Mortgage market in Scotland sees improvement

Recently released data has shown that the property and mortgage markets in Scotland have shown surprising improvement in the second quarter of this year, with officials expressing surprise over the figures that have been released by industry groups.

Figures were released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, and it appears that things have improved with both first time buyers and home movers in Scotland. Officials have said that they will be keeping a close eye on the property and mortgage markets in Scotland for the remainder of the year, and could find that the markets outperform those in the rest of the UK if the performance continues as it has done so far.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders said that in the second quarter of this year the number of mortgage agreements for first time buyers increased by an impressive 18 percent, bringing the total for the second quarter to 4700. The total value of these mortgages came to £419 million, and this reflected an increase in total value of 27 percent compared to the first quarter of the year.

The figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders also showed great improvements in the mortgage and property markets for those that were moving house. Over the course of the second quarter of the year 8000 loans were taken out, and this reflected an increase of 36 percent, which has surprised many experts.

It is thought that part of the reason behind the improvements in these markets is that lenders in Scotland appear to be getting more relaxed when it comes to granting and approving mortgage loans. The average deposit requirement for first time buyers has fallen from 23 percent to 21 percent, and some think that this may have helped to renew hope and confidence amongst buyers.

Tags: mortgage, mortgage markets, scotland, value, council of mortgage lenders, Mortgage loan, confidence, time buyers

Bill for losses from floods could be more than £100 million

It has been estimated that the bill for the losses that were suffered in the recent and devastating floods in Cumbria could come to more than £100 million, according to a recent report. Hundred and homes and businesses were affected after flood defences failed to provide protection when rivers burst their banks in Cumbria, Dumfries, and Southern Scotland, causing devastating levels of damage and huge losses. Read more

Tags: environment, insurance providers, Insurance, Association of British Insurers, scotland

Fall in property rents noted by RICS

According to recently released reports the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has noted a fall in rents in the UK in the three months leading up to April. Read more

Tags: scotland, rental market, london, Rent control, suitable tenants

Officials offer advice on mortgage arrears

A recent report has shown that many homeowners in Scotland are struggling to keep on top of their mortgage repayments, and figures from the Financial Services Authority have shown that at the end of the third quarter of last year there were around 340,000 homeowners in Scotland that were in arrears. This was around 24 percent higher than the same period in the previous year. Read more

Tags: scotland, housing charity, recent report, professional advice, something, Mortgage repossession

Mortgage rescue plan gets rolled out

The government has recently decided to roll a mortgage rescue scheme designed to try and help struggling homeowners to avoid repossession out across England. Read more

Tags: consumers, remainder, repossession, rescue, United Kingdom, Mortgages, scotland, mortgage rescue plan

Credit card holders could face 10,000% interest on one pence

Credit card holders who have one pence on the balance of their credit cards could face being charged up to 10,000 per cent interest.

US financial service providers Citibank, who own Egg the company who laid off 161,000 customers, announced it will increase the minimum interest charge for its 900,000 UK customers from 50p to £1 in May.

This means that a customer with one pence outstanding on their bill would be charged £1 – nearly 10,000 per cent interest.

Speaking to the Times, Sean Gardner of comparison firm Moneyexpert said: “Minimum interest charges are commonplace, although the details are typically hidden deep in the terms and conditions of your credit-card application.”

New figures from the Bank of England show that the average credit-card interest rate has increased to 17.67 per cent from 16.98 per cent a year ago.

Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Intelligent Finance and Egg, impose a minimum 50p charge for customers who pay interest on their bill.

Now Citigroup and Barclays charge a minimum of one pound.

Tags: May, Intelligent Finance, citibank, firm, Sean Gardner, bill

Northern Rock causes saver caution

Savers are being far more cautious with the money that they put into savings following the recent credit squeeze and subsequent Northern Rock scare, price comparison site Peopleschampion.com has revealed.

Conducting polls of people standing in the queues outside Northern Rock, the website found that customers were taking their savings to larger institutions such as the clearing banks – Lloyds TSB, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays and Halifax and Bank of Scotland (HBOS).

This is in spite of the fact that the Bank of England has assured savers that their money is 100 per cent guaranteed in the event of a bank collapse. The savers that were surveyed were unanimous in their stance: safety now comes before higher interest rates.

Jim Spowart, a spokesman for the website, said: “Many people – especially older people – are being much more cautious with their money. They have been bitten first by the pension crisis, and now Northern Rock, so instead of going instinctively for the highest return, they are looking more at safer havens where they know their money is secure.”

According to Simon Ward, a top economist at asset management firm New Star, the Bank of England’s last resort support to Northern Rock may well have amounted to as much as £2.9 billion.

Tags: Many people, savers, clearing banks, scotland, scare, rock, Website

UK’s top banks revealed

Nationwide has been ranked as the best bank for customer service, according to a new survey.

The banks scored 742 points out of 1,000 while second place went to Royal Bank of Scotland with 689.

Alliance & Leicester (667), HSBC (660) and Halifax and NatWest (659 each) followed next in the list, compiled by JD Power for its 2007 UK retail banking customer satisfaction study.

Recommendations by family members outstripped the performance of offers and the latest mobile and internet banking services, according to the study’s fundings.

Caspar Tearle at JD Power and Associates said: “Despite growing public scrutiny of banks for overcharging practices and account fees, it’s interesting to note that nearly 75 per cent of customers would still recommend their bank to others.”

