020 7016 0790

Barclays has lowered the price of a number of their fixed rates but increased the cost of their tracker mortgages by up to 0.5%.

The lender is cutting the price of its fixed rates mortgages by an average of 0.14% and these rates are now more competitive, but not quite market leading. Their two-year fixes start at 2.58% and five-year fixes from 3.64%.

Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial, says: “Some banks seem to be increasing their tracker rates at the moment. This generally happens for one of two reasons, either they are trying to manage demand or the cost of funding has gone up.

“Many of the building societies still offer the lowest mortgages. Skipton Building Society has a two-year fixed rate at 2.68% for borrowers with a 40% deposit and there is a £995 arrangement fee. Also, Nationwide has a great three-year fix at 2.89% with a £999 arrangement fee – if you have a 30% deposit.”

September 30, 2011

NBNK Investments has confirmed that is has made a bid to buy 632 Lloyds Banking Group branches.

Lloyds is being forced to sell the branches by the European Commission competition authorities.

It is thought that NBNK, who were co-founded by Lord Levene, chairman of insurer Lloyd’s of London, has offered about £1.5bn to buy them. If the bid is successful, the bank could have a considerable presence on the high street.

Halifax, Cheltenham & Gloucester and Lloyds TSB outlets are included in the sale.

September 30, 2011

State Bank of India (SBI) has confirmed that it will launch a buy-to-let mortgage option for borrowers in the UK and plans to enter the residential market in 2012.

The bank, 59.4% owned by the Indian government, plans to offer a lifetime tracker at 4.49% with a £2,140 fee to investors with a 40% deposit.The maximum loan per property will be £1.5 million and the maximum lending limit for a property portfolio is set at £3 million.

The mortgages will initially be available through branches, to professional landlords and those with second homes.

Their tracker rate mortgage is more expensive than the best-buy lifetime tracker from Woolwich at 3.48%. However, SIB does not tie borrowers in and there are no early repayment charges.

SBI is the 50^th largest bank in the world and is believed to be the first Indian bank to enter the UK mortgage market.

Trinity work with the Bank of India and we have access to their mortgage rates. Call us on 020 7016 0790.

September 30, 2011

Banks and building societies continue to force their way to the top of the best buy tables as rates continue to get let lower.

Trinity Financial has access to one of the lowest two-year tracker rates for borrowers with a 50% deposit. It is incredibly low at 1.99% and the arrangement fee is £995.

Woolwich have the lowest two-year fixed rate at 2.54% available to their existing customers and it has a £999 arrangement fee. The lender requires a 30% deposit and the mortgage is available up to £1 million.

Abbey for Intermediaries has made their mortgages more competitive and some are now 1.1% cheaper.

September 22, 2011

It has been a busy week of rate withdrawals in the buy-to-let market. Kensington Mortgages no longer offer investment mortgages to borrowers with a 15% deposit and The Post Office has stopped lending to buy-to-let investors.

The Post Office offered some excellent buy-to-let rates and they didn’t require a huge deposit. They also had some of the lowest arrangement fees.

Kensington say that they have been particularly busy and that they have hit their lending targets.

The Post Office intends to concentrate on first-time buyers and remortgage customers. They were offering mortgages if you had a 20% deposit.

Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial, says: “There are a couple of lenders offering mortgages if you have a 20% deposit. The Mortgage Works has a two-year fixed rate at 4.99% but the arrangement fee is 3.5% of the loan amount.”

“There are more options available if you have a 25% deposit and the rates are very competitive.  Birmingham Midshires has a two-year fix at 4.84% and it has a 1.25% arrangement fee.  Investors with a 35% deposit can access Godiva’s two-year flexi fixed rate at 3.99%. It has a £950 arrangement fee and the lender will also provide a free property valuation.”

September 22, 2011

Any mortgage lender who wishes to use the Mortgage Verification Scheme to check applicants income stated on mortgage application forms, must pay HM Revenue & Customs £14 plus VAT – per case – to cover HMRC’s costs.

