Mortgage Strategy articles from March 2007

Mortgage Strategy archives from March 2007

COMMENT: We don't want US sub-prime disease.
March 12, 2007... Brokers, lenders and especially overstretched borrowers gave a collective sigh of relief last Thursday when the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold rates for a second month. After its shock decision to increase rates...

Labour KOs eco-funding plan.
March 12, 2007... The government has allegedly dropped plans to part-fund environmental mortgages as part of its bid to encourage more lenders to go green. Last week, housing minister Yvette Cooper met green mortgage lenders Norwich and Peterborough,...

FSA could probe lending decisions.
March 12, 2007... The Financial Services Authority is believed to have purchased technology to analyse lending decisions and demand explanations where cases appear unusual. Fair Isaac, a provider of decision management solutions, has revealed the regulator...

Hipstar may take 10% of the HIPs market.
March 12, 2007... Richard Griffiths, chief executive of Network Data Holdings, says subsidiary Hipstar will take at least 10% market share when Home Information Packs become compulsory later this year. Speaking last week at the group's sales conference at...

IN BRIEF: Gadhia returns to Virgin Money.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Jayne-Anne Gadhia has returned to Virgin to take up the position of chief executive of Virgin Money. Gadhia was formerly managing director of consumer finance at the Royal Bank of Scotland but resigned in December 2006 after 12 years with the...

IN BRIEF: Tories reveal patio tax plan.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The Conservative Party has exposed evidence that the government plans to tax people on the appearance of their homes. A Freedom of Information Act request has uncovered an 80-page government manual illustrating every type of home and...

IN BRIEF: Terraced houses rise in price.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Terraced houses have seen the greatest increases in price over the past 10 years, research by Halifax Estate Agents reveals. Over the past decade, the average terraced house price has risen by 239%. Semi- detached house prices rose 95% while...

IN BRIEF: Quickbridge offers Porsche prize.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Quickbridge is offering introducers the chance to win a Porsche 911 Turbo driving experience. Brokers who submit bridging cases by April 2 will be entered to a draw and the successful broker will win the opportunity to drive the car over the...

IN BRIEF: HSBC considers unloading loans.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... HSBC Holdings is contemplating unloading some of it's A to D loans that total billions of pounds, investment banking sources revealed last week. The bank also plans to stop providing warehouse financing on sub- prime mortgages, sources say....

IN BRIEF: Bank of England freezes base rate.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The Bank of England froze interest rates last week at 5.25%. Industry experts are split on whether another rate rise is needed to bring inflation under control with many predicting stable a base rate throughout 2007. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: GMAC-RFC cuts product rates.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... GMAC-RFC has today slashed rates by between 10 and 31 basis points on its prime and self-cert products. Buy-to-let product rates have been cut by between 20 and 35 basis points. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IVA firm's shares tumble.
March 12, 2007... Debt Free Direct's shares took a sharp downturn last week after it admitted profits for 2007 would be down due to deteriorating advertising performance. This follows the company admitting to Mortgage Strategy that it has shopped 28...

88% Of brokers worry about claims in IVA ads.
March 12, 2007... A whopping 88% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers are concerned about the advertising claims of individual voluntary arrangement firms following news that the Advertising Standards Authority is investigating at least four for making false...

Halifax launches its HomeBuy deal.
March 12, 2007... Halifax for Intermediaries has launched its Open Market HomeBuy proposition, despite take-up with other lenders being low. The government launched Open Market HomeBuy last October but only three out of the four participating lenders - the...

CML slammed for lack of action on exit fees.
March 12, 2007... The Council of Mortgage Lenders has been blasted for "keeping its head down" over exit fees. Last June, Danny Lovey, sole broker at The Mortgage Practitioner, appeared on BBC Radio 4's Moneybox programme with Michael Coogan,...

Trigold agrees to list hybrid rates.
March 12, 2007... Trigold has yielded to pressure from lenders to include capped tracker products on its sourcing system, Previously, the sourcing system was unable to distinguish capped tracker products and sourced them as either capped or tracker deals....

