Mortgage Strategy
8 January 2007

  • Help for overseas investors

    8 Jan 2007

    An online service for overseas property investors has been launched to help people find the best places to invest their money.Invest2Gain.co.uk helps potential investors make informed choices on where to put their money to get the best returns by providing professional and unbiased financial analysis of investment opportunities overseas.

  • Shoe competition winner picked

    8 Jan 2007

    The winner of Where's Alan's Shoe from Mortgage Strategy December 18 2006 was Emma Peplow, sales quality review manager at Personal Touch Financial Services. Jimmy Choo vouchers to the value of £250 are in the post.

  • Skipton extends services in NI

    8 Jan 2007

    Skipton has extended its mortgage services to Northern Ireland.The society, which already lends in the province through its subsidiary Amber Homeloans, will now also offer its products to borrowers through mortgage brokers, estate agents and financial advisers.

  • Spokesman for Freehold

    8 Jan 2007

    Terry Pritchard has been appointed spokesman for the Freehold packagers' association while Paul Brett, who founded the association in 2005, moves on to focus on running new lender FML. Pritchard, whose company Chase UK is a founder member of Freehold, is part of the steering committee formed to provide direction to the association. Brett remains a Freehold member through his packaging firm Fastcom, as well as being a member of the steering committee.

  • 100 days to go before HIPs become reality

    9 Jan 2007

    There are now just 100 working days to go before Home Information Packs become mandatory on June 1.

  • 2007 Will be yet another strong year

    8 Jan 2007

    The British obsession with house prices continues unabated, with most newspapers coming up with predictions for the coming year.

  • A great time to get involved with HIPs

    8 Jan 2007

    Last year was an interesting one from a Home Information Pack perspective, with more ups and downs than a big dipper.

  • A&L complies with Basle II

    8 Jan 2007

    Alliance & Leicester says it has become the first UK bank to comply with Basle II regulations. Basle II, which imposes regulatory capital requirements to lending risks, will affect most lenders next year but smaller banks and building societies are looking to comply now.

  • A&L relaunches fixed and trackers products

    10 Jan 2007

    Alliance & Leicester is relaunching some of its fixed rate mortgages and its near prime trackers.

  • A&L surprised at base rate rise

    11 Jan 2007

    Alliance & Leicester says the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates to 5.25% in January was a surprise and will signal a "tightening of belts".

  • Abbey application fee policy angers broker

    8 Jan 2007

    A broker who found his client had been charged 90 after their case was declined has slammed Abbey's valuation administration fees.

  • Abbey for Intermediaries launches desktop alert service

    10 Jan 2007

    Abbey for Intermediaries is today launching an instant desktop alert service. The free service delivers news and product alerts direct to broker PC desktops. It can be downloaded from the Abbey for Intermediaries website. A spokesman for Abbey says desktop alerts are easy to install and brokers can choose the updates they want. The service will be available for downloading from Wednesday January 10.

  • Abbey questions MPC's lack of rate rise warning

    11 Jan 2007

    Abbey has questioned the Monetary Policy Committees decision to raise the base rate to 5.25% after it gave no warning in previous meetings.

  • Accessibility deteriorated 230% since 1996

    11 Jan 2007

    The cost of becoming a home purchaser deteriorated by 13.8% in 2006 and has worsened by almost 230% since the low point in 1996.

  • Accord Mortgages has not raised SVR by more than BoE

    8 Jan 2007

    From Linda WillI was a little surprised to see in Peter Mounty's comments (Mortgage Strategy December 4) that Accord Mortgages has been criticised for raising its SVR by more than the Bank of England rise - in fact, very surprised as we have not. We raised our base rate by 0.25% on December 4. Linda Will Managing director Accord Mortgages Bradford

  • Advantage appoints Green as divisional sales manager

    9 Jan 2007

    Advantage has appointed Sara Green to divisional sales manager for the South of England.

  • Advice can make a critical difference

    8 Jan 2007

    The news that one in 17 people lose their homes after being diagnosed with cancer was the most shocking message of many that came out of recent Macmillan Cancer Support research.

  • Amber unveils fixed deals

    8 Jan 2007

    Amber Homeloans has launched a range of three-year fixed rate products. The deals are at 5.99% full status and 6.09% self-cert, and are available for borrowers with up to £15,000 worth of County Court judgments against them.

  • AMI concerned by FSA mortgage advice findings

    8 Jan 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it's concerned by the Financial Services Authority's findings on the quality of intermediaries' mortgage advice.

  • AMI concerned by FSA mortgage advice findings

    8 Jan 2007

    &CThe Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it's concerned by the Financial Services Authority's findings on the quality of intermediaries' mortgage advice.

  • AMI concerned by FSA mortgage advice findings

    8 Jan 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it's concerned by the Financial Services Authority's findings on the quality of intermediaries' mortgage advice.

