Mortgage Strategy
31 July 2006

A&L unsecured loans show fall

31 Jul 2006

Alliance & Leicester's half-year results show unsecured personal loan gross advances were 1.1bn, 24% lower than in the same period in 2005. A&L says this reflects tighter credit criteria and a reduction of the unsecured market. On the mortgage side it completed 160bn of gross lending, 27% higher than in the same period in 2005.

AToM abroad

31 Jul 2006

AToM has launched a packaging service for loans on properties abroad.As well as clients purchasing property overseas, ex-pats and non-UK nationals looking to buy investment vehicles in the UK will also be able to use the services offered by AToM Abroad. In association with Conti Financial Services, it can lend in over 30 countries including Australia, Bulgaria, the Caribbean islands, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, France; Ireland, Monaco, South Africa, Spain and the US.

BoS considers retention scheme

31 Jul 2006

Bank of Scotland says it is looking at offering a retention strategy but nothing will be decided until the start of next year. Charles Haresnape, managing director at Bank of Scotland Mortgages, says it has not yet made any plans to offer a retention fee but is watching with interest Halifax's strategy. He says: "We will be meeting at the start of next year to discuss offering a retention strategy."

House prices up 0.6% in July

31 Jul 2006

Hometrack's national house price survey shows that prices rose by 0.6% over July, taking year-on-year price growth to 3.2%.

Kent boosts staff in India

31 Jul 2006

Kent Reliance has increased it's staff in India and will set up a second international site soon.Kent Reliance says the number of staff now based in Bangalore is almost equal to those in the UK. Easiprocess, the firm's Indian subsidiary, employs some 40 staff in Bangalore compared with 46 in Chatham.

MEX to move offices next year

31 Jul 2006

Mortgage Express is set to move from its office in Barnet to new premises in Borehamwood next year. MEX will move to the four-building office complex known as the Imperial Palace. As well as providing its staff with air conditioning, the new offices also provide room for expansion.MEX's half-year results last week revealed residential lending balances up 19% to £28.4bn with record residential net new lending of £2.4bn up from £0.4bn in the first half of 2005. MEX ...

MI pays brokers to package MT deal

31 Jul 2006

Mortgage Intelligence is paying its brokers 50 for packaging its exclusive Mortgage Trust buy-to-let product that has a 4.88% rate fixed until February 28 2008 and a 599 arrangement fee.

Pink extends fees offer

31 Jul 2006

Pink is extending its reduced valuation and application fee offer on adverse packaged business until August 31 2006. The offer, which sets a maximum £66 fee, is part of Pink's Turning the Adverse World Upside Down campaign.

Salt poised to launch exclusives

31 Jul 2006

Salt is set to launch an exclusive range of products to its packager panel that will offer rates as low as 4.79% for sub-prime and self-cert mortgages.

TMO appoints account manager

31 Jul 2006

The Mortgage Operation has appointed Darren Mitchell as key account manager for London and the South-East. Mitchell brings with him over 10 years' experience in the mortgage industry. He started as a mortgage adviser then became a BDM with GMAC-RFC and most recently worked at Platform.

90% of estate agents would welcome regulation

31 Jul 2006

Research by movewithus, a UK property services group shows that 90% of estate agents would welcome the industry being regulated.

Accessing the secured loans sector

31 Jul 2006

The trick to being successful in any business is never to stand still. You must keep looking ahead and decide on the opportunities and threats the future presents so you can prepare for them.But this is often hard to do when you also need to keep your business efficient and maximise the opportunities that are available to you right now.One sector seeing enormous growth and providing a possible future opportunity is second charges or secured loans. Many if not all of the readers ...

Advantage joins AMI

1 Aug 2006

Advantage has joined AMI, the sole trade body for mortgage intermediaries.

Advantage launches Flexishare

31 Jul 2006

Advantage. part of the Morgan Stanley group has officially launched its Flexishare procut today, the innovative home ownership solution for first-time buyers, key workers and growing families.

Appointment

31 Jul 2006

Rooftop Mortgages has named Angie Spalding as head of underwriting. She was London underwriting manager at the Portman.

Appointment

31 Jul 2006

Hometrack has appointed former MP Nick Raynsford as a non-executive director.

Appointment

31 Jul 2006

London & European has appointed Vik Panchal as sales manager and head of legal indemnities subsidiary Titlesolv.com.

AToM becomes wholesale provider

1 Aug 2006

Following a strategic review and discussions with lenders, All Types of Mortgages is to move from the term packaging in favour of a new industry classification -wholesale mortgage design and distribution.

