Mortgage Strategy
3 June 2002

  • £10K bonus for World Cup

    5 Jun 2002

    Mortgage brokers have been offered the chance to win £10,000 if England manage to win the World Cup in Japan. Bournemouth-based network Mortgage Intelligence has offered the prize to the broker who submits the most applications during the tournament. Should England win the cup, the winner will be notified on July 1. Managing director Sally Laker says: "I needed a good reason to be watching to see whether England will win or not! I have no idea whether they will pull it off or ...

  • 0% interest - but house prices are still big in Japan

    6 Jun 2002

    Mortgage broker Charcol is predicting a move towards longer mortgage terms in the UK housing market, as characterised by the current Japanese borrowing culture. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "UK house prices are continuing to rise in excess of earnings, therefore people are looking for larger loans in order to afford these properties. If this trend continues, the only way repayments can remain affordable is by increasing the term of the loan. "An ...

  • A source of joy

    5 Jun 2002

    I have read, with absolute fascination, the main feature in your May 27 issue on mortgage sourcing systems. I am, of course, jolly pleased that Network Data's mortgageLink system produced the lowest true cost figure over three years. I noted that the published table for The Exchange was in ascending rate order, while that for Moneyfacts was not in any discernible order. On the face of it, the other systems (apart from Trigold) were producing figures around 50% higher than mortgageLink. ...

  • All paths lead to the same place Those already qualified Routes to qualification

    5 Jun 2002

    As all advisers should know by now, under the MCCB Fitness and Competence requirements being implemented in the next few months, any adviser providing mortgage advice and recommendation under section 3.1.(a) of the Code will have to have completed either the Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP), or be FPC or CeFA qualified as well as having passed either the CeMAP 'bridge' paper or the Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) by December 31 2002. Those failing to do so ...

  • Baker loses out in office exchange

    5 Jun 2002

    The Exchange looks set to lose product marketing director Chris Baker. Baker is one of eight staff from the company's portal marketing area who will be affected by the relocation from the Exchange's headquarters in Cobham, Surrey, to Marlborough Stirling's Cheltenham headquarters. Marlborough Stirling bought The Exchange FS for £87.2m in November 2001 and the move integrates the companies' product marketing areas. Baker told Mortgage Strategy: "Integration ...

  • Be king of the Castillo with the MS forum

    5 Jun 2002

    Mortgage Strategy, the only weekly specialist publication for dedicated mortgage intermediaries, is to hold a two-day forum on specialist lending between October 16-18 at the Hotel Monte Castillo in Jerez, Spain. Increasing house prices and low interest rates are encouraging more consumers than ever before to move onto or up the homebuying ladder. But the days when a standard vanilla mortgage product would fit the needs of every client are long gone. Specialist lending has become the ...

  • Britannic Money offers lowest rate for 5-year discount mortgage

    6 Jun 2002

    Britannic Money yesterday took the top spot after its Flexible Start Mortgage 5-year discount secured the lowest start rate currently available. Plus as an added extra the current account mortgage lender has also scrapped its 'high lending fee'. Britannic's Flexible Start Mortgage now gives any borrower (specifically a first time buyer) more choice and better value with a headline rate of 3.89% available with either of the following options: ? Free ...

  • Britannic Money reveal Perks of the new job

    5 Jun 2002

    Britannic Money has poached Bob Perks from Bristol & West to take up the post of business development director. Perks, formerly head of retail lending at the Bristol & West, will have directorial responsibility for intermediary sales and distribution, marketing and product development and will join Britannic Money on June 17. Before joining Bristol & West Perks was national sales manager of NatWest Mortgage Services. This latest move by Britannic follows the appointment of former ...

  • CA launches campaign for face-to-face advice

    5 Jun 2002

    The Consumers' Association last week launched its Advice For Life campaign to give all consumers access to decent, fair and impartial financial advice. The CA's National Financial Advice Network is designed to allow all consumers to get face-to-face financial advice from a 'general financial planner'. The service will be available in supermarkets, advice agencies, legal centres and adviser practices that sign up to the network and employ general financial planners 'General ...

