The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has welcomed the Government’s moves to support and strengthen the quality of the private rented sector. In particular, the CML believes it is important to recognise that the legal position of tenants whose landlords default on their mortgage will vary, depending...

First-time buyers and home movers are benefiting from the lowest debt servicing costs since 2004, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). This is despite borrowers needing large deposits to be able to enter the market and overall lending remaining constrained. House purchase lending accounted...

The Coventry has reduced the rate on its 5 year residential mortgage by 0.2 per cent to 4.49 per cent. The offer is highly competitive and includes a free valuation up to £640 and a free legal package for those wishing to remortgage. In addition, the Coventry is launching a 3 year fixed rate mortgage...

Home buyers may have the size of their mortgage limited to a multiple of their income under possible reforms outlined by the Financial Services Authority yesterday. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has advocated a maximum loan-to-value level of 90% but Lord Turner, FSA chairman, said: ‘A key choice...

Potential first-time buyers (FTBs) who are considering purchasing a home should wait until the deals being offered by mortgage lenders have improved. This is according to Paul Holmes, chief executive officer of property advice website Firstrung, who suggested that such people should delay securing home...

House hunters have made a significant return to the market but home sellers are in short supply, according to the latest Royal Institution of Charterer Surveyors report. It said that new enquiries from potential home buyers increased for the sixth consecutive month in April, taking the number of surveyors...

Homeowners in the UK have been encouraged to consider securing fixed-rate mortgages in order to take advantage of the current low interest rates. According to Alliance & Leicester Mortgages, there are deals available at the moment for as low as 2.99 per cent. Despite this, the bank found that 81...

Rightmove’s latest research has revealed seven in 10 potential first-time buyers think now is a good time to buy. This vote of confidence represents a notable change in sentiment heavily influenced by 57% of aspiring first-time buyers now expecting prices to remain the same or increase during...

Moore Blatch, a law firm specialising in repossessions, has warned that the predictions for repossession orders and distressed sales could be far worse than in the 1990s. Moore Blatch highlighted that in the early 1990s repossessions and distressed sales were already in their thousands prior to the...

Mortgages should be straightforward - you borrow money to buy a house and pay interest on the loan. But after a few enquiries, you soon realise that it’s not so simple after all. In a hugely competitive market, building societies and banks are continually updating and extending their range of mortgages....