Looking Back and Looking Forward
The housing market in 2010, resembled for me a game of two halves, with after a fairly positive start, the market trailed off in the second half of the year. Overall this has left us with house prices according…
An Alternative to Guarantor Mortgages
A guarantor mortgage is where the main applicant is unable to afford the mortgage based on their current income and affordability requirements. So the potential borrower asks another person who is normally a close family member to stand as a…
Getting the right mortgage for you
There are many things to consider when you apply for a mortgage starting with how you feel about the lender. Are you not bothered who lends you the money as long as the rate is competitive, or would you…
A Cautionary Tale
Many Building Societies rushed to demutualise in the 1990’s with the biggest Building Society in the world, Halifax, managing the feat in 1997. The main reason given for becoming corporate was to allow them to access capital more freely and…
Beware of New Builds
Nothing looks better than a newly built property on the market. The walls are blank canvas’ ready for you to put your mark on, the brick work is bright and new and the photographs are always very pleasing to the…
Brainwash Advertising
We all know adverts on the television are gimmicky and rarely give us any really indication of what the product is actually like, yet at the same time we can’t help but be persuaded by them. For example, until…
Smaller lenders making a big difference
In the last few years we have tended to be critical of Banks & Building Societies and their sometimes irrational behaviour when lending money. Although this continues it is refreshing to be able to report that some lenders have started…
Fixed Rate Mortgages Hit Record Low
The UK’s cheapest ever fixed rate mortgage has arrived with the Co-op Bank offering two year fixed rates at 1.09%. This follows on the heels of HSBC’s lowest ever five year fixed rate of 1.99%, with Barclay’s announcing a ten…
The Under Insured Generation
As the world changes, over the long term, life becomes much easier for people due to new technologies and a greater level of real average wealth per person. In general, young people now tend to take things for granted which…