  • AMI concerned by FSA mortgage advice findings

    8 Jan 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it's concerned by the Financial Services Authority's findings on the quality of intermediaries' mortgage advice.

  • AMI publishes equity release guidance notes

    10 Jan 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has published detailed guidance notes for intermediaries on advising and arranging equity release products. The objective of the notes is to assist firms who are considering entering this growing market to understand all aspects of the advice process, regulatory requirements and legal considerations.

  • AMI says lenders should take blame for bad deals

    8 Jan 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has called for lenders to take responsibility for flaws in the design of mortgage products.

  • Analyst tips Euro commercial property as "money-spinner"

    9 Jan 2007

    European commercial properties may be a bigger money-spinner than UK alternatives, predicts fund manager and commercial property analyst Seven Dials.

  • Another great year for intermediaries

    8 Jan 2007

    As we launch into another year, resolutions will be made and broken. Some of those resolutions will be personal and some professional, and brokers and lenders will be hoping that 2007 will be a robust year.

  • Are you looking for a mortgage or a remortgage in 2007?

    8 Jan 2007

    The New Year is well underway and it is traditional at this point to reassess priorities and aspirations. For some this will mean gym memberships, faddy diets and trips abroad. For others it will mean buying their first home or freshening up their finances with a remortgage.So this week Mortgage Strategy asks: Are you looking for a mortgage or remortgage in 2007?

  • ARLA predicts buy-to-let stability

    12 Jan 2007

    The Association of Residential Letting Agents has predicted that the fundamentals of the buy-to-let market will remain unchanged following yesterday's base rate rise to 5.25%.

  • Base rate increase necessary, says Ernst & Young

    11 Jan 2007

    The increase in the base rate was needed to bring inflation in line with the Bank of England's 2% target, says Ernst & Young.

  • Base rate rise "no surprise" says Skipton

    11 Jan 2007

    Skipton says the strength of economic data in December means it comes as no suprise that base rates have been hiked in Janaury, a month earlier than expected.

  • BDM of the week

    8 Jan 2007

    You know where you stand with Neil Molyneux, and we can be sure that the time he spends with us is intended for the mutual benefit of our companies, says Barney Drake

  • BDS reports 500% increase in AR members

    11 Jan 2007

    BDS Mortgage Group says it has signed up over 100 appointed respresenatives in the last year, a 500% increase from this time last year.

  • BIBA supports FSA's PPI plans

    11 Jan 2007

    The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has lent its support to the Financial Services Authority’s announcement that its plans to strengthen sales practices in the Payment Protection Insurance market have entered a new phase.

  • BM Solutions scraps signed declarations

    10 Jan 2007

    BM Solutions has revealed it is removing its signed standard declaration from January 15. The lender says it will be the first lender not to require a written customer signature for a mortgage to complete.

  • BoE raises base rate to 5.25%

    11 Jan 2007

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has voted to increase the base rate 0.25 percentage points to 5.25%. Industry pundits largely expected the MPC to hold rates in Janaury, before a predicted rate rise in February. The last interest rate rise was in November. The MPC says an increase in interest rates to 5.25% was necessary to bring CPI inflation back to the target in the medium term.The minutes of the meeting will be published Wednesday January 24.

  • BoE serious about keeping inflation low, says Lloyds TSB

    11 Jan 2007

    The Bank of Englands decision to raise rates in January is a sign that it is serious about keeping inflation low, says Lloyds TSB.

  • BoS launches low rent calculation buy-to-let

    11 Jan 2007

    Bank of Scotland Mortgages is launching a range of buy-to-let products with a low rental income calculation.

  • Break the boom and bust service cycle

    8 Jan 2007

    It's a new year offering new challenges and I bet you can't wait to get stuck in. But hold on. Perhaps we ought to do things differently in 2007.

  • Broad money figures prompt rate rise fears

    8 Jan 2007

    Annual UK broad money growth at the end of 2006 shot up to 14% - the highest since 1990 - prompting fears of further interest rate rises to combat inflation.

  • Broker banned for not disclosing conviction

    8 Jan 2007

    A broker who failed to disclose a previous conviction for conspiracy to obtain property by deception has been banned by the Financial Services Authority.

  • Brokers must provide clients with a choice of solicitors

    8 Jan 2007

    From Alan Dring

  • Burgess' double standards were breathtaking to me

    8 Jan 2007

    From Andrew Weir

  • Buyers prefer detatched houses

    8 Jan 2007

    Detached properties were the most popular choice for buyers in 2006, says Norwich and Peterborough.The number of loans taken out by N&P customers on detached properties remained as high in 2006 as 2005, with the figure increasing by just under 1% to 35%.The popularity of semi-detached houses dropped slightly, showing a reduction of just under 2%.