  • Callcredit selects DecisionPoint as app processing system

    7 Jun 2002

    Callcredit, the technology-based credit reference company, has selected DecisionPoint as its preferred application processing system. Callcredit opted for DecisionPoint after carrying out a thorough and exhaustive assessment of systems from 15 different suppliers across three continents. The credit reference company's assessment involved visits to each supplier and the production of ratings on the commercial and management skills of the suppliers as well as product ...

  • CETA says cheapest ASU not always the best

    7 Jun 2002

    CETA warned yesterday that recommending the cheapest ASU policy they can find may not, in the long run, be in the best interests of their clients.CETA, the UK’ largest general insurance network, clients are often too focused on the price of an ASU policy and fail to take into account the overall ” of benefits they are purchasingDirector Sandie Schofield says: “Intermediaries should be looking for the policy that is best suited to their client’ needs. This should ...

  • Christmas bonus for Trigold online applications

    5 Jun 2002

    Trigold is giving brokers an extra £25 for completing their mortgage applications online before Christmas. The initial group of participating lenders includes Abbey National, GMAC-RFC, Kensington Mortgage Company, Leeds & Holbeck, Newcastle, Norwich & Peterborough, Platform Home Loans, Verso and West Bromwich. Trigold's online application procedure prepopulates application forms with details input at the initial product source, meaning quicker turnaround in mortgage transactions. Mart

  • CML calls on Boateng to increase spending on flood defences

    7 Jun 2002

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders yesterday called upon the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury Paul Boateng MP to increase spending on flood defences, in line with the Government's own recommendations. The CML's call follows publication of figures by the Office for National Statistics on 28 May 2002 showing that 11% of all new dwellings built in England between 1997 and 2000 were in areas defined as at flood risk by the Environment Agency. Lenders and insurers are ...

  • Costs up after leasehold reform

    5 Jun 2002

    Figures from the letting and insurance industries have warned that proposals to reform leaseholds could increase buy-to-let insurance premiums, John Socha, chairman of the Small Landlords' Association, warns that proposals drafted by the Law Commission could increase the amount of time it takes to evict problem tenants. The Commission is currently consulting on leasehold reform and is looking to increase the period of time it takes to take a tenant to court from two months ...

  • Don't discount the discount deal

    5 Jun 2002

    I know it's a cliché but, for your clients, buying a new home can be one of the most stressful times in their lives. Apart from anything else, just choosing the perfect property is hard enough. Then there are the legal issues such as exchange of contracts and completion. And what if the vendor doesn't vacate on the completion day or if the whole chain collapses? Okay, so I've painted a pretty bleak picture of the conveyancing process and, let's be honest, most transactions ...

  • Drink beer in Berlin rather than karaoke in Korea?

    5 Jun 2002

    The majority of England fans across the country cannot afford the round trip to Japan for this year's World Cup, which is estimated to cost over £5,000. However, if your clients had a flexible mortgage from Britannic Money, they could easily save a small amount each month and be well on their way to watching the next World Cup in Germany in four years time. The lender says that by simply remortgaging to its Current Account Mortgage (CAMR), and by overpaying ...

  • European productivity dented by 'World Cup effect'

    5 Jun 2002

    The Centre for Economics and Business Research forecasts that Europe is the continent most likely to suffer a net loss of GDP due to the world cup. The influential think tank says that a combination of the high levels of interest in football in Europe and the difference in timezone, resulting in some key matches taking place during the working day, could see productivity reduced. A spokesman says: "In all we estimate that EU 15 GDP could fall by EUR8.7 billion in Q2 ...

  • Finding the balance

    5 Jun 2002

    Mortgage lending up 28%. Pre-tax profits up 19%. Total asset growth up 26%. Far from depressing results for any organisation. That these are some of the results announced last month by the Swansea Building Society goes to show that smaller building societies are not just stuck in the shadows of the giants. The Swansea-based society saw its total assets grow by £42.8m in 2001 - the best performance of any UK building society. This was achieved largely by concentrating on its core ...

  • FSA commited to investigate endowment sales

    6 Jun 2002

    The Financial Services Authority said yesterday that it would continue to fulfil its commitment to investigate the endowment scandal. In an open letter to the Consumers' Association, FSA chairman Howard Davies says: "We will continue to fulfil our commitment to investigate areas of potential consumer detriment such as high charges and excessive growth rates." In the past the FSA has focussed on specific firms and required them to pro-actively compensate consumers. ...