The National Fraud Authority estimated the cost of mortgage fraud to be £1 billion last year.

September 22, 2011

Buy-to-let was officially launched by the Association of Residential Letting Agents on 24 September 1996 at the RAC Cub, Pall Mall.

The launch was an industry-wide initiative and included six founder lenders, including: Paragon Mortgages, Alliance & Leicester, Clydesdale Bank, Halifax, NatWest and Mortgage Express.

Nigel Terrington, chief executive of Paragon Group, said: “Buy-to-let has galvanised the rental market over the past 15 years, whilst providing an attractive asset class for property investors.”

September 22, 2011

All nine members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% in September, the latest minutes show.

This is the second month that all nine members have voted to keep interest rates on hold.

Samuel Tombs, UK economist at Capital Economics, is quoted as saying: “The minutes of September’s MPC meeting strongly suggest that QE2 is set to be launched in the very near future.

“Admittedly, no other members joined Adam Posen in voting for an instant resumption of the asset purchases. However, most members of the Committee accept that the case for immediate policy as a stimulus has significantly strengthened over the last month – the debate is now how to provide that extra stimulus.”

September 22, 2011

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £13.4bn in August, a 10% rise from £12.1bn in August 2010, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

There’s been mixed reasons for the rise, including seasonal factors and record low mortgage rates.

Mortgage lending may have increased, but according to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) there were 6,000 fewer property sales than in July – which had seen the highest total for a year. Records show that there is traditionally a drop in August because of the quieter holiday season.

Trinity Financial was asked to comment on the BBC News website. The story discusses lending figures and mortgage rates: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14984489

September 22, 2011

Low housing supply will keep property prices stable in the UK and therefore have a positive impact on residential mortgage-backed securities, according to Moody’s.

It says that house builds will have to rise significantly for supply to return to pre-financial crisis levels, and although demand for homes will be dampened by lower household income and credit supply, this will be offset by a rise in the number of households.

Moody’s says that it forecasts the base rate to rise from its current low level of 0.5% to 2% by the end of 2013.

September 22, 2011

Building societies continue to force their way into the best buy tables and some of the smallest lenders are offering the cheapest rates.

Trinity Financial has access to the Hinckley & Rugby Building Societies market leading five-year fixed rate at 3.39%. You will need a 25% deposit and the arrangement fee is £795, but it significantly undercuts some of the biggest banks.

Woolwich have the lowest two-year fixed rate at 2.54% available to their existing customers and it has a £999 arrangement fee. The lender requires a 30% deposit and the mortgage is available up to £1 million.

Abbey for Intermediaries has made their mortgages more competitive and some are now 1.1% cheaper.

The Skipton Building Society has one of the lowest two-year tracker rates for borrowers with a 50% deposit. It is incredibly low at 1.99% and the arrangement fee is £995.

September 16, 2011

Lenders have agreed to advance £40bn worth of mortgages in the coming months, up 13% on the amount agreed in quarter 1, according to the Financial Services Authority latest mortgage lending data.

The statistics show that in quarter 2 2011, new commitments – the amount of new lending that lenders have agreed to advance in the coming months – totalled £40bn.

The proportion of lending for house purchase, which includes buy-to-let purchases, increased from 54% in quarter 1 to 59% in quarter 2, while the proportion of lending to first-time buyers rose from 14% in quarter 1 to 16% in quarter 2.

Gross advances for house purchase also increased in value terms, up by 22% on quarter 1’s figure to reach £21.6bn.

Source: Mortgage Strategy

September 16, 2011

The recent increase in buy-to-let remortgaging has been driven by landlords looking to raise capital in order to buy more investment property, according to research from buy-to-let specialist lender Paragon.

Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that remortgaging accounted for more than two-thirds of the 21% increase in gross buy-to-let advances between first and second quarters of 2011.