  • Buy-to-let default ratios outperform expectations

    9 Jan 2007

    Fitch Ratings says default ratios on buy-to-let properties are performing better than expected.

  • Carr-Smith joins C-NLIS board

    8 Jan 2007

    The Council for the National Land Information Service has appointed a former member of the British and Irish Ombudsman for Estate Agents to its executive board.Stephen Carr-Smith will help the C-NLIS develop standards for the property search industry, ensuring that home buyers are protected and receive up-to-date and authoritative information.

  • Cascading could land brokers in deep water

    8 Jan 2007

    Single lender cascading has the potential to be the next mis-selling scandal, fuelling the sort of compensation feeding frenzy that we've seen with endowment policies. We must act now.

  • CETA targets brokers angered by Paymentshield

    9 Jan 2007

    CETA is targeting brokers angered by Paymentshields decision to stop paying trail commission to brokers no longer regulated with the launch of a home insurance product.

  • Cheval grows by 55% in 2006

    11 Jan 2007

    Cheval has reported net sales growth of 55% in 2006. It attributes the increase to its approach to bridging, with LTVs viewed only as a guideline and not an obstacle.

  • Choose your partners with great care

    8 Jan 2007

    Choosing the right partner can be fraught with difficulties. You only have to look at divorce statistics to see how it can go wrong. Fortunately, choosing a packaging partner in secured loans doesn't have to be so fraught and time spent researching packagers can save time and heartache down the road.

  • Christmas turkeys can get stuffed

    8 Jan 2007

    I'm sure I'm not alone in being relieved that Christmas is over. Its exit was made even more joyous as it was accompanied by an exodus of family members who for five days occupied our home, munching their locust-like way through enough provisions to bring significant famine relief to the Third World.

  • CML warns tracker borrowers of further rate rises

    11 Jan 2007

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has warned borrowers on tracker products that interest rates are expected to rise further.

  • Commercial First appoints head of strategy and business change

    8 Jan 2007

    Commercial First has appointed Mark Lester to the newly created role of head of strategy and business change.

  • Commercial First reports 200% growth rate

    12 Jan 2007

    Commercial First has reported a growth rate of over 200% in further advance lending since it set up a team to service this business six months ago.

  • Commercial First streamlines its requirements

    8 Jan 2007

    Commercial First has changed its loan processing requirements and procedures to speed up the flow of information to brokers.

  • Commerical First launches quick product guide

    10 Jan 2007

    Commercial First has launched a quick reference product guide.

  • Complete extends underwriting team

    10 Jan 2007

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services has made four new appointments to its underwriting team.

  • Consumers should keep cool over rate rise, says BSA

    11 Jan 2007

    The Building Society Association has urged consumers to keep their cool following the shock base rate rise.

  • Coventry unveils online range

    8 Jan 2007

    Coventry has launched an online-only sub-prime product range via Premier Mortgage Service. Members of PMS can take advantage of a portfolio of three-year fixed rates in Coventry's near prime, extra-light and light ranges.

  • Crown earns high rating

    8 Jan 2007

    Fitch Ratings has given Crown Mortgage Management UK a positive rating, with its UK commercial mortgage ratings being the second highest possible.Crown manages mortgage outsourcing for organisations including the Royal Bank of Scotland.

  • CurriculumVitae

    8 Jan 2007

    I'm a golf nut and I also love cooking.

  • Dear Delia

    8 Jan 2007

    My client separated from her partner and would like to buy out his share of their two-bedroom property. Unfortunately she doesn't earn a lot and doesn't want to borrow huge income multiples. Are there any products that she can use or do you have any suggestions as to how she can do this?

  • Debt problems will always be with us

    8 Jan 2007

    Already the doom-sayers are declaring we will see more personal insolvencies this year.

  • Diamond completes AIM listing

    8 Jan 2007

    Diamond Lifestyle has become a quoted company on the stockmarket through the Alternative Investment Market. The specialist in the Right To Buy market is planning to expand its service in 2007 by offering intermediaries a Right To Buy fulfilment service.

  • Diamond Lifestyle achieves its AIM

    8 Jan 2007

    Diamond Lifestyle has successfully completed its move to become quoted on the Alternative Investment Market with the reverse takeover of an existing AIM company called Enterprise North

  • Don't miss the green boat

    8 Jan 2007

    The Building Societies Association has warned that len-ders must jump on the green mortgage bandwagon now if they want to cash in on the predicted boom in eco-friendly housing.

  • Don't refer MPPI to Competition Commission, says CML

    8 Jan 2007

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders says mortgage payment protection insurance should be excluded from the Office of Fair Trading's referral of payment protection insurance to the Competition Commission.