  • FSA warns of buy-to-let overexposure

    5 Jun 2002

    The Financial Services Authority says that it is concerned that some buy-to-let investors could be exposing themselves to too much risk. FSA chairman Howard Davies (pictured) says a reported rise in investment in the buy-to-let sector due to low interest rates has left thousands vulnerable. He says: "Anecdotal evidence suggests that such investors can be highly geared, and offer little collateral. Banks should carefully monitor their exposure to investors of that kind." Pointing ...

  • FSA won't take our relevance away, claims CML

    5 Jun 2002

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has denied that the FSA takeover of regulatory powers in 2004 will lead to significant changes in its role. The FSA's remit will be broader than any previous regime and some fear an undermining of the CML's place in the industry. Edwin Coughtrie, director of The Mortgage Placement Company, says: "The best thing to happen would be for the FSA to set up a board within itself to encompass CML principles so that there is a guiding facility within ...

  • Homes-on-line links to Jim White's Mortgage Solutions

    7 Jun 2002

    Property website Homes-On-Line has linked with broker Jim White's Mortgage Solutions to enable the self-employed and those with a poor credit history to obtain the necessary finances to purchase their next home. Bournemouth-based Jim White's Mortgage Solutions, which last month won 'Best Mortgage Broker (Non-Conforming) in the Mortgage Strategy Awards 2002, specialises in sourcing mortgages for the self-employed and the estimated 10 per cent of homebuyers who have been ...

  • Intermediary Response

    5 Jun 2002

    I will assume that on selling their property, Gillian and Pete will have enough equity for a deposit on their new home. Gillian and Pete don't want to use another endowment or ISA as a repayment vehicle, so I would advise them to take out a "split" mortgage. The £50,000 interest-only part could be repaid by their endowment policy. The other £100,000 could be repaid on a capital-and- interest basis. The couple could take the whole mortgage over 15 ...

  • Invaluable advice

    5 Jun 2002

    I am in agreement with Deborah Ponter (Letters, Mortgage Strategy May 27), that the CeMAP exam will only ever test a person's knowledge at one particular time. I passed my FPC 1, 2 and 3 in 1996 and have had little training since. I very much doubt whether I would pass the exams today if I were to sit then again. How many of us would pass our driving test if we had to take it again? At the moment I am developing links with credit unions as I believe that they will still offer mortgages ...

  • Just 20% of brokers qualified

    5 Jun 2002

    Research conducted by Sun Bank of 100 brokers revealed that only one fifth of advisers are currently qualified to advise on mortgages after December 2002. This reinforces the lender's decision to offer exam revision courses for its key brokers in the UK. Chris Cummings marketing director of Sun Bank, says: "The survey also revealed that more than a quarter of brokers favoured the CeMAP exams and just over 10% were keen to take the MAQ exam. It is understandable that for many ...

  • Lender Response

    5 Jun 2002

    Gillian and Pete have correctly identified the problem: how to pay off their mortgage on schedule while making the best use of their existing arrangements. However, their history as interest-only customers gives them fewer options than next-time buyers who previously held repayment mortgages. Continuing on an interest-only basis with a separate savings vehicle is not guaranteed to pay off their mortgage at the end of the term. But greater certainty could have its price. While guaranteed ...

  • Looking at the mutual appreciation society

    5 Jun 2002

    The division of market share between mutuals and PLCs has favoured the latter for some time now, with gross mortgage lending by banks totalling £9.4bn in January compared to £2.5bn by building societies. As we explore in our cover feature, starting on page 18, this presents a real worry for building societies, who will need to think of ways to appease savers and retain borrowers. And, for smaller societies, there is a real danger that they will go to the wall if confronted ...

  • More advisers pass MAQ

    6 Jun 2002

    More than 1400 people passed the Mortgage Advice Qualification at the April sitting of the exam, latest figures from the CII reveal. This brings the total number of people who have completed MAQ to 7214. A total of 2537 people sat the exam in April with 1454 achieving a pass mark; a pass rate of 57.3%. At the previous sitting in January 1001 people passed MAQ. The Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB) recognise that MAQ, when held in conjunction with the Financial ...