John Heron, managing director at Paragon Mortgages, says: “Approximately two-thirds of properties in the private rented sector have no mortgage and the average loan-to-value on those properties with a mortgage is 48%, so there is a huge amount of equity in the sector that landlords are looking to utilise to help fund portfolio growth.”

September 16, 2011

Building societies looking to increase the amount they lend are lowering their buy-to-let rates, as they continue to undercut high street banks.

Leeds Building Society is lowering the cost of its investment mortgages by up to 1.30%. Their best two-year fix is now 3.99% and it has a £999 arrangement fee. They require a 30% deposit.

Skipton Building Society has launched a five-year fixed rate at 4.89%. It is available to investors with a 30% deposit and it has a 2% arrangement fee

September 9, 2011

Under the terms of the mortgage verification scheme borrowers could trigger a tax investigation by applying for a mortgage, after the introduction of new data-sharing rules.

The scheme will allow Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders to exchange personal information on loan application forms with the taxman.

It has been designed to help banks reduce the risk of fraud but, Mike Warburton at Grant Thornton the law firm, told The Sunday Times: “It is likely that many people who legitimately declare a certain level of income on their mortgage application, may be unfairly investigated for tax fraud.”

Borrowers with offshore income, those who receive a bonus and the self-employed could be investigated because details about their income, do not match the records at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Mortgage lenders are not obliged to tell borrowers that they are asking HMRC to check their personal income is correct. The Council of Mortgage Lenders says: “By virtue of an application being submitted, the customer agrees to have details checked.”

Aaron Strutt, a broker at Trinity Financial, says: “We can help our clients to choose the right bank and advise what is required to qualify for a mortgage. Many of our clients are either self-employed or paid large bonuses.”

During the 2010/11 tax year there were 72,520 investigations opened and there were 148 convictions, according to HMRC.

September 9, 2011

Aldermore has launched a Family Guarantee Mortgage and it is available up to 100% loan to value.

The mortgage rate is fixed for three-years at 6.48%. Parents, step-parents or grandparents will have to provide a guarantee against their residential property for the amount above 75% loan to value.

The charge on the guarantors property can be repaid at any time, providing the loan falls below 75% of the property value. The bank has a guarantee period of 10 years on the parent’s property and after this time there will be no further liability.

The Family First Guarantee Mortgage is being piloted by a limited number of estate agents over the coming months and if it is a success, is likely to be available via mortgage brokers.

Loans must be taken on a full capital repayment basis and the maximum mortgage is £250,000. The arrangement fees total £1249.

September 9, 2011

The Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and Barclays are among the 17 banks being sued by the US regulator for their role in the sale of toxic mortgage backed-securities.

The Federal Housing Finance is filing lawsuits against some big names, including: Bank of America, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC and RBS. They are trying to recover some of the losses suffered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the purchase of billions of dollars worth of bonds in the lead up to the financial crisis.

RBS is being sued for over $30.4bn (£18.7bn) of residential mortgage-backed securities sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. HSBC and Barclays are being sued $6.2bn and $4.9bn respectively.

September 9, 2011

The Bank of Scotland and Santander UK received the most complaints of any lenders about mortgages and home finance in the first six months of the year, as more borrowers complain about payment protection insurance (PPI).

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s latest complaints data for the six months to 30 June 2011 showed that Lloyds Banking Group brands, including Bank of Scotland, Cheltenham and Gloucester and Lloyds TSB accounted for 837 mortgage complaints.  However, this figure is rather small when compared to the total number of complaints it received. There were 13,021 complaints, of which 9,945 related to PPI.

Santander UK came second with 460 mortgage complaints and Barclays came third with 362.

September 9, 2011

Abbey for Intermediaries has lowered the price of their million pound mortgages.  The bank is keen to attract more wealthy clients and to tempt them away from their competitors.  Some rates are now 1% lower than they were last week.

