HSBC’s offer to match the mortgage rate that their rivals borrowers are on when their deals finish might seem like an exciting offer on the surface, certainly bucking the current trend of increasing mortgage rates and reduced mortgage choice. But their “Rate Matcher” deal doesn’t come without caveats. The first, and possibly most important, is […]
Tag: Mortgages
mortgage
Remortgaging? Watch Out For Arrangement Fees
I mentioned in my previous post, about the effects on your mortgage with a change in interest rates, that you should get a mortgage broker to search the market and to find you a better deal if your current deal is about to expire. Unfortunately, getting a new mortgage doesn’t come cheap, especially as the […]
How Would A 1% Rate Change Affect Your Mortgage?
According to a report by Nationwide, 75% of us couldn’t tell how much our mortgage payments would change if there was a 1% change (either increase or decrease) in its interest rate. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t tell you off the top of my head. But why should I be able to? I’ve got […]
The Credit Crunch Explained
Kirsten at the Simple Pound found an animation on FT.com which explains why the current “credit crunch” has occured. View the animation. I love these sorts of things – they can make understanding a complex problem much simpler.
Innovative Mortgage Ideas For First-Time Buyers
The Motley Fool has an article which gives some innovative mortgage ideas for first-time buyers. It seems to be getting harder and harder for people to get their foot on the bottom wrung of the property ladder, so these sort of alternative mortgages are becoming more and more popular. If you’ve been trying to find […]
A Million Pay Their Mortgage On Credit Cards
One of the big personal finance stories of the week concerned a study by the charity Shelter, which suggested that over a million people in the UK have payed for their mortgage on their credit card in the past year. The survey questioned over a thousand people, of which 6% said they had put their […]
Student Finance: More Reading
If you’re interested in reading some more about student finance following my recent posts, The Telegraph has a couple of interesting articles looking at student money issues. Firstly, Do Your Financial Homework As A Student looks at pretty much all aspects of money at university, including student bank accounts, student loans, budgeting, renting and insurance. […]
Good & Bad News From The Banks
There’s been mixed news from the banks today which makes for some interesting reading. Firstly, on the good side, if you’re a saver, savings rates have reached a massive 7% from some banks and building societies, with many having raised their interest rates on savings accounts in the last couple of weeks. As ever, for […]
Interest Rates: Now Highest For 6 Years
You’re probably aware that interest rates have risen once again, up 0.25% to 5.75%. This is the highest rates have been since March 2001. The graph below shows how rates have changed over the past 10 years: I think one of the key things to look at is the difference between the rates as they […]
“Sell & Rent Back Your Home” On The Increase
According to the Financial Times, there’s a growing number of companies offering to buy your home off you and let you rent it back from them if you are in financial difficulties. The companies target those who need to raise cash quickly, such as those who are about to be repossessed, yet wish to remain […]