October 19th, 2010
This is an excert from a recent article we wrote for the local press.
A mortgage expert is warning people that they may have just days to safeguard their mortgage payments against redundancy ahead of the Governments Comprehensive Spending Review on Wednesday.
Andy Burns, from Mortgage Xperts based in Orrell Park, has seen dozens of people lose their homes since the recession began. He is now urging homeowners to seek advice to ensure that their mortgage payments are protected in the event of redundancy, as well as accident and sickness.
Increasingly one of the first questions many new clients ask an adviser is “will my mortgage be covered if I am made redundant?”
Hundreds of thousands of job losses are expected as a result of the Spending Review, in which the government will set out how it plans to save billions of pounds across its departments.
But most insurance companies won’t offer protection against potential job losses once redundancies have been mooted within a company.
Andy said: “Those who fear they may be affected by the Review, particularly those who work for the public sector or employees of businesses contracted to the public sector, should take action now to ensure they are protected against redundancies.
“Unfortunately, within hours of the Spending Review being announced, rumours may start to filter through about potential redundancies in both public and private sector organisations.
“As soon as this happens, many insurance companies are likely to be more reluctant to offer protection, as the chance of a payout is massively increased.”
The warning comes just weeks after the Council of Mortgage Lenders forecast a total of 39,000 repossessions for 2010.
The situation has been further aggravated by the fact that, since the beginning of this month, Support for mortgage interest payments for those who have lost their jobs has been reduced from 6.08% to 3.09%, to match the Bank of England’s average mortgage rate.
Andy said: “The important thing for individuals to remember is that there is still time for them to get advice. But there is no longer any time to delay on this – employees must take action today if they are to ensure their home won’t be one of this year’s sad tales of repossession.”
• For advice on how you could protect yourself, call Mortgage Xperts on 0151 329 2900.
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October 19th, 2010
At last, a sensible view from a high street lender in the remortgage arena.
The Woolwich has launched ‘The Great Escape Mortgage’.
This remortgage package is designed to entice mortgage customers currently sitting on standard variable rate with their current lenders.
The Woolwich will offer a lifetime tracker rate of bank base rate plus 2.18% (current pay rate – 2.68%) for the lifetime of the mortgage. Woolwich will also pay for your standard property valuation, legal fees and £300 cashback towards your current lenders exit fees.
In addition to this, if you are worried, as most people are, that rates will have to start creeping up again – the Woolwich offer a switch and fix option that allows the customer to switch to a Woolwich fixed rate at any time without an early redemption charge. Contact us for advice on this on 0151 329 2900.
Andy Burns
Mortgage Xperts
Tags: remortgage
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September 22nd, 2010
The remortgage mortgage is still languishing with Bank of England data showing remortgage volumes in July this year at 52% of the volume of house purchase transactions in the same month, as many borrowers shun remortgaging off SVR onto higher rates.
The remortgage market is not dead. In fact, now advisers have a better opportunity to add real value for their clients. It’s about quality not quantity. Many brokers are scared of advising clients to come off a low SVR and choose a higher fixed or tracker rate, but remortgage advice is not just about rates.
Advisers should be providing a holistic service to their clients and advising them not just on the rate they’re paying today but also helping them to think about their financial situation in two, three, five years’ time. It’s about holistic financial planning for the future as well.
Quality of advice is an “integral philosophy” and our advisers undertake extensive training and development to ensure that quality of advice and robust compliance procedures are firmly in place.
Tags: remortgage
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August 28th, 2009
- House prices rose by 1.6% in August
- Year-on-year decline slows from -6.2% to -2.7%
- Low interest rates helping to underpin prices for the moment
| Headlines |
August 2009 |
July 2009 |
| Monthly index * Q1 ‘93 = 100 |
317.9 |
313.0 |
| Monthly change* |
1.6% |
1.4% |
| Annual change |
-2.7% |
-6.2% |
| Average price |
£160,224 |
£158,871 |
*seasonally adjusted
Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:
“The price of a typical house rose for the fourth consecutive month in August, increasing by 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The 3 month on 3 month rate of change – generally a smoother indicator of the near term trend – rose from 2.7% in July to 3.3% in August, the highest level since February 2007. At £160,224, the average price of a typical UK property is still slightly lower than 12 months ago. However, the annual rate of change rose further in August, from -6.2% to -2.7%. Over the first eight months of 2009, the seasonally adjusted index of house prices has risen by 3.2%, though relative to the October 2007 peak it is down by 14.4%.”
