The long distance mortgage race

"The last few weeks have unquestionably been a rollercoaster in the mortgage market. Lenders are looking to get just the right amount of business on their books before removing their market-leading mortgages from the market.

John Charcol estimates that we have seen 29 lenders make changes to their products already in 2011, with a good proportion changing almost their entire product range," comments Drew Wotherspoon, director of marketing at leading independent mortgage adviser John Charcol.

"The market is almost reminiscent of a long distant running race.  No-one really wants to lead the field for the majority of the race, they would much rather be with a number of their competitors in the chasing pack.  They are nervous over service levels and taking on too much business, and when you are the front-runner in this market you will get a deluge of business.  If a lender finds themselves at the top of best buys they want to quickly drop back and will pull their deals at a moment's notice.

"The message for borrowers is to seek independent mortgage advice.  A broker with excellent relationships with mortgage lenders will know in advance if when a mortgage is going to be pulled and can act quickly to secure something for you.  Doing it on your own means you are likely to miss out in this here today, gone tomorrow market."