Mortgage Strategy
6 May 2002

  • Abbey reveals 15% increase in take up of home improvement loans

    10 May 2002

    New research from Abbey National suggests that the number of people taking out home improvement loans rose by 15% last year. But the lender says that laying out a landscape garden, installing a swimming pool, or transforming a bedroom into a bathroom is unlikely to recoup the investment upon resale. Abbey National's research found the real winners in adding value to their homes were people building extensions or converting lofts. Bridget Walsh, Abbey National's ...

  • Average house price in now £121,881, says Land Registry

    10 May 2002

    The Land Registry's latest quarterly residential property price report, show that the average house price in England and Wales increased by 10.23% from £110,570 in 2001 to £121,881 for the same period in 2002. The report compares average prices and volume of sales with those for the same period in 2001. It also gives a breakdown of the average sale prices of old and new properties, by property type. All economic regions in England and Wales showed an increase ...

  • Birmingham Midshires offers tips for this year's wedding planners

    9 May 2002

    Mortgage and savings provider Birmingham Midshires is urging couples to think about how their finances will need to change after their wedding day. Paul Fincham, a spokesperson for Birmingham Midshires, says: "It can be very easy to let money become a touchy issue within a relationship. It is important that both partners play a part in making the household finances work." The biggest financial commitment couples are likely to make when getting married is setting up home ...

  • Borrowers consolidating debts, says Halifax

    9 May 2002

    Canny borrowers are consolidating their debts in advance of a possible rise in interest rates, suggest the latest findings from the Halifax. Its figures show that consolidation loans now account for just under 50% of all unsecured borrowing. Traditionally borrowers used personal loans for luxuries like holidays and new cars, but they are now using them as a way of managing their finances more effectively. The findings come on the back of Bank of England figures released ...

  • BREAKING NEWS: Bank holds rates at 4%

    9 May 2002

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to maintain the Bank's repo rate at 4.0% for the fifth time this year. The Committee's latest inflation and output projections will appear in the Inflation Report to be published on Wednesday 15 May. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "Recent calls for rate rises to dampen house price inflation have quite rightly been ignored. "Arguably, in order to have a significant ...

  • Britannic Money appoints new head of sales

    9 May 2002

    Britannic Money has appointed Austin Jelfs as head of intermediary sales. Jelfs joins Britannic Money from Preferred Mortgages where he worked as the national accounts manager. He was previously mortgage panel manager at Winterthur Life. He also spent eight years at Bank of Ireland as its national accounts manager. Tony Ward, chief executive at Britannic Money, says: "We are delighted to welcome Austin to Britannic Money, he brings with him invaluable experience of the ...

  • British homes are smallest in Europe

    7 May 2002

    British homes are the smallest in Europe with only an average usable floor space of 76sq/m, claims a new report by Bradford & Bingley. The Italians lead the rest of Europe with the most space - an average of 92sq/m per dwelling, over a fifth larger than the Brits enjoy. The report, undertaken by the Centre for Economics & Business Research for Bradford & Bingley, compares the UK property market to Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It reveals British living space per ...

  • Brokers need more support to qualify for the professional age

    6 May 2002

    A Newcastle-based packager says mortgage lenders, packagers and mortgage clubs should be doing more to help intermediaries face the challenges posed by industry reforms. Richard Hall, managing director Best Advice Mortgage Centre (BAMC), is urging key industry players to do much more than they currently are to assist brokers and IFAs gain the professional qualifications they need before December's exam deadline. Hall fears huge numbers of intermediaries will have no option ...

  • CBI opens for business in the United States

    9 May 2002

    The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is to step up efforts to promote British business interests in the United States. As part of a move to strengthen its international work, the employers' organisation has based a member of staff in Washington DC.

  • Charcol launches new stepped discount

    10 May 2002

    Charcol is offering an exclusive mortgage particularly suitable for larger loan borrowers. The mortgage, which imposes no maximum loan limit, is discounted at 2% for the first year (giving a current pay rate of 3.95%) followed by a discount of 1.75% for the next one and a half years. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "This loan is ideal for borrowers requiring a large mortgage, say £1m or more. It is quite normal for providers to impose a ...

  • Cheshire Building Society completes mortgage conversion to Fincentric's i-Wealthview Banking

    9 May 2002

    Fincentric Corporation, a global provider of enterprise wealth management and banking software, has announced that the Cheshire Building Society has completed the conversion of its mortgage services to Fincentric's i-Wealthview Banking. The conversion of over 65,000 mortgages to i-Wealthview follows an initial launch of a flexible mortgage loan at the beginning of 2001. The Cheshire will shortly convert its savings and investments on to the i-Wealthview platform. Colin ...

