Jun 2004

    Our PI insurer recently reminded me of an important point: it is useful that PI cover comes as part of an AR package but that does not mean that the broker can otherwise forget about it. PI works on a 'claims made' basis. This means if a client makes a claim on the broker's PI insurance in respect of business conducted in the past, the claim will only be picked up by insurers if there is PI cover in force at the time the claim is made - any cover that may have been in ...

  • Fear of fines will spur uptake of call recording

    14 Jun 2004

    Fear of fines from the Financial Services Authority post-Mortgage Day will spur a huge take-up in call recording technology among brokers, claims software firm Veritape. With its PC-based phone call recording system, CallCentre, the firm is expecting the majority of its business to come from mortgage and general insurance brokers. MCOB rules require firms to make a record of all aspects of the advice process and the company is one of several offering audio-recording solutions. ...

  • First Active joins Genesis Direct lending panel

    14 Jun 2004

    Genesis Home Loans has become one of the first firms to appoint First Active to its lender panel for its direct submission service, Genesis Direct. This means First Active will offer its products to intermediaries via Genesis' direct submission route. The Royal Bank of Scotland-owned brand is launching with two low rate mortgages: a two-year discount and a five-year stepped mortgage. Genesis says it will be paying a high rate of proc fees for both products at 0.38%. Louis ...

  • First-time buyer confidence still high, research shows

    15 Jun 2004

    Nationwide has conducted research into the attitudes of potential first-time buyers on affordability and home-ownership and has discovered that confidence among this group is still high, despite tough market conditions. With average house prices now at around £145,000, 74% of people who currently rent from a private landlord or live with their parents are still planning to buy their own home. The research shows that potential first-time buyers are now going to ...

  • Fixed deals back in spotlight

    14 Jun 2004

    Industry figures say the latest Bank of England base rate hike will refuel the debate over whether borrowers will opt for the safety of fixed rate mortgages. The Monetary Policy Committee last week voted to raise the interest rate by 0.25% to 4.5%, the second rise in two months. The previous change in rates was an increase of 0.25% to 4.25% on May 6. A statement from the Bank says: "A small and diminishing margin of spare capacity means inflationary pressures are likely ...

  • Four lenders join Mortgage 2000 mortgage club

    16 Jun 2004

    Mortgage 2000 Mortgage Club yesterday announced that four new lenders have joined its lender panel, bringing the total number of lenders to 50. Club lenders now account for over 95% of the volume mortgage lending market.   The four lenders are Scottish Widows Bank, Manchester, Norwich and Peterborough and Lloyds TSB Scotland.   Alan Collinson, m2-mortgage club national sales manager, says: "With the addition of these four lenders, we are now giving brokers and their clients ...

  • Freedom Finance appoints group compliance manager

    15 Jun 2004

    Freedom Finance has promoted Grahame McGifford to the position of group compliance manager. McGifford will report to Stephen Atkins, group compliance director, and will be responsible for providing compliance support across the whole Freedom Finance group including Mortgage Next. He previously helped manage Freedom Finance's sales teams, both head office and field-based, providing training and compliance support. Prior to joining Freedom Finance, he was an IFA, working ...

  • FSA calms pre-N4 proc fee worries

    14 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Authority has calmed industry concerns over the payment of proc fees on pipeline mortgage cases started before Mortgage Day but completed afterwards to brokers or networks which fail to get authorised by October 31. Lenders such as HBOS subsidiary The Mortgage Business were worried they might fall foul of the regulator if they paid a proc fee to advisers who placed the case before Mortgage Day thinking they would get authorised but then finding out otherwise. But ...

  • FSA will not postpone Mortgage Day deadline

    14 Jun 2004

    The FSA has declared there is "no hope" of postponing Mortgage Day from October 31 in response to rumours that lenders are struggling to be ready. Industry sources have told Mortgage Strategy some lenders are saying they want an extension of the deadline, but no lender will confirm or deny this. Robin Gordon-Walker, spokesman for the FSA, says: "There is no hope that the date will be changed. That would be a government decision, outside of the FSA's area of control. ...

  • Genesis enhances The One account proc fees

    16 Jun 2004

    Genesis is enhancing procuration fees for intermediaries on products from The One account. Until the end of July, Genesis is increasing the fee to intermediaries to 0.70% on The One account and 0.55% on the flexible mortgage option. All applications submitted between June 1 and July 31 which go on to complete will be eligible for the enhanced fees. John Lee, head of sales and marketing, says: "We have a good relationship with The One account and this latest ...

  • Good Northern Rock rates seem to be hitting its service

    14 Jun 2004

    From John Stewart We were approached by first-time buyers at the end of March who realised that buying a house would be a stressful experience - but they hadn't anticipated dealing with Northern Rock's administration. We approached Northern Rock because it was the only lender who could help our clients ,who had run up some debts and needed to raise a loan of 125% LTV. The problem is you have to deal with a call centre which is powerless to influence the progress ...

