Mark Williams's Blog – April 2011 Archive (7)

A number of economists predict the Monetary Policy Committee will raise interest rates in August this year, to curb rising inflation.

In a poll conducted by the BBC, 14 out of 22 economists said they expect the MPC to boost interest rates from historic lows of 0.5% in August, when an inflation report is due out.

Four of the economists predicted there would be a…

Halifax has announced that it now requires borrowers to provide written proof of how the loan will be repaid before a mortgage offer is made. Until April 6, it only asked borrowers to say that they had a repayment vehicle in place before the mortgage offer.

It is the latest example of banks and building societies tightening their lending criteria amid growing fears that home owners…

Ill health or injury can affect anybody at any time and state support is often insufficient to cover bills, mortgage repayments and maintain individual or family lifestyles.

In January the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) released figures for those eligible for the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).

Only 22% of those assessed were deemed suitable for welfare…

Research has found that 22% of homeowners, amounting to 3.5m people, are unaware of how an increase in base rate would affect their monthly mortgage payments.

Despite increasing speculation that the base rate will soon rise, the survey showed that 16% of borrowers on their lender's standard variable rate and 13% of those on a tracker rate do not know what an increase would do to their mortgage…

The application fees charged by lenders for their mortgage products have risen by just over 15% in the last 18 months.

Data reveals the average application fee ( the fee that is paid by the applicant for a given interest rate) has increased by around £100 between September 2009 and March 2011.

Over the period, fixed product application fees rose by £97 on average, an…