Not content with making things ever harder for borrowers, banks and building societies have consistently increased the level and number of products they offer with fees, according to consumer watchdog Which? In 2007, almost a quarter of two-year tracker loans were without arrangement fees.  That figure is now just 3.7 per cent.  In every category [...]

Continue reading " Mortgage Lenders Rack Up The Fees "

Will they, won’t they?  Expectations of an mortgage interest rate rise in the near or medium term were dampened this week, when figures for the UK economy showed a surprising 0.5 per cent fall in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2010, followed by a slump in the value of the pound against the euro [...]

Continue reading " UK Mortgage Interest Rates In The Balance "

Sounding like the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, today’s piece of property advice comes from overseas real estate experts Property Venture, which has surveyed the prospects for emerging economies and struggling European nations. In Europe, the financial crisis has hit Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain (PIGS) particularly hard, causing [...]

Continue reading " Seeking out PIGS and BRICs "

Evidence has emerged that mortgage lenders are tightening conditions for people with children, with offers coming in at between 10 and 20 per cent below those for borrowers without children. This could mean that families with children will be barred from taking up fixed rate mortgages and other competitive deals once interest rates begin to [...]

Continue reading " Mortgage Lenders Penalise Home Owners With Children "

The latest movements in UK rents, mortgage availability and the lack of new home construction has meant that investors are now flowing back into the market, with ‘substantial’ opportunities now appearing, according to Savills. “The lack of debt funding for large, complex development schemes has created the greatest opportunities for residential property investment,” says Savills. [...]

Continue reading " Residential Property Investment On The Rise "

Environmental awareness is all very well, but home owners need to beware of the unforeseen pitfalls that can accompany over-enthusiastic domestic greening. Charles and Chantal Dunn bought a large old property in Great Campston near Abergavenny in Wales in 2002, near the Black Mountains.  They employed an architect called Robert Franklin to advise on renovating [...]

Continue reading " Woolly Warnings "

An analysis published by the Scottish Executive found the proportion of people aged under 35 renting from a private landlord has rapidly increased from 13 per cent in 1999 to 31 per cent a decade later. By 2014 this group will overtake the number of young Scots with a mortgage and by 2020 more than [...]

Continue reading " Most Young Scots To Rent By 2020 "

The imbalance between high demand for private rented accommodation and the limited supply will continue to distort the market and produce unforeseen quirks. According to the Association of Residential Lettings Agents (ARLA), there will be various new factors emerging: home owners who cannot sell will turn to renting their properties, knowing that rates are currently [...]

Continue reading " The Great UK Rental Squeeze Continues "