Mortgage Strategy articles from May 2006

Mortgage Strategy archives from May 2006

COMMENT: FSA has to target rogue brokers.
May 1, 2006... Just as the mortgage industry starts to recover from the Financial Services Authority's mystery shopping exercise into self-cert, another shocking investigation has unearthed brokers taking advantage of those in financial difficulties and...

Brokers are overcharging vulnerable customers.
May 1, 2006... Shocking results from a mystery shopping exercise have exposed bad practice among some mortgage brokers who are overcharging vulnerable customers in financial difficulties. Worryingly, the results show that some brokers are quoting fees of...

Ex-Blue star serenades staff at BM Solutions.
May 1, 2006... The equity release sector was rife with rumours last week about potential entrants to the market looking to acquire firms. One industry source says: "There are a lot of big players keen to get into this market and an acquisition is a good...

IN BRIEF: Abbey trading results on the up.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Abbey's results for Q1 2006 show that statutory profit and trading profit before tax, trading income and retail balances are all higher than Q1 2005, although trading expenses and headcount are lower. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Equity release training package.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Institute of Financial Services has teamed up with equity release specialist Just Retirement to offer a training and examination package for up to 1,000 financial advisers. In partnership with the IFS, Just Retirement is offering...

IN BRIEF: 100% Deal from Catholic.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Catholic has launched a mortgage deal that will allow potential applicants to borrow up to 100% of the property value, with 25% of the loan secured against additional suitable security. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Join in MS survey on equity release.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Mortgage Strategy is calling on all brokers to take part in our equity release survey at www.mortgage-strategy.co.uk. The results will be published in a supplement at the end of the month. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Bungalows and beans at Asda.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Asda says it is planning to be the first UK supermarket to move into the property market. From this summer, customers in 10 of its North-East stores will be able to sell their homes alongside sausages, or browse for a bungalow among the...

IN BRIEF: April sees house prices spiral.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Hometrack's latest house price survey reveals that April saw the highest monthly rise for almost two years with values rising across 36% of the country, primarily in London and the South-East. The average house price now stands at #163,500....

IN BRIEF: #20,000 Fine for insurance broker.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Financial Services Authority has fined insurance intermediary Besso #20,000 for failing to apply for approval of an employee who held a significant management role at the firm when it first applied for authorisation. The severity of the...

IN BRIEF: Swift lending 73% up on last year.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Swift Group has revealed that its gross new lending for the first quarter of 2006 is running 73% higher than for the corresponding period in 2005. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Advantage launches range through Morgan Stanley.
May 1, 2006... Advantage Home Loans has launched its first suite of mortgage products through Morgan Stanley, causing concern among some of its lending partners. The sub-prime products will make Advantage the seventh branded lender on its own online...

65% Of brokers feel confident about self-cert.
May 1, 2006... A majority of 65% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers feel confident about selling self-cert mortgages. But with seven out of nine respondents in this week's Word on the Street saying they would happily lie about their income to get on...

Branded lender funded by MPLC.
May 1, 2006... Solent Mortgage Services, The Finance Centre and em-financial have clubbed together to launch a branded lender called Spectrum, funded by Mortgages PLC. The range of products offered will include jointly branded deals which each company...

ING rumoured to be eyeing B2L market.
May 1, 2006... ING Direct is rumoured to be poised to enter the buy-to-let property market, after it sponsored a Channel 4 TV programme about investing in rental property. In October 2005 the Dutch-owned savings bank confirmed speculation that it was...

Equity advice franchise launched to help brokers.
May 1, 2006... The Equity Release Advisory Service is launching a national franchise proposition called Equity Advice to encourage more brokers to advise on and sell equity release products. Stuart Wilson, managing director of ERAS, says the public...

Packagers win sub-prime business.
May 1, 2006... Research from GMAC-RFC reveals that 60% of brokers place their sub- prime business with packagers. GMAC-RFC says this shows the considerable backing packagers have from brokers, despite some in the industry predicting their demise after...

