We have 52 guests online 
Twitter Facebook Linked In Youtube Sign up

News

Phil Whitehouse: Blog

Wednesday 22nd February 2012

There was good news at the start of the year that the number of advisers leaving the market has slowed significantly...

Taxman suggests FTB uplift as overall sales rise

Wednesday 22nd February 2012

New figures from HMRC have suggested the extent to which first-time buyers are ramping up the property market in an attempt to beat the March 24 deadline for the end of the Stamp Duty exemption...

Yorkshire BS gets set for expansion

Wednesday 22nd February 2012

A dozen new branches are to be opened by Yorkshire Building Society over the next two years, and will also grow its agency network...

First Complete adds serious illness specialist to panel

Wednesday 22nd February 2012

First Complete, part of the LSL group, has added PruProtect to its protection panel. This brings the total number of life companies on the panel to six, joining Ageas, Aviva, Bright Grey, Friends Life and Legal & General...

Bridging association to discuss challenges at quarterly forum

Wednesday 22nd February 2012

The Association of Bridging Professionals is to hold a quarterly forum on March 8 at the Electric Cinema in Notting Hill, London...

More lenders crack down on interest-only loans

Tuesday 21st February 2012

Leeds Building Society has joined Lloyds in cracking down on interest-only mortgages, whilst Abbey has announced further details...

Card protection firm suspends shares as FSA action continues

Tuesday 21st February 2012

Credit card protection policy firm CPP has suspended trading in its shares and attacked the FSA, saying that the whole future of its business is at risk because of prolonged action by the watchdog...

Mortgage lending up 10% on last year

Tuesday 21st February 2012

Gross mortgage lending declined to an estimated £10.5bn in January. Lending fell by 14% from £12...

Santander hit with £1.5m fine

Tuesday 21st February 2012

Santander has been fined £1.5m by the FSA for not telling investors in complex structured products whether they would be entitled to compensation should the products fail...

Home sellers raise prices in highest bounce for ten years

Monday 20th February 2012

In a burst of optimism, new sellers have raised their asking prices by 4.1% – the highest monthly increase since April 2002, and some £70,000 ahead of current actual selling prices...

Crooked solicitor jailed for mortgage fraud

Monday 20th February 2012

A conman who bombarded banks with fraudulent mortgage applications has been jailed for seven years...

FSA wins costs after firm 'refused to co-operate'

Monday 20th February 2012

The FSA has been awarded costs after proceedings by an accountancy firm, which had refused to co-operate over a supervisory visit, were judged ‘unreasonable’...

Teachers launches no-ERC deal

Monday 20th February 2012

Teachers Building Society has launched a new two-year discounted variable rate mortgage at 2.59%, available exclusively via intermediaries and with the added benefit of no early repayment charges...

Survey firm hounded by over-valuation claims goes into liquidation

Friday 17th February 2012

A valuations subsidiary of Spicerhaart is being put into liquidation because of escalating claims against it by ‘ambulance chasers’ – even though it ceased trading five years ago...

Advert for trainee mortgage adviser 'kept quiet' about training costs

Friday 17th February 2012

A job advert for a trainee mortgage adviser which said no experience was necessary did not mention that applicants would have to pay for their own training...

Almost one-quarter of brokers' business now buy-to-let

Friday 17th February 2012

The latest results from the long-running series of research from Paragon Mortgages has revealed that more than a third of intermediaries saw an influx of buy-to-let business in the final quarter of 2011...

Trusted employee at property firm stole over £100,000

Friday 17th February 2012

A former worker for a firm of surveyors that is an affiliate member of the Association of Bridging Professionals stole over £100,000 from his employers...

Margaret Cole to quit FSA after being passed over for top job

Thursday 16th February 2012

FSA managing director Margaret Cole is to leave the organisation, which is in its final full year of operation...

RBS's 'last bank in town' ads banned from TV

Thursday 16th February 2012

Two ‘last bank in town’ TV adverts for NatWest and the Royal Bank of Scotland have been banned by the advertising watchdog...

Estate agents tell ministers to stop being 'obstinate' over Stamp Duty

Thursday 16th February 2012

Estate agents have told the Government to stop being so stubborn about the Stamp Duty break for first-time buyers, after HSBC said nine in ten FTBs had not paid the tax since the exemption began two years ago...

Leeds launches two new shared ownership products

Thursday 16th February 2012

Leeds Building Society has launched two shared ownership mortgage products. One is a two-year product at 5...

Calls mount for FTB Stamp Duty holiday to continue

Wednesday 15th February 2012

The Council of Mortgage Lenders is calling for the Stamp Duty break for first-time buyers to be extended beyond March 24, amid fears of a springtime slump...

AToM launches new bridging service for intermediaries

Wednesday 15th February 2012

AToM (All Types of Mortgages) has launched a new service for intermediaries who require assistance in the bridging or short-term lending arena...

Holloway pays out on almost all income protection claims

Wednesday 15th February 2012

New figures show that Holloway Friendly paid 96.2% of all income protection claims in 2011, an increase on the 95...

Precise fires starting gun for Olympics prize draw

Wednesday 15th February 2012

Precise Mortgages has announced that it will be hosting an exclusive event at the London Olympics and two lucky brokers will get the chance to attend the men’s 200 metre final on August 9 with Precise Mortgages and special guests...

Home sellers lambasted for 'folly' as they raise asking prices

Tuesday 14th February 2012

Asking prices for homes in England and Wales have risen 0.5% since the start of the year, despite ‘poor market fundamentals’...

Barclays launches new Future Fix mortgage

Tuesday 14th February 2012

Barclays is today launching a new mortgage product which takes the form of a base rate tracker with a fixed follow-on rate...

More FTBs line up to beat Stamp Duty deadline

Tuesday 14th February 2012

House sales edged up slightly last month as first-time buyers looked to beat the end of the Stamp Duty holiday in March, the RICS said this morning...

Equity release lender ups its LTVs

Tuesday 14th February 2012

Enhanced equity release specialist Partnership has announced an increase in its LTV rates for the enhanced lifetime mortgage...

FSA delays introduction of AP regime for mortgage sellers

Monday 13th February 2012

The FSA has once again delayed the introduction of the Approved Persons regime for mortgage sellers, amidst accusations of the regulator kowtowing to large lenders...



Feedback Form