Batchelor to be executive director at Lehman Brothers

31 Jul 2006

Guy Batchelor is to become an executive director, responsible for franchise development in the Lehman Brother's European Mortgage Capital business.

BM Solutions' Saints and Sinners Game was cruel blow after World Cup blues

31 Jul 2006

Star letter

Broker struck off due to accounts failings

31 Jul 2006

This is the first time the FSA has disciplined a senior manager of a mortgage and GI broker.Steven Leslie Davis, chief executive of Essential Mortgages, was found to have failed to demonstrate acceptable standards as head of the business and caused considerable consumer detriment. EM has ceased trading.The FSA would normally issue a significant financial penalty in instances of serious misconduct. But it decided instead to publish a statement of Davis' misconduct having taken ...

Brokers must still plan their strategies for HIPs

31 Jul 2006

As I have been on my travels in the past couple of weeks, I've heard comments from a number of sources that indicate there is a certain amount of confusion about the government's recent U-turn on the subject of Home Condition Reports.

Brokers must take on supermarkets

31 Jul 2006

Occasionally, pieces of independent and unrelated information cross your desk which when looked at individually don't seem significant to mortgage brokers. But sometimes such pieces of information merge and alarm bells ring.

Brokers say no to high multiples

31 Jul 2006

Broker research carried out by Alliance & Leicester exclusively for Mortgage Strategy shows a startling 84% of brokers would not recommend 8 x income products to first-time buyers.Just 12% say they would recommend them, with 4% unsure. John Wriglesworth, economist and PR guru, predicted at the Mortgage Summit 2006 in Jerez that 8 x income multiples on long-term fixed products would become common in the near future.Speaking about A&L's research, Wriglesworth says: "It ...

Burns-Anderson reports record half-year results

1 Aug 2006

Burns-Anderson has revealed a record half-year profit of 330,000, which is already in excess of the full years profit for 2005.

Buy-to-let zeal boosts ID checks

31 Jul 2006

The rise in demand for buy-to-let property and a strong housing market drives some two million ID checks in the estate agency sector, research reveals.

Call to axe poor packagers

31 Jul 2006

Small packagers have backed a call by packaging association Freehold for len-ders to adopt a continuous assessment of their packager panels.Freehold says its research found that lenders pay more attention to the volume of business their packagers produce rather than whether the basic service standards they provide to brokers are acceptable.The association represents 20 regional packagers and mortgage distributors and has been battling for the packaging industry to adopt a guaranteed ...

CML says repossessions have increased

4 Aug 2006

The Council of Mortgage Lenders says the number of properties taken into possession by mortgage lenders rose in the first half of this year.

Comment

31 Jul 2006

Dear Delia Malcolm has a portfolio of 15 buy-to-let properties in Yorkshire and Humberside worth around £137,000 each with average monthly rental values of £650. His LTV is 70% and he wants to remortgage to a higher LTV to raise £300,000 to extend his portfolio. All mortgage payments have been made on time but he has some small County Court judgements and defaults from 12 months ago. What are his options? Delia says: Malcolm is in a fairly strong position and has several ...

Commercial fees promise

31 Jul 2006

Business Lending, in conjunction with solicitor Crust Lane Davis, is offering its customers a no completion, no fee promise for all commercial conveyancing.

Conservatives won't be local tax heroes

31 Jul 2006

"Have we really sunk to jailing little old ladies?" asked one newspaper after Josephine Rooney was prosecuted for not paying her Council Tax.How to pay for local services is one of the perennial sores that afflict political parties of all persuasions. The Poll Tax contributed to Margaret Thatcher's tearful departure. And while Charles Kennedy managed to push Council Tax up the political agenda at the last election, it ultimately contributed to his political demise. During that campaign, ...

Consultancy to help buyers in Italy

31 Jul 2006

A mortgage consultancy has been set up in Italy to cater for English- speaking clients wishing to buy property in the country.The firm has been set up by Andrew Hinsley, a licensed financial broker who lives in Italy and works as an agent for Macquarie Bank helping English brokers whose clients are looking to buy in Italy. The company, Mortgage Consultancy in Italy, offers free advice and covers the whole country including the islands.Italy's regulatory environment differs from ...

Coventry strategy under fire

31 Jul 2006

The society unveiled its sub-prime offering last week, featuring self-cert and mainstream tracker products in the near prime, extra light and light sectors.None of the products in the range - which are available to introducers - are subject to early repayment charges and the society also offers a 360 cascade tool.Colin Franklin, head of sales at Coventry, says: "This is a fast-growing sector of the market and by introducing credit-impaired mortgages we are filling a gap in our ...