IN BRIEF: Leeds unveils fee-free fixed rate.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Leeds has launched a fee-free five-year fixed rate product at 5.99%. The product is available up to 90% LTV, has no higher lending charge or completion fees and allows 10% capital repayments each year. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Instant decision tool launched.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Money Partners Touch has launched an instant decisioning tool for brokers called eDecision. This will allow its brokers to obtain instant decisions online. For a limited period, brokers using eDecision can benefit from free real-time valuations...

IN BRIEF: Em- legal advice link-up.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Goldsmith Williams and emhave launched a broker nomination scheme for remortgage and conveyancing services. The scheme enables emto offer brokers legal advice for purchase, sale, buy-to-let and remortgage cases. Copyright: Centaur...

New lender entrants slated.
March 12, 2007... GMAC-RFC has blasted new lender entrants for promising too much and not delivering. It says that many new lenders have tried to break into the market with low rates but have failed to deliver on service, leading to backlogs and...

Yesmortgages grows Irish presence.
March 12, 2007... Sub-prime distributor yesmortgages is stepping up operations in the Republic of Ireland following its pilot launch there in 2006. The distributor, which is owned by c2-financial directors David Wylie and Justin Caffrey, launched last year...

FSA fails small firms on TCF, says report.
March 12, 2007... The Financial Services Authority has been blamed for a "massive communications gap" when it comes to guiding small firms on its Treating Customers Fairly initiative. With TCF's March 31 implementation deadline fast approaching, a report...

IN BRIEF: Bridging arrangement.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Affirmative has linked up with mortgageforce to support its growth in the bridging loans market. Mortgageforce has a referral arrangement with Affirmative so bridging loans will be available to the whole of its franchise network. ...

IN BRIEF: Beacon relaxes near prime criteria.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Beacon Homeloans has adjusted the criteria of its buy-to-let near prime product range. Previously, borrowers with County Court judgements over #300 were not eligible for the near-prime buy-to-let product but this has been amended and...

IN BRIEF: Many people plan to buy new homes.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Some three million people - nearly 7% of the adult UK population - are planning to buy new homes in the next six months, a survey by mform.co.uk reveals. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

MT celebrates all facets of its business.
March 12, 2007... The Mortgage Times Group last week held its second annual awards ceremony at plush London hotel Claridge's. The event celebrated the many facets of the packager and network's business, from its appointed brokers, directly authorised...

Tories slammed for HIP ploy.
March 12, 2007... LMS has accused the Conservative Party of fuelling the anti-Home Information Pack movement by questioning the cost of local authority searches. Last week, Michael Gove, shadow minister for housing and MP for Surrey Heath, questioned the...

Two big networks plan to double in size this year.
March 12, 2007... Two of the industry's biggest networks are gearing up for recruitment drives, fuelling talk of consolidation in the sector. Pink Home Loans and The Mortgage Times Group have unveiled plans to double in size by the end of the year. ...

Igroup joins Pink packager panel.
March 12, 2007... Pink Home Loans has added GE Money Home Lending's igroup brand to its packaged lender panel. Brokers will now be able to access igroup's GEM range for people with adverse credit histories which includes fixed, tracker and discounted...

Close unveils B2L deal priced below base rate.
March 12, 2007... Close Mortgages has launched a buy-to-let discount tracker priced below the Bank of England base rate. The deal is base rate minus 0.01% and includes 110% of the initial pay rate. John Taylor, chief operating officer at Close...

IN BRIEF: HoC selects MortgageStream.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Home of Choice has chosen MortgageStream as its case management system, removing the need for brokers to re-key data into different systems. Richard Coulson, chief executive of HoC, says: "The clarity and flexibility of this system is what...

IN BRIEF: UK customers shop around.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Customers in the UK are the most likely to shop around for financial bargains in the EU, says Datamonitor. UK branch managers at banks and societies say customers shop around for financial services more than they used to. Copyright:...

IN BRIEF: Compliance appointment.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Centrepoint has appointed compliance specialist Bill Warren as a non- executive director. Warren is also compliance director at Complete Mortgage and Loan Services Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Alexander Hall adopts Trigold.
March 12, 2007... Alexander Hall has ditched Mortgage Brain for Trigold after five years of using the sourcing system. But the Foxtons-owned brokerage denies the reason behind the swap is due to problems with Mortgage Brain. Andy Pratt, chief...