  • Easier2move opens remortgage January Sale

    8 Jan 2007

    Easier2move has started its remortgage coveyancing sale. Easier2move is offering its conveyancing services on remortgage cases for 299 all-inclusive. Introducers will still earn 100 commission on completion. This offer applies to both new and existing introducers and is available on an individual case basis. Karen Babington, Sales and Marketing Director for Easier2Move commented: Theres nothing better than snapping up a great deal in the January sales with a conveyancing ...

  • End of the B2L honeymoon in sight

    8 Jan 2007

    Kevin Paterson takes a weekly look at the latest developments in the market and brings you what's hot and what's not in the world of mortgages

  • Equity release sector is in good shape

    8 Jan 2007

    Final lending figures for 2006 are expected to show a positive move was made by the equity release market with current estimates being in the region of 1.5bn - the first significant increase we have seen in the past few years.

  • E-trading system for Nationwide

    8 Jan 2007

    Nationwide will launch an e-trading system on January 16 to service it and its subsidiary UCB Home Loans.

  • European Commission sets 3i and Countrywide deadline

    9 Jan 2007

    The European Commission says the deadline for its inquiry into private equity group 3i's proposed 940m acquisition of Countrywide is set for February 8.

  • Exclusive Connections adds Advantage to panel

    9 Jan 2007

    Exclusive Connections has added Advantage to its lender panel and launched the ADV sub-prime range along with Advantages first-time buyer product, Flexishare. Main features of the sub-prime range include Right to Buy available up to 90% LTV with no additional loading and self-cert allowed up to 90% LTV.

  • Exclusive Connections launches in Northern Ireland

    8 Jan 2007

    Exclusive Connections has revealed it is setting up a branded office in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

  • Financial guru advises London shoppers on PPI

    8 Jan 2007

    Financial guru Martin Lewis took to the streets for Tonight with Trevor McDonald last week to spread the word about his payment protection insurance LoanBuster campaign.

  • First And Last

    8 Jan 2007

    Helen Hymos, lender relationship manager, PMPA

  • First-timers in London face 3% Stamp Duty

    8 Jan 2007

    Many first-time buyers in London may automatically find themselves in the 3% Stamp Duty bracket with the price of an average first-time property in the capital exceeding 250,000.

  • Freedom completes £20m sale to Saffron

    9 Jan 2007

    Freedom Lending has completed a £20m portfolio sale to Crocus Homeloans, a subsidiary of the Saffron.

  • Freehold appoints Pritchard as spokesman

    8 Jan 2007

    Terry Pritchard has been appointed as the new spokesman for the Freehold.

  • FSA focuses on PPI dabblers

    11 Jan 2007

    The Financial Services Authority has revealed a new phase of its work on payment protection insurance that will include looking closely at dabblers in this market.

  • FSA needs to help small firms says blackandwhite.co.uk

    9 Jan 2007

    Blackandwhite.co.uk says the Financial Services Authority needs to provide a lot more support for small firms and sole traders

  • FSA urges fims to improve mortgage advice

    8 Jan 2007

    The Financial Services Authority has called on mortgage advisers to improve their processes, after discovering that just one third of firms had robust processes to provide customers with suitable advice.

  • Gadhia is latest big name to leave RBS

    8 Jan 2007

    The Royal Bank of Scotland lost another high profile name in the run-up to Christmas with the resignation of director of consumer finance Jayne-Anne Gadhia.

  • Game plan

    8 Jan 2007

    The advent of broker alliance Concordia has led to predictions of the imminent death of mortgage clubs but they are still going strong and many have big ambitions, says Harvey JonesThe advent of broker alliance Concordia has led to predictions of the imminent death of mortgage clubs but they are still going strong and many have big ambitions, says Harvey Jones

  • Gartmores MultiManager funds questions rate rise

    11 Jan 2007

    Gartmores MultiManager funds has questioned if the Bank of England knows something the rest of the market doesnt following its decision to raise interest rates.

  • Gearing up for a competitive year

    8 Jan 2007

    The end of one year and the beginning of the next is always an interesting time in the mortgage world as lenders' thoughts turn to hitting the targets in the new year.

  • Get off the hamster wheel and think

    8 Jan 2007

    My new year's resolutions include taking stock of the business regularly, getting out more, revisiting existing clients and not undervaluing my services, says Sue Read, consultant, James Marshal & Co

  • GHL switches sourcing system

    8 Jan 2007

    Global Home Loans has chosen Home Buyer Systems as its primary mortgage sourcing system, with Trigold and Mortgage Brain losing out.

  • GMAC-RFC set to spark buy-to-let price war

    8 Jan 2007

    GMAC-RFC has unveiled a new buy-to-let tracker that it predicts will force other lenders to respond to or risk losing market share.

  • Goldsmith Williams sponsors MS Summit

    10 Jan 2007

    Conveyancing firm Goldsmith Williams is to sponsor Mortgage Strategys Packager Summit in the south of France.

