Category: Blogs

According to a recent poll by Safestore Moving and Improving Index, a massive 50% of tenants believe they won’t own a property at any stage in their lifetime.  Its recent poll, which quizzed 2,058 adults, found that 42% of people wanting to get on the property ladder think that their best hope of being able […]

May was a truly great month for new business with AToM recording our best month for actual new applications received, since October 2009.  However, for all the jubilations this may bring, it’s probably been the toughest month for actually getting cases through to offer via the lenders.  For example, one high street named super giant […]

I feel compelled this week to look at the benefit, or otherwise, of using an Estate Agent’s in-house financial services/mortgage adviser to negotiate your mortgage.  This has the potential to be a minefield and there are a number of myths centred around it, which need to be explained. You may often find that a selling […]

Many of us will review car insurance, home insurance, gas and electricity suppliers to find the best rate on the market.  But it’s astounding how many people just leave their mortgage with their existing supplier.  Most lenders look to attract new customers, but are less likely to offer attractive options to stay with them.  This, […]

I paid particular interest this week to a conversation occurring on Facebook.  The superb Horsham page (linked with visithorsham.co.uk) attracts over 8,000 followers who are frequently updated on requests from individuals seeking assistance or recommendations. One such request was from an individual looking to update their mortgage and what should they do next.  There were […]

Never a dull week in the mortgage market!  I was at a presentation from a major lender late last week and who predicted Bank Base Rate won’t move for a good couple of years, but also advised us to ignore their predictions as they have been far from right over the last 3 to 4 […]

Not too much excitement on the mortgage news round this week so I thought I would recap on the mortgage process.The mortgage process, regardless of whether you are a first time buyer, home mover or simply re-mortgaging, will be roughly the same.  On any new purchase, the selling agent will seek to agree a number […]

With most lenders increasing rates over the last couple of weeks, it was a pleasant and welcome surprise to see the Coventry Building Society reduce theirs by up to 0.3%.  The lender already had good rates and the new highlights include a low 5 year fixed rate with minimal or no fees on re-mortgages.  These […]

This week, I thought I would show some of the figures that highlight the financial state of our  economy and the daily impact it is having on the end consumer (figure estimates from creditaction): –          318 people are declared insolvent or bankrupt every day (based on Q4 2011 trends). This is equivalent to 1 person […]

The Halifax House Price Index suggests that house prices increased 2.2% in March. They reportthat the average house price now sits at £163,803. A spokesperson commented that the end of the Stamp Duty holiday period for First Time Buyers at the end of March probably helpedto increase sales and support prices. A mortgage is the […]