UK Personal Finance

Halifax have raised there house price forecast for this year from 4% to 6%, even thought the interest rights have increased rapidly.

HBOS group which Halifax is part of, made this dramatic change after House Prises rose faster then the year has expected; this is due to stronger economies and shortages of new build.  Even though Halifax have decided to change there forecast Nationwide Building Society are sticking to there guns at between 5% and 8%, this is despite the rise in the property market in the past 6 months.  Halifax have released that prices are now easing.  Martin Ellis explains an increase in mortgage rates have had a large effect on housing affordability and will increasingly bite over the next 6 months.  Nationwide Building Society agrees with this statement.  Fionnuala Earley explains that they believe that house price growth will fall from 11% to between 5% and 8%.

The main borrowing cost has been raised 5 times in the past year by The Bank of England to 5.75%.  The effects of higher rates are filtering through slowly.  In June a new record was reached by the amount of Mortgage Lending according to CML.  Despite 5 increases in the interest rates, the total lending rose by 9% to £34.2bn in May.  CML explained as this is the peak time for house buying the rise was seasonal.  CML added fewer people would move house, while more would re-mortgage, as borrowers begin to fix there mortgage rates.

Fun Walls, Sticky Notes and People Poking, an online phenomenon that has been sending everyone potty.

30m people world wide are connected to Facebook, a site where you can build up a community, all of these your friends, colleagues and family; but could all this mean your money and identity are in danger. Many users enter all of their details onto their own page which also might include a picture that can be changed. Many users would include there address, phone number, home town and also there date of birth, along with these they ask questions like interests, favourite music, films the list goes on; but people feel obliged to enter all of this information and tell secrets from their past.

This all may seen like a bit of fun and games, its just somewhere to meet friends; but what’s the real story behind someone who has added you who you have never met could they be legit or just after your money and identity. Facebook recently was used by Oxford Dons to see if the students where behaving in their post-exam parties and celebrations.

Experian’s James Jones explained that joining Facebook means putting to much information about yourself. Even though this is good fun, people don’t realise how careful they have to be because of the amount of information you need to give out. Research today shows that burglars are just as likely to take sensitive documents, for example bank statements and many bills, just like they would take stereos, Sky Boxes ect.

ID fraud expert from Callcredit, Owen Roberts, adds that users upload information that is like gold to an identity thief, this causes devastation to thousands of people every day. He goes on to explain that when people say that their going on holiday or out for the night this alerts burglars and if the user has an address on the page this would be a recipe for disaster.

According to APACS fraud from banking online has risen by 44% last year to £33.5m; fraud from internet shopping hit £155m. Banks have recently started to ask more serious questions that only the account holder would know, for example, birth place and maiden name, before letting the user into the account over the phone or via the internet.

According to Experian between 5% and 10% of fraud is committed by a friend, relative or colleagues of the victim. Many users just accept people even if they do not know who it is; but there is a 50/50 chance that this might be a fraudster.

Robert advises users to be careful who they accept as friends and make sure your passwords are all different.

Jones also advises putting the odd piece of information that you have made up as this will throw off any fraudster.

Article Author Personal-Finance_Loan.co.uk

Not only are there huge factors of emotion and stress associated with moving house there are also the burdened costs, that makes the possibility of moving home become a reality. Not to mention the extra cash you will need for the tea and biscuits for the removal men.

Neither the extensive costs nor the sanity strain of moving homes seems to be deterring the British from house- hopping. It appears to be a compulsive quest for Homeowners to continually climb the property ladder. It has been calculated in a survey by Abbey, that Britons will move house an average of 3- 4 times in their lifetime. Excluding property prices, it has been calculated that people who move home around 3- 4 times in a lifetime could be spending up to £54,400, purely based on general moving costs. This nice little some would be enough to buy you a two bedroom apartment in the Costa del Sol, and it is also calculated to be 2.3 years worth of the annual salary based on the average wage, currently.

Homeowners have also said that an average of £16,000 had been spent, when moving last, on lawyer fees, financial advisors, estate agents, removal firms and stamp duty, this cost is additional to what was spent to get their property into a saleable situation. Based on these figures it has been estimated that £28billion alone was spent in 2006 on the general incurred costs of moving house.

There is no secret that moving house is an expensive business, it is undoubtedly the reason why a quarter of the population are loathed to do so. It is astonishing when all the sums are added together from a lifetimes worth of moving homes. Homeowners clearly need all the help they can get, when it is expected that they are likely to spend over two years of the average salary rate.

It advisable for house buyers to look out for the hidden costs when engaging in the decision to move home, it is likely that you may become so caught up in the excitement of moving home that you fail to notice some of the small but relevant costs that arise. It is essential for buyers to ensure they choose the best deal they can find so that they can get the best value. A mortgage is, in most cases, the biggest financial commitment in a person’s life. Therefore, if people are willing to bargain over the fixtures and fittings of there home it will also be a sensible idea that other options are explored to get the best deal when moving home.