IN BRIEF: FMO offers World Cup tickets in prize draw.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... First Mortgage Options is offering two England vs Sweden VIP hospitality tickets for England's final Group B game in the World Cup this summer. Provided in conjunction with GMAC-RFC, the tickets are available to all advisers via a prize draw...

Future says service is fine.
May 1, 2006... Future Mortgages says its service is back on track as it makes plans to bring back its 100% LTV mortgage. Ken Horsburgh, head of sales at Future Mortgages, says the lender is planning to expand its business and products now its service is...

Impaired life equity plan launched.
May 1, 2006... Partnership Home Loans launched a medically underwritten impaired life equity release plan through 12 brokers last week. The sister company of insurer Partnership Assurance gained approval from Safe Home Income Plans in February and...

Mortgage lending to pass #1trillion soon.
May 1, 2006... Total mortgage borrowing in the UK will pass the #1trillion mark early next month, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The CML says despite growing rapidly in recent years, borrowing is dwarfed by the amount of unmortgaged property...

Oakwood Group appoints Klemmer as president.
May 1, 2006... The Oakwood Group has appointed Richard Klemmer as president. Klemmer, formerly CEO of Oakwood's Australian lending subsidiary Pepper Homeloans, will be responsible for overseeing the operations of all Oakwood Group companies,...

Owen says LMC will retain brand after sale.
May 1, 2006... Speaking exclusively to Mortgage Strategy as the sale of London Mortgage Company to Lehman Brothers is set to complete, LMC chief executive Robert Owen insists the company will retain its brand as the business expands. Owen set up LMC just...

70% Would lie about income to get on housing ladder.
May 1, 2006... Mortgage Strategy's Word on the Street survey this week shockingly reveals that 70% of consumers would lie about their income to help them get on the property ladder. Seven out of 10 people say they would lie about their income if they...

IN BRIEF: Call for rural housing action.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says the government must address the housing problems facing growing numbers of families priced out of rural property markets. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Retirement Plus appointment.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Retirement Plus has appointed Chris MacMahon senior relationship manager. He has 30 years' experience in mortgages and in 2003 helped establish sub-prime lender Infinity. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Abbey relaunches buy-to-let range.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Abbey has relaunched its buy-to-let range, introducing fixed and tracker rates, low booking fees and free valuation fees plus #250 cashback for remortgages. Abbey has also launched fee-free fixed and tracker rates. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Halifax cover deal with Sesame.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Halifax General Insurance has agreed a deal with Sesame to become a provider of household and accident, sickness and unemployment cover to its 7,800 financial advisers. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Pink online DIP.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Pink Home Loans is offering its appointed representatives an online decision in principle facility. This is available for packaged adverse cases and will search the lenders on Pink's panel to provide brokers with a list of lenders that will...

Watford FC seeks partners.
May 1, 2006... Watford Football Club is seeking a range of affinity partners to offer fans financial services and products from mortgages to pensions. Tony Yorke, spokesman for the club, says it can enhance its relationship with supporters by introducing...

HMO rules could affect B2L deals.
May 1, 2006... Legislation brought in to cover homes in multiple occupancy could lead to more innovative products from lenders in the buy-to-let sector. The HMO regulations require landlords of properties with five unrelated tenants or that are over...

Call for brokers to push MPPI.
May 1, 2006... The mortgage sector is failing to ensure consumers are adequately covered by mortgage payment protection insurance, says MPPI provider Commitments Protection. Commitments is encouraging brokers to ask clients whether mortgage payment...

Buyers turned off by petty sellers.
May 1, 2006... Sellers taking garden plants, light fittings and toilet rolls when they leave their homes is rated the top complaint by buyers in a survey by Halifax. More than a quarter of the people surveyed by Halifax admitted to digging up their...

IN BRIEF: Manchester Expo on May 17 and 18.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The 2006 Mortgage Business Expo in Manchester is to take place at the G- Mex exhibition centre on May 17 and 18. The free event is organised for the second year by Clarion Events. Brokers will have access to over 130 lenders, packagers,...

