March 6th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, News, Property Market 4 Comments »
The Bank of England has reduced interest rates to 0.5% in order to put a halt to the housing crash, in the latest reduction we have witnessed over recent months.
With interest rates being cut at such a speed over the past few months it begs the question ‘Will we see interest rates reach zero perecent?‘
February 26th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Energy Saving, Mortgages, Property Market 1 Comment »
With the property news full of tales of woe in the banking world and the related slump in the housing market, it is easy to overlook some of the better news that the falling price trend has influenced. In an intriguing twist it has emerged from recent research that trading up to a bigger property is now financially less problematic than only a year ago, depending on the size of house one needs to buy.
February 11th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products 4 Comments »
Mortgage rates are at the lowest rates for years which many home owners are benefiting from, however are we forgetting about the large number of savers?
Amidst the slashing of interest rates from 5% since October last year to 1% which has largely been reported on in regard to home buyers, many savers are seeing their income from their nest eggs almost disappear.
February 9th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market 1 Comment »
The recent move by the Bank of England to cut interest rates to an all but unprecedented one percent has been followed by the less typical action of several lenders who chose to pass the cuts on to their customers. The Skipton Building Society, along with the Halifax and the Nationwide, immediately slashed their rates, and with further interest rate cuts forecast by industry analysts it remains to be seen just how low the Bank of England can go.
January 27th, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market Comments Off on The Mortgage Myth – You can secure one
A look at a newspaper or a listen to the daily news may give the impression that mortgages are as rare as hens’ teeth, but the truth is somewhat different. It is possible to get a mortgage, even in these days of financial crisis and house price gloom, but it remains to be said that certain criteria need to be met.
January 21st, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market 3 Comments »
The most recent comments to emerge from the government has been that of Margaret Beckett, Housing Minister, who implied that there were signs of recovery in the market and advised first time buyers to snap up bargains.
January 2nd, 2009 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market, Top Tips Comments Off on How to deal with the mortgage minefield – 10 top tips
The hopes and dreams of millions of home-owners and first-time buyers have received a number of positive announcements from the Government recently. We have seen dramatic cuts in interest rates, an announcement of a stamp duty amnesty on properties worth £175,000 or less, a new shared equity scheme for families earning less than £60,000 and earlier financial support for people struggling with their mortgage repayments.
But the lack of readily available mortgages seems to be little sign of ending and lenders remain very cautious, whether they are assessing re-mortgages at the end of a fixed rate deals or when looking at new applications.
The good news is that it is possible to improve your chances of securing the mortgage you want. These steps could help improve your chances.
December 18th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products, Top Tips Comments Off on Myths of Credit rating information – did you realise?
As the financial climate tightens knowledge becomes power when it comes to securing the credit deals you want. The best start is by understanding the impact your credit history and rating has on the type of offer you may receive and whether you will receive an offer for credit at all.
December 16th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market Comments Off on Tracker mortgages – the way to go?
The significant and dramatic reductions in the Bank of England interest rate in the past few weeks has seen a flurry of interest in the area of tracker mortgages, that is those that follow the base rate to at least some degree.
The average tracker mortgage, according to available data, has fallen from 6.27 percent in October of this year to only 3.27 percent now, in early December. So what does this mean for the consumer?
How much can be saved with a tracker mortgage?
December 15th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Financial Products, Property Market 2 Comments »
Early December saw the UK Government promise a guarantee to homeowners that find themselves in trouble with their mortgage repayments in an effort to stem the expected tide of repossessions that many see as a result of the current economic crisis.
The scheme is aimed at those who find themselves redundant with a mortgage to pay, as such individuals are expected to become more numerous with companies going to the wall thanks to the ‘credit crunch’ that is sweeping the country.The details of the proposal are quite specific, and will only be available on mortgages below a £400,000 limit.
December 13th, 2008 HIP-Consultant.co.uk Posted in Mortgages, Property Market 3 Comments »
In a move that will have surprised many market analysts the major UK back HSBC has announced plans to increase its mortgage lending in 2009. Despite the current downtrend in both lending and housing sales the bank clearly sees an opportunity to be exploited, and it could be that this speck of light at the end of the tunnel may spur other lenders into looking at the future with renewed optimism.