Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Time running out to protect against redundancy

Tuesday, 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.

Real Remortgage Option

Tuesday, 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

Remortgage market “not dead”

Wednesday, 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.

Intermediaries dominate mortgage lending

Monday, 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”

Should I fix my rate or take out a tracker

Tuesday, 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

Housing Market Activity picking up

Tuesday, 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.

Dual Pricing

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

All brokers are up in arms about dual pricing and conflict it represents with ” Treating Customers Fairly” which is at the heart of the FSA stewardship over the whole finance industry. Here are a few of the excerpts from various brokers around the country:

“ Dual pricing is an absolute joke, but if only it were amusing! Lenders seem to think we mortgage brokers will have very short memories, and in the future they will send their reps/or telephone account managers back out to us and be hoping to attract our business to them etc. Considering some of the staffing/administration problems that some lenders currently have, and we all know who they are, surely it would be more beneficial to the lenders in the long run to keep us on side dealing efficiently with their application administration with so many online applications now, and that we all work together through these difficult times? Or is that too simple a concept for lenders to grasp?”

“Dual pricing is a farce.I have just started using Homebuyers mortgage sourcing system and all the best deals coming up are direct to lender. Its just so they can get the client and sell all the ancillary products . The only thing to do is explain it to your clients. Help them with the application process for a fee and at least you can then keep control of the situation and hepfully retain the client.
|I dont agree with dual pricing but we have got to learn to live with it”

The mortgage xperts take on this is simply agreeing with the above comment. We can source every lender including all lender direct deals. This should encourage you to at least give us a try safe in the knowledge that if a lender direct deal is more suitable then we will assist you in making the application. (without a fee). All that we would ask is that you allow us to review your insurance requirements. At least we can genuinely say that they do not offer dual pricing and you will recieve the most suitable product from a range of providers. Most high street lenders will be tied to their own products.

Who should make who Bankrupt

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

May sound like a strange question but the implications can be signifcant.

You can be made bankrupt in two ways:
 
  1. Someone you owe money to can force you into bankruptcy;
  2. You can make yourself bankrupt

The second way is the most popular and for good reason. The reason is that to a certain extent you can control the process  in that you can choose the insolvency practitioner. If your debtors makes you bankrupt then you have effectivly lost control and can be  taken to the cleaners.

Of course not all insolvency prationers are the same,  as not all mortgage brokers are the same either. There will always be a difference between the advice given… but how do you know which is best.

The simple answer is to ring us first or you may find yourself far worse off than you thought.

It’s at least worth a phone call.

What you need to be aware of when choosing Buildings and Contents

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Why run the risk of you being under-insured!!

Beware of averaging.

What is averaging ?

Let me give you an example if you have £30,000 worth of contents insurance with your existing provider and you put in a claim for £5000.

The loss adjuster can conclude that you really should have had £60,000 of cover (don’t forget that they will assess all your contents not just what you want covered !!) They can then assess that you are under insured. In this case that would be 50%. The loss adjuster will then take the total claim value and deduct 50% off. Therefore your claim would be reduced from £5000 to £2500.

Using an insurer that provides unlimited cover for no extra is one you might want to consider.

Other things that you might need to consider is accidental damage and option to protect your no claims discount.

Again all these are provided as standard with the Halifax.

For an independant view of your options contacts us now.

Not all Home Insurance policies are created equal

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

When it comes to Treating Customers Fairly, offering a range of quotes from a panel of Insurers is undoubtedly better than providing you with only one quote from a single Insurer, but price comparison alone is not enough. If the premiums being compared relate to policies that don’t actually offer the same levels of cover, then you really need top know exactly how those policies differ.

This is easy to do using the syytem we use provided by Source. Refer to  comparison grid (pictured below).

 

 

Thinks to look out for:

Check the excess levels and tell the client if they are different

One of the most common ways that Insurers try to keep their premiums low is by increasing their excess levels so that their policyholders pay for a larger proportion of each claim.

This can be a good thing for some customers for whom a lower premium is more important than a lower excess. However, others will want their insurance to cover as much of any potential loss as possible. As long as you know about the different excess levels, then can make up your own mind.

 

 

If the cheaper quote has a higher excess, then level out the playing field

If the Insurer quoting the cheapest premium has a higher compulsory excess, then it’s possible that one of the other Insurers would be even cheaper if you were comparing like-for-like. If this is the case then we can requote, increasing the excess level requested to this higher level. It’s likely that one of the other insurers will then come in cheaper because of the increased voluntary excess.

 

If comparing different systems, set the excess on both at the higher level

Some insurers have recently increased their excess levels quite significantly. For example, Paymentshield have now increased their excess to £200 on a range or risks relating to Escape of Water, Accidental Damage on buildings and contents, and loss or damage to personal possessions outside the home. Meanwhile, more than half the insurers on the Source still offer excesses of only £50 on these perils, so it pays to look beneath the surface.

Contact us and speak to a qualified advisor re mortgages, remortgages, buildings and contents and life insurance.