Curriculum Vitae

31 Jul 2006

Name: Richard BeardshawAge: 32Company: Platform, the intermediary lender of Britannia.Job title: Head of sales.Where do you live?Olney, Buckinghamshire.Describe your current job: I am responsible for managing Platform's sales force and the company's sales strategy. I oversee two divisions and our internal sales support team, totalling 24 staff including two divisional sales managers, one corporate accounts manager, two ...

DB appoints sales manager

31 Jul 2006

DB mortgages has appointed Stephen Pye as divisional sales manager for the South-East.He will look after the western Home Counties with responsibility for three business development managers. Pye joins DB from Future Mortgages where he held a similar position.

Dear Delia

1 Aug 2006

Malcolm has a portfolio of 15 buy-to-let properties in Yorkshire and Humberside worth around 137,000 each with average monthly rental values of 650. His LTV is 70% and he wants to remortgage to a higher LTV to raise 300,000 to extend his portfolio. All mortgage payments have been made on time but he has some small County Court judgements and defaults from 12 months ago. What are his options? Delia says: Malcolm is in a fairly strong position and has several options. Lee Grandin from ...

Do packagers influence underwriters, both onsite and offsite, to get cases through??

31 Jul 2006

bob sturges is director of communications at Money PartnersLenders operating in the intermediary market accept and understand that brokers and packagers will represent their clients and customers to the best of their abilities. Regulation helps define how this can be achieved.At Money Partners we know that certain decisions will be queried, sometimes resulting in passionate discussions, but we have rarely found this to overstep the mark of acceptable or ethical behaviour.The ...

e2m and Thinc Destini offer conveyancing service

31 Jul 2006

Online conveyancer Easier2Move has signed a deal with the Thinc Destini Group to provide a conveyancing service to their network and national advisers.

edeus appoints senior finance team

1 Aug 2006

edeus has made four appointments to complete its senior finance team and work under chief financial officer Ian Lonergan when he joins the start-up on November 15.

Enterprise Group appoints sales director

3 Aug 2006

Enterprise Group has appointed Harry Landy to the role of group sales director.

Equity release grows by volume, but declines by value

3 Aug 2006

The equity release market grew by volume, but declined by value in thie first half of 2006, data released today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows.

Exclusive Connections and Classic Network Solutions sign agreement

1 Aug 2006

Exclusive Connections and mortgage network Classic Network Solutions have signed an agreement which means that EC will be the sole provider of mortgage packaging services to 84 registered individuals.

Feminists attack edeus ad

31 Jul 2006

The mortgage industry has defended edeus' advertising campaign after feminist group Object branded one advert "gratuitous" last week.A spokeswoman for the group criticised the ad which features a pair of stiletto-clad female legs in the foreground with two businessmen in the background, as offensive to women by referring to lap dancing clubs.She says: "An advert that focuses on a pair of legs and stilettos seems gratuitous and unnecessary at best."One would have ...

Fewer audit rules for small firms

31 Jul 2006

The Department of Trade and Industry is poised to move on recommendations by the Financial Services Authority to remove audit requirements from small firms and appointed representatives. The move has already been welcomed within the industry. The DTI will work to implement the proposal as soon as possible.

FMO launches 100% loan for DIY enthusiasts

31 Jul 2006

First Mortgage Options has launched a 100% LTV first charge loan product for the purchase of property in need of renovation or refurbishment available to people in the building trade or DIY enthusiasts.

Freedom to rebrand after buyout

31 Jul 2006

Merrill Lynch announced last week that it had bought Freedom Funding, which operates under the trading name Freedom Lending. It is the mortgage lending arm of Freedom Finance.The Freedom Finance Group comprises Freedom Finance, Freedom Funding (which trades in the UK under the name Freedom Lending), Freedom Spain, Freedom Sweden, Freedom Ireland and Mortgage Next.Freedom Lending launched into the UK mortgage market in May 2004 with a range of specialist mortgage products which ...

FSA consults on MiFID rules for firms and market

1 Aug 2006

The Financial Services Authority has published a consultation paper on implementing the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive for FSA-regulated firms and markets. MiFID is designed to foster competition and a level-playing field between Europes trading venues for financial instruments, and to provide appropriate levels of protection for investors and consumers of investment services across Europe.

Fun Stuff

31 Jul 2006

What's your favourite restaurant?Rick Stein's seafood restaurant in Padstow. The views and ambience are unparalleled and the Dover sole is sublime.What's the most you've ever spent on dinner for two?About £200 at Rick Stein's. My favourite is Oysters Charentaise. This is a combination of freshly opened oysters and spicy saus-ages. You eat an oyster, take a bite of sausage, then swig some cold white wine.What's your favourite band?Don McLean's American Pie ...