PTFS unveils 110% buy-to-let deal.
March 12, 2007... Personal Touch Financial Services has teamed up with BM Solutions to launch an exclusive buy-to-let deal with 110% rental calculation. The product is available to network members and directly authorised brokers via Mortgagebox. The...

Landlords face fines for exploiting immigrants.
March 12, 2007... Landlords who exploit illegal immigrants in overcrowded flats could be fined as much as #20,000 by the Home Office. Home secretary John Reid wants to crack down on illegal immigration. This includes tackling landlords using their...

IN BRIEF: Demand for traded endowments rises.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The number of traded endowment policies purchased in 2006 more than doubled compared with the previous year, says the Association of Policy Market Makers. Brian Goldstein, chairman of APMM, says: "Last year, market-makers saw record levels of...

IN BRIEF: 5D in service link with Crown.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... 5D Finance has appointed Crown Mortgage Management as its servicing partner. 5D will continue to process applications inhouse through to completion and Crown will administer completed loans. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Website to boost Sharia mortgages.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... A website has been launched to advertise Shariacompliant mortgages and financial products from UK lenders. IslamicMortgages. co.uk is intended to help the UK's Muslim population get onto the property ladder. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Spring housing boom predicted.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Haart is predicting a spring boom as sellers rush to get their properties onto the market before the introduction of Home Information Packs on June 1. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Hipstar to use VisualHIP.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Hipstar will deliver several thousand Home Information Packs per month using the VisualHip platform from LexisNexis' Visualfiles. The two companies have been working together for the past eight months to tailor a solution that integrates...

IN BRIEF: MI unveils Abbey semi-exclusive.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Mortgage Intelligence has launched a semi-exclusive Abbey product which has a fixed rate of 5.19% for two years. The deal is for loans up to #500,000 for purchase and remortgage and has Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

I'm no sub-prime conspiracy theorist.
March 12, 2007... Ah, spring in America. The cherry blossom is starting to show its buds and the last piles of snow are beginning to melt - along with a considerable chunk of the residential sub-prime industry. In case you haven't been reading the wires -...

School plan could hit prices.
March 12, 2007... Plans to revise the way school places are allocated have led to fears of house price slumps in catchment areas. In 2008, Brighton & Hove will become the first local council to scrap catchment areas around oversubscribed schools. Instead...

Accountancy firm calls for IHT rethink.
March 12, 2007... A member of the world's fifth-largest accountancy network has called on chancellor Gordon Brown to raise the Inheritance Tax threshold in his final Budget on March 21. BDO Stoy Hayward, part of BDO International, warns that the fact the...

Countrywide says yes to Apollo bid.
March 12, 2007... The Countrywide buyout sage continued last week after the estate agency accepted a takeover offer from Apollo Management, while a counter-offer was rumoured to be on the cards. US private equity firm Apollo's #1.01bn offer to buy...

IN BRIEF: Edeus launches remortgage deals.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Edeus has released 24 remortgage-only sub-prime and sub-prime self-cert products. The propositions come with free remortgage service, free property assessment, #200 cashback and rates from a 6.44% on a near prime three-year tracker. ...

IN BRIEF: TMB offers free valuations.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The Mortgage Business is offering free valuations through Pinnacle Mortgage on its whole purchase range up to #500,000. Nigel Payne, managing director of TMB, says: "Free valuations complement the value and structure of our products." ...

IN BRIEF: Rates slashed on Partners range.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... GMAC-RFC has slashed the rates on its Partners fixed rate products following a review. The range now offers a buy-to-let product with a rate starting from 5.39% for a two-year fixed deal. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors...

IN BRIEF: Scarborough buys CI business.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Scarborough has bought Portman's Guernsey-based offshore deposit-taking business Portman Channel Islands. PCI has a deposit book of around #600m and about 8,000 customers. PCI will be rebranded and trade as Scarborough Channel Islands. ...

IN BRIEF: Mortgage assets rise at Yorkshire.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Yorkshire saw mortgage asset growth of 10.4% to #13.3bn in 2006. Gross lending was up 26% to #4bn and net lending was up 52% to #1.3bn. Iain Cornish, chief executive of Yorkshire, says: "2007 will be a year of economic uncertainty but we...

