Helping Innovate Property (HIP) – Blog, Housing Market News and Articles

Lloyds TSB’s (LON:LLOY) have announced a new 95% LTV mortgage product which requires a 5% deposit. By doing so it has claimed the distinction of being one of the few High Street lenders to offer such a high LTV home loans in these difficult times.

In these hard economic times, with virtually no banks offering a 95% loan to value mortgage, Lloyds TSB’s Lend A Hand mortgage scheme is a crucial step in encouraging other lenders to come out of their shells and will help attract first time buyers back into the marketplace.

For approval of Lloyds TSB’s Lend A Hand mortgage, a pre-requisite is to the holding of 20% of the mortgage value in a fixed savings account with Lloyds TSB. This feature benefits young buyers who can make use of their parent’s or other relatives’ savings to augment their deposit. While the savings will have to remain fixed for three years, Lloyds will maintain a hold on the amount until the homeowner has made enough payments to earn 10% in equity.

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In the last year the economic downturn has changed the face of the mortgage industry some claim for good. Banks and other lenders have cut mortgage lending severely and finding a mortgage is no longer an easy task.

Buying a house is one of the biggest purchases we make in our lives and picking the right mortgage is essential. Here is the conundrum: fewer lenders mean lesser choices, so in these tough economic times how do you still get the best mortgage deal. Below we will provide you with 10 valuable tips that will help guide you to your dream home and help find you a suitable mortgage.

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With a move clearly designed to inject some life into the housing market, state owned bank Northern Rock has announced that it will resume lending 90% mortgages.

Currently the chances of getting a mortgage of more the 75% are very slim and this move could be seen as a government approved display of intent. Quite how relevant it is remains questionable and many have pondered whether the announcement is more publicity stunt designed to bring back consumer confidence rather than a definite assurance of impending lending.

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The state of the UK housing market is constantly in the news at present and the latest figures on home repossessions make more depressing reading.

In the year 2008 repossessions reached the highest levels for 12 years. A staggering 54% rise in instances of homeowners losing their homes equates to 40,000 houses being repossessed.

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The Bank of England has reduced interest rates to 0.5% in order to put a halt to the housing crash, in the latest reduction we have witnessed over recent months.

With interest rates being cut at such a speed over the past few months it begs the question ‘Will we see interest rates reach zero perecent?‘

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With the property news full of tales of woe in the banking world and the related slump in the housing market, it is easy to overlook some of the better news that the falling price trend has influenced. In an intriguing twist it has emerged from recent research that trading up to a bigger property is now financially less problematic than only a year ago, depending on the size of house one needs to buy.

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The recent move by the Bank of England to cut interest rates to an all but unprecedented one percent has been followed by the less typical action of several lenders who chose to pass the cuts on to their customers. The Skipton Building Society, along with the Halifax and the Nationwide, immediately slashed their rates, and with further interest rate cuts forecast by industry analysts it remains to be seen just how low the Bank of England can go.

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A look at a newspaper or a listen to the daily news may give the impression that mortgages are as rare as hens’ teeth, but the truth is somewhat different. It is possible to get a mortgage, even in these days of financial crisis and house price gloom, but it remains to be said that certain criteria need to be met.

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The most recent comments to emerge from the government has been that of Margaret Beckett, Housing Minister, who implied that there were signs of recovery in the market and advised first time buyers to snap up bargains.

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The hopes and dreams of millions of home-owners and first-time buyers have received a number of positive announcements from the Government recently. We have seen dramatic cuts in interest rates, an announcement of a stamp duty amnesty on properties worth £175,000 or less, a new shared equity scheme for families earning less than £60,000 and earlier financial support for people struggling with their mortgage repayments.

But the lack of readily available mortgages seems to be little sign of ending and lenders remain very cautious, whether they are assessing re-mortgages at the end of a fixed rate deals or when looking at new applications.

The good news is that it is possible to improve your chances of securing the mortgage you want. These steps could help improve your chances.

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The significant and dramatic reductions in the Bank of England interest rate in the past few weeks has seen a flurry of interest in the area of tracker mortgages, that is those that follow the base rate to at least some degree.

The average tracker mortgage, according to available data, has fallen from 6.27 percent in October of this year to only 3.27 percent now, in early December. So what does this mean for the consumer?

How much can be saved with a tracker mortgage?

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