  • Government to invest 500m in social housing

    10 Jan 2007

    The government is to pump nearly 500m into social housing investment in 2007.

  • Halifax contacts clients direct to arrange transfers

    8 Jan 2007

    From Jason Simpson

  • Halifax to increase SVR

    12 Jan 2007

    Halifax has announced it will be increasing its SVR from 7.00% to 7.25% following the base rate rise to 5.25%. The increase for existing borrowers will come into effect at the same time as the increase in savings rates on February 1.

  • HBOS staff stand by for windall

    8 Jan 2007

    Nearly 15,000 HBOS employees stand to make substantial gains when two HBOS Sharesave schemes mature this week.Employees will receive a tax-free bonus based on their monthly savings which they can either take as cash or use to buy HBOS shares at a discounted price.

  • Heritable appoints marketing director

    11 Jan 2007

    Heritable Bank has appointed Alan Gilmour to the newly created role of marketing director.

  • Heritable Bank joins AMI

    8 Jan 2007

    Heritable Bank has become an associate member of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries. Heritable Bank chief executive Mark Sismey-Durrant says: "Supporting AMI's work on behalf of brokers is important."

  • High street lenders slammed for increasing debt

    8 Jan 2007

    High street lenders are piling further debt upon their customers, says britishinsurance.com

  • HoC bolsters Q4 network growth

    8 Jan 2007

    The number of AR firms in mortgage networks is growing but expansion among smaller networks is slow which might provoke a strategic rethink over time, says Richard Griffiths

  • Home & Capital appoints new chief executive

    9 Jan 2007

    Home & Capital Trust has appointed Graeme Marshall as its new chief executive.

  • Hometrack appoints CEO

    8 Jan 2007

    Hometrack has appointed Simon Allen as chief executive officer.For the past seven years he has been vice-president of international operations at Capital One.

  • House price inflation to slow in 2007

    8 Jan 2007

    The rate of house price increases is likely to slow in the coming year as the recent base rate rises gradually have an effect on borrowers' finances, says Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol

  • Housing equity outweighs mortgage debt

    12 Jan 2007

    Halifax has calculated that housing equity significantly outweighs mortgage debt with UK private stock now worth 3.8 trillion.

  • HSBC move sparks speculation over mortgage distribution

    8 Jan 2007

    HSBC's decision to distribute protection products via third party distributors has sparked speculation that it could soon embrace the intermediary market and make mortgage products available to brokers for the first time.

  • I don't understand Richard Griffiths' stance on VAT

    8 Jan 2007

    From Ian Dalzell

  • I forecast that forecasts will be wrong

    8 Jan 2007

    It's the start of the new year and the media is full of predictions about the housing market in 2007. Everyone has a view. If you're worried about making predictions to clients about the housing market and getting it wrong, fear not - the experts will get it wrong as well.

  • Industry divided over base rate rise

    9 Jan 2007

    Pink’s 1000 index survey has revealed that the industry is divided over whether the Bank of England will raise interest rates in Q1 of 2007.

  • InterBay offers commercial mortgage seminars

    10 Jan 2007

    InterBay is launching a series of business building seminars to give advice to intermediaries on commercial mortgages.

  • Interbay predicts further rate rises

    11 Jan 2007

    Interbay has predicted that the surprise base rate rise will not be the only rate rise in 2007.

  • Interest turns to interest-only deals

    8 Jan 2007

    With the FSA's thematic work on interest-only mortgages poised for publication the focus is on these deals so advisers must ensure they are playing it straight, says Bill Warren

  • Intermediaries must embrace technology, says IMLA

    8 Jan 2007

    Research from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association shows that although intermediaries are embracing technology there is still more to be done. Its latest survey of technology use by intermediaries gives a number of clear pointers as to trends within the sector.

  • IT advances mean change all round

    8 Jan 2007

    The technological advances being made by lenders could mean that brokers, packagers and networks have to rethink their panel strategies, says Frank Eve

  • IVAs could boost sub-prime

    8 Jan 2007

    Cobalt Capital says a boom in personal insolvencies in 2007 could increase competition in the sub-prime market and blur the margin between prime and sub-prime rates.

  • Jobs slashed at Saxon as Morgan Stanley takes over

    8 Jan 2007

    US investment banking giant Morgan Stanley has slashed 170 jobs at its newly acquired sub-prime unit Saxon Mortgage as part of a restructuring move.

  • L&G to hold mortgage business forums

    10 Jan 2007

    Legal & General will be holding a series of regional business forums for its business partner firms.

  • Landlords predict rising portfolios in 2007

    9 Jan 2007

    Four in 10 of all landlords believe that the value of their portfolio will increase in 2007, says Paragon Mortgages. A recent survey of landlords by Paragon found that a further half believed their portfolio value would remain stable, while less than one in 12 believed their portfolio value would decrease.