  • Government intervention was inevitable

    14 Jun 2004

    Why does it take as long to purchase a property in 2004 as it did 30 years ago? There has been no speeding up of the housebuying process. Surely we should be demanding improvement? If industries cannot improve things then one body will act - the government. And the result is Home Information Packs. The Queen's Speech showed that the government is putting HIPs firmly back on the agenda. The driver for this is not just transaction times but the millions that are wasted ...

  • Halifax report reveals house prices in 112 English market towns

    14 Jun 2004

    With many city dwellers dreaming of escaping the cities to more rural locations, Halifax has carried out research focusing on house prices in 112 English market towns. Halifax says these towns, defined as having a population of between 3,000 and 30,000, are a distinctive and important part of the English landscape. The findings show that 10 market towns in England have an average house price in excess of £250,000. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire is the most expensive ...

  • Halifax to increase SVR by 0.25%

    15 Jun 2004

    Halifax will be increasing its standard variable rate from 6.25% to 6.50% following the recent Bank of England base rate rise. The increase for existing borrowers will come into effect at the same time as the increase in savings rates on July 1. Tracker mortgage customers will also see an increase in rates, again effective from July 1 2004. Further details will be released later this month.

  • HBOS welcomes savings regime announcement

    18 Jun 2004

    HBOS has welcomed yesterday's announcement from the Treasury about a new long-term savings regime for the UK. HBOS believes that a 1.5% annual charge is realistic and will undoubtedly increase the level of competition within the savings industry. More transparency and more competition is good news for customers. It will give a greater number of consumers access to advice and products; providing more solutions, for more people, to the £27bn per year savings gap. HBOS ...

  • Hope for repossessed mum

    14 Jun 2004

    The National Association of Mortgage Victims says it has seen an increase in the number of enquiries from borrowers being threatened with repossession by Mortgages PLC. NAMV administrator Carol Riley says: "Over the past few months we have had an increase in enquiries from borrowers who have found themselves under similar threats from this lender… This lender is in the sub-prime market and deals mostly with difficult applications. Its interest rate is at least double the ...

  • Househunters say interest rates are biting

    14 Jun 2004

    The May survey by assertahome.com has detected the first signs that interest rates are starting to affect househunters' sentiment. The survey shows that balance of confidence in the market has tipped markedly towards the pessimists. Between January and April, on average 84.3% of assertahome.com's respondents believed house prices would rise over the following 12 months. In May this dropped sharply to 77%. Despite recent commentary to the contrary, asserta says ...

  • How much do you earn from your conveyancing introductions?

    15 Jun 2004

    On the 9th March 2004 The Law Society liberalised the rules concerning fee sharing and the payment of referral fees by solicitors. Solicitors are now able to directly pay mortgage introducers and lenders for new business subject to various conditions. The Law Society have finally realised that for the conveyancing element of the solicitors profession to survive they must be permitted to enter into commercial arrangements with introducers. Forward thinking introducers and solicitors ...

  • How to get value for your money What to ask the principals

    14 Jun 2004

    This week I'm taking a look at network membership fees, together with the list of questions you should be asking your shortlisted networks. Network fees can be classified under headings of upfront application fee, monthly fees, other recurring fees, percentage of income charges and exit penalties. A handful of networks charge an upfront application fee. Pink Home Loans, for example, charges £250 but it is the exception rather than the rule. Generally these fees ...

  • IF moves to help savers

    15 Jun 2004

    Intelligent Finance will now be paying 0.70% more on its DAS and 0.95% more on its mini-cash ISA than at the start of 2003, whilst base rates have risen just 0.5% over the same period. The mini-cash ISA is up to 4.85%, offset mortgage is now 5.7% and tracker is at 4.94%. Grenville Turner, chief executive, says: "This move once again underlines our commitment to helping savers make their money work harder for them. Our individual rates continue to be amongst the best in the market, ...

  • igroup appoints broker training specialist

    18 Jun 2004

    igroup has announced the appointment of Helena Lee as broker training manager in the northern regional sales team. Lee will report to Brian West, head of broker sales. Helena was previously a processing team manager with a mortgage intermediary. In her new position, she will work closely with igroup's supporting brokers to help improve their understanding of the lender's underwriting requirements and processes, including the iZone interactive website. Lee will also liaise ...

  • Industry warned to take more responsibility over treatment of consumers

    14 Jun 2004

    The Financial Services Consumer Panel has called on the industry and the FSA to take more responsibility for the way consumers are treated if consumer confidence in the industry is to be improved. In its annual report Consumer Panel chairwoman Ann Foster highlighted that consumers are being expected to take on the responsibility for making more and more financial decisions in the way that they save, invest and borrow money for the future. But she says the industry still does not ...

