Posts Tagged ‘mortgages’
BBA Mortgage approvals for May
According to the British Bankers Association (BBA) Gross mortgage borrowing of £12bn in the month was 10% higher than in May 2015. Borrowing in the first 5 months of 2016 was £67.5bn compared with £51.7 in the same period of 2015. Net mortgage borrowing is 3% higher than a year ago. House purchase approval numbers…
Read MoreParagon Offer New BTL deals for Professsional landlords
Paragon Mortgages updates its buy-to-let (BTL) product range for professional landlords, unveiling an additional six new products. Paragon now offer new two year fixed rate products starting at 3.40% with a 1.50% product fee at 65% LTV for single self-contained units. There is also a two year fix at 3.75% with a 1.50% product fee…
Read MoreParagon Group half year results.
The Paragon Group of Companies PLC announced yesterday its half year results for the six months ended 31 March 2016. Commenting on the results, Nigel Terrington, Chief Executive of Paragon, said: “This has been another outstanding performance from Paragon, with strong profit growth complemented by significant progress in our lending activity and further development in…
Read MoreFive home upgrades that can really pay off
Almost half of Brits plan to give their home a makeover in the next year and they will spend an average of £3,342 on these projects. But not all these jobs will add value to their homes. If you would like to boost your property’s value, make sure these home upgrades are on your to-do…
Read MoreTips and tricks for selling your home
Maybe you want to start a new chapter of your life next year? Maybe you’re considering retiring to the countryside? Whatever the reason, you’ll want to ensure you get the maximum price for your home when you do put it on the market. This isn’t the easiest of tasks, but if you want to get…
Read MoreFCA Responsible Lending Review
In their recent press release Finanacial Conduct Authority (FCA) reviews find mortgage firms lending responsibly but scope for improvement on competition. Firms have positively applied the responsible lending requirements, which came into force as part of the Mortgage Market Review (MMR); however, there is scope for improving consumers’ ability to make better choices about mortgage…
Read MoreAnother lender raises age limit on mortgages
Following on from the recent announcement from Halifax Bank part of Lloyds Banking Group, which increased its upper age limit for mortgages from 75 years to 80 years, the Nationwide has now announced that is raising its age limit for people paying off mortgages by 10 years to 85. This is a further endorsement of…
Read MoreSigns of the times for mortgages
Mortgage lenders have recently announced changes to their rules as to how mortgages will in the future be offered to their clients in an effort to deal with the high prices of property and changes in demographics. The Halifax bank part of Lloyds Banking Group – the largest retail bank in the UK is increasing…
Read MoreHow Do Mortgage Lenders Respond to Japanese Knotweed on a Property?
When purchasing a house it is obvious that the potential buyer would get a surveyor to check the condition of the property and estimate its value. But what if the surveyor discovered the house (which the buyer thought would be his/her perfect home) contains Japanese Knotweed? How would mortgage lenders respond to a property with…
Read MoreDeciding what to believe as the referendum approaches.
The in’s and out’s have now begun their campaigns in earnest leading up to the referendum in June, hopefully the multitudes of questions that voters are worried about will get answered, or will it just make everyone more confused? The vote to decide whether we stay in or leave the European Union is probably one…
Read MoreLending up in February says CML
A press release published yesterday by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) stated on an unadjusted basis, lending in February: Home-owners borrowed £8.7bn for house purchase, up 4% month-on-month and 21% year-on-year. They took out 48,000 loans, up 4% on January and 12% on February 2015. First-time buyers borrowed £3.4bn, up 3% on January and 21% on February last year. This totalled 22,000 loans, up…
Read MoreLenders compete for BTL mortgage business
Buy-to-let mortgage rates are being slashed to record lows in an effort to keep the market alive following the continued efforts by the Chancellor George Osborne to keep the buy-to-let boom under control. In fact these efforts by the Chancellor appears to have triggered what might be called a ‘price war’ as lenders compete to…
Read MoreThe pound still vunerable to Referendum uncertainty
In the run up to the referendum for the UK to remain a member of the European Union it was expected by many analysts that the pound sterling would weaken due to the uncertainty of the outcome. The pound is very vunerable to comments and did lose some ground recently particularly against the Euro, as…
Read MoreBuy-to-Let mortgages consultation (BoE)
Bank of England publishes consultation on proposals for regulation of buy-to-let mortgages 29th March 2016. Underwriting standards for buy-to-let mortgage contracts – CP11/16 This consultation paper (CP) seeks views on a supervisory statement which sets out the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA’s) proposals regarding its expectations of minimum standards that firms should meet when underwriting buy-to-let…
Read MoreMortgage borrowing remains bouyant in February
BBA figures for the High Street Banks February 2016released today. Gross mortgage borrowing of £13.2 billion in February was lower than in January but 33% higher than a year ago and the second highest increase since mid-2008. The number of mortgage approvals in February was 26% higher than a year ago, with remortgaging up 31% and house…
Read More