  • Leadbay registers 4,000th mortgage adviser

    11 Jan 2007

    Leadbay has registered its 4,000th mortgage adviser, continuing its growth since its launch two years ago.

  • London leads repossession growth

    9 Jan 2007

    Fitch Ratings says London is leading repossession growth, with repossessions in the capital at a level not seen since 1996.

  • Manchester brokers get door-to-door service

    8 Jan 2007

    Trustguard Manchester has launched a door-to-door packaging service for brokers.

  • Marketwatch

    8 Jan 2007

    Swaps have posted significant increases since the start of December. Short-term rates are up about 0.25% and longer term swaps are up almost 0.3%. I expect to see fixed rates increasing sharply over the coming weeks so get cracking with any fixed rate applications.

  • McGeough in amicable split from Advantage

    8 Jan 2007

    Harry McGeough has resigned his position as head of Northern Ireland and Scotland for Advantage after only three months.

  • Me and my boat

    8 Jan 2007

    After a succession of luxury cars I felt the time was right to branch out and get into boats. My 43ft Regal 3880 Flybridge Sedan is a home from home for my family, says Mark Bowler

  • MEX boosts sales operation

    8 Jan 2007

    Mortgage Express has appointed a head of national sales and 12 managers nationwide.Claire Ridgewell, who has been with MEX for 12 years, has been appointed to the newly created position of head of national sales.

  • More immigration could boost B2L

    8 Jan 2007

    The entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the European Union last week sparked optimistic predictions of a buoyant buy-to-let market in 2007.

  • Mortgage Next launches fixed buy-to-let

    11 Jan 2007

    Mortgage Next has launched a one-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage, funded by Mortgage Trust.

  • Mortgage Next launches remortgage range

    10 Jan 2007

    Mortgage Next has launched a range of two-year fixed rate and tracker remortgage products.

  • Mortgages PLC extends free valuations offer

    9 Jan 2007

    Mortgages PLC has extended its free valuations scheme until the end of 2007.

  • Mortgages PLC joins L&G mortgage club

    12 Jan 2007

    Mortgages PLC has been appointed to the Legal & General mortgage club as part of a housing and insurance partnership arrangement.

  • MTE's golden deal draws closer

    8 Jan 2007

    Following a flurry of activity over the Christmas period, transactions via the Mortgage Trading Exchange now stand at 467,885.This means the lucky winner of a luxury trip to New York is now just 32,115 transactions away from the so-called golden 500,000th transaction. MTE is predicting that the 500,000th transaction will be processed at the end of January but adds that if transactions continue to increase at their present rate it could be sooner.

  • My key word for 2007 is standards

    8 Jan 2007

    It would be obvious of me to use this opportunity to look ahead to the next six months and map out the challenges the industry can expect to face. You may call me Mr Obvious.

  • My prediction is that many things will remain the same among industry pundits

    8 Jan 2007

    From Tim Lee

  • N4 introduces desktop valuations

    8 Jan 2007

    N4 Solutions has introduced desktop valuations via Hometrack as part of its mortgage point-of-sale software.

  • Nationwide adviser crowned slimming queen

    8 Jan 2007

    A Nationwide employee has been crowned slimmer of the year after shedding nearly 10 stone in nine months.

  • Nationwide reveals e-trading launch date

    12 Jan 2007

    Nationwide and UCB Home Loans has confirmed the launch of an online intermediary trading platform will take place on January 16.

  • Nationwide to increase rates of variable products

    12 Jan 2007

    Nationwide is increasing the rates on all of its variable rate and tracker mortgage products by 0.25% on February 1.

  • Network Data appoints director

    12 Jan 2007

    Network Data Holdings has appointed Terry Young as group director for commercial and strategic development.

  • Only fair to praise service at Alliance and Leicester

    8 Jan 2007

    From Andrew Botte

  • Paalead.com slashes leads price

    9 Jan 2007

    Paaleads.com is offering half-price mortgage leads until the end of February across its standard scheme.

  • Paragon reports 82% buy-to-let business boom

    10 Jan 2007

    Paragon has released its 2006 annual report which shows that buy-to-let loan advances have increased by 82.2% to 3,038.3m.

  • Pink in search for new MD

    8 Jan 2007

    Pink Home Loans is in the process of recruiting a managing director following Tony Jones' resignation last week.

  • PMS generates 1bn for MEX

    9 Jan 2007

    Mortgage Express has revealed that Premier Mortgage Service generated 1bn of applications across its product range in 2006.

  • Political spotlight on empty B2L properties

    8 Jan 2007

    The phrase 'empty homes' used to describe abandoned properties in rundown areas which were uninhabitable and certainly not fit to rent out.

  • Portman revises fixed rates

    8 Jan 2007

    Portman has made a number of changes to its fixed rate mortgage range following the recent rise in swap rates.