  • CII provides answer to mortgage market qualification deadline

    6 May 2002

    The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has enhanced the study package for its Mortgage Advice Qualification (MAQ) to help advisers to pass the exam and achieve compliance with the requirements of the Mortgage Code Compliance Board (MCCB). The MCCB has made it a requirement that all registered advisers offering advice and recommendations on mortgages must, by the end of 2002, hold a professional mortgage qualification. Those failing to do so will no longer be able to advise unsupervised. ...

  • CII signs up with e-learning solutions provider

    6 May 2002

    The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has signed a long-term contract with PDOL, one of the UK's leading e-learning solutions providers within the financial services sector. PDOL will provide CII with continued system development and support with ed., the CII's new online education and training initiative. ed. consists of a Learning Management System (LMS) and will shortly offer a Compliance and Competency System (CCS). Together these systems will provide comprehensive ...

  • Doshpoint opens online one-stop-shop for 10,000 financial products

    9 May 2002

    Online specialist Doshpoint is launching a new one-stop-shop to provide over 10,000 personal finance products online. The aim is to enable busy consumers to sort out all their financial needs quickly, with no hassle and with none of the usual financial jargon. The online service at - www.doshpoint.com - has the ability to compare all 4,000 UK mortgages - covering mortgage products from 172 providers - as well as over 6,000 financial products right down to medical and ...

  • Email brings expats closer to home, says Abbey National Offshore

    10 May 2002

    A survey of British expatriates by Abbey National Offshore has shown that the internet and email have revolutionised the way they keep in touch with home. Up to 250,000 Brits are expected to emigrate from the UK this year to live overseas, with the majority leaving to retire. Around 75,000 of those will be leaving the UK due to work placements overseas and spouses and partners joining them will account for a further 67,000. The research was conducted to mark the first ...

  • First-time buyers priced out of the housing market in a third of the country

    10 May 2002

    Research from the Halifax shows that owning a home is beyond the reach of a single first-time buyer on average earnings in over one-third of the 451 towns surveyed across Britain. There is a very clear north/south divide too with property out of reach for the average earner in four-fifths of the towns examined in southern England (133 out of the total of 168 surveyed). By contrast, the same is true for only one town in 10 outside the south (30 out of the total of 283 towns surveyed). Th

  • Future Mortgages reduces application fee to £99

    6 May 2002

    Future Mortgages has announced a reduction of the application fee for customers to £99. This special incentive complements the rate incentive of a 1.25% discount of all rates in the current mortgage range. The reduced fee (£149 for buy-to-let, down from £250) includes a valuation of the property arranged at our cost, and includes all fees associated with processing the mortgage application. The incentive comes into effect from Tuesday May 7 ...

  • Gemstones range brings dramatic results for Genesis

    10 May 2002

    Genesis Home Loans has experienced substantial growth in business levels since the launch of its Gemstones range of sub-prime mortgage products just a year ago. Nigel Gardner, director of operations, says: "We are delighted with the response from brokers to our Gemstones products, which is evidence of the success of our fresh approach to lending. It proves the need to provide competitive schemes based on standard lending criteria and rates, but catering for those who have had ...

  • Growing demand for homes with gardens

    7 May 2002

    April's sunny weather has led to a surge in demand for urban homes with gardens, a property website has claimed. Fish4Homes says searches on its site for flats and houses with gardens or roof terraces were 32% higher during April than in March. But the group says people's desire for some outdoor space is not just triggered by the warmer weather, but is part of a growing trend boosted by magazines and celebrities' gardens. It added that having a garden ...

  • HLP joins forces with Equity Protection Policy

    7 May 2002

    Homeloan Partnership, the UK's leading dedicated mortgage network, has formed a strategic alliance with Equity Protection Policy to deliver a new insurance product for homeowners protecting them against a sudden fall in the value of their property. The new product, which will be marketed to consumers via the rapidly growing HLP network of mortgage intermediaries, offers peace of mind to all policyholders - should the need to sell their homes arise due to an economic downturn. ...

  • Homebase appoints First National as credit supplier

    8 May 2002

    The DIY retailer Homebase has appointed First National as its point-of-sale credit supplier. Brian Wilkinson, retail market director of First National, says: "This is a great opportunity for us to build relationships with one of the UK's leading DIY stores. We look forward to working with Homebase over the coming year and enabling its customers to really benefit from point-of-sale finance."

