Mortgage Strategy
20 May 2002
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'Keep the faith' intermediaries told
20 May 2002
Intermediaries were told last week to be patient in the ongoing search for an intermediary trade association. Speaking at Mortgage Strategy's inaugural adviser forum, Tony Ward, chairman of IMLA and CML deputy chairman, briefed delegates on the likely make-up of the regulatory 'jigsaw'. This is likely to be drawn from large sections of the original CP98 consultation paper, CP121 and polarisation reforms, the Treasury's revised Regulated Activities Order, as well as other ...
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ABI defines new heart attack
20 May 2002
Scottish Provident says it will apply the new heart attack definition, as issued by the Association of British Insurers, to critical illness policies with immediate effect. The ABI has prepared the new definition to reflect the increasing use of troponin tests in the diagnosis and treatment of heart attacks. Nick Kirwan, head of product development and marketing at Scottish Provident, says: "We will be using the new heart attack definition with immediate effect for all ...
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Affordability gap raises 100% profile
20 May 2002
Mortgage Express has predicted that more lenders will enter the 100% mortgage market as the affordabilty gap widens. David Connolly, product development manager at the specialist lender, has coined the term "affordability gap" to describe the ever-widening distance between property prices and what mortgage buyers can afford. He says: "As time passes, buying a home becomes less affordable if you compare house-price inflation with assumed wage increases. "The green-shaded area ...
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BM reveal new range
20 May 2002
BM Solutions used last week's Mortgage Strategy Forum to reveal a new range of specialist mortgage products, officially launched today, writes Harriet Williams. Headline changes include the addition of fixed and discounted sub-prime products. A six-month discount of 1.11% is available across the full LTV range. BM Solutions has also launched flexible buy-to-let and self-cert products. Both are calculated on daily interest and allow borrowers to make overpayments. Some brokers ...
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Borrowers coping well with record household debts
23 May 2002
People in the UK now owe a record amount in relation to their income. But over the next two years, households are looking to reduce, rather than increase, their overall level of debt, reveals the latest edition of the CML's Housing Finance. Households with low levels of savings are more likely to have debts that consume a high proportion of their income, and may therefore be particularly vulnerable to a loss of earnings. But while some borrowers appear to be relying ...
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Britannic launches new buy-to-let deals
20 May 2002
Britannic Money has expanded its buy-to-let range by launching two new fixed rate options - a two year rate from 5.69% and a three year rate from 5.99%. All products track LIBOR for the life of the loan. The tracker rates on these new loans start from 1.40% above LIBOR (75% LTV), rising to 1.75% above LIBOR (95% LTV). All new mortgages offer overpayments, daily interest and banking facilities for instant access to overpayments. Rachel Ramsden, head of marketing ...
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Britannic Money rates flexible mortgages over endowments
20 May 2002
Homeowners would be better off overpaying into their flexible mortgage rather than sinking more savings into a struggling endowment policy, says current account mortgage specialist Britannic Money. The Association of British Insurers has revealed that almost 60% of all endowment policy holders are facing an average shortfall of £10,000. Britannic claims that by reducing their mortgage capital in the same way as topping up an endowment, a higher rate taxpayer would ...
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British householders sitting on £945 million cash pile
24 May 2002
Enough money is lost in drawers and down sofas in the UK to plug a £27bn savings gap - which could be the difference between what's saved every year and the amount needed to secure an acceptable retirement income. The British Savings Report, commissioned by Royal London insurers, also suggests up to £600m is stored in old whiskey bottles and piggy banks across the UK makes up just part of an unused money stash worth £945m. £345m is also believed ...
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Brokers given opportunity to sell client leads
20 May 2002
Mortgage packager Knight Funding is offering to buy client leads from brokers who fail to meet December's qualification deadline, or who simply don't want to get involved in mortgage regulation. Under the new venture, brokers will pass mortgage applicants to Knight Funding for fully compliant advice. The packager will hand cross-sales opportunities back to the referring broker. Knight Funding is recruiting extra staff ahead of launching the scheme and is putting around 60% ...
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Brokers still question CeMAP question relevance
20 May 2002
Mortgage brokers have again attacked the obscurity of some of the questions in the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice exam. The results of Mortgage Strategy's CeMAP test paper revealed that 85% of brokers yet to sit the exam could potentially fail. But one broker, who asked not to be named, pointed out that an average 73% of brokers passed each section. He says: "These results paint a false picture. People only fail on subjects that are totally alien to what they ...