  • Integrated sales system for cover and mortgages

    14 Jun 2004

    Users of the Trigold sourcing system Prospector Plus can now click straight through to Scottish Provident's online 'QUOD' (quotations on disk) system for a protection quote in one step with no need to re-enter client details. The technology has been developed by Abbey for Intermediaries in partnership with Trigold to make it easier for IFAs to make integrated mortgage and protection sales. The process should encourage advisers to consider the add-on sales potential of ...

  • Internet Insite

    14 Jun 2004

    I'm in Essex this week with three quite different approaches. The Mortgage Practitioner has used a white-label site to deliver information and interactivity - great if you want masses of content you don't have to write yourself. Mortgage 2000 (as here) and Network Data (see my review of June 7) are the main service providers but the main thing for the customer is that there is a seamless link to a site that looks and works as though it's part of the broker's site. I'm afraid ...

  • Just under nine out of 10 lenders feel ready for Mortgage Day, survey reveals

    14 Jun 2004

    Just under nine out of 10 lenders (88%) feel their organisations are ready for Mortgage Day on October 31, a survey reveals. The survey was conducted by Focus Solutions at its mortgage industry event held in London at the end of May, entitled Effective Distribution - Beyond M-Day. Confidence in their peer group was also shown with nearly 80% of the respondents feeling that over half of the lenders in the market were ready for the regulated environment. Although ...

  • Kent Reliance appoints Rob Procter as deputy chief executive

    15 Jun 2004

    Kent Reliance has announced the appointment of Rob Procter as deputy chief executive and a member of the main board. As head of lending, Kent Reliance says Procter has been instrumental in the comprehensive revision of the society's lending policy and product range. He established Kent Reliance's commercial lending and buy-to-let teams and is also managing director of its wholly-owned subsidiary Jersey Home Loans, where assets have trebled to £150m in under ...

  • Knight Funding appoints BDM for Midlands

    15 Jun 2004

    Packager Knight Funding has appointed John Cullen as business development manager for the Midlands region. With 25 years experience in the mortgage industry, John's career started in branch building societies including Bradford & Bingley, Nationwide Anglia, Derbyshire and Leeds and Holbeck. The last 10 years have been spent in the intermediary side of the mortgage industry, primarily in business development roles for lenders (including Verso) and packagers (including ...

  • Landlord Mortgages offers buy-to-let training day

    16 Jun 2004

    Specialist buy-to-let broker Landlord Mortgages is offering a property entrepreneurship course for buy-to-let investors.  This seminar, which aims to provide experienced as well as novice property investors with practical expert advice on all aspects of buy-to-let, will take place on Saturday June 26 2004 at the Radisson Edwardian Heathrow Hotel.     Ranjan Bhattacharya, a property investor with over 14 years' experience, will host the course which will cover how to research, ...

  • Legal & General wins RoSPA award

    17 Jun 2004

    Legal & General was recently awarded the Commercial and Business Services Sector Award 2004 presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents at its 48th annual awards ceremony. Legal & General received the award for demonstrating four years of continuously improving health and safety performance with a high standard of safety policy and commitment. David Walker, awards manager at RoSPA, says: "Legal & General has demonstrated an excellent health and safety ...

  • Lender looking to focus on niche products

    14 Jun 2004

    Q: What sets you apart from your competitors? A: The things we have put in place to listen to what brokers want. We have regular focus groups and also conduct a monthly survey of every broker that has placed a case that has gone to offer. We will soon be launching a service section on our website that will allow brokers to see how fast we are turning offers round, which areas we're doing well in and where we're not performing so well - we had a service downturn earlier this ...

  • Lenders in mis-selling row

    14 Jun 2004

    Halifax, Barclays and other major lenders have been accused of mis-selling critical illness cover by Channel Four following its investigation resulting in a programme entitled 30 minutes: How good is your insurance? The programme, aired on June 5, reinforces recent claims by the Consumers' Association that only 5% of advisers recommended an insurance product, with a mortgage, that suited their clients' needs. For the C4 exposé, a journalist posing as a first-time ...

  • Lords question regulation

    14 Jun 2004

    A House of Lords report examining the accountability of the FSA and other regulators is calling for a dedicated parliamentary committee to be established to scrutinise the regulatory state. This move has been welcomed by brokers in the run-up to mortgage regulation. The report, The Regulatory State: Ensuring its Accountability, raises serious questions about how the performance of regulators is monitored. It also questions the assumption that the present level of regulation, ...

  • MAC to launch equity release division

    14 Jun 2004

    Broker firm Mortgage Advice Centre is to launch an equity release division, believing the sector is set to boom. The nationwide firm, which has over 30 advisers, says equity release could become a big market as ever-more people fail to secure pension provisions. MAC says it aims to have its equity release department up and running before regulation kicks in. Michael Loughran, branch manager at MAC's Leicester office, says: "We have had lots of enquiries from people ...