  • Housebuilding figures for March 2002

    10 May 2002

    In March 2002, the government has provisionally estimated that 18,900 dwellings were started in Great Britain compared with 15,000 in March 2001. Completions numbered 13,400 compared with 13,900 the previous year. In the latest three months 49,000 dwellings were started, up 9% on the same three months a year ago, while total completions at 39,000 were at the same level as a year ago. In the latest three months there were an estimated 47,400 total starts, up 2% on the ...

  • House-hunters camp out for bargain properties

    7 May 2002

    House-hunters are spending seven weeks camping in a Portsmouth field for the right-to-buy a new home. The Ministry of Defence is auctioning 48 properties at the end of May on a first-come first-served basis. A queue of caravans and tents has sprung up at the site as buyers compete for a bargain. The Portsmouth News says people patient enough to queue for the semi-detached properties will save up to £40,000 on the asking price. The members of the ...

  • Industry specialists missing out on niche boom times, says TMP

    10 May 2002

    Specialist lenders, packagers and intermediaries are missing out on a major new boom area of the mortgage industry by failing to cater adequately for the needs of distinct niche customer groups, says The Mortgage Partnership. Mortgage packager TMP has recently launched New Start, a product catering for divorced people, and has also been developing a series of other projects that specifically cater for the needs of large specialist groups. The company and its funding partners are ...

  • Interest rates 'unchanged for another month'

    8 May 2002

    Home-buyers can expect interest rates to remain at a 38-year low for at least another month, say economic experts. The Bank of England is likely to reject a rise in the cost of borrowing as it waits for further signs of an economic recovery, they say. But the reprieve for borrowers may be temporary as analysts digest further reports of sharply rising house prices and booming retail sales. Simon Rubinsohn, of fund manager Gerrard, said questions over the strength ...

  • Investors still need to be wary of CGT & IHT liability

    9 May 2002

    Despite the increases to the inheritance tax (IHT) and capital gains tax (CGT) thresholds in the 2002 Budget, these taxes remain a significant liability for many investors, says Beale Dobie. Beale Dobie is a market maker in traded endowment policies (TEPs) and argues that the changes will have affected few investors and that methods of avoiding IHT and CGT remain as important as ever. It points out a number of ways investors can use TEPs to minimise tax liabilities. ...

  • KMC joins Mortgage Promotions' direct access lending panel

    6 May 2002

    Kensington Mortgages has joined Mortgage Promotions' direct access lending panel. Nick Baxter, director of Mortgage Promotions, says: "Kensington Mortgages has always had a good reputation with mortgage writers for its competitive products and excellent service. We are delighted to welcome them to our direct access lending panel, which continues to go from strength to strength to the benefit of our 70 members." Keith Street, director of sales and marketing at Kensington ...

  • Lambeth and Legal & General in financial services link

    8 May 2002

    Lambeth Building Society is offering its customers the opportunity to choose from Legal & General's complete range of protection and long-term savings, and investment products. These include mortgage protection, repayment plans, fixed interest deposits, managed ISAs, unit trusts and pensions. This development results from a financial services link between the two organisations, first announced last November, and now in place at Lambeth's 11 branches in London, Essex, ...

  • Livingston Football Club in partnership with Intelligent Finance

    9 May 2002

    Livingston Football Club has agreed a new two-year partnership with Intelligent Finance, making the bank the main sponsor of the club. Intelligent Finance will also become sponsors of Almondvale's East Stand, to be known, henceforth, as the 'Intelligent Finance Community Stand'. LFC chairman Dominic Keane says: "I'm delighted to welcome Intelligent Finance on board. It represents a perfect partner for Livingston FC: one of West Lothian's largest, single ...

  • Market reforms won't work without more consumer advice and protection

    8 May 2002

    The Financial Services Consumer Panel has described the FSA's proposals to open up the market to a greater variety of retail distribution channels as incomplete and says that it failed to answer key problems in respect of access to financial advice and consumer protection. The panel supports the FSA's decision to overhaul polarisation. It agrees that, as consumers currently do very little shopping around between providers, whether they go to tied or independent advisers, ...

  • Mortgage demand boosts A&L

    10 May 2002

    Perennial bid target Alliance & Leicester today reassured investors with news that it expects to meet growth targets for 2002. The bank, which recently lost its five-year takeover protection, said revenue growth has been strong and should increase by 4% this year. First-quarter growth was more than 5%, driven by robust demand for mortgages and current accounts. The value of mortgage applications in the first four months of the year was 25% higher than in 2001 and gross ...