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July 30th, 2009
House prices rose for the third consecutive month in July, according to the results of the latest Nationwide House Price Index.
The lender’s figures show the average price of a property rose by 1.3% over the month from £156,442 to £158,871, while the three-month figure increased from 1% in June to 2.6% in July.
Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at the building society, said that although house prices were still 6.2% lower than 12 months ago, the increase represented another sharp improvement from the 9.3% year-on-year decline in June.
He explained: “Even if prices were to remain unchanged for the rest of 2009, the year-on-year rate would continue to improve since prices were falling very sharply in the second half of last year.”
“For the first seven months of 2009 as a whole, prices have risen by a cumulative 1.3%, suggesting there is now a reasonable chance that prices could end the year slightly higher than where they started. Only a few months ago, such an outcome would have appeared unthinkable.”
Brian Murphy, head of funding at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said that despite the fact new mortgage sales weare still at low levels, the market was seeing more encouraging signs in terms of purchase activity.
“Since the start of the year, there has been a steady increase, month-on-month, in mortgage purchase sales, albeit from a very low base. This is a reflection of the current low interest rate environment and renewed buyer confidence.”
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July 28th, 2009
This year, Moneywise conducted Britain’s biggest ever customer survey focusing on trust and service in the financial services industry. They interviewed over 10,000 UK customers, asking them to identify the companies that treated customers fairly, offered the highest level of service and provided the best value for money.
Voted for by the customer
Based on the views of real customers, in June 2009, Moneywise awarded the AXA Protection Account the title of Most Trusted Critical Illness Provider.
David McCormack, AXA Protection Product Manager said, “This award is a validation of our efforts to provide our customers with high quality products and a service which they can trust. It’s our aim to focus the development of our proposition on the aspects our customers consider important, and this award is evidence that our efforts are really working.”
Nationwide recently reported the third consecutive monthly rise in consumer confidence but the UK is still far removed from the bright outlook people have held in recent years. Winning back the trust from customers is a key step in increasing confidence and improving the perception customers have of the protection industry.
Need to know more?
Contact us now 0800 8620868
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July 20th, 2009
Despite the increased focus by some lenders on direct distribution, intermediaries continue to dominate mortgage lending, according to IMLA.
Figures released by the CML show mortgage lending via intermediaries, by value, accounted for 64% of total mortgage lending in the first quarter of 2009. This was approximately the same proportion as the second half of 2008.
The figures show that 70% of first-time buyer loans, by volume, came through intermediaries in the Q1 2009, up from 68% in the previous quarter, while home mover loans increased from 56% to 58% over the same period.
The evidence suggests homebuyers and remortgagers continue to value the expertise and service levels offered by the mortgage broker community.
Peter Williams, executive director of IMLA, says the broker remains the first destination for many when looking for a mortgage because people value the service they provide.
He comments: “Their experience and expertise are particularly valuable in the current economic conditions, when mortgage availability remains scarce and it is harder than ever for would be borrowers to source suitable mortgage deals.”
He adds: “Consumers value this channel and clearly so do lenders. Indeed despite all the turbulence in the market a number of lenders have strengthened their intermediary operation. There will be many challenges ahead but in our view the intermediary market will remain at the heart of mortgage distribution”
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July 16th, 2009
RBS Intermediary Partners (RBS IP) has introduced two new buy-to-let tracker products, plus a further base rate tracker for residential mortgages, including shared equity.
The buy-to-let deals are NatWest branded, two-year Base Rate Trackers running until 31 August 2011, available up to 75% LTV.