  • Marketing Brief

    14 Jun 2004

    Regionally-based lenders which provide mortgages to just part of the UK add an extra dimension to the mortgage market, providing intermediaries with both a sense of regional identity and, in many cases, not only some competitive deals but also products and criteria that reflect and trade on the characteristics of the region. Inevitably, they don't go overboard on intermediary-facing material because they don't need to. The watchwords here for designing broker information are focus ...

  • MLP launches training academy

    18 Jun 2004

    MLP Private Finance, part of MLP Group, is launching what it claims is the UK's first-ever dedicated training academy for young graduates seeking careers as independent financial and mortgage advisers. Starting on July 19th 2004, the academy will cater for the distinct learning needs of all new consultants, existing sales personnel and executive consultants. In addition, MLP Private Finance has introduced an enhanced xontinuous professional development programme in which ...

  • Moneyfacts warns consumers of financial websites driven by commissions

    18 Jun 2004

    Moneyfacts has suggested that consumers searching for the best deals should be wary of financial websites driven by commissions from providers. Moneyfacts says if consumers are looking for more specific information on products that suit their needs, the searches on its site allow them to answer a series of questions and then present them with results that match their criteria. It says filtering options also help them to drill down their results. For example, with credit cards ...

  • Mortgage club for Scottish brokers

    14 Jun 2004

    The recently-launched Mortgage Intermediary Alliance has created a dedicated mortgage club primarily for Scotland-based intermediaries. Helix Mortgage Services will provide specialist mortgage services for direct and administered business offering access to commercial, secured and residential mortgage loans. MIAS has formed alliances with three companies to launch the club: Adventi which will provide IT support to member brokers; mortgage administration company Opus to ...

  • Mortgage Intelligence offers free network membership till October 31

    15 Jun 2004

    Mortgage Intelligence has announced that it is offering mortgage intermediaries the opportunity to join its network free of membership fees until October 31 2004. This offer applies to both its Spirit solution for appointed representatives and Vantage for directly authorised intermediaries and will also include a free, face-to-face compliance health check for all new Vantage members. Spirit members will automatically receive full compliance support under Mortgage Intelligence's ...

  • Mortgage Next offer ARs fee free membership

    18 Jun 2004

    Mortgage Next is waiving all monthly fees up to Mortgage Day for any intermediary who submits a successful application for appointed representative status. This means that as well as not having to pay any fees, intermediaries will be able to trade under Mortgage Next's MCCB number and PI policy in the period up to October 31 2004. Justine Tomlinson, marketing director at Mortgage Next, says: "This announcement has formalised agreements we have already been making with ...

  • Mortgage Talk welcomes Bank of England comments

    17 Jun 2004

    Andrew Frankish, operations director at Mortgage Talk, has welcomed comments by Bank of England governor Mervyn King earlier this week, saying they bring some much needed realism into the property market. Frankish cautions that many commentators appear to have misconstrued the governor's remarks - made to delegates at a Scottish CBI dinner on Monday - as indicating that the Bank of England is expecting property prices to fall significantly in the short to medium-term. Frankish ...

  • MS to reward IT excellence

    14 Jun 2004

    Frank Eve Consulting and Mortgage Strategy have teamed up to launch the 2004 Mortgage Lenders' Intermediary Websites Benchmark Study and the Mortgage Strategy Technology Awards. The Intermediary Websites Benchmark Study will be the only survey in the UK that analyses how lenders and intermediaries use internet technology to speed the lending process, while the awards will be the first in the intermediary mortgage market to reward lenders solely for their technological achievements. Th

  • My question about mortgage clubs remains unanswered

    14 Jun 2004

    From Richard Griffiths John Malone's letter (Mortgage Strategy June 7) rushes to reassure readers that Premier Mortgage Service will operate as normal despite a comment in my column (Mortgage Strategy May 24). But I only asked whether PMS will continue to deal with ARs wishing to place mortgages off-panel through a mortgage club for lenders not on their network panel. The question is aimed at the lenders on any mortgage club panel - will they accept such applications? ...

  • Name change for Pinniger Partnership

    18 Jun 2004

    Pinniger Partnership has changed its name to Primeword Communications.  Pinniger Partnership (a trading name of Primeword Limited) was established in 1995 and has specialised in lobbying and public relations for the financial services and associated sectors.  The name change is designed to denote a more corporate image for the company and to reflect its expansion into areas such as technology and economic affairs which are associated with its core financial services. 

  • Nationwide to increase mortgage and savings rates

    14 Jun 2004

    Nationwide has announced that it will increase its mortgage and savings rates from July 1. All savings rates will be increased by at least 0.20% and many will be increased by 0.25%. The base mortgage rate will be increased by 0.25% which Nationwide says leaves it around 0.75% lower than the standard variable rates of most other major high street lenders. This follows last Thursday's decision by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee to increase the base ...