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Brokers told to spend more time studying
20 May 2002
Brokers have been advised to make sure they allocate enough time to take in the CeMAP study guides and to pay particular attention to post-completion and familiarisation with the Mortgage Code. A study of brokers commissioned by Mortgage Strategy earlier this month revealed that only 15% of respondents would pass the CeMAP test paper. Speaking at the Mortgage Strategy Forum in London's Millennium Hotel last week, Colin Soden, training expert at the Institute of Financial Services, ...
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Buy-to-let boom continues at Paragon
23 May 2002
Buy-to-let specialist Paragon Mortgages completed a record £50 million worth of business last month, and is starting the second half of its financial year with the highest ever number of applications in the pipeline. The Paragon Group's interim statement for the half year ending 31st March 2002, show that advances are up by almost half and trading remain buoyant, despite negative speculation on the future of buy-to-let. Overall, the Paragon Mortgages book ...
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CA calls for endowment company name and shame
20 May 2002
The Consumers' Association has called for the FSA to indicate which mortgage brokers have an endowment black mark by their name. The association believes the public has a right to know which brokers and investment firms are more likely to have sold borrowers underperforming endowments. This would indicate those companies more likely to face compensation claims in future. Figures released by the Association of British Insurers last week reveal that over six million endowment ...
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Cash challenge to the plastic revolution
23 May 2002
Halifax research finds that 88% of the UK's adult population prefer to carry cash. The research coincides with the launch of a new £5 note from the Bank of England, which features improved security features including a foil hologram. Four fifths of people interviewed say they will not stop using cash in the future in preference to other payment methods. Women, people aged over 55 and individuals from lower social grades in particular, do not think they would ...
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CeMAP registrations 2,000 per month
22 May 2002
Statistics from the Institute of Financial Services (ifs) reveal new registrations for the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) have exceeded 2,000 since January. The number of registrations peaked at over 2,500 in a single month for the market leading mortgage qualification. Neil Young, head of the regulatory and retail faculty at the Institute, says: "We expected to see a bulge in registrations in the approach to the December deadline, as advisers realise ...
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CML makes it its duty to take on government
20 May 2002
The CML has vowed to force the government to reconsider the scope of its proposed reforms to stamp duty. In a memo circulated to members last week, the CML criticises the Inland Revenue for focussing on administrative reforms rather than preparing for a more fundamental rethink of stamp-duty thresholds and structure. The CML says: "We have consistently argued that stamp duty is a tax on mobility that is at odds with a modern economy. It is disappointing that the government is ...
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Coded information will be crucial
20 May 2002
The introduction of the Mortgage Code was the catalyst for the introduction of qualifications for mortgage advisers. The Code has now been with us for some time, having been effective for lenders from July 1 1997 and for mortgage intermediaries from April 30 1998, and questions relating to the Mortgage Code are included in the exams for all three mortgage advice qualifications. Consequently, students should ensure that a thorough study of the Code is included as part of their exam preparations.
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Compliance costs set to shrink intermediary market
23 May 2002
The size of the packager and broker market is set to decline as a result of forthcoming regulation, reveals a survey by specialist lender SPML. Over a third of respondents think that December's qualification deadline will lead to over 30% of both brokers and packagers leaving the mortgage market. Brokers believe that the cost of fees paid to both the FSA and the Financial Ombudsmen Service, along with the additional administration costs, will force many of them to ...
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Consumers' Association sees Red
24 May 2002
The Consumers' Association has written to Sir Howard Davies, Chairman, Financial Services Authority, demanding that he takes immediate action to help consumers caught in the endowment trap and urged the FSA to demonstrate its commitment to being an open, transparent and effective regulator. The Consumers' Association has drawn up an action plan for the FSA to follow to reduce consumer detriment and ensure deserving consumers get redress. CA has also demanded that ...
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Correspondent lending stamped out
20 May 2002
Mortgages PLC last week predicted that correspondent lending will eventually disappear in a regulated market, but that branded lending will go from strength to strength. Peter Beaumont, MPLC sales and marketing director, was speaking at the Mortgage Strategy Forum last Thursday. He warned that correspondent lenders faced some potentially crippling issues as regulation approached. These included capital adequacy requirements and the transparency problem of ensuring that borrowers understood ...
