Mortgage News

Commenting on the introduction of a Mortgage Account Fee on all HBOS mortgages, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: "HBOS has waited until the exit fees debate has died down before sneaking in a more expensive charge.

Abbey is reducing the fee on all its flexible mortgages by £1,000 to £1,499.

May’s mortgage lending was much weaker than April and a record low number of house purchase approvals means the subdued picture will continue, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA).

The new Mortgage & Lifestyle Protection product from protection specialist LV= has received a coveted five star rating from Defaqto, reflecting the innovation and flexible covers offered by the newly launched Mortgage Payment Protection and Living Expenses Protection plan.

Paradigm Mortgage Services, the mortgage partnership proposition, has revealed Equilaw LLP as its chosen legal services supplier for all equity release-related matters.

The 1st quarter 2008 sales figures issued by SHIP reflect a strong underlying demand despite a drop in funds released, comments Just Retirement.

Brokers and their clients are set to benefit from a new and quicker way to send packaging to Alliance & Leicester's intermediary mortgage centre with the introduction of ifax.

Andrew Montlake, partner, independent mortgage broker Cobalt Capital, comments on today's CML lending figures: "Today's mortgage lending figures were just about as expected and are in line with a 20% drop in general activity levels that most mortgage brokers have seen.

Gross lending totalled an estimated £25.5 billion in May, down only 2% from £26.1 billion in April but 19% from the £31.5 billion high in May 2007, according to the CML.

Legal & General's second report in the ‘Mortgage Purchase Index' series analyses trends from over 24,000 mortgage applications made in the last quarter.

David Black, Principal Consultant of Banking for Defaqto.com says: "The mortgage world is a completely different place from eighteen months ago as the wholesale funding model has largely dried up.

At the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) Annual Dinner Director General Chris Cummings, and AMI Chairman the Rt Hon John Gummer MP, called for the mortgage industry to work together and put the interests of consumers first.

Fixed-rate loans became more popular in April suggesting that borrowers are looking for security over future mortgage payments, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

The Building Societies Association (BSA) announces today that it is to expand the work which it does on behalf of building societies by representing their interests in the mortgage and housing markets.

"Another week, another kick in the teeth for mortgage borrowers, with news that Abbey has introduced a non-refundable booking fee of £150 on its mortgage range. Up until now, the only major player who had this was Lloyds TSB, with a £99 booking fee.