  • Nationwide unveils fixed rate mortgages

    17 Jun 2004

    Nationwide yesterday announced details of its fixed rate mortgages. These new rates are available from June 18 and reflect recent movements in the money markets. A two-year fixed rate is available from 5.39%, a five-year fixed rate is available from 5.69%and a five-year fixed rate will be available from 5.79%

  • NCC submits 'super-complaint' on home credit market

    15 Jun 2004

    The National Consumer Council yesterday submitted a 'super-complaint' on the £2bn home credit market - also known as doorstep lending - to the Office of Fair Trading. The complaint comes in the wake of NCC research identifying a range of damaging impacts on the millions of vulnerable and low-income families who have little choice but to use this form of credit to help make ends meet. Around one in 10 adults in Great Britain have used home credit in their ...

  • Networkone service to help members with PR

    14 Jun 2004

    Networkone is to launch a major initiative designed to take care of the advertising, marketing and PR needs of its appointed representatives. The service, called PRofile, will be launched on July 1 and is believed to be the first service of its kind to be unveiled by a mortgage network. PRofile, which is available free of charge, will also be offered to members who sign up to the principal scheme recently unveiled by networkone's parent, Next Generation Mortgages PRofile's ...

  • Networkone urges networks to review fee-charging strategies

    16 Jun 2004

    Networkone is calling on the majority of mortgage networks to review their fee-charging strategies immediately following the decision by Mortgage Intelligence to stop charging membership fees. Terry Markham, networkone managing director says: "This is a bold step by Mortgage Intelligence. It's a decision that should have a positive impact on their fortunes - and one that could ultimately help a lot of other fee-charging networks to see the folly of their ways. "Mortgage ...

  • NGM and SPML team up for football weekend

    16 Jun 2004

    Next Generation Mortgages and SPML has teamed up to offer specialist mortgage intermediaries the chance to win a dream weekend in Italy attending the Milan derby between AC and Inter next season. The 'all expenses paid' trip includes a ticket to attend one of European football's leading games at the world famous San Siro stadium, flights, hotels and meals - and it's open to all specialist advisers, regardless of whether they are existing partners of NGM or not. Winning ...

  • No point in delaying the inevitable

    14 Jun 2004

    Last week we learned that a total of 10,510 firms have registered with the MCCB for the final run-in period of their non-statutory regulation. These firms are collectively responsible for 37,949 sales staff, an increase of around 3,000 staff over last year. These figures perhaps belie the fears of those who have been predicting that the number of sales staff will fall post-Mortgage Day. After all, if many thousand of advisers are to cease trading in around four months' time, ...

  • No sign of buy-to-let bubble bursting

    16 Jun 2004

    The bursting of the buy-to-let bubble isn't as imminent as expected, says Robert Jordan, president of ARLA. He believes that the constantly evolving and increasing segmentation of the market and the consumer approach to protection for tenants will ensure this. Jordan says: "When ARLA launched buy-to-let we started with what has become traditional buy-to-let. This is where a long-term investor looks to both maximise rental income and enjoy a capital gain. "Now ...

  • Number of housebuyers falling, says NAEA

    16 Jun 2004

    The number of housebuyers on the books of estate agents fell by 13.6% last month, figures released by the National Association of Estate Agents show. The NAEA's monthly survey of almost 10,000 agents across the country also revealed that new applicant enquiries fell 24.1% over the last three months, as homebuyers demonstrate an unwillingness to enter a housing market with an uncertain future. However, activity in the market is still strong, as the number of sales agreed rose ...

  • Offset taxation rumours denied

    14 Jun 2004

    The government has scotched speculation that the tax exemption on offset mortgages is to be stopped. Industry sources claim that lenders including Standard Life Bank have been telling brokers that the Inland Revenue is looking closely at offset accounts to tighten up the current situation whereby offset customers are exempt from tax on the savings part of the product. The IR has denied that any such changes are in the pipeline, calling the allegations "rumours". Patrick ...

  • One piece in the financial jigsaw

    14 Jun 2004

    In the mortgage industry it seems that the only thing anyone talks about nowadays is regulation. The race is on for FSA authorisation, with networks circling to pick up the advisers who have in effect left it too late to apply for direct authorisation within the FSA's six-month guaranteed period for dealing with applications. Compliance is now the name of the game, with fully documented systems playing a vital role in providing evidence of compliance with the mortgage rules. Now ...

  • Paragon sponsors tennis star at Wimbledon

    14 Jun 2004

    Paragon Mortgages is supporting British athletes through a range of initiatives, including the sponsorship of Lee Childs, the British tennis No.4. This coincides with the launch of a promotional campaign featuring a number of sports men and women in a variety of activities including tennis, athletics and swimming. John Heron, managing director of Paragon Mortgages, says: "We're delighted to add our support, both moral and financial, to the endeavours of our home-grown ...