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Current account switching on the rise
23 May 2002
The number of customers changing banks in search of a better current account has increased rapidly over the last year, ICM research for Intelligent Finance reveals. ICM found that over 2.75 million adults have moved their current accounts in the last twelve months, up from the 1.6 million who said they had moved in the last twelve months just over a year ago. The research suggests the rise in account switching is set to continue, with over five million more people ...
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Doshpint launches overseas mortgage service
22 May 2002
Online personal finance specialist Doshpoint has launched a new mortgage service to help the 200,000 Britons who intend to buy property overseas this year. The service has been launched as a direct response to the rocketing demand for foreign property and to overcome common difficulties for housebuyers such as foreign regulations, languages and currencies. Customer can access overseas brokers through the Doshpoint website (www.doshpoint.com) who can then arrange a mortgage ...
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Electoral data set to roll out
20 May 2002
The government has published draft regulations that will reinstate lenders' access to the electoral roll. The roll has been off limits to credit reference agencies after a voter objected to the commercial sale of electoral information. Under the draft regulations, councils will hold two electoral registers from December 2002. A full register will be established for electoral and crime prevention as well as limited credit checks. An edited version of the register ...
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Endowed with status
20 May 2002
Many financial writers these days give their public the full contact details of the Association of Policy Market Makers, but not the details of any other endowment trader. It appears that membership of the APMM confers good repute on traders, and at the same time implies that non-members are of lesser repute. There is little doubt that the public will believe this to be the case if respected financial commentators are promoting only the APMM. The APMM is not a regulatory body and ...
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England's largest housing associations
20 May 2002
Places for People, Preston, Lancashire Anchor, Oxford, Oxfordshire Sanctuary, Hertford, Hertfordshire Home Group Limited, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Tyne and Weir Hyde Housing Association, London, Greater London Riverside Housing Association, Liverpool, Merseyside London & Quadrant, London, Greater London Northern Counties Housing Association, Manchester, Greater Manchester Paddington Churches Housing Association, London, Greater London The Guinness Trust, ...
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Firms and consumers warned of ageing population risks
22 May 2002
Financial firms and consumers need to adopt a more pro-active approach to planning for old age, says the FSA. In 'Financing the Future: Mind the Gap!', the watchdog warns that the growing shift in emphasis between state and private pension provision, investment risks to individuals from company pension schemes, and increased life expectancy, are driving increased risk. The FSA report, published today, questions whether firms are fully prepared for the risks involved ...
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First National extends light adverse range
23 May 2002
First National Mortgage Company (FNMC) has added two new products to its Fresh Start mortgage range for applicants with light to medium adverse credit. The new products are available on LTVs of 85% and 90%, and potentially provide much large loans to applicants who borrow less as a percentage of the cost of the property purchase. Fresh Start 85% applicants can borrow up to a maximum of £400,000 at rates starting from 6.24%. Fresh Start 90% is available for loans ...
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Four new faces at BAMC
21 May 2002
Newcastle-based mortgage packager Best Advice Mortgage Centre (BAMC) has announced four new appointments to develop its adviser network. Curtis Crews, formerly of MCA Finance, has joined BAMC as head of underwriting and will be responsible for refining the company's processing systems. Crews was previously employed by Abbey National and has over 10 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Trevor Dunn joins BAMC from Charterhouse Consulting as the company's ...
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Fresh Start for First National adverse range
22 May 2002
First National Mortgage Company (FNMC) has extended its Fresh Start mortgage range for applicants with light-to-medium adverse impaired credit, with two new products providing loan-to-value ratios of 85% and 90%. The new Fresh Start 85% and 90% products supplement the existing Fresh Start 95% by providing potentially larger loans to applicants who wish to borrow less as a percentage of the cost of the property to be purchased. Fresh Start 85% applicants can borrow up ...
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FSA to reform mortgage qualifications
24 May 2002
The Financial Services Authority announced today that it is to develop a single framework of qualifications for the financial services industry - including mortgages. But the Mortgage Code Compliance Board says intermediaries will still need either CeMAP or MAQ qualifications if they are to continue to give full advice and recommendation after December 31. Brad Baker, MCCB spokesman, told Mortgage Strategy: "The long term aims of this sound eminently sensible. Unless ...
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Genesis Home Loans appoint 200th member
24 May 2002
Genesis Home Loans plc has appointed its 200th member to its mortgage club, Genesis Approved. Frank Thurlby, head of operations, says: "We have been delighted with the response from the intermediary market to Genesis Approved since its launch just over six months ago. The large number of enquiries we are receiving from intermediaries throughout the country would suggest that Genesis Approved is fulfilling the needs of mortgage intermediaries who want something different from ...