IN BRIEF: Commercial appointment.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Davenham Property Finance has appointed Andy Matley as its commercial mortgage manager. Matley joins from the Royal Bank of Scotland where he spent 15 years gaining experience in the commercial property market. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: MT self-cert exclusives.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Mortgage Times Group is launching two prime self-cert exclusive products with free valuations in conjunction with The Mortgage Business. The products have pay rates of 4.79% fixed until June 30 2008 and 2009 and both have maximum LTVs of...

IN BRIEF: Rightmove joins AHIPP.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Association of Home Information Pack Providers grew last week as Rightmove.co.uk signed up.It joins over 30 organisations in the trade body, all of which are involved in the provision of HIPs. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

FTBs are giving up hope.
May 1, 2006... Half of prospective first-time buyers are so scared about getting mortgages and homes that they've given up hope of ever buying properties, says Bradford & Bingley. B&B's latestreport on first-time buyers finds that although 37% want to...

C2 extends its proc fee offer on adverse deals.
May 1, 2006... c2-financial has extended its C55 offer whereby it will only retain 0.25% of the proc fee on most of its medium and light adverse products. Justin Caffrey, operations and sales director at c2, says: " We listened to our brokers who were...

Amber launches self-cert range.
May 1, 2006... Amber Homeloans has launched a range of prime self-cert products including a 5.79% three-year fix available up to 95% LTV. It has also unveiled a selection of 90% LTV fixed rate products including a 5.19% two-year fix up to 90% LTV, a 5.09%...

JRF floats equity care plan.
May 1, 2006... The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has called on the government to pilot a voluntary equity release scheme for home-based care to enable home owners to access capital tied up in their homes. JRF estimates this would cost about #100m a year...

TBMC joins Intrinsic Services' packager panel.
May 1, 2006... The Business Mortgage Company has been appointed to Intrinsic Financial Services' panel as its only commercial packager. Intrinsic says the specialist commercial and buy-to-let packager was chosen because of its experience and systems...

Pink extends its sub-prime offer.
May 1, 2006... Pink Home Loans is extending its Turning the Adverse World Upside Down campaign until July 31 2006. Pink launched its sub-prime campaign at the beginning of the year with the aim of adding value in the adverse market. It kicked off the...

IN BRIEF: Fixed deals from Rooftop.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Rooftop Mortgages has launched several fixed rate deals, reduced its Right to Buy fixed rates, and relaunched its Right to Buy heavy adverse product. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Advisers won't put in study time.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Many advisers are losing out on gaining specialist qualifications, deterred by the prospect of long hours of study, says the Institute of Financial Services. But the IFS says that many advisers spend at least 30 minutes commuting and they could...

IN BRIEF: Society appoints director.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Market Harborough has appointed Kerry Spooner as a non-executive director. Most of Spooner's legal career was spent with the international firm, Allen & Overy LLP. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Buyback issue could threaten mortgages.
May 1, 2006... If you buy a defective toaster the store you bought it from either gives you a new one or your money back. But what happens when one of America's mighty investment banking houses - via one of its conduits - buys a residential loan from a...

IN BRIEF: TMB appoints sales manager.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Mortgage Business has appointed a regional sales manager to cover the Midlands, North, Scotland, North Wales and Northern Ireland. Martin Garfoot has been promoted to TMB having previously worked for BM Solutions as a business development...

IN BRIEF: Golden oldies.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Pensioners' property equity stands #54bn higher than last year, research reveals. Over the past 12 months pensioners have benefited to the tune of #54bn from rising house prices, according to figures from Economic Lifestyle. Copyright:...

IN BRIEF: PMPA offers semi-exclusives.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance is offering two semi- exclusive deals from The Mortgage Business, neither of which have higher lending charges. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Impaired credit deals from Unity.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Unity Home Loans has launched two impaired credit ranges. The two-year fixed rate for light impaired and the three-year stepped discount for light, medium and heavy impaired deals are priced competitively. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Paymentcare offers free cover.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Paymentcare.co.uk is offering four months' free cover and reduced rates on its latest mortgage payment protection insurance product. Free-4-all offers four months' free cover at #3.95 for full ASU on a back to day one basis. Copyright:...

