Loans News

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  • Another house price drop for December

    The Nationwide Building Society has reported a drop in house prices for December, which is further evidence of the downward spiral in house prices across the UK according to experts. After a drop of 0.8% in November, house prices slid by a further 0.5% in December state Nationwide officials. However, on a year on year basis house prices for December were still up by 4.8% compared to December of last year.


  • Lenders have positive outlook for 2008

    Despite the chaos that the credit crunch has already caused in the UK and other parts of the world, and despite the likelihood of the effects of this turmoil continuing well into next year, the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has stated that the result of a survey show that its members are remaining positive with regards to the outlook for the forthcoming year. According to the results of the survey carried out by the IMLA member firms were positive about the coming year because of other factors that are underpinning the market such as housing demand and healthy employment figures. Over two thirds of members also said that they felt remortgaging levels would either remain unchanged or would rise.


  • Fewer personal loans available from unsecured lenders

    According to a recent report there are now fewer personal loans available from unsecured lenders in the UK. The information comes from financial experts Moneyfacts, which has described the situation as a 'worrying trend'. According to figures there was a 10% fall in the number of unsecured personal loan providers throughout the month of November. Increased cash flow problems and financial turmoil in the money markets has really taken its toll on many lenders.


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  • Consumers in debt getting hassled by banks

    A recent report has shown how some of the major high street banks in the UK are pestering customers that are in debt in order to try and get them to take out a more expensive loan in order to deal with their debt issues, whilst actually making the situation worse in many cases. It is even claimed that banks are hassling customers on debt management plans with debt charities and management companies, trying to get them to take out another loan to pay off their debts, often at a far higher rate of interest than they are already paying.


  • Complaints over mortgage charges soar

    A recent report has shown that over the past twelve months the level of consumer complaints relating to mortgage costs and charges have soared, reflecting the improvement that lenders need to make to their services. Over the past year there has been a significant rise in complaints relating to cost and charge issues, and this includes administration charges, exit fees, charges on arrears, and broker charges for setting up or arranging a mortgage for a consumer.


  • Watch out for the bogus debt advice company

    Consumers in the UK are being urged to look out for a bogus debt advice company that is offering dodgy advice in order to profit from consumers' misery. Bad debt levels in the UK have rocketed over recent years, and many people are struggling to keep up with repayments on debts. As a result of this many have turned to debt advice companies for support and advice, and experts state that consumers could easily get fooled by this new advice company, which has been sending mailings out to vulnerable consumers.


  • First time buyers still struggling to get onto property ladder

    According to a report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders first time buyers are still struggling to get onto the property ladder, with costs for first time buyers on the rise. The Council of Mortgage Lenders states that homeownership for first time buyers is becoming increasingly expensive. In its latest figures the CML claims that the average first time buyers is spending 20.4% of their monthly income on mortgage interests payments. This is at its highest level since 1991.


  • Brokers are pushing thought unaffordable home loans

    According to a recent report released by the UK's financial regulator the Financial Services Authority many brokers are pushing through home loans that are simply unaffordable. This is despite the credit crunch that has swept across the UK and other parts of the world as a result of problems in the United States sub-prime mortgage market. The financial watchdog states that many brokers have been pushing these loans through without proper earnings information.


  • New way for lenders to identify struggling borrowers

    Over recent years banks and lenders have been looking for various ways to try and get rid of bad debtors, particularly with bad debt levels rocketing and lenders losing huge sums of money in lost profits as a result of this. According to a recent report lenders now have another way of finding out whether a borrower is at risk of defaulting on repayments on finance, and this could result in the borrower being forced to repay the debt in full early or face pre-emptive reductions in the amount that they are able to borrow from lenders.


  • Concerns over the end of cheap fixed rate deals

    Concerns are rife across the UK in relation to the many consumers that are currently on cheap fixed rate mortgage deals that are due to come to an end in the coming months. Many people that took out cheap fixed rate deals two or three years ago are due to see their fixed rate periods end, which means that many will have to switch to the lender's standard variable rate, which could add hundreds of pounds a month onto their mortgage repayments.


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