IN BRIEF: Money Partners' online promotion.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Money Partners Touch has launched an online promotion to encourage brokers to register on its website. Until April 11, any broker registering interest on the website could win a DVD recorder, a satellite TV package or a satellite navigation...

IN BRIEF: Brokers sceptical over carbon target.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... A survey by UCB Homeloans shows 67% of brokers believe the government will not achieve its target of making all new homes carbon-neutral within 10 years. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Yorkshire slams Saffron's low-start deal for divorcees.
March 12, 2007... Yorkshire has hit out at Saffron's six-month interest-free product targeted at people trying to get back on their feet after divorce. The product, which was launched last week, has 0% interest for the first six months and a discounted...

Split over education on cover deals.
March 12, 2007... Brokers are split over whether protection providers should give them more education about their products, says Alliance & Leicester. Research by the lender has found that 51% of brokers think they need more education from protection...

Labour has spent #6m on HIP consultants.
March 12, 2007... The government has been branded a "meddling force" after it admitted spending #6m on consultants in the run-up to the June 1 implementation of Home Information Packs. Under a Freedom of Information Act request it was revealed that the...

Mortgage Times in conveyancing boost.
March 12, 2007... The Mortgage Times Group has linked up with xit2's conveyancing portal in a bid to improve the service it offers intermediaries. MT will now send conveyancing instructions directly to its legal services firm McKeags, meaning brokers will...

CML rebuts MPs' criticism.
March 12, 2007... The Council of Mortgage Lenders has defended lenders that charge high arrangement fees on low rate products following criticism from MPs. In a recent early day motion, a group of MPs accused lenders of taking advantage of consumers by...

Coventry launches capped rate option.
March 12, 2007... Coventry is adding a capped rate product to its MOREgage range, making it the only capped rate in the 100%-plus lending market. The product is a three-year base rate plus 0.84% tracker but has a capped rate of 6.29% until March 31 2010. It...

Retirement Plus ads to run in Co-op shops.
March 12, 2007... Retirement Plus is using Co-operative stores as an advertising vehicle for equity release in a bid to raise the product's profile among consumers. The equity release provider has teamed up with the retailer for an equity release...

IN BRIEF: CAB warns on bailiffs' power.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Citizens Advice has warned that upcoming legislation will give bailiffs the power to forcibly enter domestic premises to recover debts. It is pressing for bailiffs to be regulated and safeguards to ensure entry is only used as a last resort....

IN BRIEF: MT offers secured loans incentive.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The Mortgage Times Group has introduced 60% gross commissions on secured loans for brokers. Payam Azadi, head of marketing at MT, says: "Our secured loans division is thriving and this deal will encourage members to offer these products." ...

IN BRIEF: Instant ID checks from Easier2Move.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Easier2move has linked up with 192.com to allow its solicitors to perform instant identity checks. Karen Babington, sales and marketing director at Easier2Move, says: "We hope to ensure efficient and speedy service." Copyright: Centaur...

FTBs take a broader view.
March 12, 2007... A quarter of aspiring property owners would consider moving as far away as Australia to save money to buy their first home in Britain. The latest quarterly savings survey from National Savings & Investments has found that 25% of Brits...

GMAC-RFC climbs best employer table.
March 12, 2007... GMAC-RFC is up to number 32 in the Sunday Times' latest 'Best 100 companies to work for' table. The firm is the only mortgage lender to be included in the annual list and has jumped 36 places from number 68 last year. The listing...

Mortgageforce makes dreams come true.
March 12, 2007... MortgageForce has made 44 wannabe brokers' dreams come true with its broker training academy scheme. The franchise business has signed up 44 recruits to its academy since the scheme was launched in May 2006. So far, 29 candidates have...

Trustguard self-cert deal has no overhang.
March 12, 2007... Trustguard has launched a fixed rate self-cert product with no overhang from The Mortgage Business. The product offers an initial rate of 5.34% with no overhang and has a maximum LTV of 85%. It is available for salaried as well as self-...