IN BRIEF: Kensington wins Queen's Award.(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Kensington Mortgages has won the 2006 Queen's Award for Enterprise in the innovation category. This is the first time a specialist lender has won the award. Lenders and brokers have faced allegations in the past over the mis-selling of...

Vox pop: Would you lie about your earnings to get a mortgage?
May 1, 2006... Lenders and broker shave faced allegations in the past over the mis- selling of self-cert mortgages which is why some intermediaries still feel uneasy about selling these types of deals. But it's not only lenders and brokers that should...

ANALYSIS: Market Watch.
May 1, 2006... Swaps surged last week to an annual high, bringing about a swathe of rate rises and withdrawals. * One-year money is up 0.04% at 4.85% * Two-year money is up 0.07% at 4.96% * Three-year money is up 0.10% at 5.04% * Five-year...

Should all buy-to-let have to be sold with home information packs?
May 1, 2006... There does not seem to be much justification for the exemption of buy- to-let properties from HIP legislation, say our experts paul broadhead is deputy director-general of the Association of Home Information Pack ProvidersHouses or flats...

ANALYSIS: Leads that can lead borrowers astray.
May 1, 2006... Hardly a week goes by without a call from yet another company looking to sell the mortgage leads it has generated. Of course, many of these companies have grown along with the public's expanding access to and use of the internet. The...

ANALYSIS: Honest Tuan Le is the real winner.
May 1, 2006... BBC's The Apprentice makes fascinating viewing. A bunch of reasonably clever people chuck in their well paid jobs to fight it out on national TV for a non-specific position on Sir Alan Sugar's payroll. The success of the first series...

ANALYSIS: HMO rules challenge all B2L lenders.
May 1, 2006... In the past few months much has been written about the merits of houses in multiple occupancy legislation, which finally came into force on April 6 this year. The shape of the regulation has been known for some time, but it is becoming clear...

ANALYSIS: iPad idea seems like a marketing ploy.
May 1, 2006... In a bid to make what could be seen as living in a box appealing to trendy first-time buyers, house builder Barratt has started selling its iPad apartments. One and two-bedroom Barratt iPads will be available from #80,000 at some 17 sites...

ANALYSIS: Getting together to Release it Right.
May 1, 2006... The first meeting of the AMI working party on equity release was held recently. This was an opportunity to bring together those firms that specialise in equity release and wish to support Mortgage Strategy's Release it Right campaign. ...

ANALYSIS: IHT is poised to be political hot potato.
May 1, 2006... Research from Portman shows the number of property millionaires increased 12-fold in the past decade. There was a time when being a millionaire was a big deal. Then along came Chris Tarrant and that annoying National Lottery unicorn and...

ANALYSIS: Lenders should not encourage claims.
May 1, 2006... Sixteen years ago, in the financial services equivalent of a land before time, my wife briefly ran a mortgage brokerage. It seemed like a good idea. She had the expertise, we'd both been in financial services for decades and the business would...

ANALYSIS: Lenders must catch up with the city living trend.
May 1, 2006... Recent years have seen huge growth in urban living. British cities are outgrowing themselves and developers are having to think of new ways of maximising the use of city centre space, leading to a marked rise in the number of inner city...

ANALYSIS: Brokers hold client information on trust.
May 1, 2006... Information is the raw material of the business world. Vast amounts are transferred daily in our personal and professional lives. The Data Protection Act lays down legal guidelines about how this data should be handled by organisations....

ANALYSIS: Political future of HIPs is up in the air.
May 1, 2006... Despite the issuing of a timetable by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, there continue to be concerns (or are they hopes?) that the government will do a U-turn on Home Information Packs. The chances of the government abandoning its...

ANALYSIS: Brokers can cash in on equity boom.
May 1, 2006... Last week Mortgage Strategy published the findings of research by Alliance and Leicester that found 45% of intermediaries would not consider selling equity release. While this generated mixed views including Roland McCormick of Bristol &...