  • More people covered by medical insurance than ever before

    6 Jun 2002

    More people and businesses signed up for medical insurance than ever before last year, latest figures from the Association of British Insurers show. This is particularly significant when, in the same year, the NHS had its biggest single injection of cash to date. At the end of 2001 over 6.5 million people had private medical insurance, either through their employer or an individual policy. Through their private health cover these people are helping to reduce pressure ...

  • My mortgage week - John Malone

    5 Jun 2002

    Monday: A 4am alarm call wakes me to catch the first Glasgow-to-London shuttle. I have a meeting at Old Broad Street with Invest Finance Corporation's directors to discuss its bridging finance proposition, another addition to the Prudential Mortgage Services' panel of lenders. Then I go to Piccadilly for a quarterly review meeting with Alliance & Leicester's Keith Robinson and Mike Wright. We have a full agenda covering many issues but both parties are pleased with the results ...

  • New capped rate deal from Coventry

    7 Jun 2002

    Coventry Building Society yesterday launched two new capped rate mortgage products. On deal one, the rate is capped at 5.75% until 31 January 2005 - giving a current applied rate 4.49% (1.26% discount from SVR). And on deal two, the rate is capped at 5.99% until 30 September 2007 - giving a current applied rate 4.99% (0.76% discount from SVR). A spokesman says: "These new products provide borrowers with protection against future rate increases, as well ...

  • NEWSFLASH: Bank holds rates at 4%

    6 Jun 2002

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 4.0%. The most recent change in interest rates was a reduction of 0.50% to 4.0% on 8 November 2001 - seven months ago! The minutes of the meeting will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 19 June. The CBI today praised the Bank of England for keeping interest rates stable. The employers' organisation ...

  • No low rates in euro claim 'No Campaign'

    5 Jun 2002

    The euro battle intensified last week when the 'No Campaign' claimed British mortgage-holders would not pay lower interest rates if the euro was adopted. The group accused rivals of being rooted in the 1970s and 1980s and claimed that there was "a perception in financial markets that the British monetary policy framework has a confirmed track record" and that inflation was under control. But the group says that in the British mortgage market homebuyers are charged one point ...

  • North East brokers offered lowdown on competition and consumer law

    7 Jun 2002

    Small and medium sized mortgage intermediaries are amongst other businesses that the Office of Fair Trading is inviting to a free half-day seminar to improve their understanding of important competition and consumer protection laws. The seminar forms part of a major new OFT regional roadshow programme, which has already visited the South West, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland. The seminar will be staged at St James' Park in Newcastle and will cover areas such as: ? ...

  • Over 300 docs now online at CII

    6 Jun 2002

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has now scanned over 300 documents into its online library as part of its ongoing project to bring the library's stock to a wideraudience. Another 700 scheduled to follow over the next year. For copyright reasons most items of library stock cannot be scanned; the items which are being loaded onto CIILO are mostly papers delivered to the CII or the Insurance Institute of London between 1920 and 1996. A spokesman for the CII ...

  • Oz takes lion's share

    5 Jun 2002

    Australia's mortgage-broking market seems to be consolidating, with latest research showing the top 10 players command more than half of the business, writes Robyn Hall. According to research by the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre, the top 10 brokers, including Mortgage Choice, the Suncorp-owned LJ Hooker and Choice Home Loans, increased their share of the market in the March quarter to 55% of all brokered loan business, up from 37% a year ago, the Sydney Morning Herald reported ...

  • Pink offer top buy-to-let

    6 Jun 2002

    Pink Home Loans is currently offering a top buy to let product as featured on BBC 2's Working Lunch programme. The deal, funded by Mortgage Express, is available exclusively through Pink Home Loans and came out top in a Moneyfacts product selection used in the programme. The buy to let mortgage offers a rate of 1.99% fixed until 03/06/03. David Copland, sales and marketing director at Pink Home Loans, says: "It's great that a market-leading product from ...