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Gingerbread and TMP cook up deal
20 May 2002
Single-parent charity Gingerbread is close to signing a deal to promote a mortgage aimed at divorced borrowers. The New Start mortgage is offered through Merseyside-based packager The Mortgage Partnership. Following weeks of discussion, John Mawdsley, director of TMP (pictured), met with the charity's senior staff last week. He says: "They are being very positive towards the product and now we're waiting for them to endorse it." TMP plans to contribute to Gingerbread ...
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GMAC-RFC struggles to write business
20 May 2002
GMAC-RFC has admitted to putting a week's worth of new mortgage applications on hold while its service systems struggled to cope with high business volumes. Speaking to an audience of brokers at last week's Mortgage Strategy forum, GMAC-RFC business development manager Gordon Rae acknowledged the lender is having "extreme difficulties" with turning mortgage applications around on time. Explaining why brokers have had decisions on cases filed after the end of April but not ...
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GPFC unveils new look for 2002
21 May 2002
The General Practice Finance Corporation Ltd (GPFC) has re-branded its offering for 2002. GPFC has over 30 years experience providing surgery finance and its new look, which features the familiar Norwich Union brand logo, will be seen across a range of initiatives including the web site and a series of special General Practitioners communications. Earlier this year, GPFC ran a series of seminars across the country with the objective of better understanding GPs' current ...
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Halifax calls for action on empty homes
20 May 2002
Nearly 90% of adults believe the government should act to reduce the number of empty homes by assisting landlords and removing council tax breaks for owners, result from the Halifax reveals. With 20th May marking the beginning of Empty Homes week, the research shows that while a third of people believe there are less than 100,000 empty homes in the country, the true figure stands at around 750,000 - a level correctly identified by less than 5% of adults. Halifax's ...
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Halifax tops L&G mortgage club awards
21 May 2002
Halifax was named best overall lender at Legal & General's Mortgage Club Awards last week. Winners were judged on the basis of votes collected from Legal & General Mortgage Club member brokers, with lenders rated against a series of criteria for products, service and administration as well as their innovation in the market place. Halifax beat Northern Rock to the top spot with Abbey National in third place. In the other award categories for lenders the ...
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Hampshire Trust appoints first business development executive
22 May 2002
Fareham-based independent bank Hampshire Trust PLC has appointed Scott Carruthers as its first business development executive. Carruthers previously spent 20 years with Coutts & Co where he was a manager specialising in lending and new business. He has also been general manager and director of Royal Life's Home & Commercial Bridging PLCs and, more recently, was employed as a business development consultant for a number of international companies. Steven Dixon, the ...
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Housing association history
20 May 2002
Disabled people, students, singletons, large families, single males and the elderly - a glance through the target social groups for a sample of housing associations around Manchester turns up a mixed bag. The socially excluded have always been high on the agenda of housing associations. The movement's founders include George Peabody, a US philanthropist who was shocked by London's 19th century slums - Peabody's money paid for England's first social housing in 1864. Dramas ...
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Incentives to use Future technology
20 May 2002
Future Mortgages is offering product incentives for brokers who apply for mortgages online and plans to install a training platform for CeMAP and MAQ on its website. Sales director Brian Pitt (pictured) outlined Future's technology plans at the Mortgage Strategy Forum last Thursday. He says: "Future is already offering brokers a £50 saving on the fee if they apply online. We are also looking at ways to develop a learning zone on our website and plan to do online valuations ...
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Intermediary response
20 May 2002
This particular scenario poses more questions than answers, and is a prime example of why a full mortgage fact-find is so essential. The first question that springs to mind is whether the Masters have been local authority tenants for at least two years. If they qualify for the right-to-buy scheme, they will need to forward the necessary paperwork to the local authority. Let us assume the Masters have already done this and the local authority has recognised their right to buy. If Mr ...
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Irish claim UK territory
20 May 2002
Bank of Ireland has launched UK Financial Services - a new enlarged grouping of sterling-denominated businesses incorporating Bristol & West. As well as B&W, the group will also take in the branch networks in Northern Ireland and Britain in addition to newer acquisitions Chase de Vere and MX Financial Solutions. The new structure has meant some staff reshuffling within the Bank of Ireland Group. Sheena Court, former head of marketing at Bank of Ireland, has moved to a new ...