Generous deals are a sign of the times

31 Jul 2006

The news that lenders are offering increasingly innovative and generous products has been broadly welcomed by the industry. Pundits who applaud the trend say income multiples are an archaic way of testing whether somebody can repay a loan. And they suggest those who condemn lenders for stretching income multiples should step into the 21st century.But while the increasing use of affordability models is great news for clients, is there a danger lenders could stretch their underwriting ...

GMAC to host seminar on self-cert

31 Jul 2006

The seminar will see experts from across the market gather to debate and discuss the challenges facing the self-cert sector.Participants, yet to be announced, will include lenders, networks, app-ointed representatives and directly authorised brokers. Representatives of the Financial Services Authority and trade associations will also be in attendance.Peter Izard, senior manager corporate accounts at GMAC-RFC and chairman of the event, says: "This is a good opportunity to stimulate ...

Group finance director to leave Hitachi Capital

1 Aug 2006

Barbara Iversen, group finance director at Hitachi Capital, the mortgage payment protection insurance underwriter, is to leave the group, having decided to relocate to the North of England for family reasons.

Halifax and HBOS in cover deal for brokers

31 Jul 2006

Halifax General Insurance is joining forces with HBOS Mortgage Intermediaries, indicating the lending giant's ambitions to grow its insurance presence within the intermediary market.Although the GI intermediaries team will continue to be led by Jon Craven, Nigel Stockton, managing director of HBOS Mortgage Intermediaries, will assume responsibility for the distribution of GI intermediary sales from August 1.Stockton says the move is a response to brokers' concerns that lenders ...

Halifax says house prices have increased by 0.2%

3 Aug 2006

Halifax's latest house price index reveals that house prices have increased by 0.2% in July following successive declines in May and June.

Hamptons sold to Emaar for 82m

1 Aug 2006

Hamptons, owned by Singapore-based Wheelock Properties, has been sold to Dubai-based Emaar for 82m.

Helpline sees 50% rise in equity release calls

31 Jul 2006

Calls about equity release to the Age Concern helpline last year increased by a whopping 50%.Enquiries to the charity's helpline totalled over 5,300, with equity release being one of the most common issues.These figures come as Age Concern launches Using your home as capital 2006-07, a guidebook for people considering raising money from their property.Gordon Lishman, director-general of Age Concern England, says: "It is not surprising that equity release is becoming ...

HIPs hot air is a waste of energy

31 Jul 2006

How wonderful to have provoked Kevin Duffy into writing a Star Letter, winning him a PlayStation Portable to boot (Mortgage Strategy July 17 ).

HML signs servicing contract with Close Brothers

3 Aug 2006

Homeloan Management has signed a three-year servicing contract with Close Brothers in the UK to service its intermediary channel business originated through its own subsidiary Mortgage Intelligence.

Home sizes are getting smaller

31 Jul 2006

Higher density living is on the rise as the government tries to squeeze more households into smaller homes, says Wolsey Securities.The residential finance specialist for small house builders says 61% of new homes being built within its portfolio are apartments while the average new home plot size is continuing to shrink.

Homeowners less security conscious during warm weather

2 Aug 2006

This years scorching summer temperatures are making life easier for the UK's burglars, warns a new study by Tesco Home Insurance.

House prices rise by 0.6% in July

31 Jul 2006

House prices rose by 0.6% over July taking year on year growth to 3.2% shows the latest national house price survey from Hometrack.

IF unveils online packaging facility

31 Jul 2006

Intelligent Finance has launched an application packaging facility and an enhanced affordability calculator on its broker website www.brokers. if.com.

IFAs miss out on overseas earnings

31 Jul 2006

Independent financial advisers who don't sell foreign property could be missing out on 200,000 a year, warns the Prestige Group.Research shows that 53% of IFAs do not transact any business in the foreign property sector. Prestige says an IFA would need to sell just two properties a month to boost revenue by 200,000 annually.

Inside Track warns against investing in eastern Europe

3 Aug 2006

While three in 10 Britons now see eastern Europe as the market that will deliver the best capital returns for property investment over the next 10 years, Inside Track warns this optimism may be misplaced.

KRS and GHL in equity tie-up

31 Jul 2006

Key Retirement Solutions has formed a partnership with GHL Group which will see GHL refer all equity release business from its 200 advisers and 3,000 authorised users to KRS' equity release referral service, Key Partnerships.The Financial Services Authority revealed the results of its second mystery shopping exercise recently, calling for advisers to receive training on equity release, pass on leads to specialist firms or cease operating in the market altogether. GHL says the decision ...

