Mortgage Strategy
15 August 2011
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Automated systems are combating fraud
15 August 2011
JAMES SHERWOOD-ROGERS, MANAGING DIRECTOR, QUEST
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14% of borrowers can't afford their mortgages
15 August 2011
Some 14% of mortgage holders say they are struggling with their repayments, according to research by Which? Its survey also found that of those in difficulties, just 36% have approached their lender for help.
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Ambulance chasers should be charged for every failed case
15 August 2011
To me these ambulance chasers are no better than the London rioters. They just ram-raid the system indiscriminately in the hope that they can loot some money from somewhere.This is a malaise sweeping this country because there are too many people who are looking for something for nothing. I think they should be charged for every case that fails.Grey-Haired Underwriter
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Banks’ gross mortgage lending down 8% year-on-year
23 Aug 2011
High street banks have reported gross mortgage lending of £7.6bn in July, 8% lower than the £8.3bn of lending in July 2010.
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Best lending quarter since 2008 as landlords move to develop portfolios
15 August 2011
Gross buy-to-let mortgage lending increased 29% by volume and 40% by value in Q2 2011 compared with the same period last year, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.There were 32,000 buy-to-let loans worth £3.5bn advanced in Q2 this year, the highest number and value since Q4 2008 and an increase of 16% by volume and 21% by value on the previous quarter.The CML says the rise was primarily driven by remortgaging, which accounted for 65% of the quarterly ...
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Brokers are urged to inform on each other if they suspect wrong doing
15 August 2011
The Financial Services Authority is calling on brokers to blow the whistle on other brokers they suspect of fraud.A Freedom of Information request by Mortgage Strategy reveals that the regulator has received 181 reports of suspected broker fraud from lenders since it launched its Information from Lenders scheme in 2006.Reports peaked in 2009 with 55 reported cases and so far this year it has received 24.The regulator says it is pleased with the response ...
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Building innovation leaves lenders behind
15 August 2011
Jason Orme, editor of Homebuilding and Renovating, sheds light on the issues affecting the housing industry
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Building value with trail remuneration
15 August 2011
BOB HUNT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PARADIGM MORTGAGE SERVICES
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Call to ditch overpayment fees and bring in cooling-off period riles CML
15 August 2011
A European committee set up to scrutinise the mortgage directive is calling for overpayment charges to be scrapped and a cooling-off period for mortgages introduced.A cooling-off period was proposed in the draft stages of the directive in January but was not included in proposals in March this year.Two European committees were set up in March to assess the directive - one with responsibility for economic and monetary affairs, ECON, and the other overseeing internal ...
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Cambridge offers FTBs a range of high LTV options
15 August 2011
Cambridge Building Society has launched a 95% LTV deal for first-time buyers that offers a reduced rate for the first year. Cambridge Easy Start is a five-year fix at 5.29% for the first year and 6.49% thereafter. It has an application fee of £599.
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CAN YOU HAVE A POP TO WIN THIS BOTTLE OF MIGHTY FINE CHAMPAGNE?
15 August 2011
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Check the health of conveyancing firms
15 August 2011
ROB MCCOY, PRODUCT AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, PMS
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Concern over number of 100% LTV deals without guarantees
15 August 2011
There are currently 13 mortgage products marketed as 100% LTV deals available from three providers, Moneyfacts has confirmed.Northern Bank, which lends to Northern Ireland residents, offers 10 mortgage products up to 100% LTV. They are only available direct.Last month, Marsden Building Society launched a family offset deal available up to 100% LTV.It is available to residents of England and Wales with a family member putting up 20% of the property’s value ...
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Consumers should get redress if credit agencies mess up
15 August 2011
The recommendation for a 14-day cooling-off period is more meddling by people who make up rules but have no clue about their impact. It’s ridiculous.That said, I welcome the ECON’s proposal of compensation for consumers if credit is rejected because a reference agency supplies an inaccurate report.I’m in favour of holding to account credit reference agencies when they mess up, which happens far too frequently.And it shouldn’t just be for mortgages ...