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ISA investors turn to regular savings
22 May 2002
A substantial increase in regular savings ISA plans seems to suggest consumer confidence in the products has increased with a rise of 96% in Legal & General's regular ISA new business in the first quarter of 2002. Consumers continue to be concerned over the timing of investing lump sums but investors who have turned to regular savings have benefited from pound-cost averaging by spreading their savings throughout the year. Customers may apply and set-up their regular ...
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Joining the mortgage club opens the doors
20 May 2002
M2-mortgage club is the direct submission arm of the Mortgage 2000 Group. It has a panel of 27 lenders for which Mortgage 2000 does not package and with which the intermediary develops underwriting relationships. It offers electronic applications with 19 lenders. The mortgage club is open to all intermediaries and negotiates enhanced procuration fees with its panel of lenders. It has processed over £1bn of lending in the past 12 months. M2-mortgage club was founded in 1997 and its ...
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Leeds & Holbeck launch 10-year fixed as signs point to rising rates
22 May 2002
Leeds & Holbeck Building Society is offering a 5.99% 10-year fixed rate mortgage to give borrowers peace of mind for a decade. The mortgage has been launched as forecasts of rising interest rates grow stronger and the rate is fixed until 1 July 2012. The loan is available up to 95% LTV and borrowers can make capital repayments of up to 10% each year, with no higher lending fee (MIG) up to 90% LTV. The completion fee is £399 and mortgage payment protection cover ...
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Lender's response
20 May 2002
The obvious solution for Mr and Mrs Masters is to exercise their right to buy. This will enable them to become property owners at a low initial cost, as their statutory right includes a discounted purchase price. Local authority tenants can purchase through the right-to-buy scheme once they have been tenants for the qualifying period of two years. Assuming that the couple have been tenants for between two and five years, the discount they would be entitled to is ...
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Lenders look to Oz for solutions
20 May 2002
An Australian software company claims to be experiencing unprecedented demand for its smart illustrators, calculators and quotation systems from UK mortgage providers. Mark Blakey, managing director of Melbourne-based Mainstream Computing, says: "The pace of change in UK financial services and products is revolutionary rather than evolutionary. "The mortgage market in particular is being driven by competitive pressures to better communicate the benefits of flexible features, and ...
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Lenders that consider shared ownership
20 May 2002
Abbey National Beverley BS Bradford & Bingley BS Britannia BS Cambridge BS Century BS Clay Cross BS Clydesdale Bank Dunfirmline BS Ecology Bs Egg Halifax Hanley Economic BS HSBC Bank Plc Ipswich BS Kent Reliance BS Lambeth BS Leeds & Holbeck BS Nationwide Penrith BS Preferred Mortgages Principality BS Saffron Walden BS Shepshed BS Stafford Railway Teachers BS Woolwich Refer ...
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London to face sluggish economy
24 May 2002
A leading economic think tank is predicting that the London economy will face another sluggish year throughout 2002. The Centre of Economics and Business Research says that the predicted rate of GDP growth has been revised down from 1.9%, which was expected 3 months ago, to 1.4%. For the second year running, the London economy is expected to under-perform the UK average in terms of growth. The UK economy is expected to grow by 2.1%this year. Official figures show that ...
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Mixed fortunes for financial advisers
20 May 2002
The first quarter of 2002 has seen mixed success for top advisers to UK listed companies in terms of gaining and keeping clients and in measures of client size, research by business information company Hemscott reveals. Analysing all types of adviser, the Hemscott Corporate Adviser Rankings highlight that, whilst some have done well, significant client losses at key top firms reflect a difficult start to the year for many. Measures of client success over the quarter in terms ...
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mortgageforce signs up PR firm
22 May 2002
Derby-based McConnells Advertising has been appointed by mortgageforce, the UK's largest intermediary franchise, to provide a range of marketing services in a contract worth more than £200,000. mortgageforce has appointed McConnells to raise brand awareness among potential franchisees, and to help existing franchisees market their businesses more effectively. McConnells, who won the account against two other leading agencies, will combine a range of above and ...
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MS forum highlights brokers' concerns
20 May 2002
Almost 200 mortgage brokers attended the inaugural Mortgage Strategy forum in London last week. The event, which took place at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square, included speakers from the Financial Services Authority, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers and the Institute of Financial Services. A keynote speech from the FSA's Charles Woods was followed by breakout sessions hosted by BM Solutions, Future ...