KRS launches LAS the "Cr笥 de la Cr笥" of mortgage clubs

1 Aug 2006

Key Retirement Solutions says it has taken the concept of a mortgage club to a whole new level with the launch of Lifetime Advisory Services for intermediaries in the equity release market.

L&G unveils online facility

31 Jul 2006

Legal & General has launched its mortgage-related life assurance platform Online Protection via the Connells Group estate agency .

Labour's credibility gap just got wider

31 Jul 2006

I wanted to avoid the issue of Home Information Packs. With what already seems like an ocean of column inches being devoted to the issue, the bombshell that Home Condition Reports will not be a mandatory part of the packs will surely swell the media to bursting point.

Leeds cuts cost of fixed rates

31 Jul 2006

Leeds has reduced the rate on its three-year fixed rate mortgage and fee free version by 0.5%. Previously at 5.39%, the mortgage without any lock-ins has been reduced to only 4.99%. The fee-free version is now 5.39%, down from 5.89%,

Legal & General enhances online protection

2 Aug 2006

Legal & General has improved its intergrated quote and application tool on its online protection system.

Lenders can stop feeling the churn

31 Jul 2006

Will other lenders follow Halifax's move when it comes to retention fees? Until now, the majority of lenders have had a good run with existing clients in that if these clients remortgaged with their existing lenders, whether it was their decision or that of their broker. It was a freebie, meaning no proc fee was paid.

Lenders tighten credit policies

31 Jul 2006

Moneyfacts.co.uk has blamed the high number of credit applications declined on not only poor money management by consumers but also the tightening of credit policy by mainstream lenders.

Letter fails to soothe home inspectors

31 Jul 2006

Housing minister Yvette Cooper has written to all trainee HIP inspectors over its Home Condition Report U-turn to apologise-but the industry says it's not enough.Since HCRs were made a voluntary part of Home Information Packs, angered home inspectors have been calling for answers and, increasingly, compensation.In the House of Lords last week, Baroness Andrews revealed Cooper would be writing to express her regrets and apologise to people who embarked on the course.In ...

Little Deed

31 Jul 2006

Brentchase Financial was formed in 2001 by Mike Fitzgerald, with a business plan to be a specialist mortgage broker catering for high net worth clients. During the past five years it has attracted many interesting clients including overseas government workers, sports stars and several theatrical performers.Its clients have varied occupations ranging from a mercenary to several bishops. It obviously wants to keep clients such as these satisfied as an angry mercenary could be dangerous ...

Lobbyists warn of rural theme park

31 Jul 2006

The government risks turning the countryside into a rural theme park unless more affordable homes are built, warns the National Housing Federation and Campaign to Protect Rural England.The lobby groups have joined forces to urge the government to tackle the problem that locals in rural areas are unable to buy property, with average prices almost 10 times local earnings.CPRE and the NHF which represents 1,400 housing associations in England, have published a joint charter entitled ...

London boom

31 Jul 2006

London's economy will expand 3.4% in 2006 after growing an estimated 2.9% in 2005, says the Centre for Economics and Business Research. This compares with equivalent growth rates across the UK of 2.6 % in 2006 and 1.9% in 2005.

Lonergan moves to edeus

31 Jul 2006

Edeus claimed another industry scalp last week after GMAC-RFC's head of business analysis defected to become chief financial officer at Michael Bolton's new lender.Ian Lonergan will join the start-up on November 15.Michael Bolton, CEO of edeus, says: "I am delighted to announce the appointment of such a high profile and senior member of the team to edeus - a testament to fact that we continue to attract the best talent in the industry."We have now passed the landmark of ...

Managing the mixed media muddle

31 Jul 2006

Since the mid-1980s lenders and brokers have been trying to work towards a paperless office. But the reality has fallen somewhat short of the dream. In general, the more technology we use the more paper we generate. There has been a lot of talk about digital signatures but regulation and legal requirements often stand in the way of such advances. The fact is that lenders and intermediaries need to store paper documents alongside electronic information.

Market watch

31 Jul 2006

Swaps dropped slightly last week but it is impossible to predict what is going to happen next.

Marketing Brief

31 Jul 2006

Scope:...Content:...Usability:...Appearance:..Overall:...Not much to look at and not a lot more by way of content but this website gets its message across. Mortgage Trust specialises in the unregulated buy-to-let arena and offers nothing outside of this. This is quite clever as it does not get dragged into the regulated environment so avoids the need to provide Key Facts Illustrations and Initial Disclosure Documents. There ...

