First-time buyers hit as HSBC axes 90% mortgages amid worries that a surge in demand ‘put property purchases at risk’ HSBC will temporarily suspend deals for borrowers with a 10 per cent deposit Most lenders pulled these deals earlier this year due to reduced staff numbers As of this morning there were just 62 90 … Read more
Starved savers struggling to find a decent return may be better off using their cash to reduce their mortgage bills instead. Savings rates have hit a record low after halving during lockdown, with all the big banks now paying out just 0.01 per cent on easy-access accounts. Anyone seeking a home for a sizeable sum … Read more
The number of mortgages handed out to homebuyers soared by 40% last month to near pre-covid levels as the housing market continues its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Mortgages approvals for house purchase reached 66,300 in July, up 40 per cent from 39,900 in June and just below the 67,300 recorded in July 2019, the latest … Read more
Birkenhead, Hartlepool and St Helens are the three top spots in the country for first time buyers on the affordability front, new findings claim. At the other end of the spectrum, first timers looking to snap up a home in Guildford, Bath, Woking, Oxford or London face a far tougher challenge when it comes to … Read more
If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room, don’t mind company and need a little spare cash, you could make around £590 a month by taking in a lodger. The latest SpareRoom UK Rental Index shows the average rent on a room in the UK now sits at £590 a month, though in London a … Read more
First-time buyers with a 10 per cent deposit have more mortgage options after Virgin Money unveiled four 90 per cent deals fixed for seven or 10 years. However, the deals have some restrictive elements. Firstly, buyers must fix for seven or 10 years – much longer than most fixed rates which last two or five years … Read more
A major decline in house prices is ‘unlikely’ despite the recession, new findings claim as the country’s post-lockdown recovery shifts up a gear. Property prices look set to hold firm for the rest of the year and are still up 2.5 per cent on a year ago, with the market showing ‘little sign of slowing’. … Read more
The colossal cost of care in Britain has left two-thirds of homeowners over 50 worried about how they will pay their way in later life. In a damning indictment of the spiralling costs faced by many, nearly half of people aged over 50 with their own home think they will have to sell their property … Read more
Sellers have put their homes up for sale to cash in on the stamp duty holiday frenzy that is gripping the nation, new data from a major UK property website shows. Rightmove says sellers in commuter towns in the south east of England have seen the biggest annual rise in new listings since Chancellor Rishi … Read more
Mortgage rates may be about to get more expensive despite unprecedented measures from the Bank of England designed to keep them low. Brokers say a ‘perfect storm’ of issues indicate that mortgage rates, which are currently still at historical lows, may soon rise as the coronavirus lockdown ravages many households’ finances. At the same time, … Read more