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My mortgage week
20 May 2002
Monday: Various meetings at the Milton Keynes head office today, so set off at 7am on the 60-mile trip from my home in Peterborough. After the first cup of coffee of the morning, I aim myself at the nearest known Manchester United supporter to remonstrate over the Van Nistelrooy dive in the box against my team, Ipswich, on Saturday. We lost 1-0 and this will surely send us down. First meeting is with some important guests from another major lender. We have a frank and detailed discussion ...
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NAMBA whips up support by email
20 May 2002
The National Association of Mortgage Brokers and Advisers is continuing its email campaign to survey the intermediary sector to find out which issues mortgage brokers see as most essential to their future. Every week, NAMBA will send out over 15,000 emails to the intermediary sector, enquiring about the proposals for statutory regulation of mortgage advice, and seeking sectorial support for NAMBA. Charles Gooding, managing director of One Mortgage Solution and chairman ...
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New critical level in the sale of illness cover
20 May 2002
One in 10 adults now own critical illness cover, research from Mintel reveals. There are now 3.5 million CIC policies in force and the recent growth in sales can largely be attributed to business arranged with mortgages in the second half of the last decade. Of the mortgage-related sales in 2000, some 64% were term acceleration, proving that the add-on is as popular on straight repayment mortgages as it had been previously on endowment products. Mintel predicts that the market ...
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New service to handle endowment complaints
20 May 2002
Hazell Carr has teamed up with Exasoft Limited, a supplier of mortgage endowment complaint software, to launch a new service to provide insurers and IFAs with both a software package and Hazell Carr's capacity and experience of managing mortgage endowment complaints. Under the agreement, Hazell Carr has sole rights to provide insurers and IFAs with the market-leading Mortgage Fundamentals software. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) currently uses the software in its own ...
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Online learning site lauded by CII
22 May 2002
ed., the Chartered Insurance Institute's online learning facility, has been hailed as a success by the Institute, Delegates from across the financial services spectrum, were briefed on the growth of e-learning and shown how e-learning solutions can be successfully deployed within the financial services sector at an event held in London last week. ed. - the Institute's online 'Learning Management System', which was introduced in February - provides training ...
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Outsourcer loses out as Reay resigns
20 May 2002
Martin Reay, sales and marketing director for outsourcer Alltel Mortgage Solutions, has resigned and will leave the company in July. Reay, who has held the position at AMS for 18 months, told Mortgage Strategy: "After careful consideration of my business and personal circumstances, I have decided to seek pastures new." AMS handles all post-completion services for Mortgage Express and the Bradford & Bingley Group, which owns 25% of the company. US processing services giant Alltel ...
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Panel calls for FSA to build on consumer agenda
21 May 2002
Improving consumer protection and awareness, sharpening the consumer focus of regulation, and pushing the FSA to do more for consumers, have been highlighted as three areas to build upon in the Financial Services Consumer Panel's annual report published yesterday. Though the panel says the FSA has made "substantial progress" in setting a consumer agenda, the Consumer Panel points to the FSA's pursuit of a 'treating customers fairly' programme, and work on comparative ...
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Polarisation likely to hurt providers and consumers, says Datamonitor survey
22 May 2002
Providers must realign their distribution strategies to survive changes brought about by the FSA's plans for depolarisation. The warning comes in the form of independent market analysts Datamonitor's first IFA service report, 'The Future of the Financial Advice Market: Reforming Polarsation and Beyond'. Changes to the sale of pension and investment products are likely to cause a high degree of customer confusion and dilute the value of financial advice in ...
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Pundits want buy-to-let outside regulation
20 May 2002
Mortgage pundits are lobbying the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association to keep buy-to-let outside regulation. In a recent survey of intermediaries commissioned by Sun Bank, 52% of respondents said they think the buy-to-let market should be regulated. But Keith Heron, chief executive of the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers, is set to lobby industry organisations to expand NACFB's code of practice, rather than extending ...
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Record mortgage lending in April
22 May 2002
Mortgage lending reached a new peak in April, with gross lending totalling £16.9bn. The latest estimates from the monthly CML/DTLR Survey of Mortgage Lenders is based on mortgage completions by banks and building societies, and shows a £0.8bn increase from March. The figure is substantially higher than the £11.6bn in gross advances recorded last April. The value of loans for house purchase declined slightly to £8.8bn or 52% of gross advances (£9bn ...