  • Mortgage Express becomes new lender for Buildloan

    7 May 2002

    This week, self build specialist, Buildstore (www.buildstore.co.uk) has expanded its panel of lenders for BuildLoan, to include Mortgage Express. BuildLoan, launched in December 2001, was developed exclusively for intermediaries, to give them a quality product and service for their self build clients. The Mortgage Express BuildLoan product is a competitively priced 3 year fixed rate loan at 5.99%. BuildLoan enables self builders to borrow up to 95% of the land ...

  • Mortgageforce recruits development head

    7 May 2002

    Mortgage franchiser Mortgageforce has appointed Tricia Batchelor as development manager. She takes responsibility for franchise development in the Midlands and the South, including mortgagesforce's flagship branches on the Isle of Wight, in London Docklands and Swindon. Tricia has worked in sales and development since the 1980s and in financial services since 1994. She has previously held posts in sales management and business development management for DBS Network, ...

  • MyHomeMove Conveyancing opens Operations Centre in Leicester

    9 May 2002

    Home conveyancing service MyHomeMove Conveyancing has picked Leicester as the location for its new Operations Centre. The Centre will be the hub for the MyHomeMove Conveyancing service, which has almost 100 customer service associates in contact with estate agents, mortgage providers and home movers. Operations director Mike Ockendon oversees the day-to-day running of the centre. He was formerly channel director at Barclays Bank. David Harbour, sales director, ...

  • Nationwide says pride in the family tops the league for both genders

    8 May 2002

    An omnibus survey conducted by NOP on behalf of Nationwide Building Society reveals that men's and women's attitudes to their personal achievements are quite similar. British men and women were asked what they were personally proud and ashamed of. From passing your driving test to having a family, candidates were given a selection of examples to choose their most proud and shameful moment. Family values topped the chart for both men and women. Having children made ...

  • New appointment at The ECU Group PLC

    9 May 2002

    The ECU Group PLC, a currency debt management company, has appointed Neil MacKinnon as its head of global FX research and director of institutional services. MacKinnon joins The ECU Group from Merrill Lynch, where he was the chief currency strategist, a role he previously held at Citibank. He has previously acted as a member of The ECU Group's Investment Committee. From 1982 to 1986, MacKinnon was an economist with HM Treasury where he worked for the Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

  • New FSA capital standards announced

    10 May 2002

    The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has set out a proposed new capital adequacy framework designed to promote the financial soundness of the firms it regulates. This would align the amount of capital that a firm is required to hold more closely to the specific risks it faces and it would build on the FSA's minimum requirements; extend the FSA's use of individual capital requirements to a wider range of firms; and place more emphasis on firms assessing the adequacy of ...

  • Northern house prices on the move

    8 May 2002

    The property market in the North of England has remained buoyant during the first quarter of the year, figures from Northern Rock have shown. It says house prices rose by 1.9% in the North East and Cumbria during the three months to the end of March, as the market showed no sign of slowing down. The group says the rise was slightly higher than the 1.7% recorded during the last quarter of 2001, and well up on the 0.3% gain for the three months to the end of March 2001. The ...

  • Norwich Union appoints new director of property and facilities

    9 May 2002

    Norwich Union has appointed a new director of property and facilities. Mark Hughes has joined Norwich Union Central Services (NUCS) from Amey-Lex Consortium, where he worked as a senior consultant on Private Finance Initiatives. Having originally studied and obtained a first in civil engineering, Hughes began a career with the Army as a Royal Engineer officer, fulfilling a succession of command and staff jobs across four continents. He was awarded the OBE for his work ...

  • Ombudsman organises financial services conferences

    7 May 2002

    The Financial Ombudsman Service is organising a series of conferences around the country aimed at people working in financial services. The conferences will include workshops, case studies and presentations by Ombudsmen. The aim is to share information on complaints prevention and complaints, and handling best practice from the ombudsman perspective. The conferences will cost no more than £100 plus VAT per person.

  • Public Sector workers to be housed in pre-fabs

    7 May 2002

    Nurses, teachers and police officers are to be given cheap prefabricated homes to ease the crisis caused by soaring house prices. Housing minister Lord Falconer says thousands of emergency homes will be built on public land by the Government to prevent public sector staff being priced out of the property market. Local Government Secretary Stephen Byers has in the past raised the idea of affordable housing for public sector workers, and £250 million has been set ...