Me and my car

31 Jul 2006

I'm a bit of a petrol-head which surprises some people. I'd love to have one car to meet all my needs but as I've never come across a fast, attractive and exciting car that's good for carting kids around, I've always had to own more than one.My everyday car is a BMW 330i convertible. It has a deep, growling engine note which is like music to my ears when accelerating fast in second gear. But my boy racer tendencies haven't driven me as far as buying a spoiler, under-lighting ...

Moneynet warns over lack of life cover

1 Aug 2006

Moneynet says a dramatic fall off in enquiry levels for life cover has led to fears that many thousands of home owners will be left exposed in the event of the death of the main breadwinner.

More raids connected with big fraud

31 Jul 2006

Further raids have been carried out by the Serious Fraud Office in relation to a suspected multi-million pound mortgage fraud.The searches were carried out as part of an investigation into the fraud which emerged earlier this year after Cheshire claimed it had lost 10m from lending on commercial properties that were falsely valued.Raids were carried out on 17 pre-mises on July 21. Four of these were on solicitors' firms, three on mortgage brokers' offices and one on an accountancy ...

Mortgage Intelligence adds edeus to panel

4 Aug 2006

Mortgage Intelligence is the latest distributor to add edeus to its panel of lenders.

MP says banks to blame for bad debts

2 Aug 2006

Liberal Demoncrat Shadow chancellor Vince Cable has criticised lenders for "irresponsible behaviour" following Lloyds TSB's move to increase provisions to cover bad debts.

MT launches stepped fix

31 Jul 2006

Mortgage Trust has launched an MT Select two-year stepped fixed rate product at 4.55% until September 2007, followed by a rate of 5.10% until September 2008.

MT signs up Cumberland advice arm

31 Jul 2006

Solway Mortgage Solutions was formed by the society to cater for the niche mortgage enquiries the society receives.The alliance was registered by the Financial Services Authority on June 21. Solway will now have access to more than 70 lenders and over 2,500 exclusives, together with Mortgage Times' general insurance offering.Christopher May, director at The Mortgage Times Group, says: "We're pleased to have appointed Solway. This shows the quality of the members in our network."We ...

Next U-turn could see HIPs scrapped

31 Jul 2006

So the government has made yet another one of its infuriating U-turns. Or has it? Your clients must be confused about what's going on with Home Information Packs after the announcement that compulsory Home Condition Reports are to be dropped.

Northern Rock makes its move in specialist sector

31 Jul 2006

The deal mirrors a similar arrangement Alliance & Leicester made with Lehman and has been welcomed as a sign that preconceptions about the sub-prime market are shifting.The bank says that while its main focus will continue to be on prime lending it recognises that there is a market for sub-prime and self-cert deals.Announcing half-year results the bank says: "We've avoided this market due to concerns over the risk-reward relationship and we have no need to move down the credit ...

Number of people working over 65 set to rise

31 Jul 2006

Increasing life expectancy and the growing pressure on pensions and state benefits will mean that more people will need to work beyond their 65th birthday, says Economic Lifestyle.

Overseas investors buy more homes

1 Aug 2006

Prestige says the number of investors buying multiple properties overseas has risen by 188% since 2003. It says savvy property investors are looking to cut risk by diversifying their portfolios with multiple investments.

Packagers must get closer to lenders

31 Jul 2006

The future of the packaging sector splits opinion like almost no other topic. But one thing everyone has been able to agree on is that packagers need to focus on adding value to the mortgage process. I have long felt that this can be best achieved by developing strong relationships with lenders, not only in terms of exclusive products but also in other areas of business.

Peter Williams to leave the CML

31 Jul 2006

Peter Williams, deputy director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, is to leave and become a self employed consultant.

Pink offers three year discounted self-cert product

31 Jul 2006

Pink Home Loans has launched a three year discounted self-cert product range in association with Bristol & West.

Pink unveils B2L exclusive deal

31 Jul 2006

The rate is 4.89% - base rate plus 0.39% - for two years and it is available on loans up to 85% of the purchase price with no overhang and an arrange- ment fee of 795 which can be added to the loan.David Copland, sales and marketing director at Pink Home Loans, says: "This product is sensational. The deal offers buy- to-let investors access to a highly competitive rate with a low arr-angement fee of just 795."This shows that BM Solutions is continuing to work alongside Pink ...

Pitt and Aitken join Kensington Group

3 Aug 2006

Brian Pitt and Stuart Aitken have joined Kensington Group to investigate key strategic opportunities presented by the specialist lending sector.