  • Primrose appointed to Virtual Net's revised panel

    8 Jan 2007

    Primrose has been appointed to the new limited packager panel of Virtual Net following the online IFA network's review of the packagers it uses.

  • PTFS rated among UK's fastest growing firms

    8 Jan 2007

    Personal Touch Financial Services has been rated one of the fastest growing companies in the UK.

  • Rate hike could spell disaster, warns Citizens Advice

    11 Jan 2007

    Citizens Advice has warned the increase in interest rates to 5.25% could spell disaster for people who are already struggling to meet their mortgage repayments.

  • Rate rise good for savings culture, says NS&I

    11 Jan 2007

    The Bank of Englands decision to raise interest rates will prompt an improvement in the savings culture across the country, says National Savings and Investments.

  • Rate rise good news for first-timers, says firstrung.com

    12 Jan 2007

    Firstrung.com says that the recent interest rate rise to 5.25% could be good news for first-time buyers wanting to get on the property ladder.

  • Rate rise not all "doom and gloom" says GMAC-RFC

    11 Jan 2007

    The interest rate rise doesn’t have to spell “doom and gloom” for intermediaries says GMAC-RFC.

  • Rate rise will hit first-timers hardest, says Linden

    11 Jan 2007

    Linden Homes has warned that the rate rise will hit first-time buyers hard and is likely to price many of them out of the market altogether.

  • Rate rise will hurt non-fixed rate borrowers, says Hamptons

    11 Jan 2007

    Hamptons Mortgages has warned that the interest rate rise will hurt homeowners on tight budgets and those that arent on fixed rates.

  • Rate rise will spark repossessions, warns actuarial consultancy

    11 Jan 2007

    Actuarial consultancy Punter Southall has warned that the surprise rate rise may spell further misery to homeowners who are battling against repossession.

  • RBS IP launches online applications for intermediaries

    8 Jan 2007

    RBS Intermediary Partners has launched a website that allows its intermediary partners to submit applications online for all four brands.

  • REITs could herald more investment

    8 Jan 2007

    Real Estate Investment Trusts have been hotly tipped to lead the way in allowing people to invest in any property - even their local pub.

  • Rental yields hit five-year annual low

    9 Jan 2007

    New rental yield data released by Landlord Mortgages reveals that rental yields hit a five-year annual low in 2006.

  • RICS teams up with Xit2

    11 Jan 2007

    The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has revealed it will use Xit2 systems to help it implement and run its home inspector certification scheme facility.

  • Rightmove's revenue up 85%

    9 Jan 2007

    Rightmoves trading update for 2006 reveals that revenue for the full year is expected to hit about 33.6m, an 85% increase from 2005.

  • Rise came to quick, says propertyfinder.com

    11 Jan 2007

    Propertyfinder.com has warned that the surprise rate rise will mean that the housing market will not be able to cool gradually.

  • Rise will lead to more misery, says Lib Dems

    11 Jan 2007

    The Liberal Democrat Party has hit out at the government in the face of the latest rate rise, arguing that 5.25% base rate will lead to more indebtness in the UK

  • SAGA to offer equity release advice

    11 Jan 2007

    SAGA has created the SAGA equity release service, an advice service for those considering releasing equity in their property.

  • Scotland tops 2006 for housing hotspot

    12 Jan 2007

    Scotland proved the most popular destination for new home buyers in 2006, fuelling unprecedented price rises.

  • Scots will learn from others' mistakes

    8 Jan 2007

    Last year saw the housing boom continue on a seemingly unstoppable spiral with Nationwide putting the annual price increase at 10.5%.

  • Should single premium mortgage payment protection insurance be abolished?

    8 Jan 2007

    Our experts disagree, with one saying single premium cover is a rip-off and the other saying it gives valuable protection at an affordable price.

  • Skipton to host NI roadshow

    12 Jan 2007

    Skipton is inviting brokers to a series of roadshows in Belfast and Londonderry.

  • SMS appoints Advantage to panel

    8 Jan 2007

    Solent Mortgage Services has appointed Advantage to its lending panel.

  • St James's Place CEO steps down

    8 Jan 2007

    St James's Place says Mark Lund has stepped down as chief executive and is leaving the group to seek a fresh challenge. The company says it made a joint decision with Lund that he should step down.

  • Straw Poll: Brokers evenly split on lender retention policies

    8 Jan 2007

    Mortgage Strategy Online readers are evenly split on whether the remortgage market will fall in 2007 because of lenders' retention policies, with 49% saying yes and 51% saying no.This week, Mortgage Strategy asks: "Do you expect the UK housing market to remain buoyant in 2007?"

  • Strong sides absent from Premiership

    8 Jan 2007

    Banks are cheapest for mortgages according to one of those surveys of annual costs that emerge at this time of the year.