It is a good idea to start looking at Early Repayment charges (ERC’s) as they play a part to most mortgages, there are different ERC’s which vary in favourable terms. For example, some mortgages only have ERC’s during the initial competitive rate whilst others can trap borrowers making them pay the ERC’s and the standard Variable rate.

There is no reason why borrowers should have to pay overhanging ERC’s with today’s competitive market giving a wide rang of deals for borrowers to choose. Embarking on a mortgage with ERC’s in the initial terms can make sense but would it not be better still to have no ERC’s at any time? However, you may be likely to pay a little more interest for the benefit, this can be the right decision for those looking for flexibility of freedom.

Exit fees tend to cost around £195- 295, they often come under a number of names including sealing fees, administration charges or deeds- release fees. The charge, however is rising as lenders try to compensate lost revenue from competing rate pricing. It may not seem to be a big sum in the total plan of things but these figures add up, and there has been a rise in the past three years, it is a clear example of the lenders making money out of the consumers. If nothing else it is advisable borrowers should at least aware of what fees are on their deal.

If a higher deposit cannot be provided by the borrower it is important to be aware of higher lending charges (HLC’s). HLC’s are applied by lenders on loans which normally exceed 90% loan value, the borrowers who may not be able to provide a large deposit are viewed as higher risk borrowers and that is why HLC’s can be applied. With today’s market being so competitive it is no longer necessary for first time buyers to pay HLC’s as there are some excellent products, even for those wanting to borrow as much as 100%.

Surveys and solicitors are both crucial in the house buying process, some buyers tend to forget this and find that they receive an inadmissible bill along with a great deal of surprise, which are both very unwelcome at the time. It is important for borrowers to incorporate at least £500 for a typical solicitor’s bill and as much as £900 for a full structural survey.

Another factor that is often erased in borrower’s minds is the re- direction of post. As shocking as it may seem, around a quarter of Britons forget to re- direct their post, putting themselves in danger of identity fraud. It is therefore, not at all surprising that around a half of all identity fraud and theft cases happen at past addresses, in the UK. As already discussed, moving home is stressful and it is therefore absolutely important to re- direct your post. Otherwise you could have a fraudster identifying who you are and your credit information, making you suffer months of misery where you will constantly be turned down for credit and will not even be able to buy something as simple as a new TV.

To solve any issues that may arise with identity theft/ fraud it is important for people moving home to keep on top of their paper work, shred documents that are no longer needed. Contact all financial companies and give a new contact address, make sure that old catalogues that have been used are informed of an address change. The best idea with your post, is to contact the Royal Mail and instruct them to re-direct your post for a year, this will give you chance to inform anyone that has not been told about the change of address and allow for cancellation to be made on things that are no longer in use. Register the new address on the Electoral Roll straight away, also consider registering with the Mailing Preference Services, this will remove your name and address from direct marketing lists that you may have previously been on.

In a bid to solve a potential affordability crisis, it has been suggested by the government that there should be an increase of long- term fixed rate homeowner loans, available on the market today.

Some money analyst’s feel that this is a broad solution to tackle the uncertain affordability problem, and it certainly could prove to be a difficult decision for lenders. There are only 141 products out there on the market that offer a fixed rate of ten years or more, most of which being restricted to ten- year- terms for current borrowers. This area of the market is still in its prime and is showing growth, however there is only a 6% section of fixed rate products available on the market.

While some long term packages can provide contentment for borrowers, there may be a potential consequence if rates fall as customers may be left paying a higher level of interest.

Recent hikes have been made by The Bank of England Monetary policy committee which has increased the interest rate to 5.75%, this has been the second increase in three months and the third this year.

Funding your wedding day can be tedious matter, in today’s society people will often choose homeowner loans to cover the necessary costs, others find it better to save for the wedding themselves, even this can prove to be a challenging task.

One Wedding Planning service has advised people choosing to get married, that they should look around the market before deciding on a homeowner loan, this way they should be able to find the best deal on homeowner loan rates to cover their personal costs for the special day.

Having money readily available from the start is really essential if you are to keep within your budget. It is important for people deciding to pay for their wedding themselves, to work out how much money is needed at the start so that you are able to avoid getting into debt.

A number of homeowner loan providers do offer specific tailored loans for weddings, it is helpful, once you know your budget, to break the different fundamentals down so that you are able to understand which areas are important to you. In the long run this can help make your wedding day special and you will not be worrying about your personal finances.

According to research people are willing to go to great lengths or rather prices, for an extra bedroom in an excellent family home.

A survey has been carried out by Yorkshire Bank that reveals the prices people are willing to pay for another bedroom in their new desired family home. The average cost that buyers are likely to pay for an extra bedroom is £34, 000, however, the urge for the perfect family home has shown that buyers across the UK are willing to stretch out to figures up to £80,000 for the additional space, this will be funded via a homeowner loan, a remortgage or existing savings.

The findings of the survey indicate that almost a quarter of the UK population will not move house as the current house prices are too high. But the remaining population are happy to move to a larger family home.

Research shows that it is not necessarily the extra cost of another bedroom that puts some of the population off, it is the worry to keep up with the overall increased repayments for the house.

Three quarters of the people surveyed expect interest rates to increase further, this was following recent rises already made by the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee, the rise was the third this year and the second in three months.

