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Boom for bailiffs as council tax cuts hit home

Sat, 25 May 2013 00:01:41 +0100

Vulnerable people are in danger of being pushed into the hands of unscrupulous bailiffs who act aggressively and pile on excessive fees.

Paragon seeks banking licence

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Paragon, the buy-to-let mortgage provider, is applying for a banking licence in order to kickstart its consumer lending business.

Consumer Rights: Act if you are worried about interest-only home loan

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:00:00 +0100

If you've been reading about interest-only mortgages with a growing sense of unease, it's time to act. Interest-only mortgages have helped many people afford to buy their homes but they don't suit every borrower and not everyone who took one out realised exactly what the risks were. Banks have become much less keen on interest-only loans and some have stopped offering them, and there's growing concern that some may have been mis-sold.

First-time buyers up 20 per cent in March

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

The number of first-time buyers jumped 20 per cent in March as the Bank of England's Funding for Lending scheme helped the mortgage market.

Borrowers are facing a mortgage 'fiscal cliff'

Fri, 10 May 2013 18:30:00 +0100

If inflation predictions are met over the next five years, borrowers could end up with as little as £56 in disposable income each month, a new report warns.

Buy-to-let mortgage loans leaping

Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

Buy-to-let landlords were granted £4.2bn in new mortgage lending in the first quarter, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said yesterday.

Simon Read: The alarm clock is ringing for interest-only borrowers

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:30:00 +0100

More than a quarter of a million homeowners will be unable to pay off their mortgage at the end of its term, the City watchdog warned this week. That's because they have interest-only loans, and have done nothing to ensure they will be able to pay off the debt when the mortgage term ends.

Lifetime rate? Not with the Bank of Ireland

Fri, 03 May 2013 21:30:00 +0100

Thousands of Bank of Ireland borrowers have been hit with a massive rise in their monthly mortgage bill this month. That's despite them believing they had taken out a lifetime tracker deal.

Warning over interest-only mortgage timebomb: Borrowers face shortfalls and may even lose their homes

Thu, 02 May 2013 00:00:00 +0100

More than a quarter of a million homeowners will be unable to pay off their mortgage at the end of its term, the City watchdog has warned.

Wealth Check: 'Can we become mortgage free before we start a family?'

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:00:53 +0100

The patient

Daniel Sweeting is keen to get his finances into a more stable position so he and his wife, Laxmi, can commit to having a family without the need for both of them to work.

The 32-year-old is a station manager earning around £37,000, and his 34-year-old wife is a self- employed beautician who earns around £23,000.

Spotlight on: HSBC's 5-year fixed mortgage

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0100

The deal

Five Questions About: Mortgage fees

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:00 +0100

Are they going up again?

Money Insider: Beware...don't cut out middle man as you look for a mortgage

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:00 +0100

The number of new mortgages being taken out may be well short of the volumes seen in the heady days before the banking crisis, but that doesn't mean the job of finding the best mortgage gets any easier.

Spotlight on: Chelsea's 1.99% mortgage

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:00 +0100

The deal

False credit histories, false job records: sharp rise reported in mortgage application fraud

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:12:21 +0100

Increasing numbers of home-buyers are falsifying credit and job histories in order to get a mortgage, new figures reveal today.

First-time buyers advised to head north

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:45:42 +0100

First-time home buyers should head north, where houses are still within financial reach of people on average local incomes, according to a new study.

Budget 2013: Home Ownership - A £600,000 house with a 5 per cent deposit: the future of the housing market?

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 22:01:42 +0000

Would-be homebuyers should be able to purchase a house worth up to £600,000 with just a five per cent deposit as part of a new Government scheme to kick-start the struggling property market.

Will Nick Clegg clog up mortgage market?

Sat, 16 Mar 2013 18:00:00 +0000

Just as mortgage lenders are finally showing an appetite for cutting rates and easing credit restrictions, up pops Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg to potentially spoil the fun.

Spotlight On: HSBC's fixed rate mortgage

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 19:30:00 +0000

The deal

Julian Knight: Time interest-only mortgage brokers were brought to book

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:00:00 +0000

I have had lots of emails following my latest investigation into interest-only mortgages. Many come from people approaching retirement age stuck on such deals with no proper repayment plan in place.

The interest-only mortgage time bomb that must be defused

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 00:09:48 +0000

Interest-only mortgages once proliferated. In 2006, the final full year before the onset of the world financial crisis, almost one in three mortgages was interest-only. This is now recognised as its high watermark, when a product that was meant to be at the periphery of the market, briefly and dangerously took centre stage.

10 London boroughs worth more than all the homes in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 19:22:41 +0000

It is not so much a divide as a gaping chasm.

Spotlight On: Post Office mortgages

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:30:00 +0000

The deal

FLS aid for home buyers hurts savers

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 23:55:44 +0000

The Bank of England's Funding for Lending billions are unlocking the mortgage market but savers are getting their rawest deal for nearly four years as banks fatten margins, it has emerged.