One product, for purchase only, is priced at 5.79% (BBR +5.29%) with a £1,499 fee, the second, for remortgage only, is priced at 5.89% (BBR +5.39) with a £1,999 fee. The residential mortgage is an RBS two year Base Rate Tracker priced at 3.49% (BoE rate +2.99%) , also available up to 75% LTV with a £999 fee until 31 August 2011.
Graham Felstead, head of sales at RBS IP commented: “We are pleased that we are able to broaden the range of products that we offer our intermediary partners by launching these three tracker products. With the launch last week of our specialist shared equity scheme mortgages we will continue to support mortgage advisers with a choice of quality mortgages that they can offer their clients in the purchase, remortgage and buy-to-let sectors.”
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July 14th, 2009
Well first of all you should all check out on this website (www.mortgage-xperts.co.uk/faq.html) under frequently asked questions, the full with evidence, graphical, very scary reason why you just might want to consider fixing your mortgage. The longer the better!!.
Let just set the scene first of all. We are in unchartered territory, never in history have interest rates been at these historical low levels. It is a measure of just how much trouble we are in that the bank and indeed all goverments have had to reduce interest rates just to keep everyone solvent. The completley mad idea is to get you consumers out there to start spending again….like you should be.
The opposite effect has actualy happened , much to the consternation of those in the know. You have cut back on frivolous spending and heaven help us all, started to save. The is quite contrary to the whole idea of living in a capitalist based economy, which is based on creating capital by the issue of debt.
Most western goverments have now used up one of there most important tools in stimulating the economy. Interest rates. They can’t go any lower so they have to resort to quantitve easing to create money out of thin air in order to stimulate the economy ((ie) get you spending again and running up some more debt ). The sad fact is that without debt there is no money and the powers that be, know this only too well.
All this extra money they have created has disapeared down a big black hole called deflation. It has not had any effect simply because the new issue of money can’t keep up with how quickly money is being destroyed. if you want a cleare idea of this then look up fractional reserve lending on the internet. Just to simplify matters if you deposit £1000 with a bank then this allows them to create new money by lending part of this to someone who needs to borrow. They then go and deposit in another bank, which then enables that bank to lend to someonw else. Your initial £1000 deposit can end up creating new money to the tune of £8000 if the reserve ration is 8:1. It is a simple an ingenious way of creating wealth, however if it works this way it also works in reverse. That is if you default on your loan, then the reverse happens and your £1000 default causes a contraction in the money supply of upto £8000. Now you know why all this new money has had no effect what so ever, as it just keeps disappearing.
Now once this defaltion period has finished , all this new money no longer disappears and actually starts to expand like it was supposed to do in the first place. Trouble is like a genie let out of the bottle it is very difficult to stuff it back in. Inflation is the life blood of a capitalist based economy and that is exactly what they are so desparately trying to stimulate. Again I reiterate money is debt and they have to continually increase debt to create more and more money that is necessary to keep the debt bubble going. The key here is controlled inflation. The powers that be know they have not got a clue how take all this extra money back out of the economy, except by increasing interest rates.
So we are back to our original question. Hopefully either you can make your own mind up or you are happy to stick your head in the sand and ignore the facts.
Steve Wood
Tags: increasing interest rates, inflation, quantitve easing
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July 14th, 2009
We have certainly seen and increase in first time buyer applications. To be honest the more competative deals are at 85% loan to value. It is no surprise that a good portion of applicants have been assisted by the bank of mum and dad.
Where are all the home movers gone then. Without first time buyers the market would be all but dead and the goverments attempt to assist first time buyers has a number of drawbacks. Least of all is availabilty of funding. The fact that the terms of the assistance mean that you will be forever having to bear in mind that once house prices start to move up again. The amount you will need to remortgage in order to buy out the equity share could limit your future options, apart form maybe selling.
Nothing is straight forward in this market and it pays to seek sound professional advice from an experienced mortgage broker that knows all the downsides and understands the market fully.
Tags: First time buyers
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