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Countrywide hits out at over-valuation claims
15 August 2011
GRENVILLE TURNER, SOME CLAIMS RIDICULOUS
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Coventry unveils a range of fixed packages at 2.99%
15 August 2011
Coventry Intermediaries has launched two, three and four-year fixed rate mortgages, all with a rate of 2.99%.The products consist of a two-year fix at 2.99% available up to 65% LTV with a £199 booking fee and £299 arrangement fee, a three-year fix available up to 65% LTV with a £199 booking fee and £800 arrangement fee, and a four-year fix available up to 65% LTV with a £199 booking fee and £1,800 arrangement fee.The lender is also launching a buy-to-let tracker ...
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Cut-price deals for new clients at Nationwide
15 August 2011
Nationwide has reduced most of its two-year and three-year fixed rates for new applications. It is now offering a three-year fix at 2.89% up to 70% LTV with a £999 fee.
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Decline flattened off in July as transactions jumped
15 August 2011
Average house prices fell by 0.1% to £217,300 in July compared to the previous month, representing a 2.6% year-on-year decline.The LSL/Acadametrics House Price Index also shows that property transactions increased by 5% in July but fell by 5.9% in Q2 compared to the same period in 2010.David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, says that the 0.1% fall in house prices shows the steep declines seen between April and June have ceased.He ...
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Dubious morality of override payments
15 August 2011
GARETH LEWIS, HEAD OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, TIUTA
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Economic Tracker - August 2011
15 August 2011
Our monthly economic tracker provides data and expert commentary on the health of the housing market
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Equity release is of value to social care
15 August 2011
GEMMA HARLE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TENETLIM
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FSA and MoJ seem clueless on the PPI moral waste ground
15 August 2011
We’ve all heard about the sharks that sold PPI then de-regulated and phoenixed into other firms.Before the Financial Services Authority realised what was going on they set up claims firms and left innocent advisers with the bill.I know of one former broker selling all his clients off to claims companies to complain to the lender about things he advised on.This is a moral waste ground. I keep getting complaints when no cover was ever sold. This is ...
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FTB mortgages reach 10-month high in June
15 August 2011
The number of mortgages taken out by first-time buyers reached a 10-month high in June, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. There were 18,100 loans to first-time buyers, worth £2.2bn, advanced in June, 24% higher by volume and 29% higher by value than in May.
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Get moving now for a successful January
15 August 2011
HARPAL SINGH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONVEYANCING ALLIANCE
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Half of negative equity cases in Q1 relate to mortgages from 2007
15 August 2011
Around half of the 827,000 households in negative equity in the first three months of this year took out their mortgage in 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.A CML report published last week, Housing Equity: A Market Update, says around 827,000 borrowers were in negative equity in Q1 2011, which equates to fewer than 8% of all mortgage holders. But it says the majority of these were originated after 2004.When considering just those mortgages ...
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Halifax finally pulls the plug on retirement plan
15 August 2011
Halifax is to pull its Retirement Home Plan from this Wednesday.The intermediary-only scheme was designed for people over 65 and allowed them to borrow up to 75% of the property’s value.But the borrower would only pay the interest on the deal, with the capital being paid off when they died and the house was sold.Halifax stopped offering the scheme a number of years ago in its branches and says it makes up only a small percentage of its intermediary ...
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Investment shows faith in DA arena
15 August 2011
PHIL WHITEHOUSE, HEAD, THE MORTGAGE ALLIANCE
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IT is paving way for smooth processing
15 August 2011
ANDY HENDRY, DIRECTOR, MATSSOFT
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It is unbelievable how far clients will go with false claims
15 August 2011
I recently had a PPI claim against me although I had not sold the client anything but did arrange the mortgage.Investigations revealed they had taken out a monthly protection policy through a bank. I complained to the MoJ about the harsh wording regarding statements I had allegedly made.Another client believed that I arranged PPI 12 years ago and when I told them I had not they threatened to claim on the basis that they had wanted one. This beggars belief.
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Keeping KFI would make cooling-off period unnecessary
15 August 2011
I was interested to read the article on Mortgage Strategy Online last week, which repeated the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ warning about the recommendations made by the economic and monetary affairs committee of the European Parliament.ECON recommended a 14-day cooling-off period after a mortgage offer has been made. But a cooling-off period wouldn’t be needed if we continue with the Key Facts Illustration.The mortgage offer only repeats the details ...