  • Property prices different all over Europe

    6 Jun 2002

    Trends in national housing markets diverge significantly across the EU, a new study published yesterday by PricewaterhouseCoopers reveals. House prices remain depressed in Germany but are above their long run equilibrium values in the UK and, in particular, the Netherlands. The study finds that house price cycles in the major EU economies have shown little evidence of synchronisation over the past 30 years. The research attributes this to the considerable variations ...

  • Retail sales come off the boil

    6 Jun 2002

    Retail sales slowed significantly in May, confirming that April's exceptional results were boosted by the timing of Easter and good weather, the CBI said yesterday. The CBI's Quarterly Distributive Trades Survey shows annual retail sales growth reverting to the trend reported since January, suggesting that a slowdown in the growth of spending is starting to take effect. Compared with ...

  • Scottish Life Mortgages joins forces with Personal Touch Insurance

    5 Jun 2002

    Scottish Life Mortgages, Scottish Life's mortgage packaging operation, has announced that it has joined forces with Personal Touch Insurance, one of the UK's largest mortgage intermediary firms. The partnership will mean that, in addition to offering a wider selection of standard and exclusive mortgage deals, PTI can pass on many more benefits to their direct sales force. These include free mortgage sourcing system (Mortgage 2000), free MCCB membership, free professional ...

  • Scottish Widows Bank launches 102% graduate mortgage

    6 Jun 2002

    Scottish Widows Bank has introduced a new mortgage offer, designed to provide graduates hoping to join the property market with a solution offering financial freedom and flexibility. The Graduate Mortgage allows individuals to borrow up to 100 per cent of the property's value plus a further 2 per cent to cover the associated costs of buying a new home, such as stamp duty and legal fees. The mortgage, available to those who have graduated within the last 5 years, is ...

  • Six freezes at 4% but Charcol say the future's already fixed up

    7 Jun 2002

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee yesterday held interest rates at 4% - for the sixth time in a row. The most recent change in interest rates was a reduction of 0.50% to 4.0% on November 8 2001 - seven months ago! The Confederation of British Industry welcomed the decision. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "Whilst we might not have staked our shirts on a sixth successive freeze, it was certainly the most likely outcome." But

  • SPF exclusive deals beat self-cert rates

    6 Jun 2002

    Mortgage broker Savills Private Finance has launched an exclusive 3-year tracker mortgage offering better rates for people looking to boost the amount they want to borrow. The newly self-employed and people who want to increase their lending limits by including unearned income currently have no choice but to opt for a self-certification mortgage on steeper interest rates. But SPFs deal offers people wanting to self-certify and borrow more than £200,000 a 3.95% ...

  • Standard Life Bank reveals what's best for clients

    5 Jun 2002

    Long-term fixed rate mortgages are good for customers, says Standard Life Bank. The Bank's view is echoed in last week's publication of Housing the Nation, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors housing manifesto, in which the RICS calls for the development of a greater range of housing finance products including longer-term fixed rate mortgages to increase choice. John Gill, financial director at Standard Life Bank, told Mortgage Strategy: "In an uncertain world, the ...

  • Taylor made move for MyHomeMove conveyancing

    7 Jun 2002

    Taylors Estate Agents, with branches throughout Leicestershire, has signed an agreement with MyHomeMove Conveyancing for the development of a Taylors Conveyancing Services branded conveyancing solution for its clients. This latest development illustrates the success of MyHomeMove Conveyancing less than a year after its launch and the enthusiastic response it has received from the property industry. Brian Taylor, managing director, Taylors Estate Agents comments: "It ...

  • The difference is clear

    5 Jun 2002

    I read with interest the article on sourcing systems and can inform you that I challenged Mortgage 2000 over three years ago on this subject. I did a print out of five different lenders on a repayment scheme and each one was the same to a penny. If lenders calculate their products differently, that is, as the APR is variable between lenders, the results should also show the same variation. I think all readers should be thankful that Mortgage Strategy has raised this issue and it should ...

  • The mortgage mole

    5 Jun 2002

    Halifax hardcore Who says Halifax has given up on the spirit of mutuality? Mole was informed last week that the lender is offering the kind of support intermediaries could only dream of. One breathless broker was only too happy to point out to Mole that the Yorkshire lender's application forms now carry the instruction "please complete your panel number to receive the correct procreation fee". It seems Halifax wants to give you something for, well, giving it to someone. Those 'A ...