  • Pink extends fixed rate end date on B2L product

    17 Jun 2004

    Pink Home Loans has extended the fixed rate end date to September 1 2006 on the Pink Choices buy-to-let product. Pink Choices is a branded lending product funded by GMAC-RFC and offers arate of 5.99% fixed to September 1 2006 up to 75% LTV and 6.39% fixed to September 1 2006 up to 85% LTV. Buy-to-let investors can also save £150 off the application/valuation fee on loans over £150,000, if submitted via the packaged route.

  • Pink simplifies 24-hour broker commission payment service

    17 Jun 2004

    Pink Home Loans is simplifying its 24-hour payment of broker commission service, which pays commission fees within 24 hours of legal completion. Pink customers will no longer be required to send the 24-hour payment form to the solicitor for confirmation that the case has completed. Instead, the intermediary can now complete the form to indicate that legal completion has taken place and forward it directly to Pink Home Loans. Mark Howell, marketing manager at Pink, says: ...

  • Preferred Mortgages sponsors triathlon challenge

    17 Jun 2004

    Preferred Mortgages sponsored this year's Sussex Triathlon on June 6. The triathlon is proving to be a local success story with up to 300 entrants this year who challenged themselves with a continuous 500 metre swim, 26 kilometre bike and a five kilometre run. Two employees from the Haywards Heath-based company took part in the gruelling challenge to raise much needed funds for two charities Cancer Research and Sense. Dennis Pitocco, chief executive officer, says: "We are ...

  • Preferred opts for SDS system to support introducers

    14 Jun 2004

    Preferred Mortgages has chosen the web-based SDS MAPS system to support its introducers under FSA regulations. The SDS system is a web-based software package that will be available to Preferred Mortgages' introducer partners. Introducers will have 24-hour access via the internet to product searches, a KFI generator, online application forms and status tracking facilities. The system incorporates application entry, sourcing and decisioning, document production, ...

  • Propertyfinder.com expands portfolio

    17 Jun 2004

    Propertyfinder.com has grown the number of properties listed on the site by 42% since July 2003 to 70,648 at the end of May 2004. It claims over the same period, main rival primelocation grew by only 4.2% to 75,000 properties. New agents to sign up include Fine and Country, a marketing group run by the guild of professional agents, John D Wood & Co, Winkworth, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward, Chancellors, Anscombe & Ringland and Russell Baldwin & Bright. The growth over ...

  • RAMP launches non-conforming tracker with Preferred Mortgages

    14 Jun 2004

    Packagers alliance RAMP has launched an exclusive non-conforming mortgage in conjunction with Preferred Mortgages.   The exclusive tracker is available at LIBOR plus 2.25% for LTVs up to 75%, with a discount of 1.5% for 12 months from the date of completion. The product allows up to three months' mortgage arrears with none in the last six months, bankrupts who have been discharged a minimum of 12 months and those with well-conducted IVAs.   John Rice, managing director ...

  • Record numbers expected for first Property Investor Show North

    17 Jun 2004

    Organisers of The Property Investor Show North, a comprehensive event for landlords, property entrepreneurs and buy-to-let investors, are expecting a record number of visitors when it is held at Manchester's G-MEX on June 18-20 2004. In response to its popularity and the growing trend for property investors to look north for their next opportunity, the first ever Property Investor Show North is being held in Manchester. Held in London for the past two years, the show last year ...

  • Regional variations in house price inflation

    14 Jun 2004

    Two of Scotland's regions have seen the biggest house price gains in the UK over the past 12 months according to Bank of Scotland's quarterly house price index. Interestingly, the 10 UK regions with the biggest price gains are all outside southern England. In Scotland, Dumfries & Galloway and the Highlands have seen rises of 41% and 30% respectively. In the Galashiels area there are significant developments being undertaken with the construction of 250 new build properties ...

  • Rival IFAs resume talks on merging

    14 Jun 2004

    London-based IFA Inter-Alliance is in discussions regarding merging with rival Millfield. The two firms have previously had merger talks but say those negotiations failed for technical issues. Stuart Wilson, mortgage development director at Inter-Alliance, says if the firms merged it would mean bigger distribution as the number of members would exceed 2,000. He says: "This is a sign of the times. It will be difficult for smaller firms to survive in the regulated ...

  • Savers miss the mis-selling boat

    14 Jun 2004

    Some 700,000 savers are thought to have missed the boat for reporting endowment mis-selling complaints. This means that close to 10% of borrowers facing shortfalls on their endowments are now cut adrift from any recourse. The Treasury revealed the figures in a submission to the Commons Treasury Select Committee which is looking into the crisis. The Consumers' Association has slammed the revelation as a sign of both the Financial Services Authority's and ...

