Mortgage News

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.

The CML is introducing new standards for industry professionals who act for lenders on newly-built property transactions.

A third of the UK population in, or nearing retirement, owe a whopping £207 billion in outstanding mortgage debt - averaging at £37,316 per head - reveals a new report from Key Retirement Solutions, the leading independent equity release specialist.

Recent news stories about 100% and 100% plus mortgages are missing the point when it comes to negative equity, says Your Mortgage magazine.

Commenting on the RICS figures, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said: "The RICS figures show house prices are going down - but this isn't showing the full picture for home owners.

Commenting on Northern Rock’s agreement with Lloyds TSB, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com said: “This may be good news for some Northern Rock borrowers, but the Lloyds TSB deal will only be offered to a select tier of customers.

"With a sharp rise in the consumer price index last month and the bank predicting that inflation will rise to 3.7%, it is difficult to justify a bank rate cut, given that the MPC's primary job is to control inflation.

It was no surprise that the MPC decided to hold rates at 5% today according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Darren Cook, spokesperson for Moneyfacts.co.uk, comments: "It's about time the thousands of Northern Rock mortgage customers received some encouraging news that allows them to sleep a little better at night.

Lloyds TSB has announced that it has entered into a three year agreement with Northern Rock whereby certain Northern Rock mortgage customers approaching the end of their fixed rate period will be offered the opportunity to switch to a Lloyds TSB mortgage.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer outlining the range of steps that lenders are taking to minimise the potential problems that may face some borrowers in the wake of the credit crunch.

The credit crunch is so far having less of an impact in Scotland than in the rest of the UK, according to data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).