What does the rate rise mean for your mortgage?
Alright, so we may have got a bit carried away. Everyone kept telling us borrowing had never been so cheap, so we all started spending like it was going out of fashion -...
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Looking for a mortgage? Don't try too hard or you'll be blacklisted
Paul Arley thought he was being a responsible consumer by shopping around for his mortgage. Yet instead of finding the best interest rate available, he found himself labe...
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Britons waste ?2.2bn annually on their mortgages
Homeowners in the UK are collectively paying ?2.2bn a year too much for their mortgages, according to a report published today.
Monthly mortgage repayment are often the...
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Bills, not mortgages, strain housekeeping
HBOS yesterday predicted house prices would rise 8% next year but issued a "tax warning" to borrowers who are facing higher costs to run their homes.
The country's bigg...
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What should we do with our endowment mortgage?
Q We are in the process of selling our current property and purchasing another. We have an endowment mortgage of ?58,000 on the current house. The insurer predicts tha...
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Mortgage 'rate tarts' get Brown in a jam
The Treasury-backed report on the UK mortgage market, written by Professor David Miles and published on Tuesday, held few surprises. In the Times, Patience Wheatcroft sa...
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Do I need to change mortgages if I want to let out my flat?
Q I bought a flat using a repayment mortgage over two years ago. I now wish to let it out - do I have to have a buy-to-let mortgage for this? Also, does renting affect my...
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Mortgage lenders in the firing line
Banks and building societies could face an investigation into the way they offer low-rate mortgage deals that lure new customers at the expense of long-standing borrowers...
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Mortgages borrowers 'need to think ahead
British homeowners are too concerned with initial monthly payments and do not give enough thought to the overall cost, the interim report of a study into British mortgage...
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October high for mortgage lending
Mortgage lending rose to record levels in October, despite concerns over interest rate increases, the Bank of England said today.
Britons borrowed a record ?25.28bn. Th...
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City watchdog launches probe into 'self-certification' mortgages
Chief City watchdog the Financial Services Authority has launched a nationwide probe among mortgage lenders following allegations that people are lying about how much the...
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Mortgage market remains buoyant
Figures released today showed no signs of a slowdown in the mortgage market, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA). Some 270,500 mortgages, a total of ?19.6b...
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Should I pay off my mortgage early?
Q I have a ?50,000 mortgage with 12 years to run which I pay off at ?450 a month. I could pay off ?40,000 of this now. Would the saving outweigh the loss of interest on m...
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Mortgage code compliance board
The role of the mortgage board is to ensure that customers are fully informed and adequately protected when taking out a mortgage.
All lenders and intermediaries regist...
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Banks back cheaper mortgage plan
A consortium of leading banks is today calling on the European Union to back a pan-European mortgage market - holding out the prospect of cheaper mortgages.
The plan fo...
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Mortgages keep pace with base rate rise
A clutch of lenders today announced they were raising their mortgage rates following the Bank of England's decision to increase the cost of borrowing.
The Bank's moneta...
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Can I get a mortgage after my IVA ends?
Q I have an individual voluntary agreement (IVA) which is due to finish in May 2006. Will I be blacklisted for ever after? For example, will I ever be allowed to take ou...
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Homeowners can expect a year of rising mortgage repayments
The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates this week for the first time in more than three years, with homeowners facing the first of several increases in mortgag...
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Estate agents urge buyers to lie about income to get mortgage
First-time home buyers are being encouraged to lie about their incomes by mortgage brokers in some of Britain's biggest estate agents, an investigation says today.
Unde...
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Mortgage sellers suspended
Three mortgage consultants have been suspended by high street lender Birmingham Midshires following claims that they may have encouraged people applying for home loans to...
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Could we take out a joint mortgage?
Q My partner and I each own flats in London. Mine is worth around ?200,000 and my partner's around ?150,000. I have only ?10,000 outstanding on my mortgage, my partner h...
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Mortgage rip-off that costs us ?7.5billion
Homeowners and shopping junkies are squandering billions of pounds every year by not switching mortgages or checking the interest rates on their credit cards.
Two new s...
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Flexible mortgages
If there is such a thing as a fashionable mortgage, this is it.
Flexible mortgages come in many guises, but in most cases they allow you to make extra lump sum or monthl...
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Should I go for a mortgage linked to a Libor?
Q I am looking to raise an interest-only mortgage for ?80,000 over eight years. Charcol are promoting a product linked to the US London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) w...
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Should I change mortgages?
Q I took out a ?50,000 repayment mortgage with Woolwich in 1998. Since then I have paid ?375 every month, although I did fall into arrears of about four months last year,...
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Mortgage payers told to beware 'dangerous' lock-in deals
Loans are on offer from around 1.25 per cent but borrowers could be locked into payments that more than quadruple when the fix ends.
With house prices at historic highs ...
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Should I pay a fee for mortgage advice?
Q I want to change my mortgage and contacted an independent financial adviser who charges ?540, offset by any commission from the lender. The adviser says that this makes...
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Two-thirds pay too much for mortgage cover
Nearly two-thirds of people are spending too much on insurance policies which pay off their mortgage if they die, research showed today.
The National Mortgage Helpline,...
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Mortgage firms warn about dearth of first-time buyers
A summer surge in house prices will prove shortlived, the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicted yesterday.
Signs that housebuyers are struggling to afford properties in...
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How can we get the best mortgage deal?
Q My partner and I are looking to buy our first house in London, but we are in the same pickle as many first time buyers - we don't have a deposit. We are thinking of ask...
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