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Refreshing change from BM Solutions
24 May 2002
Specialist intermediary lender BM Solutions has this week launched its new range of self-certification, buy to let and sub-prime mortgages. The 'refreshed' range includes fixed and discount rate sub-prime mortgages starting at 4.84% and 4.98% respectively. A new discount rate flexible mortgage has been added to both the buy to let and self-certification ranges. The lender also announced the launch of a dedicated sub-prime helpdesk at its National Mortgage Centre ...
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Royal & SunAlliance launch new advertising campaign
20 May 2002
Royal & SunAlliance has appointed Manchester agency Barrington Johnson Lorains to spearhead a new advertising campaign for its intermediaries. The campaign - strapline of 'Working together we'll shine' - is aimed at some 14,000 key intermediaries and will be rolled out over the next 12 months, via the insurance trade press. Brendan McManus, Royal & SunAlliance marketing and distribution director, says: "We chose BJL because of their knowledge and experience in ...
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Scottish Widows joins Mortgage Promotions panel
24 May 2002
Scottish Widows Bank joins Mortgage Promotions' direct access lending panel today. Nick Baxter, director of mortgage promotions, says: "Scottish Widows Bank is well known in the marketplace for their flexible approach to underwriting, especially when considering loans to professionals. Such borrowers fit the customer profile of many of our members and the addition of Scottish Widows Bank increases the options for our membership." Stephen Buchan, business ...
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Share and share alike
20 May 2002
With the price of an average UK home now £102,851, estate agents have effectively hung a 'no vacancies' sign on the first rung of the property ladder. But there are alternatives. Harriet Williams explores the potential for intermediaries to cash in on local authority shared ownershipKey workers are deserting high-price areas in droves, as thousands of would-be borrowers resign themselves to lining the pockets of buy-to-let investors. But frustrated borrowers are finding another ...
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Shared ownership in sub-prime
20 May 2002
Meteoric rises in house prices may be turning the middle classes on to shared ownership, but the questions on a typical housing association application form give a better idea at who these schemes are really aimed. A standard form will enquire about domestic circumstances, to establish whether violence or overcrowding in rental accommodation gives an applicant priority in the application procedure. Higher priority is also afforded to applicants on local authority waiting lists. As ...
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Sharing out the options
20 May 2002
With total costs of nearly £550m for the year 2002-2003, shared ownership schemes are a big investment for government and housing associations alike. Nationally, this money will help to make an estimated 2,012 new shared-ownership homes available under the Homebuy initiative and a further 2,971 under so-called Conventional Shared Ownership (CSO). So how does each scheme work and which is the better option for a mortgage borrower? For borrowers on low incomes, the only choice may ...
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Solent sets up in Glasgow
23 May 2002
Specialist packager Solent Mortgage Services (SMS) has opened a third regional office in Glasgow following a successful year that has seen business volumes rise by nearly one third. SMS' head office is based in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire. Ian Balfour, director of marketing at SMS, explains why the company has chosen Glasgow: "Following the successful opening of offices in Northern Ireland and Devon, we wanted to extend into Scotland to offer the same regional benefits that we ...
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Starter Home Initiative
20 May 2002
Firefighters who are forced to commute from affordable Merseyside to douse the flames in pricey Berkshire do not make for good government PR. The Starter Home Initiative (SHI) is the government's high-profile attempt to put key workers back on the map in property hotspots in the south. The figure of £250m has been allocated to the scheme until 2004, which should help 10,000 key workers - including nurses, teachers and police - to buy within the communities they serve. London ...
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State Securities expand commercial mortgage team
24 May 2002
Asset funder State Securities has announced the appointment of two new broker-support staff. Stuart Skinner will be responsible for developing new business and supporting the broker market in Southern England while Eddie Graham will cover the midlands and north of England and Wales. Martin Thurlby, commercial mortgages manager, says: "I'm delighted to be heading up this exciting expanding team. Eddie and Stuart's appointments will help State Securities become a ...
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Sun Bank attacks lenders failings
20 May 2002
Lenders are inflexible and unresponsive to requests from mortgage intermediaries for specialised underwriting, says Sun Bank. Speaking at the Mortgage Strategy Forum last week, Sun Bank marketing director Chris Cummings revealed the extent to which introducers overwhelmingly prefer case-by-case contact with underwriters. Nine out of ten brokers contacted last month said too much emphasis is placed on credit systems rather than case-by-case responses to applications, while only ...