ANALYSIS: Helping to ease the emotional burden.
May 1, 2006... Thanks to the advance of medical science, cancers are being detected and treated earlier than ever before. An obvious result of this is that there are more survivors of cancer in this country. But while their quantity of life has been...

LETTER: London BDMs compete but we speak and share ideas.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From A London BDM I have just read Andrew Montlake's letter in last week's Mortgage Strategy (April 24) and thought it was great. It's about time someone said this. I feel many people write in just to pick a fight and then the next...

LETTER: Let's get it right - networks sell services, not products.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Ian McIver A few weeks ago there was a letter published in Mortgage Strategy that related to the debate about the pricing models of clubs and networks. The writer stated "...networks charge a monthly fee and force their members...

LETTER: Co-op exploits customers and employees to make profits.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Mike Mullins As director of general insurance services for the Co-operative there is no need to wonder about David Neave's agenda when he defends its "ethical policies" or its determination "to stand up on behalf of customers". ...

LETTER: Brokers could give feedback if they weren't frightened.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Name and address supplied I am a mortgage adviser and think an Initial Disclosure Document - or combined IDD and other disclosure documentation - is crucial for consumers and a great opportunity for advisers. As all of you reading...

LETTER: MEX self-cert leaflet gives some strange examples.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Name and address supplied I recently downloaded Mortgage Express' latest marketing leaflet for its self-cert mortgage range. It makes interesting reading. On the front page it states that Mortgage Express is committed to responsible...

LETTER: Valuers don't seem to know house prices are increasing.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Rick Gifford I am amazed the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors states that property values have increased for the past five consecutive months since I am having nothing but trouble with valuations - generally downward. ...

LETTER: Which? is a classic case of poacher turned gamekeeper.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Jim Gillespie I agree with the Association of British Insurers that the activities of Which? should be regulated by the FSA. It has been hiding behind the cloak of journalism for too long and has been giving unregulated financial...

LETTER: Time for the anti-HIP brigade to accept the inevitable.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Julie Musgrave Now that the ODPM has issued its timetable for the implementation of Home Information Packs and started rolling out it's media campaign in the press, perhaps the whinging anti-HIP brigade will at last accept the...

LETTER: Never mind small firms, the FSA should look at lenders.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Andrew Hepworth I read that the FSA is turning its attention regarding TCF toward smaller companies and this is to be applauded. But as most advisers will always seek to look after their clients' best interests as a matter of course,...

LETTER: Portman should put proc fee information on its website.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Peter Stokes Following my raising of the issue of Portman's error in pricing recently (Mortgage Strategy April 24) I was most surprised at the response of Paul Howard, the society's head of intermediary sales. He states that...

LETTER: Burgess should look at good SPASU policies before sniping.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Thomas Reeh Much has been said and written about ASU and its evils from people promoting their own interests and biases. A case in point is Simon Burgess. From his utterances, it would be easy to assume that britishinsurance.com...

LETTER: We must address problems at the top of our society.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... Name and address supplied In reference to Peter Mounty's article on fraud in the mortgage industry (Mortgage Strategy April 24), while I agree with his sentiments I ask that we start to look at this issue at the top of our society. ...

LETTER: Lenders should split their spiraling fee income with brokers.(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2006... From Bob Adams A question to all those lenders who have systematically raised their fees in leaps and bounds over the past year or so - how about sharing a bit of your extra income with your introducers? We have earned it. We are the...

Tread carefully to affordability.
May 1, 2006... Affordability calculations are gradually replacing income multiples as lenders' tool of choice for decision-making but there is concern among brokers that this could result in clients leaving more credit footprints, says Harvey Jones ...

Affordability calculations minimise the temptation to bend the rules.
May 1, 2006... Mel Dring is head of marketing at Freedom Lending Higher house prices combined with a more modest level of wage inflation have pushed housing beyond the means of many borrowers. Frequently, it isn't the monthly mortgage payments that are...

Affordability allows borrowing more in line with property prices.
May 1, 2006... Tim Hughes is head of intermediary markets at Nationwide The mortgage market has changed dramatically over the past 10 to 15 years. We are now seeing a period of low interest rates with rising house prices and greater disposable income. With...