House Buying Guide

Base rate stays at 0.5%

chris — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:10:23 +0000

The Bank of England has voted today to keep its base rate at 0.5%. It has been at this historic low for 3 years now, despite the fact that inflation has been above the target of 2% for over 2 years.

Although the base rate is so low, mortgage rates for borrowers are still much higher, with 90% mortgages at ~6%. A significant improvement in mortgage rate can be netted by putting down a 15% deposit though, with many 85% mortgages available for less then 4.5%.

90% mortgages do appear to be more available now though, with First Direct recently adding a 90% fixed rate mortgage to their offerings, at the excellent rate of 4.19%.

New Reviews section

chris — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 13:45:11 +0000

Using the right tools is an essential part of buying a house, so as part of that we have added a Reviews section. House Buying Guide will now be reviewing the options you have available to help you find your next property.

The first in this series of reviews is Find a Property.

Household insurance

chris — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:16:58 +0000

When buying your first home, insurance can be one of the confusing issues. To help this, we’ve just published a new article on household insurance to help you get to grips with it:

“Making that first step onto the property ladder is a difficult process. First of all you have to save as much as you can for that all-important deposit, which is easier said than done. That?s not the end of it though, there are plenty of smaller things to do that you might not have even considered. Insurance is one of these things and it?s something that first time buyers probably haven?t even considered.”

Household Insurance: the differences between household and content insurance

Key things to consider when buying a new home

chris — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:13:23 +0000

If you are planning on buying a new home soon, take a look at the article we have just published on ‘Key things to consider when buying a new home‘:

“Buying a new home is one of the biggest financial commitments anybody can make, and it pays to do your research early on and figure out the costs involved at every stage. One of the first things to think about is your deposit ? if you?re a first-time buyer, this is likely to be up to 20 per cent of the value of your house, which can take years to save up for depending on where you live.” read more…

Base rate stays at 0.5%

chris — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:43:15 +0000

The Bank of England has today voted to keep the base rate at 0.5% – the rate it has been at since March 2009. The continuing low rate has allowed mortgage holders to save £51bn. One can only hope the length of time this low rate has lasted hasn’t lulled many into a false sense of security – with people getting complacent about taking out large mortgages due to the low rates.

Base rate stays at 0.5% again

chris — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:45:55 +0000

The Bank of England has again decided to keep its base rate at 0.5% following today’s meeting. Even though inflation is over double the target of 2%, the lack of movement was widely expected since the economy is still only growing very slowly. It is expected that the first increase will not be until 2012.

The base rate has been at 0.5% since March 2009 when it was dropped by 1%.

Ben Thompson, managing director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, says: ?Our view remains that rates will stay unchanged for the remainder of this year and in all likelihood won?t rise much anytime soon, as we expect inflation to fall back sharply next year, albeit remaining a little above the Bank?s 2% target.

The news probably makes little difference to many house owners and potential buyers since mortgages are still hard to obtain, and interest rates still signifcantly higher than the base rate.

Ewan Edwards, head of retail products at Norwich & Peterborough, reminds consumers that ?while keeping the rate so low is helpful to borrowers, they should be mindful that there is likely to be a rise over the next six to twelve months, so this simply gives them a little more breathing space to review their mortgage and maybe consider finding a good fixed rate deal.?

First time buyers

chris — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 01:46:06 +0000

With first time buyers finding it harder than ever to get on to the property market, we thought it was about time that we posted a little info specifically to help first time buyers.

“When you?re in the process of buying a home, it can become pretty stressful. You want to make sure that you?re making the right investment and that you?re investing your saved money in the best option. If you?re a first time buyer, circumstances become all the more exciting and gripping. In fact, many people who still don?t have a property often feel they need one right away. They feel that if they don?t step on the property ladder soon, it will become too late. If that sounds like you, don?t worry. By being aware of the…”

If your are a first time buyer, then make sure you read the full article.

Base rate stays at 0.5% for 2years

chris — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:39:09 +0000

The Bank of England has recently voted to keep the base rate at 0.5% – despite the fact that inflation is currently at double the target rate. This brings the 0.5% run to 2 years, although last month’s votes (three members voted to increase the rate) lead many commentators to predict that this month might be the month of the first rise.

Although the low rate is good for mortgage holders, it does mean that inflation is quite high. Mortgage rates are also still high compared to the base rate, with fixed rates under 5% only available to those with a sizeable deposit available.

Mortgages figures low for 2010

chris — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:29:51 +0000

New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that mortgage lending in 2010 came to just £136.3 billion – down 5% on 2009. This is the lowest figure since the year 2000. This news won’t come as a surprise for those who attempted to obtain a mortgage in 2010, with many applicants reporting it to be particularly difficult to secure a reasonable mortgage – especially first-time buyers.

The CML also state that they expect the Bank of England base rate to rise sooner than previously thought due to the recent figures for inflation showing the figure rising from 3.3% to 3.7%. However the CML don’t believe the base rate will go above 1% before the end of 2011, nor 2% before the end of 2012.

Base rate stays at 0.5%.. again!

chris — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 13:39:41 +0000

The nine members of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, which decides the base rate, have made their votes for December, and the rate will be kept at 0.5% for the 21st month in a row! Recent voting results would point to the rate staying at 0.5% for the foreseeable future since only 1 member voted for a rise in the rate.

As always though, despite the low base rate, mortgage rates are still several percentage points higher, and mortgages are still relatively difficult to obtain – even for those with a spotless credit rating.