  • Savills founder to launch Purely Mortgages later in year

    17 Jun 2004

    Mark Chilton, the founder of Savills Private Finance, has unveiled the brand name of the national mortgage broker he is to launch later this year - Purely Mortgages The company is aiming to take a significant share of the UK mortgage market within five years. Chief executive Chilton says he has assembled a director team with unrivalled experience in the mortgage market to set up and manage Purely Mortgages.  The team comprises Ian Giles, ex-Mortgage Trust and First Active, ...

  • Scottish heights

    14 Jun 2004

    Paranoia over UK property prices is now so great that the merest blip is seized upon as evidence that the housing market is finally heading for the long-anticipated crash. This paranoia extends to Scotland where figures from website Myhouseprice.com suggesting a 3% drop in prices to an average £110,388 between February and April have caused a stir. Dan Cookson, a partner at Myhouseprice.com, which crunches data from the Registrars of Scotland, struck the match by ...

  • Sesame unveils mortgage and protection proposition

    18 Jun 2004

    Sesame has announced details of a mortgage and protection proposition for directly regulated advisers with a menu of flexible services to choose from. The proposition includes low fixed-fee pricing with no deductions from procuration fees or commission rates and a choice of protection solutions with either a whole of market option (protection market) or a panel of twelve insurers offering market leading commission levels (protection select). Online compliance assistance ...

  • Source Software unveils network alliances

    16 Jun 2004

    Source Software has revealed partnerships with networks LIME, Mortgage Intelligence, The Mortgage Partners and In-Partnership. Malcolm Guest, managing director of Source Software says: "We believe it crucial to forge relationships with the networks who can work with the Source to ensure minimal disruption to customers during this period of regulatory change." The Source is in the general insurance market and offers brokers a choice of lenders, single data entry to multiple ...

  • Sourcing firms could work together

    14 Jun 2004

    Sourcing system providers Mortgage Brain and Trigold have confirmed they could make verifiable product information available to rival systems in the interests of giving the industry accurate, compliant data . The confirmation was in response to questions at a recent Association of Mortgage Intermediaries board meeting. AMI is keen to set up what it calls a 'common reliable platform' from which brokers and sourcing systems could access verified KFI data. Mark Lofthouse, ...

  • Squirrel and Hovers Swarbrick join forces

    16 Jun 2004

    Two Midlands financial advice companies have joined forces to take advantage of significant changes in the personal finance industry. Sutton Coldfield-based Squirrel Financial Management and Hovers Swarbrick,of Lichfield, Staffordshire have merged in a deal that will create new jobs and increase stability for the existing workforce. Jonathan Hovers, director of Hovers Swarbrick, says: "Any changes will be relatively seamless as far as our clients are concerned. We ...

  • Steely MPC cools long-term swap rates

    14 Jun 2004

    Short-term swap rates have gone up but long-term ones have actually come down, presumably as a result of the Monetary Policy Committee's willingness to increase base rates, as demonstrated last Thursday. • One-year money is up 0.05% to 5.31% • Two-year money is up 0.02% to 5.47% • Three-year money is unchanged at 5.55% • Five-year money is down 0.02% to 5.59% Last week saw several rate increases but fewer than of late. Halifax has pulled ...

  • Sub-prime tracker launched

    14 Jun 2004

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services is offering a 95% LTV sub-prime base rate tracker from Birmingham Midshires, available through a limited number of packagers including Professional Mortgage Packagers Associates' members. The 95% LTV is applicable to properties worth up to £150,000. The rate stands at Bank base rate plus 2.69% for the first two years with early redemption charges extending only over the initial two-year period at 5% in year one and 4% in year two. In ...

  • Take a crash course in student pads to ease the financial burden

    14 Jun 2004

    The actuaries are at it again - and they are calling for all of us to be at it too. A recent report from the profession stated that falling birth rates will cause real problems for government and individuals' finances. It believes that not nearly enough attention is being paid to this issue and calls for a review of the incentives and disincentives that government policy offers to families to raise children. Children are expensive, which is not news to any parent. Estimates ...

  • The AMI bridge over troubled water

    14 Jun 2004

    Of the psychological phenomena that affect us all from time to time it's fortunate that anxiety and uncertainty are among the easiest to overcome. Stakes often appear higher than they really are and molehills become mountains until we finally confront whatever it is that's concerning us. My arrival at a recent industry conference brought this home to me, and mirrors the uncertainty facing some small firms. I was attending a meeting of senior legal and compliance figures ...

  • The changing rights of leaseholders

    14 Jun 2004

    Last week's article looked at the topic of freehold and leasehold estate which appears in the syllabus of every one of the CeMAP papers. This week's article completes the look at this topic by considering the legislation that the government has introduced to bring about leasehold reform. The first of the two Acts to consider within the context of CeMAP is the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. Under this Act, a residential leaseholder has a statutory ...