From figures released this month Mortgage Lending is the highest it has ever been as a reaction to the new Interest Rates.  In June Mortgage Lending raised to £34.2bn, a further 9% then the previous month.  In effect Homeowners sought to lower their costs by Remortgaging.

Mortgage approvals grew as a result of this and many people were coming to the end of their Short-Term Fixed-Rate deals.  CML explained lending figures were still Lower Rate then this period last year where it increased to 12%.  CML went on to say although strong levels of lending were expected in autumn; this driven by Remortgaging was expected to make the number of home purchasing to fall.

CML’s director, Michael Coogan, explained that there might be signs in the market for the cumulative effects from the 5 Interest Rate rises.  All effects will become more evident over the next few months; many borrowers with Fixed-Rate Mortgage deals will end the existing deal.

Building Societies Association shows figures to back up the significant drop in gross advances; the figures falling from £5.13m in 2006 to £4.65m last month.  Building Societies also experienced a significant fall in Mortgages Approved this is £6m to £4.6m.

BSA’s head of savings policy, Brian Morris, explains that people who decide to borrow money should be very careful not to overstretch themselves at the time of high Interest Rates and only borrow if they are sure they can afford it.

British Bankers Association have released information that they have seen a slow down in the amount they are lending in Mortgages and Credit Cards. The Net Mortgage lending rate has also rose by £5.3bn this is down from the previous month’s figure £5.8bn and recent monthly average if £5.3bn.

In June unsecured lending remained unchanged, following a fall in may of £0.5bn.  It’s said that as a £0.1bn fall Credit Card borrowing has been cancelled out by the £0.1bn rise in the personal loans and overdrafts.  Also continuing to rise if the Household Savings, deposits into banks are also rising over the month by £3bn, with the monthly average of £3.1bn.

David Dooks, the BBA’s director of statistics, explained that the increase of money on deposit and the unsecured lending shows household budgets seem to be in a good shape.  Chief United Kingdom economist as Global Insight’s, Howard Archer, said that BBA’s and BSA’s Mortgage figures are a general impression that the Housing Market is coming off the boil.  Mortgage activity fluctuates on a monthly basis; falls in the activity are being exaggerating by the activity in 2006 was robust.  Overall all the evidences is pointing to the housing market activity.

HBOS are revising their forecast in the Housing Prices that will rise next year, because of the expected growth in the market.

Some Banking Groups believe that a 6% rise will happen in the growth of House-Price in 2007, but the previous forecast was 4%.  The revision should reflect the greater movement in the prices in January, February, March and April next year.

Thousands of pounds are spent every year by lonely people in the United Kingdom.

MoneyExpert discovered around £90 is used each month by singles in need of love. They also discovered men use a further £30 more then women per month. This is because one of the most expensive places to take a member of the opposite sex for a date is London.

MoneyExpert Sean Gardner explains that the old romance is dead and singletons in the United Kingdom have now got higher expectations. He then goes on to say that if singletons watched there outgoings then they would be shocked, and lower the amount they spend to impress the member of the opposite sex.

Confetti, have said that people who are looking to get married, should look carefully for the best Homeowner Loan to help pay for the big day.

The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) believes that the beginning increase of Private Landlords began when housing laws were amended so that it was impossible for tenancy agreements to accidentally become a sitting tenancy.

The initial idea of becoming a Private Landlord seems to be a satisfying idea among people of today, it can also be a very wise financial decision in the long- term period. What could be easier? Borrowing money cheaply, to buy a house or flat and then letting it out to a tenant, while you enjoy the benefits of the rent income and rise in property value.

This is apparently one of the modern concepts of today’s buy- to- let market that has resulted in an increase of Private Landlords. Buy to let borrowing hit record figures at the beginning of the year. The Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) have confirmed that approximately 152,500 buy- to- let Mortgages were taken out at the start of the year, 17% more than the previous six months. In 1999 figures show that only 1% of mortgage lending were buy- to- let borrowers, which has now increased to 8 %. For lenders this has creating a new area of business.

The majority of private landlords have seen good returns and have experienced growth in their property amount.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has confirmed that there has been an increase of 49% in popularity for Offset mortgages over the last year. It has been said that approximately 170,000 Offset mortgages were taken out last year, which are worth around £30bn in total.

An Offset Mortgage allows users to keep balances in different accounts with all balances being offset against each other. Possibly allowing a reduction in the interest paid, which could allow the borrower to repay the mortgage early. They are designed to be flexible, allowing the user to make over- payments and under-payments.

When introduced in the UK in the mid 1990’s from Australia, Offset Mortgages proved to be initially popular and were heavily marketed by Building Societies and Banks. There popularity was diminished with more competitive fixed Rate Mortgage deals. However, recent changes in interest rates have shown that Fixed Rate Mortgages have become increasingly expensive, thus taking a back seat when compared with Offset Mortgages.

The change in interest rates, according to experts has encouraged buyers to choose Offset Mortgages and it is thought that after more than a decade the Offset Mortgage approach has quietly contented the public’s expectations.