Mortgages
First Direct cuts mortgage rate after base rate change
first direct has cut its standard variable mortgage rate by 0.25% from today, 10 April 2007, passing on the full benefit of the Bank of England base rate reduction to its customers immediately.
Only the fittest will survive
The Bank of England, as expected, trimmed interest rates by 0.25% to 5%. However, today's rate cut is unlikely to help many homeowners as lenders either withdraw or replace reasonably-priced products with expensive ones.
CML: decision to reduce rates to 5%
Responding to today's MPC decision to reduce the base rate to 5%, the Council of Mortgage Lenders welcomes the move which, if partnered with increased provisions of liquidity, could help to begin to restore stability to the mortgage market.
MoneyExpert.com: Bank of England base rate cut
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert.com, said: "Things have changed dramatically since the base rate was last at 5 per cent. Mortgage applications fees have risen by 55 per cent and fixed mortgage rates are also higher now than they were back in November 2006.
Nationwide to decrease mortgage rates by 0.25%
Nationwide Building Society has announced that it will decrease its Base Mortgage Rate (BMR) from 1 May 2008 following a decision by the MPC to cut the Base Rate.
Alliance & Leicester launches new buy to let mortgages
Alliance & Leicester is launching a new range of residential and Buy to Let products, which will be available via brokers, branches and Mortgage Direct from Friday 11 April 2008.
CML welcomes launch of mortgage finance working group
The CML welcomes the launch of the mortgage finance working group, under the chairmanship of Sir James Crosby, and looks forward to actively participating as it develops its proposals.
Some lenders are not distributing mortgages through intermediaries
People looking to remortgage are finding it harder to secure a new mortgage than they have done for many years. And if they are successful, they are likely to be paying more for it in both rates and fees.
Chancellor launches mortgage finance Working Group
Sir James Crosby will lead a group of mortgage industry experts, providing advice to the Government on options for improving the function of mortgage finance markets, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling announced today.
HSBC's pledge to match fixed rate offers
Commenting on HSBC's pledge to match fixed rate offers coming to an end with other lenders, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said:
Experian offers advice to beat the mortgage freeze
Experian, the global information services company and UK's leading credit reference agency, today advised those nearing the end of their current mortgage deals to ‘spring-clean' their credit reports before they look for a new one.
MoneyExpert.com: HSBC ‘match a fixed deal’ mortgage offer
Sean Gardner of MoneyExpert.com commented: “HSBC has thrown a lifeline to hard-pressed mortgage borrowers today with the offer of matching anyone’s fixed rate deal for another two years.
HSBC offers to match existing mortgage deals
HSBC is making its Rate Matcher mortgage available to all UK homeowners, subject to clear affordability criteria and for a limited period only.
Housing wealth leaves most mortgage customers in a strong position
Data newly published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) shows that mortgage balances outstanding are dwarfed by unmortgaged housing wealth held by home-owners.
Bye bye first-time buyers?
Following the withdrawal of Abbey from the 100 per cent LTV market yesterday, and a hike of up to 0.37 per cent on their fixed-rated deals as of tomorrow, all eyes will now be on the Bank of Ireland as the only mainstream bank still offering 100 per cent mortgages through its own lending arm and subsidiary Bristol & West.