Despite the fact that the UK property market is under pressure the Co-operative Financial Services operation has today revealed a 31% increase in mortgage applications in the first six months of 2010. The company believes that its financial strength, quality of products and quality of service are behind the increase in applications even in these most difficult of times for the property sector.
Mortgage fraud in the UK quadrupled in the first six months of 2010 although it appears that the trend may be very different in Scotland. Figures from KPMG indicate that only six cases were brought before the Scottish courts, with a combined value of £3 million, against 12 cases with a value of £19.5 million in the first half of 2009. So is Scotland bucking the trend?
UK mortgage rates are currently as low as they have been for many years but many people in the UK may well be missing the opportunity to reduce their mortgage payments by neglecting to review their financial arrangements on a regular basis. While there may well be potential penalty payments for some people to consider when transferring their mortgage arrangements, there is a need to look longer-term rather than be blinded by short-term penalty payments.
Royal Bank of Scotland today stands accused of inflating mortgage profit margins as the group announced a swing from a £1 billion loss in the first six months of 2009 to a £9 million profit in the first six months of 2010. Some experts in the mortgage market believe that Royal Bank of Scotland has increased the margin on various mortgage arrangements by as much as double that of their competitors over the last few months.
Despite the fact that the number of mortgages available today has increased by 66% since January, up to 2,351 from 1,414, many people are still experiencing problems in obtaining sufficient finance to acquire houses. It seems that 58% of the deals on offer today require a minimum down payment of 25% and only 8% of those available will allow a minimum deposit of 10%.
The Bank of England has today issued funding data regarding the UK mortgage market showing that mortgage approvals were down from 49,461 in May to 47,643 in June, well below initial forecasts of 49,000. Net mortgage lending growth eased to £665 million in June from £838 million in May, again well below analyst forecasts of £1 billion. There was also the revelation that UK consumers have repaid just short of £100 million of unsecured credit.
It has been revealed that in the first half of 2010 there was a near 25% increase in the number of people seeking mortgage advice before deciding whether to dip their toe into the property market. Historically the mortgage market has been fairly straightforward and independent financial advisers have often been overlooked in favour of "straightforward" mortgage arrangements. However, the onset of the credit crunch, the recession, the property downturn and a lack of competition in the mortgage market has seen more and more people turn to professional advisers for help.
David Jones, the former Northern Rock finance director, has today been banned by the FSA from performing any function in relation to any regulatory activity in the UK. This comes after he was found guilty of misreporting mortgage arrears going back as far as 2007. It is believed that a number of repossessions were left out of the 2006 report and accounts which effectively gave the wrong impression and wrong data with regards to repossession numbers at Northern rock.
Since our article yesterday regarding a problem with mortgage payments at Yorkshire bank and Clydesdale bank, affecting 18,000 customers, it has been revealed that some customers have been offered compensation due to the fact they have been paying extra interest on higher than expected mortgage balances, due to the fact that recent payments have been less than they should have been. So where do customers stand with regards to compensation for this issue?
It has been revealed that Yorkshire Bank, which also owns the Clydesdale Bank, has been forced to issue a grovelling apology to 18,000 mortgage holders who have been under charged with regards to their mortgage payments. Due to a "software error" around 50% of those affected will be forced to increase their mortgage payments by £25 to make up the shortfall due to under payments in the past. However, it is also believed that upwards of 700 customers, with larger mortgages, could see their mortgage bills increase by around £200 a month.