  • The Mortgage Mole

    14 Jun 2004

    Dream Team With just seven days to go before The Mortgage Works' charity five-a-side football tournament, Mole has to confess to being a little worried about the Strategy staffers who have allegedly been training hard for the event, and would like to point out that alcohol is no subsitute for exercise. "Strategy doesn't stand a chance," John Malone, TMW's unofficial chairman, told Mole last week. "I'm backing TMW all the way - especially now that it has ...

  • Tighter rules on credit marketing

    14 Jun 2004

    Consumer minister Gerry Sutcliffe announced last week that all consumers must receive clear and detailed information about their credit agreements from lenders before they sign up - enabling them to shop around for the best deals. Sutcliffe also said excessive charges for settling an agreement early will be replaced with a fairer system. The move is the first set of regulations in the government's intended shake-up of the consumer credit market, aimed at increasing ...

  • TMP goes for growth

    14 Jun 2004

    Seven years of success has enabled Merseyside packager The Mortgage Partnership to move to new premises in Bromborough, Wirral. And Mortgage Strategy can reveal that TMP is looking to acquire another mortgage business by the end of the year. TMP relocated to the new offices, pictured here for the first time, after outgrowing its Heswall HQ. Director John Mawdsley says: "We needed more space to grow but this is just the start. We will be shortly be making service enhancements."

  • Trigold plans equity update

    14 Jun 2004

    Trigold is planning to build an equity release function into its sourcing system following research that found more mainstream lenders and brokers are looking at entering this growing market. The firm's joint managing director Martin Colyer says the system should launch before the end of the year but after the introduction of FSA mortgage regulation on October 31. The firm is to build the lifetime deals sourcing capability into its Prospector software which will also ...

  • Urban homebuyers seeking rural retreats

    14 Jun 2004

    Figures from SmartNewHomes.com, the online new homes specialist, has revealed a strong pattern of exodus from the UK's built up areas, as homebuyers increasingly look to move to rural regions. SmartNewHomes' Demand Index and Migration Monitor shows large numbers of homebuyers are looking to move out of London and the South-East and into the South-West and East Anglia. Other areas experiencing migration include the North West and west Midlands - regions characterised ...

  • Vesta Money picks SDS MAPS for mortgage processing

    14 Jun 2004

    SDS Applications, a provider of web-enabled solutions and software for the mortgage industry, has announced that Vesta Money has selected SDS MAPS for its mortgage processing. Vesta operates nationwide and says it generates and packages millions of pounds in mortgages per year. Vesta will deploy MAPS throughout the company's operation The system will be used to manage all processing pipelines from origination, qualification, processing and submission to lenders. It ...

  • Vox Pop - Should networks be responsible for KFIs?

    14 Jun 2004

    Sesame revealed last week that it was to become the first network to take responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of the Key Facts Illustrations brokers get from its customised version of Mortgage Brain and Trigold. Although Network Data has gone so far as to guarantee the accuracy of data this only applies to KFIs obtained from its own sourcing system, MortgageLink Enterprise Edition. So, Mortgage Strategy asks: Should all networks take responsibility for ensuring the ...

  • We have sharpened up in response to MS letter

    14 Jun 2004

    From Ambrose McGinn I was disappointed to read of Jonathan Buchanan's experience with us when processing an Abbey mortgage application (Mortgage Strategy May 31). The delay was unacceptable and in response to Jonathan's call to arms we aim to get our act together. Over the past few months we have been working on a number of enhancements to improve the speed with which we can process mortgage applications. We have tried to eradicate much of the paperwork ...

  • Will packagers that remain outside the FSA regime still be Used by lenders?

    14 Jun 2004

    When the FSA decided not to count packaging as a regulated activity, it forced packagers into making difficult decisions about the structure and future role of their businesses. For some it was a simple decision as they already dealt with and sold to consumers - direct authorisation was the obvious conclusion. However, the majority of packagers operate on a business-to-business basis and so their decision is not as clear-cut. As a lender that considers packagers as a vital part ...

  • Yorkshire conman jailed for property scheme scam

    16 Jun 2004

    Bradford Crown Court has jailed John Edward Rourke, aged 64, of Sildsen, West Yorkshire for a total of two and a half years after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently inducing clients of his firm to make deposits with him of £340,000. It is thought that the full amount taken from clients and others may be up to £900,000. The prosecution followed a three-year investigation by the Financial Services Authority into Rourke's illegal activities. During the investigation ...

  • Zurich IFA Group goes live with UNIPASS

    18 Jun 2004

    Zurich IFA Group has announced that it can accept UNIPASS on its extranet. Hot on the heels of The Exchange signing, Zurich IFA Group has chosen the UNIPASS service due to its benefits in terms of ease of use, increased security, and in making life easier for IFAs doing business online. Launched in 2002 by Origo, the technology standards body for the financial services market, UNIPASS is fast becoming the industry norm for providing secure Internet access for financial ...

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