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Sun Bank joins Norwich Union Mortgage Club
23 May 2002
Norwich Union has appointed specialist lenders Sun Bank to its Mortgage Club panel of lenders. Sun Bank has just revamped its product range to offer products including 100% mortgages and buy-to-let to borrowers who have difficulty proving their income. The Norwich Union Mortgage Club now has 25 lenders on its panel. Jon Round, head of mortgage development at Norwich Union, says: "The addition of Sun Bank to our mortgage panel increases the choice for IFAs. Sun Bank ...
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Sun Bank marketing campaign is 'sensational'
24 May 2002
Sun Bank, the specialist intermediary lender of Portman Building Society, has launched a new product range via a trade press advertising campaign which is based on the five senses: touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing. The campaign promotes Sun Bank's entire range of mortgages, which includes self-certification, buy to let, 100%, higher income multiple and LTV loans and complex prime mortgages. The adverts focus on Sun Bank's common sense approach to underwriting ...
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Take notice
20 May 2002
Firstly, thanks for a great magazine. Reading this morning's headline that 85% fail CeMAP made me sit up. I had put it off in the past, although would have taken it by now if it had not been for unforeseen circumstances. I have been seriously ill for the last five months and have not been able to do any work. As I don't envisage being back at work for another five to six weeks, I thought this would be a good time to do some studying. However, as I have had ...
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The mortgage mole
20 May 2002
Cereal eater Leafing through the latest IFA promotion press services directory, Mole couldn't help but notice that mortgageforce's Rob Clifford was described as a "serial entrepreneur". Now Mole may be a little shortsighted, but I was under the impression that mortgageforce was a broker - not an IFA! Clifford confessed that mortgageforce never gets involved in investment advice and assured me that he has been a registered IFA for over a decade. So that's all right. A rather ...
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The price of protecting standards
20 May 2002
Please spare a thought for the chief executives of smaller mortgage lenders everywhere. Change is occurring, requiring management on all fronts, and the solutions are frequently less than obvious. From new international rules on bank capital to changes in international accountancy practice, new mortgage regulatory requirements to quickly evolving new distribution chains - the world of lending is changing. Throw in the need to do good business and it would appear that the chief executive's ...
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This week's problem case
20 May 2002
Mr and Mrs Masters are in their early 30s, with two children. They live in the West Midlands in a property owned by their local authority, with a market value of £70,000. Mr Masters is a self-employed plumber, earning about £20,000 a year, and Mrs Masters has a part- time job paying £40 a week. Last year illness kept Mr Masters out of work for three months. With interest rates low and stable, the couple want to get on the home ownership ladder
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This week's problem case
20 May 2002
Mr and Mrs Masters are in their early 30s, with two children. They live in the West Midlands in a property owned by their local authority, with a market value of £70,000. Mr Masters is a self-employed plumber, earning about £20,000 a year, and Mrs Masters has a part- time job paying £40 a week. Last year illness kept Mr Masters out of work for three months. With interest rates low and stable, the couple want to get on the home ownership ladder
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Time to grab your share of the pie
20 May 2002
Latest figures from the Halifax show that the average UK home now costs £102,851. It's a startling statistic and one that is forcing vital key workers to desert high-price areas in droves. But, as we explore in our cover feature starting on page 20, there are alternatives for this niche set of borrowers to turn to. Last year, shared-ownership schemes brought low-cost home purchase within the reach of some 5,000 households nationwide. Indeed, there are over 20,000 shared-ownership ...
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Verso warns of interest rate rise
20 May 2002
Edde Smith, director of business development at Verso has urged mortgage intermediaries to be prepared for increased mortgage business enquiries, as the Bank of England?s Monetary Policy Committee has sent out clear signals of an imminent rise in base rate. He told Mortgage Strategy: "In its May Quarterly Inflation Report, the MPC clearly stated that, although it was appropriate to leave interest rates at 4%, it was standing ?ready to act to contain any developing inflationary ...
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World Cup "feelgood factor" falters
20 May 2002
New research from the Halifax shows there does not seem to be a link between how well England does in the World Cup and the performance of the UK economy. This may come as a blow to politicians who have, in the past, scheduled elections to take place during World Cup campaigns in the hope that they might reap the benefit of the "feelgood factor". The research shows that, although the economy has tended to be more buoyant than usual when England has been eliminated at the quarter-finals ...