  • Third of homeowners without cover

    6 Jun 2002

    A third of homeowners and 80 per cent of tenants haven't got themselves covered, latest research from Halifax General Insurance reveals. Its figures show that out of 24.7m homes in the UK, 11.7 m either have inadequate cover for their home contents and belongings or no cover at all. Tenants are the most at risk with 80 per cent failing to adequately insure their TVs, videos, personal possessions and family heirlooms. Homeowners fare better but 33 per cent ...

  • This week's problem case

    5 Jun 2002

    Gillian, 33, earns £30,000 and Pete, 38, is an IT consultant earning £39,000. They are moving and want to borrow £150,000 over a term of 15 years. They currently have an endowment for £50,000. This will mature in 15 years and the couple are unsure which vehicle they should use to repay the additional amount borrowed. They would prefer to avoid using another endowment or an ISA. They also do not want to extend the term of their mortgage.

  • TMB agree self-build deal

    5 Jun 2002

    BuildStore has expanded its panel of lenders for BuildLoan to include non-conforming lender The Mortgage Business. BuildLoan, launched in December, was developed exclusively for intermediaries to service clients in the growing self-build market. TMB's product is a base rate tracker at 1.49% over Bank base rate, and is available on self-cert or full-status basis, including a payment holiday option during the build. BuildLoan enables self-builders to borrow up to 95% of ...

  • TMPC and MPLC form relationship

    5 Jun 2002

    The Mortgage Placement Company has signed an introducer agreement with Mortgages PLC in a deal that could see the lender receive over £120m of mortgage business throughout the year. TMPC will work with Mortgages PLC on a branded-correspondent basis, promoting products to its 8,000 members. Peter Beaumont, MPLC sales and marketing director (pictured), says: "Signing this agreement has been a significant coup for us against the larger players in the market and it has been one ...

  • Today's tax freedom day!

    5 Jun 2002

    Today is Tax Freedom Day - the theoretical point in the year at which we stop working for the government and start working for ourselves. But IFA Promotion is urging taxpayers to celebrate early by wiping out the £4 billion handed over through financial inertia or lack of awareness to the taxman this year alone. David Elms of IFA Promotion, says: "This floating date acts as a valuable reminder of just how much money is being channeled into the Chancellor's ...

  • Virgin launches two new 0% credit cards

    7 Jun 2002

    Virgin Money has upgraded its credit card range with the launch of two new cards both offering customers a 0% pa balance transfer rate for the first six months. Customers can opt for a 0% pa card with a purchase rate of 15.9% APR (variable) and Virgin reward points, or 13.9% (variable) APR without points. Either way, the new cards act as a 'backstage pass' to the world of Virgin, with offers on products from across the group, such as travel, CDs and wine, through ...

  • What UCB is what you get - award-winning service

    5 Jun 2002

    UCB home loans UCB's head office (pictured above) is in Sutton, Surrey and is home to 300 people. The company says it is customer focussed and has a service ethic which has been a key factor in its success. The executive team is made up of Charles Reed, managing director, Mary O'Hara, head of operations, Andrew Baddeley-Chappell, finance director and Mark Saddleton, the newly appointed head of business development. Most of UCB's team are based in Sutton, except for its business ...

  • Why interest rates will be heading down by Autumn

    5 Jun 2002

    Discussion of the UK economy is currently mired in two unedifying spats between a number of City economists and the authorities. The City economists are claiming i) that the official statistics are misrepresenting the UK economy and ii) that the Bank of England is sending out confusing signals by releasing an inflation report that indicates a more than 50% probability of inflation exceeding the target at the same time as minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee which do not indicate ...

  • Zurich ties itself to Market Harborough

    5 Jun 2002

    Zurich said last week that it had tied to Market Harborough Building Society - its second tied relationship with a financial services retailer in just seven months. Zurich advisers will be available to Market Harborough Building Society's members - either in one of the society's nine branches or the advisers will meet members at their home or workplace. Dermot McKeever, Zurich's sales development director, says: "Zurich is in the midst of an exciting transformation. More ...

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