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King cuts UK growth to 1.5% amid Europe debt crisis
15 August 2011
Bank of England governor Mervyn King has cut the UK’s 2011 growth forecast to 1.5% from 1.8%, partly due to the debt crisis in Europe.King says the outlook for output growth remains uncertain stressing that the greatest risks to the recovery come from the challenges faced by other countries as they seek to ensure the sustainability of their fiscal positions and to preserve the stability of their banking systems.He says: “Were they to crystallise, the risks emanating ...
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L&G proc fee scheme to help homeless
15 August 2011
Legal & General is asking mortgage brokers to donate £1 to Shelter from each proc fee they receive.The fund-raising initiative, Brokering Change, aims to help the homeless and those at risk of repossession.Brokers who sign up will receive certificates and be able to use the Brokering Change logo to promote their social responsibility activity to customers.Stephen Smith, director of housing and external affairs at Legal & General, says: “For ...
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Landlords feel confident about their portfolios
15 August 2011
Almost a quarter of landlords are feeling more optimistic about the prospects for their property portfolios, rental income and yields, Paragon Mortgages has revealed.
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LAST WEEK’S WINNER
15 August 2011
STEVE CHAY“CHL’s staff proudly display their certificates from Bob Young’s School of Line Dancing.”
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Leader: PPI: now it's brokers' outrage
15 August 2011
Following last week’s lead story on the broker who was looking to sue a client over a payment protection insurance claim, we have been inundated by brokers similarly outraged by the sudden vogue in spurious PPI claims.In this week’s letters page Dave Smith describes how one client believed that he’d arranged PPI for him 12 years previously. When Smith informed the client that no PPI had ever been arranged the client then threatened to claim on the basis that they had actually ...
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Leeds' first half lending hits £642m
15 August 2011
Leeds Building Society has reported a 61% increase in gross mortgage lending for the first half of this year.The society lent £642m in the first six months of 2011, up from £400m in the first half of 2010. It says this is nearly double the society’s natural share of the mortgage market.In the first half of the year the average LTV lent by Leeds was 52% compared to 53% for the same period in 2010.The society reported a pre-tax profit of £26.9m for ...
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Lenders could do more to suss out quality of brokers
15 August 2011
Rather than relying on the FSA register, lenders can work with distributors to set their own performance standards
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Lenders set to toughen stance on repossession
15 August 2011
There are fears that forbearance policies are reaching their limits and that lenders will start to take a tougher stance on repossessions.Figures out last week from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show repossessions fell 7% in the first half of 2011, compared with the same period in 2010.There were 9,000 repossessions in Q2 2011, slightly lower than Q1’s 9,100, bringing the total to 18,100 for the first half of the year. This compares with 19,500 in the first ...
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Lending is moving in right direction
15 August 2011
DAVID FINLAY, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR MORTGAGES, BARCLAYS
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LLoyds group reveals details of job losses
15 August 2011
Lloyds Banking Group has announced 1,300 job cuts in its group functions, retail, group operations and wealth and international divisions. Some 1,120 of these form part of the 15,000 job losses originally announced on June 30 as part of its business simplification programme.
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Marketwatch
15 August 2011
Bristol & West’s £1,000 offer to remortgage away could be a damp squib and RBS’ lending drop isn’t a shock considering its limited range. But well done to Cambridge for giving FTBs a choice of high LTV deals
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On a mission
15 August 2011
Grenville Turner (right) and Nigel Stockton are helping realise Countrywide’s ambition to become bigger and better with acquisitions in new areas, but they are still hungry for more
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Online opportunity must not be missed
15 August 2011
JON KING, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MORE2LIFE
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Paragon trims rates on two-year B2L fixes
15 August 2011
Paragon Mortgages has reduced its two-year fixed rate buy-to-let deals by 0.15%. The three products in this range are now at 5.15%, 5.25% and 5.35% against LTVs of 65%, 70% and 75% respectively. They all have a 2% fee.
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PPI pain makes me want to quit financial services
15 August 2011
I was interested to read Mortgage Strategy’s lead news story last week about the mortgage broker who is looking to sue a former client for libel over claims made against him concerning the mis-selling of payment protection insurance.I applaud the action this broker is taking. Our jobs are hard enough without feckless clients chancing their arm as there might be a few bob in it for them.
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Protection comparison website launched
15 August 2011
Moneysupermarket.com former managing director Stuart Glendinning has launched The Life Dept.