The Spanish bank has announced that they will launch a flexible offset mortgage that tracks the Bank of England base rate for the  life of the loan. The pay rate is 2.95% and the arrangement fee is £995.  You will require a 25% deposit.

For large loans Trinity Financial has access to a specialist mortgage team at Abbey. They will look to produce mortgage offers within five workings days from the time you are approved by the bank.

September 8, 2011

Barclays has launched a range of Woolwich offset mortgages, for a limited period only.

The mortgages, which will be available until September 20, include a two-year offset tracker at 2.38% (base rate plus 1.88%) and it is available to borrowers with a 30% deposit. The arrangement fee is £1499.

A leading bank recently released statistics showing the benefits of offset mortgages. The figures estimated that borrowers earned £1.4 billion more on their savings with offset mortgages, than in their savings accounts.

Approximately 460,000 offset mortgage borrowers in the UK made a total return of £1.9 billion since 2009, compared to the £534 million made in traditional savings accounts.

Offsetting allows borrowers to put their savings into an account attached to the mortgage and this is used to reduce the amount of interest paid.  This money is then accessible by calling the bank and requesting a telegraphic transfer.

September 2, 2011

Northern Rock is calling thousands of homeowners to tell them to forget renewing their Sky TV subscriptions or buying a new BlackBerry and instead focus on paying their mortgage.

An article in the Yorkshire Post highlighted that more than 30,000 Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock customers will receive phone calls over the next few months from UK Asset Management Resolution (UKAR) warning them about the possibility of them losing their homes.

UKAR manages around £80bn of mortgage debts and is identifying customers who they feel could get into financial difficulties when interest rates rise.

Chief Executive Richard Banks, told the Yorkshire Post: “Some people won’t cope when interest rates rise, but for others there are remedies.

“They need to think about what is their most important debt. It’s not the credit card or renewing the Sky subscription, or going out for the latest mobile technology, it’s their mortgage. They have been protected by low interest rates, but the consensus is that rates will rise next year.”

UKAR says that around 10% of their customers are having payment difficulties. They are running the pilot scheme and calling to see how things are going financially.

September 2, 2011

Nationwide Building Society has reduced the price of their five-year fixed rate mortgages by 0.1 percentage points.

They now offer one of the cheapest five-year fixes at 3.69% to borrowers with a 30% deposit. The arrangement fee is £999.

September 2, 2011

Accord Mortgages has one of the most inventive mortgage rates available and it has been popular with Trinity’s clients.

The mortgage initially tracks the Bank of England base rate for two-years giving a pay rate of 2.19%. It then reverts to a three-year fix at 3.64%.

Early repayment charges apply for five-years, but this mortgage offers a considerable amount of payment security. The maximum loan is £750,000 and the arrangement fee is £1995. Borrowers require a 25% deposit.

September 2, 2011

The average first-time buyer home in London will cost around £344,000 by 2015, according to The Housing Market Analysis report by Oxford Economics.

The report says that the increased price for first-time buyers buying a property in London, predicted at £344,000 in 2015, is up from £277,000 in 2010. Oxford Economics also think that by 2020 the average cost of a first-time buyer home in London will be just under £450,000.

Figures are based on the current subdued level of house building and the limited availability of land. This is also combined with the stronger wage growth in the southern half of England.

The study, commissioned by the National Housing Federation, also forecasts that the average house price in England will increase by 21.3% over the next five years, from £214,647 in 2011 to £260,304 in 2016.

Average rents are predicted to rise by 19.8% over the next five years, from an average of £486 in 2011 to £582 in 2016.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation is quoted as saying: “Home ownership is increasingly becoming the preserve of the wealthy and in parts of the country like London, the very wealthy.”

He called on the government to make unused public land available to housing associations. Also, for local authorities to assess the level of housing needs in their area and for housing to be treated as a top political priority.

September 2, 2011