PMS appoints edeus to its lender panel

31 Jul 2006

PMS is the UK's largest mortgage club for mortgage brokers, with a panel of 58 lenders. It has completed a massive £107bn of mortgage business since its launch in January 1997 and received over £134bn in applications.John Malone, managing director of PMS, says: "We've gone through a full procedure of due diligence with edeus and are highly confident that the company can provide what it is promising."What you have to look at is the highly active management team that ...

Potential FTBs save too little for deposits

31 Jul 2006

Potential first-time buyers are saving too little to get on the property ladder, says Alliance & Leicester.A study by A&L which looked at how much and for how long people save for their deposits found that first-time buyers who save for two years will find themselves short to the tune of 5,000.On average first-time buyers want to save around 11,710 for the deposit but only put away around 270 a month which, over two years, leaves them 5,140 below their target.The study also ...

Pressure is on former Fannie Mae elite

31 Jul 2006

When Kenneth Lay, the former CEO of Enron, died of a heart attack in early July two questions about the Enron scandal floated through my brain - why did Lay perpetrate one of largest corporate frauds in US history and why did he think he could get away with it?I'm not the only person in the US pondering these mysteries about the deceased energy executive, a man President George Bush once referred to as Kenny Boy (Lay was a Bush political donor).The questions are obvious and ...

Prestbury turnover increases by 45%

1 Aug 2006

Prestbury Holdings PLC, has revealed its results for the six-month period to 30 April 2006, showing a 45% increase in turnover to 4.8m

Primrose moves to protect broker fees

31 Jul 2006

Primrose has finalised an arrangement to ensure that introducer proc fees will be protected and paid via a legal firm on a weekly basis.Kevin Friend, national accounts director at Primrose, says it decided to make this provision following concerns from lenders and intermediaries that broker proc fees could be in jeopardy should a packager run into financial difficulty.He says: "This is a practice that we believe will give lenders, networks and brokers the comfort they need following ...

Property returns lead equities

31 Jul 2006

Resolution Asset Management says that despite some commentators' concerns of a property market downturn, for the year to date property is ahead of both equities and gilts.

Providers must sell benefits of HCRs

1 Aug 2006

The government’s climbdown over plans for Home Condition Reports to be included in Home Information Packs has prompted a deluge of media activity. But as this flood starts to recede the focus must shift to the implications for the mortgage industry.

Pundits rubbish idea of unified property tax

31 Jul 2006

A centre-right think tank's proposal for a super tax to incorporate a range of taxes from Stamp Duty to the BBC's licence fee has been criticised by Conservatives and industry pundits.Pitched to the Conservative Party, the idea comes from the Bow Group in a report by Mark Wadsworth entitled Keep tax simple. Instead of a long list of taxes it proposes that the first 70,000 of a house's value should be untaxed and thereafter a 1% annual levy would apply.This super Land ...

Repossessions still at very low levels, says RICS

4 Aug 2006

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the number of repossessions are still at low levels following figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Retention is not only about proc fees

31 Jul 2006

The news that Halifax has radically overhauled its retention strategy has been high on the agenda recently, attracting glowing endorsements from around the industry. For those who may have missed the announcement, the UK's biggest lender will now offer full proc fees on retained business while making the same mortgages available to both new and existing customers.As you would expect, the media coverage focussed on why it has done this now and whether it is a response to the imminent ...

Retirement Plus joins Exweb

31 Jul 2006

Retirement Plus has become the 16th lender to be added to The Exchange's equity release sourcing platform Exweb.

RICS react to Nationwide house price data

1 Aug 2006

House prices rose by 0.8% for July, the strongest increase recorded since January when they rose by 1.4%, figures out from Nationwide show.

Risky business

31 Jul 2006

Lenders are competing to launch increasingly innovative and generous products, stretching income multiples and widening LTVs as far as they can go. With a plethora of new entrants eyeing the specialist mortgage markets the pressure is on existing players to go that little bit further.

Rogue networks face outing

31 Jul 2006

The four small networks forced to stop recruiting appointed representatives by the Financial Services Authority are being urged to reveal their identities or risk being publicly outed.

Secured loans package deal

31 Jul 2006

Residential 1 and independent mortgage group Connect have made an arrangement for the Bromley-based broker to package secured loans on behalf of Connect's 1,200 members.

Secured loans the answer to debt, says The Mortgage Centre

31 Jul 2006

Secured loans are the way to beat bad debt, according to an all-woman finance consultancy in Birmingham.

Servicing is an area ripe for innovation

31 Jul 2006

Despite its importance, servicing does not occupy many column inches in the mortgage press. This lack of attention is mirrored within lenders. It is not an area they have prioritised so the level of innovation in servicing has not matched that seen in other areas of the mortgage process. But with more concentration on retention, this is about to change.Over the past 15 years, joint servicing operations between two or more lenders and third-party servicers have become common.Particularly ...