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Rates on five-year fixed products fall to an all-time low
15 August 2011
The average five-year fixed rate mortgage has fallen below 5% for the first time since Moneyfacts. co. uk began recording rates in 1988.Moneyfacts says the average five-year fix is 4.99% compared with 6.24% in September 2009.Also, the average three-year fixed rate has dropped from 5.61% in September 2009 to 4.74% today. The average two-year fix has decreased from 5.18% to 4.24%.A spokeswoman for Moneyfacts says the cost of funding fixed rate mortgages ...
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Regulators confirm BoI cash offer is not bribery
15 August 2011
AARON STRUTT, BROKERS NOT IMPRESSED
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Reputable brokers should stop rogues abusing products
15 August 2011
I am tired of hearing people complain about Halifax tightening its criteria relating to vendor-gifted deposits.I have read many examples of the true value of vendor-gifted deposits and how they can benefit purchasers, and I agree with these comments and frustrations.However, no-one is mentioning the real reason behind this decision and this is due to the minority spoiling things for the majority, yet again.The fact of the matter is that this scheme ...
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Shared equity disposal could give market a boost
15 August 2011
Barratt Developments’ interest in selling its portfolio of shared equity loans could prompt other builders to do the same, boosting the shared equity market, the House Builders Association says.Last week Barratt confirmed it is looking at options to sell part of its £170m portfolio of shared equity loans.Roger Humber, strategic policy adviser at the HBA, says if the sale were to go ahead it would be the first of its kind and could provide a model for other firms ...
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SimplyBiz welcomes Ipswich to lending panel
15 August 2011
SimplyBiz Mortgages has added Ipswich Building Society to its panel of lenders.
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Skipton launches long-term deal at 5.85% with no fees
15 August 2011
Skipton Building Society has launched a 10-year fixed rate mortgage at 5.85% with no product fee.The deal is available up to 85% LTV and comes with free legals and valuations for remortgages.Kris Brewster, head of products at Skipton, says it believes the base rate is unlikely to rise until at least next year, meaning shorter term fixed and tracker deals might be the most cost effective for some types of borrowers at the moment.He says: “However, ...
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Suing client for PPI libel could breach FSA rules
15 August 2011
Regulatory experts warn that brokers who sue clients for complaining could be in breach of Treating Customer Fairly principles.Last week Mortgage Strategy reported that a mortgage broker is planning to sue a former client for libel after receiving a complaint alleging he had mis-sold them payment protection insurance.But regulation consultant Adam Samuel says the move would breach the Financial Services Authority’s TCF article six principle, which says ...
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Suing for libel makes solicitors happy but puts you at risk
15 August 2011
I don’t think brokers should sue former clients for libel over PPI claims they make.First, you are not allowed to do anything that will put anyone off complaining against you.And second, a complaint sent to you is not libel since it has not been published to a third party.If a complaint is made to FOS the loss caused is zero. In other words, if you just want to make your solicitor happy and expose yourself to major regulatory risk, go ahead.
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The art and fun of valuations has taken a pounding
15 August 2011
In the good old days valuing properties was about more than just calculating pounds per square foot
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The Mortgage Mole
15 August 2011
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Too much fuss being made over Halifax's gifted deposit policy
15 August 2011
I’ve just got back from holiday and have been catching up on all the hoo-ha following Halifax’s decision not to lend in cases when a vendor’s gifted deposit is used.I am surprised this practice lasted as long as it did as I feel it is prone to abuse.It takes me back to the bad old days of inflated valuations by surveyors who were in brokers’ pockets to get more business.I have only had the need to use vendor-gifted deposits when arranging loans on ...
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UK property market immersed in global maelstrom
23 Aug 2011
The fate of the UK property market has surely never been so closely tied to developments outside the UK.
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Week in NUMBERS
15 August 2011
6.9% - The percentage drop in Greek GDP in Q2 year on year, compared to an 8.1% fall in Q1.
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Woolwich's online application process needs to improve
15 August 2011
The online Woolwich application is the worst I have used.On the website there is a data capture form which does not request many bits of information which the lender requires.It takes me hours to do a Woolwich application and I am getting to the stage of charging an extra fee for the additional time involved. Woolwich has good products and if it was organised it would be dangerous.Simon Loxham
