Mortgage borrowers can get help with energy costs

These days mortgage loans are far more restricted than they were prior to the global financial crisis, and many people who want to get a loan for a property find themselves being refused, as lender continue to be extra cautious over who they lend to, how much they lend, and what sort of deposit they are likely to accept.

However, one mortgage lender has decided to buck the trend by offering an incentive to consumers who are taking out a mortgage. The High Street banking giant, Halifax, has decided to try and tempt eligible consumers to take out a mortgage or remortgage through the bank by offering an incentive that could save the borrower a significant amount of cash on the cost of their energy bills.

As part of the new offer customers that take out a mortgage loan or decide to remortgage through Halifax could be eligible to get £500 off their gas and electricity bills, enabling them to save a small fortune on the cost of their energy usage. This could be particularly useful with the winter months fast approaching, when many people find that their energy bills soar.

An official from the banking giant said that the company was committed to encouraging homeownership, and with consumers facing such financial difficulties in the current climate the offer would help them to enjoy making at least some savings when moving into a new home or remortgaging on their old property.

He added that as part of the offer consumers may be able to save between four and six months worth of energy costs, which would help them to enjoy better value for money on their mortgage borrowing and help them to tackle the high cost of energy usage.

Tags: remortgage, cost, electricity bills, mortgage, better value

Should you Remortgage at a Lower Rate of Interest?

Lenders are offering sweet deals to homeowners who wish to remortgage their homes. HSBC is currently offering two-year fixed rate remortgage loans at the low rate of 2.69% and Nationwide has announced lower interest rates for those who can make a small deposit on the remortgage loan. Read more

Tags: loan, five-year fixed rate, remortgage, interest rates, bank, fixed terms, fixed rate mortgage

Homeowners flock to try and sell homes

According to a recent report many homeowners are panicking because of the ongoing drop in property values in the UK, and this has resulted in a million homes being up for sale recently. Property values have been falling for some months, and many industry officials believe that they could fall by in excess of 10% by the end of the year. Many homeowners are worried that if they wait to sell their homes they could end up losing thousand of pounds more on the value of the property. Read more

Tags: Business and Economy, homeowners, Real estate appraisal, May, remortgage, property, report, consumers

Consumers looking to remortgage could experience problems

With lenders raising the borrowing costs on their standard variable rate interest mortgages, and many people due to come of cheap mortgage deals, there are many homeowners that may be thinking about remortgaging in order to ensure a more affordable deal as their existing mortgage deal draws to an end. However, some industry officials have said that many of those looking to remortgage could experience real difficulties. Read more

Tags: Insurance, future interest rate, interest mortgages, uncertainty, remortgage, bank, tighter credit conditions, Interest rate stays

Are you planning to remortgage?

Over recent months many people with mortgages have decided to remortgage for one reason or another. Some have come off special deals that were valid for a limited time and have been forced to remortgage or risk the expensive of being pushed onto the lender’s standard variable rate, and others have decided to remortgage because they can get a better deal elsewhere, saving them money on their borrowing. However, a recent report has shown that there could be a dilemma now facing those planning to remortgage, as there is now confusion over what will happen with interest rates. Read more

Tags: mixed advice, remortgage, security, Central bank, standard variable rate, arrangement, convinced base rate, rate cuts

Increasing number of first time buyers look to brokers for assistance

Officials have claimed in a recent report that an increasing number of first time buyers are now looking to mortgage brokers for advice and assistance in finding a mortgage. It is thought that this is something to do with the tighter credit conditions stemming from the global credit crunch, and with the increased difficulties that many first time buyers are experiencing when it comes to getting a mortgage many are hoping that an experienced broker can help them to find the right mortgage. Read more

Tags: year, recent months, credit conditions, industry professional, put, remortgage, Insurance

Look to remortgage in advance

With conditions within the financial markets currently volatile, one expert has suggested that homeowners looking to remortgage ought to review their options months before their existing deal runs out.

Ray Boulger of John Charcol said that lenders are choosing to change their mortgage rates “increasingly quickly” and most new rates tend to be “higher than the ones they replace”.

The expert advised borrowers wanting to remortgage to “investigate their options as much as six or seven months before their current deal ends, because some mortgage offers are valid for six months, although others only last three months”.

Mr Boulger also suggested that people seeking to buy a new home ought to speak to a broker first to find out what mortgages are currently available, given increasingly tighter lending criteria.

Commenting on the decision taken by the Bank of England to keep the base rate of interest at 5.25 per cent, David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said that the news will be “disappointing” for homeowners.

Tags: advance, interest, finance, decision, tighter lending, head, remortgage, homeowners

Building Society issues reassurance on remortgages

The Newcastle Building Society has told mortgage holders not to panic after the City’s financial regulator, the Financial Services Authority, said it could be difficult for remortgages to go ahead “on favourable terms” next year.

Steven Marks, Newcastle Building Society’s lending expert, said: “From this week’s headlines, many people will be forgiven for thinking that they won’t be able to get a mortgage or competitive remortgage deal from their lender next year.”

Even though interest rates came down slightly this week, such a statement could leave borrowers feeling “unnecessarily uneasy”.

However he emphasised that interest rates are historically low.
The cut in the Bank of England’s base rate should also assist the outlook, Mr Marks added.

Other than Northern Rock, most mainstream lenders are still keen to do business and competitive rates should still be available next year he concluded.

Newcastle Building Society has just announced the launch of a full equity release brokerage system.

The expansion of the advisory service arrives six months after the FSA introduced regulations relating to these products.

Tags: equity release, Newcastle Building Society, remortgage, loan, expert, year

Discounted Mortgages – Compare Introductory Discount Mortgage Offers

With so many different types of mortgages available in the UK it can be difficult for homeowners or property purchasers to determine which is the best one for them.

Those looking to remortgage or those taking out a first mortgage can usually select from a range of special deals on mortgages from lenders that want to entice customers. Once of these is the discounted rate mortgage, which enables the borrower to enjoy lower monthly repayments compared to those on the lender’s standard variable interest rate. Read more

Tags: loan, borrower, Mortgages, remortgage, discounted mortgages, property