Figures showed that 45 per cent of these customers had recommended their bank in the past 12 months, he added.

A recent This is Money poll revealed that 65 per cent of respondents said that they were happy with their bank.

Tags: uk, bank, power, Money poll, place, scotland

Banks may be acting illegally over bank charges

Over recent months there has been a battle raging between banks, campaigners, and consumers, with the banks standing firmly on one side, and consumers and campaigners fighting in unity on the other side with regards to unfair bank charges.

Campaigners have been urging consumes to fight back against the banks and reclaim bank charges that were deemed unlawful and unfair by UK financial regulators last year, and many consumers have already done this, with some receiving thousands in backdated charges that go back up to six years.

However, although the banks have been paying up, albeit with some pressure in some cases, this is something they have been doing reluctantly. And in the latest move to try and put consumers off from making claims for the refund of charges, banks have been sending out threatening letters.

According to recent reports some banks have been contacting customers that have already been awarded refunds on their banks charges, and have been informing them that if they try to claim again in the future their bank accounts may be closed. However, officials claim that this is a move that could be classed as illegal.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has sent out letters of this nature, and the letter reads: ‘Any charges that properly accrue in the future will be applied to your account in line with our published tariff and in accordance with your agreement with the bank. Should you be unwilling to accept any such charges, then we may need to consider if we are prepared to continue to provide you with your existing banking facilities. Instead, we may offer you a simple account that does not offer borrowing facilities or other services that can result in charges.’

A spokesman for RBS stated: ‘If a customer is unwilling or unable to pay the charges for the services we provide or is considered a particular credit risk, then it is wholly appropriate for us to consider whether their existing account is best suited to their needs. As a responsible lender it may be appropriate to provide them with a more suitable account.’

Tom Smith
1st July 2007

Tags: bank, borrow, customer, charges, fees, royal, facilities, rbs, letter, illegal

Bargain Britons keeping an eye on finances

A new type of shopper is emerging in Britain, with the Bargain Braggers apparently taking over the country.

According to unbiased.co.uk, the days of showing off expensive labels are becoming a thing of the past, with more of us now keen to display our bargain hunting credentials.

Half of Brits are said to consider themselves to be ‘bargain spenders’ and this is good news for their bank accounts.

The research shows that 66 per cent of Bargain Braggers can tell you their account balance down to the nearest £10. This compares favourably to the national average which is just 58 per cent.

In addition, these people are also acutely aware of their debt situation, with 63 per cent able to recall their level of debt to the nearest £10, compared to the national average of 58 per cent.

“The kudos of wearing designer labels is a thing of the past. Bargain hunting has turned into the nation’s favourite hobby and more and more people are proud to shop for the best deal and flaunt it,” commented David Elms, unbiased.co.uk’s chief executive.

Bargain Braggers are most prominent in Scotland and Wales, with the lowest concentration appearing in the South West.

Tags: chief executive.bargain braggers, scotland, hobby, nation, GBP, good news, David Elms, cent."The kudos

HSBC Becomes First UK Bank To End ‘Free’ Banking

20 years after HSBC and Barclays introduced the concept of free banking to the UK, HSBC have announced that it is now time to pull the plug on this popular product and re-introduce a charge for using its banking services.

At present, HSBC has announced that it will limit charging the fee to its online banking arm, First Direct.  Moreover, the fee charge of £10 per month will not be applied to all customers of First Direct.  The “lucky” First Direct customers who will find themselves subject to the £10 monthly fee will be those who fail to make deposits of at least £1,500 per month or those who do not maintain an average balance of £1,500 on their current accounts.

While it is true to say that the UK has remained one of a very few select countries to maintain free current account banking for those bank customers who do not go overdrawn, over time this has probably been one of the most popular products that major UK banks have offered.  Nevertheless, it seems, in this case, that the success of free current account banking in the UK has also been its eventual down-fall, with many leading UK banks having made grumbling noises over the past year or so that the because the UK has free current account banking, this no longer makes the banks competitive with their European and American competition, the majority of whom already charge for current account services.

To many of the 1.3 million customers of First Direct, however, this is going to be a bitter pill to swallow.  UK banks made record profits in 2005, so to now be told that the bank is no longer competitive with its overseas rivals merely because it has not been arbitrarily applying a monthly fee  £10 on certain financially disadvantaged customers may just sound a little like sour grapes.

Thankfully, other leading UK banks, such as Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, HBOS and Lloyds TSB, have decided not to follow the lead of HSBC at this time.  However, with most UK bank’s looking to recoup the estimated £1 billion in lost revenue following the Office of Fair Trading’s forced cut to penalties applied on late credit card payments, it would need optimism of the highest order to believe they won’t follow suit soon, a view clearly echoed by a spokeswomen for Royal Bank of Scotland, owners of Nat West, who, when asked RBS’s stance on the issue, was quoted as saying that: “There are no current plans, but you can never completely rule options out in the long term”.

In the meantime, the estimated 200,000 customers of First Direct who are likely to be directly affected by this latest move now have until February 2007, when the new charges will come into effect, to either get their accounts in order so that they do not fall foul of the new charges or to look for alternative free banking arrangements. 

Kindly, however, First Direct have given the 200,000 or so estimated customers it says will likely be effected by this move a ‘get out of jail’ free card: the bank will agree to waive the fee if the customer agrees to take out another First Direct product – such as a loan or insurance. 

Tags: scotland, Loans, bank, loan, charges, royal, uk, fees, Banking