Skipton breaks financial records

31 Jul 2006

Skipton has broken previous records in all of its key financial areas in the first half of 2006, its latest half-year results reveal. For June 30 2006 year-on-year group assets grew 14.3% to 9.9bn and pre-tax profits hit 73.4m. Group mortgage balances grew 17.6%, retail investment balances rose 14.8%, and society mortgage balances grew by 14.6%.

SmartNewHomes to help FTBs

31 Jul 2006

SmartNewHomes. com has added a section to it's website to help first-time buyers and key workers search for housing association properties in their areas by promoting shared ownership schemes.SmartNewHomes. com says many potential buyers are eligible for the scheme but are not aware of what is on offer. By promoting these properties, buyers will be able to find out about what associations have to offer and search for relevant properties.

SMS offers reduced cost Equifax credit reports

4 Aug 2006

Solent Mortgage Services, the national branded mortgage arranger, is offering intermediaries and their customers access to Equifax online credit reports at a 34% discount to the standard cost.

Solent post Solent Mortgage Services has appointed Paul Gibbs to the post of national sales manager.

31 Jul 2006

SPML fixes

31 Jul 2006

Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited has launched fixed rates on its near prime products available up to 95% LTV.

Statutory bodies that are there to help

31 Jul 2006

It has also published - jointly with the FSA - a report into the cost of regulation. In his foreword to this report FSPP chairman Roy Leighton voices the following concern: "There is a real and growing fear among practitioners that… the FSA and its staff will fail to supervise and enforce against principles in the manner and spirit that it says it will. As a result firms will not have sufficient confidence to exercise their own judgement." Wise words indeed.So what is the ...

System rebuffs its critics

31 Jul 2006

The sourcing system had come in for criticism over the way it works out total costs on its system and what it includes in these calculations. But the Mortgage Conduct Of Business rules do not define what should or should not be included.Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, says: "This is a complex process and many factors are taken into account. With more than 30,000 schemes available today any system that levels the playing field cuts the information in many ways. Where those ...

TFC secured loans sales up 34%

31 Jul 2006

The Finance Centre Secured Loans has reported a 34% rise in sales as compared with last year as a result of a campaign to raise awareness of its secured loans range.

The Mortgage Mole

31 Jul 2006

Free for all Exclusive private members club Fifty didn't know what had hit it on Wednesday night when Alan Cleary, managing director of edeus, invited the Mortgage Strategy crew to dine with him.What started innocently with a couple of bottles of champagne and some posh nuts ended with journalists setting fire to each others' Drambuie-filled mouths. No wonder that John Malone, managing director of Premier Mortgage Services, who arrived after dinner for a glass of wine decided ...

There's no short cut to commercial broking

31 Jul 2006

Over the past few years, developments in the commercial finance industry have turned the sector on its head. The introduction of non-status, self-cert, offset and flexible facilities to name but a few have meant the main reasons brokers avoided the sector have all but been removed.

Tips for landlords

31 Jul 2006

Landlord Mortgages has put together 10 tips to mitigate tax on buy-to-let properties.

UCB relaunch

31 Jul 2006

UCB Home Loans is relaunching its core range.

UKValuation appoints business development director

1 Aug 2006

UKValuation, a provider of automated valuations and subsidiary of Countrywide Financial Corporation, has appointed Mike Allardyce as business development director.

Warning on flood defence U-turn

31 Jul 2006

Chris Huhne, shadow environment secretary for the LibDems, says: "If the government goes back on its promises, insurers are likely to feel no obligation to continue cover for 100,000 homes that are not commercially easy to insure against flooding."Following floods in Autumn 2000 that affected 10,000 properties and cost the insurance industry 1bn, the Association of British Insurers and the government agreed the industry would continue to provide cover for the vast majority of households ...

We must sharpen up our equity sales act

31 Jul 2006

If ever there was a time to think carefully about the equity release market, this is it.

We're still committed to HIPs, says MDA Advantage

1 Aug 2006

MDA Advantage, the Home Information Pack manufacturer, says that despite the recent U-turn by the government, its management team and parent company remain fully committed to the development and provision of a HIP service.

Would you voluntarily get an HCR when selling your home?

31 Jul 2006

The Government recently announced that Home Condition Reports are to be made an optional part of Home Information Packs. Professionals have formed their own opinions about this change in legislation but it remains to be seen whether consumers will opt for HCRs when selling their homes.

Yes website gets makeover

31 Jul 2006

Yes Loans & Mortgages has revamped its website.