Mark Williams's Blog – May 2012 Archive (4)

Tighter mortgage criteria has led to an increased number of consumer complaints about mortgage products, according to a report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The trade body, using data from the Financial Ombudsman Service's (FOS) annual review, said that a 'significant proportion' of complaints were caused by providers changing their lending criteria due to difficult market…

Buckingham Palace is estimated to be worth £1bn, up 9000% since the Queen took the throne when it was estimated to have been worth £11m.

Were it ever to be sold, that would equate to £70m in stamp duty.

Windsor Castle’s estimated value was £2m when the Queen began her reign in 1952 and it is now estimated to be worth 9350% more at £189m – so that would be a mere £13.2m…

There is rising concern that the Government’s flagship NewBuy scheme has hit trouble, just two months after its launch.

The scheme, which launched on March 12, allows first-time buyers and home movers to purchase a new-build house worth up to £500,000 with a 95% mortgage, with taxpayers and developers underwriting the loan.

But the scheme has been dogged…

Next week will see history made in the mortgage market.

From next Tuesday the Co-operative Bank and Britannia Building Society will no longer offer mortgages on an interest-only basis.

Customers will now only be able to take out mortgages on a capital and repayment basis.

The lender says it expects the changes being proposed in the Mortgage Market…