  • Scottish Provident sponsors training and competency workshops

    9 May 2002

    Scottish Provident is sponsoring a series of one-day interactive Training & Competency (T&C) workshops from May until November at venues across the UK. The workshops, which are designed to help IFAs meet the N2 requirements of having a T&C regime in place, are being run by Phil Billingham Associates and, will focus on the key areas involved in running an effective T&C regime, including Recruitment, Running a Risk-Based Scheme, Training and Review & Assessment. The workshops ...

  • Self-employed taxpayers face huge fines for late returns

    10 May 2002

    Self-employed taxpayers could face a massive increase in fines if they file their self-assessment income tax returns late or post them instead of filing them on the internet. Accountancy bodies and tax lawyers have criticised loosely worded clauses in the Finance Bill, which could allow the Inland Revenue to raise fines from £100 to £3,000. This puts individuals in the same category as employers, who can already be fined up to £3,000 for late filing ...

  • Southerners continue to lead the way in housing market confidence

    8 May 2002

    Consumer confidence in the housing market rose to 61% in the South during March 2002, reports the latest Woolwich Mortgage Index. Results also show confidence increased by 13% over the last three months and 9% when compared to March 2001. The South continues to lead the way with average consumer confidence 4% higher than the Midlands and 7% cent higher than the North. However, both the North and Midlands also witnessed large increases in average confidence. ...

  • Sun Bank Mortgages unveils new product range

    9 May 2002

    Sun Bank, the specialist intermediary lender of the Portman Building Society, has announced a new product range. Sun Bank marketing director, Chris Cummings, says: "Brokers are becoming increasing exasperated at having to 'work the system' to ensure creditworthy cases are accepted by lenders. Sun Bank's new product range combined with our common sense approach to lending, means brokers will be able to submit applications knowing they will be assessed on their own merits." Sun ...

  • Swiss Re Life & Health report raises concerns about shortfall in protection

    9 May 2002

    UK sales of term assurance policies in 2001 grew by 14.1% over sales in 2000, claims a survey published this week by Swiss Re Life & Health Ltd, the UK division of the world's largest life and health reinsurer. The TermWatch survey shows that new term sales last year totalled 1,571,062 policies. This figure represents 64.8% of all UK regular premium life policies sold in 2001 - compared with 1995, when term sales made up just 23.8% of the market. Out of this total, 2001 saw ...

  • Tangled web snares British business

    9 May 2002

    UK companies that advertise their products and services on the internet are failing to feel the desired business benefits, figures from the latest twice-yearly Lloyds TSB Commercial Business in Britain survey indicate. In the survey of over 1,700 British companies, almost tw- thirds of businesses - 64% - advertise on the internet, but just 3% report a significant increase in business. Lloyds TSB says the problem can be explained in part by firms' reluctance to receive orders ...

  • UK business loses £18bn a year, says RICS

    8 May 2002

    British industry is throwing away £18bn a year through inefficient use of its property assets, says a report by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). "A Waste of Space", prepared by economist Roger Bootle for RICS, reveals that companies could massively enhance their commercial performance and boost profits by up to 13% by exploiting property sale and leaseback deals, hot desking, eliminating unused space and challenging over-inflated rates bills. RICS ...

  • UK house prices rose by 0.7% last month, says Halifax

    6 May 2002

    Halifax says house prices rose by 0.7% in April, bringing the average price of a UK home to £102,851. The annual rate of house price inflation is now 15.1%, down from 16% in March. Halifax suggests slowing income growth and the threat of unemployment will act as a brake on the market in 2002. It says first-time buyers are continuing to find it difficult to buy property in many parts of the country, due to supply shortages and high prices. Gary ...

  • Which? launches new bank switching campaign

    8 May 2002

    Which? has launched its 'No Interest' campaign to encourage the 23 million of us who have never considered switching banks to think again. The latest Switch with Which? campaign follows the Which? 'Tell Sid to Switch' intervention in January, which encouraged people to switch gas suppliers following the latest price rise from British Gas. Which? took its new 'No Interest' campaign to the heart of London's financial district by launching it at Bank ...

  • Year of change and a new role for the OFT

    10 May 2002

    Restructuring, the introduction of new consumer powers and the first decisions under the Competition Act were among the highlights of the year for the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in 2001. John Vickers, director-general of fair trading, says in the OFT's 2001 Annual Report: "This has been an exciting and important year for the OFT and a period of transformation - a process that began some years ago and which the Enterprise Bill now before Parliament will take further. "The ...

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