Link Mortgages

2011-01-10T03:53:00.000-08:00

The Bank of England has recently issued a warning that the current base rate will shortly be increasing. Recently the Banks Executive Director of Markets and Monetary Committee member, Paul Fisher, stated that the banks policy makers would like to raise the base rate to around the 5% mark. For anyone who is currently on a variable rate mortgage or who is looking to remortgage then now is the time to move to a fixed or capped rate mortgage to hedge against any such rise and protect their monthly mortgage outgoings. Although a persons current lender may be able to offer a customer their own deals it is also a very wise move to seek out the deals that can be obtained by a mortgage broker who can also tailor make a plan to suit the customer's own set of circumstances.

2010-08-09T04:24:00.000-07:00

There are fewer first time borrowers applying for mortgages than at anytime in the last 35 years. Research from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) also suggested that due to the high deposits being asked for by lenders they found that nearly 33% of men and 20% of women between the ages of 20 and 34 were still living at home with their parents.

Although this year has seen an increase of 66% in buying activity there are still many lenders wanting a deposit of 25% from house buyers, with only 8% of mortgage deals available requiring a deposit of 10%.

There has been a slight downward drift among mortgage rates. A 2 year fixed rate for instance will see a saving over the January figure of 0.4% (4.9% to 4.5%), whilst the 3 year fixed rate shows a saving of 0.3% (5.5% to 5.2%) and the 5 year deal a saving of 0.5% (down from 6.1% to 5.6%). These rates though must be seen in the context in the amount of deposit made. For instance the above figures are based on a deposit of 10% of the house price. If the deposit were increased to 25% then the figures are as follows. 2 year fixed rate deal 4.1%, and a 40% deposit pushes the rate down to 4%,

The trend though is heading in the right direction but it is slow and the banks and other lenders are very wary of over committing in a still uncertain market.

Increased Market Movement

2009-08-12T01:59:00.000-07:00

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) mortgage lending in the UK in June was up 23% with 45,000 mortgage being completed. These figures show a decrease of 6% on the figures produced for June 2008 and may be an indication that the market is moving in the right direction.

This new optimism on the lending front was also reflected in the figures for those requiring a first time mortgage, as the figures for these buyers was up 25% on May 2008. There is still though, a high deposit required by most lenders and this is having a negative effect on this sector of the marketplace.

Banks and other lending sources still need to make available greater funds on the marketplace to help boost the housing market and the construction industry and help kickstart the economy.

Billions of pounds of tax payers money has been pumped into helping them avoid bankruptcy, this help should be repaid to the tax payer in the form of keener interest rates, lower setting up costs and higher LTV lending.

2009-07-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

The remortgage market is starting to show signs of recovery with deals being offered at a 3 year tracker rate of 2.99% with free valuation and free legal fees. The lenders though are still levying high arrangement fees to try and recoup the losses made on the sub prime mortgage market in America.

The first time buyer market is still slow with those wanting a 90% loan to value mortgage having to pay high rates. The current best rate for those in England and Wales is around 6.4% fixed. This is in spite of the Governments intention to improve this sector of the marketplace.

We need the markets to start moving again with a more optimistic approach than they are at present exhibiting. The cautious nature of lenders is not helping matters and we need the Government to start to push for a fairer deal for those wanting mortgages, especially from the lenders with a high percentage of Government backing.

2009-05-15T03:03:00.000-07:00

There seems to be the slightest movement within the mortgage markets with a number of lenders now offering 90% LTV mortgages for first time buyers. 5 year fixed rate mortgages are availalable but the rates are still high compared to a few years ago. Again the maxim seems to be that the lower the LTV required then the lower the interest rate. For instance there is at present a deal for first time buyers wanting a 60% LTV mortgage of 2.79% Tracker rate for 2 years with an arrangement fee of £1440. Take the LTV to 90% then the rate shoots up to 6.59% for a 5 year fixed rate mortgage.
The BTL market is still stagnant as far as the maximum LTV is concerned with most lenders offering a maximum LTV of 75%. Lets hope the situation improves shortly for the majority who are wanting the markets to start moving again for the sake of the economy.

2009-04-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

In the main the mortgage market is still treading water and the rates being offered by the lenders do not reflect the recent reduction in Bank of England base rate. Although the Government has poured billons of pounds of taxpayers money into a number of banks to help them from going into liquidation, the lenders are not recipricating and the rates being offered by the bulk of lenders are still high and loan to values on properties are still around the 80% to 85% mark if not lower.

Although there is the occasional 95% LTV deal being offered the rates are high and the arrangement fees are also high. The Government needs to be looking at putting pressure on the lenders where they have a major shareholding and demanding that the rates are reduced to help first time buyers buy a home. By doing this it will help not only those looking to buy a house get on the housing ladder but also help the house builders. If the rates are to remain at there current level then no one wins.