  • Sub-prime boom predicted

    8 Jan 2007

    Moneyfacts.co.uk is predicting a blooming sub-prime market in 2007 but warns that customers need clearer classifications if they are to embrace products. The prediction, made by a panel of moneyfacts experts, forecasts more lenders entering the growing sub-prime market in 2007.

  • Success is about profit, not numbers

    8 Jan 2007

    Quantity of appointed representatives is not as important as quality when it comes to network success - profitability is the ultimate judge, says Sally Laker, managing director, Mortgage Intelligence

  • TFC revamps its website

    8 Jan 2007

    TFC Homeloans has revamped its website. The website now features a products and services section and also has links to TFC Secured Loans and TFC Commercial.

  • The Mortgage Mole

    8 Jan 2007

    Digging the dirt in the mortgage world.

  • This Week's Dilenma

    8 Jan 2007

    I have small mortgage brokerage and have also traditionally sold payment protection insurance. As far as I am aware I am trading compliantly but I keep seeing news items about firms getting large fines for selling PPI in a non-compliant way. Should I give up selling PPI? I can't afford to lose the income and advising on mortgages is the most sensible time to sell PPI but I can't risk a huge fine that will put me out of business.

  • This will be the year of the distributor

    8 Jan 2007

    A little over a week into 2007 and already the doomsayers are out in force. If you believe what you read in some of the popular financial press interest rates are due to rise at the next meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee.

  • Title Deed

    8 Jan 2007

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services was foun-ded in 1993 by Damian Cain, Mike Hill and Tony Salentino. The company wanted to offer a packaging proposition to brokers that was a one-stop shop for prime, sub-prime and second charge secured loans.

  • TMP to help chldren's hospice

    8 Jan 2007

    Claire House Children's Hospice is The Mortgage Partnership's charity of choice to support in 2007. TMP has pledged its support for the whole year.The new year is wellunderway and it is traditional at this point to reassess priorities and aspirations. For some this will mean gym memberships, faddy diets and trips abroad. For others it will mean buying their first home or freshening up their finances with a remortgage.So, this week Mortgage Strategy asks...

  • Tories look at extending Community Land Trusts

    8 Jan 2007

    The Conservative Party has set up a task force to investigate how the extension of Community Land Trusts could help more first-time buyers get on the property ladder.

  • Tough on cover

    8 Jan 2007

    Regulation has been good for firms that sell insurance along with mortgages but the FSA must clamp down on those not playing by the rules, says Simon Burgess

  • Tracker borrowers should transfer, urges Moneysupermarket.com

    11 Jan 2007

  • Tracker deal via PMPA

    8 Jan 2007

    BM Solutions has launched a tracker product via the Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance.The product is available for self-cert to 90% LTV on a maximum loan of £350,00, 80% LTV to £500,00 and 75% LTV to £1m.

  • TV star to front leads campaign

    8 Jan 2007

    Ruth Badger, runner-up in BBC's reality television show The Apprentice, will be the face of a marketing campaign to generate leads for the financial services industry.

  • Underperforming firms to face FSA fines

    8 Jan 2007

    Firms offering mortgage advice could face public censure and have fines imposed on them should they fail to improve their processes, the Financial Services Authority has warned.

  • U-turn on PTA is a break for brokers

    8 Jan 2007

    January is normally a good month for serious business planning for the forthcoming year. But this year, brokers should add another activity - sadly, this is a regulatory review because of yet another government U-turn.

  • Variety is not the key to B2L success

    8 Jan 2007

    Last year saw a huge increase in the number of buy-to-let products on offer. The Business Mortgage Company has some 384 products listed, representing a massive uplift from the 156 on offer just two years ago - and we still have a similar number of lenders on our panel compared with two years ago.

  • Victoria warns of rate rises on the high street

    12 Jan 2007

    High street lenders will waste no time in passing on the Bank of Englands base rate increase to borrowers, warns Victoria Mortgages.

  • Wages will struggle to rise, says Assetz

    11 Jan 2007

    Assetz has warned that the rate rise will scare businesses into low wage negotiations in Q1 2007.

  • Warning on payment shock

    8 Jan 2007

    Mortgage comparison website mform.co.uk warns that more than 315,000 home owners who took out fixed rate mortgages at the end of 2003 and the start of 2004 could be heading for a shock when their special deals run out.

  • Why shouldn't I join the game of fleecing the innocent?

    8 Jan 2007

    Name and address supplied

  • Yorkshire launches Open Market HomeBuy product

    9 Jan 2007

    The Yorkshire has launched a further Open Market HomeBuy product to include a fixed rate option.

  • Yorkshire to open 15 new branches

    8 Jan 2007

    The Yorkshire says it plans to open 15 new branches across the UK creating around 100 new jobs.

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