IN BRIEF: SPML appoints Essex BDM.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited has appointed Lisa Partington as business development manager for Essex and east and north London. She joins SPML from Beacon Homeloans where she was a BDM for two years. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Reshuffle at Heritable Bank.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Heritable Bank has reshuffled its senior management team. Finance director Ketan Malde has also taken on the role of chief operating officer, Tim Wentworth is now managing director of Heritable Capital Partners and Nick Barrett becomes managing...

IN BRIEF: London is still tops for investors.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... London is still the best market for property investors, says Experian. Eight of the top 10 UK markets are in London, mostly in the office sector. Investment in London offices has reached record levels in each of the past three years. ...

IN BRIEF: Profits underpin UK banks' growth.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Profit growth in wealth management, investment banking and international markets have been key factors in the growth of UK banks, KPMG's UK financial institutions performance survey reveals. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Edeus launches 90% B2L deal.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Edeus has launched a buy-to-let product available up to 90% LTV at 100% rental coverage based on pay rate which is 0.74% above base rate for two years. There is an 1.5% arrangement fee and early repayment charges are 5% in years one and two....

IN BRIEF: Lib Dems plan to target the rich.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... The Liberal Democrats have unveiled proposals to tax extreme wealth. Shadow chancellor Vince Cable says: "I am determined that the Lib Dems will have a strong message of support - through tax cuts - for people of modest means who are being...

IN BRIEF: Beacon gets into Right to Buy.(Brief article)
March 12, 2007... Beacon Homeloans has launched into the Right to Buy sector with a range that allows applicants to borrow up to 90% of the value of their houses, or 80% for flats, with a maximum of #1,000 County Court judgements per applicant. Last week,...

Do you think Stamp Duty is becoming a barrier to home ownership?
March 12, 2007... Last week, Halifax revealed there has been a 281% increase in the number of home sales that attract 3% Stamp Duty over the past five years. With 279,408 homes priced above the #250,000 threshold last year it means 19% of home buyers were hit...

Expo may break record despite lender boycott.
March 12, 2007... The Mortgage Business Expo says more than 122 companies have already signed up to exhibit in London despite three major lenders shunning the event. GMAC-RFC has joined BM Solutions and Bristol & West in deciding not to take a stand at...

ANALYSIS: Market Watch - 12.03.07.
March 12, 2007... Swaps continued to fall last week. They have been declining for the best part of a month. It will be interesting to see what impact last week's decision to hold base rates has. Hopefully swaps will continue to fall and this will result in some...

Will advent of retention fees lead to smaller proc fees for brokers?
March 12, 2007... Retention fees may pay off for brokers but one of our experts thinks that consumers will pay in the end through higher product prices Chris Pearson is head of sales and marketing at BM Solutions The mortgage intermediary market ticks...

ANALYSIS: Lenders discover that it's still good to talk.
March 12, 2007... Most borrowers would probably say their top priority when it comes to mortgage products is the cheapest rate. Of course, there's nothing wrong in that and price is a crucial part of the product selection. After all, clients don't seek...

ANALYSIS: Youngsters go global in quest for UK housing.
March 12, 2007... I've read a lot recently about first-time buyers having to relocate hundreds of miles to other parts of the country to beat Stamp Duty. Only by moving - mostly from south to north - will they find a home that fits their price range and...

ANALYSIS: Helping clients through the fees maze.
March 12, 2007... Last month, the exit fees issue came to a head. On February 28, the Financial Services Authority forced lenders to own up to charging too much - as most if not all had been doing - and reduce their fees. It's thought that this has opened the...

ANALYSIS: Let's pay brokers more than lip service.
March 12, 2007... Do lenders value brokers' business? How hard do they work to secure it? Do they care about brokers and their clients? The soundbites, straplines and sales pitches used by mortgage lenders strongly suggest they do. But the everyday reality...

ANALYSIS: Packagers must do their own thing.
March 12, 2007... There was a lot of speculation that 2006 would see the demise of packagers. Most people in the industry would have to agree that this proved to be far from the case. In fact, those of us who have reacted to our brokers' needs and...

ANALYSIS: Painful lessons for postcode parents.
March 12, 2007... With competition for school places becoming ever more intense, it's no wonder that many parents mortgage themselves to the hilt to buy homes in good catchment areas. But this can disrupt local property prices and recent developments in...