The Financial Blog

Figures released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that more first time buyers then ever are looking for advice from mortgage advisers when it comes to finding the best mortgage rates and also the best mortgage for their needs.

The figure has increased to 82.5 per cent of first time buyers in the first quarter of 2008 compared to 72.5 per cent the same time last year. The figures also show that mortgage advisers are responsible fror 79 per cent of all remortgages, again a 10 per cent increase on the same time last year.

It just goes to show that people are open to and actively seeking professional financial advice when it comes to their mortgage and their Remortgaging.

Richard Farr, Director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, said: “Mortgage intermediaries are playing a vital role in the current market place as first time buyers struggle to find a mortgage deal. The CML figures demonstrate the demand for advice from consumers, and the ability of intermediaries to find a good deal even during difficult times.”

“Consumers clearly value the advice they receive from mortgage brokers. It is important for government, regulators and the industry to recognise the value of intermediaries to consumers. Intermediaries are able to identify the most suitable product for the consumer at a competitive price and analysis of consumer attitudes show they value this advice much higher than that provided by the lenders. In these difficult times it is more important than ever for consumers to access good advice.”

>>Click here to find a local Independent Financial Adviser in your area Or >>Click here to compare mortgages online today!

LV= announced today that it will not charge customers a fee for most general insurance policy amendments.

This is something that has recently been reported in the press; that most insurers will charge their customers an administrational fee for making amendments to their policy details.

Things like changing your address, amending the level of cover you require or even if you canel your policy some insurers will charge you an admin fee. LV=  now say that policyholders will not have to pay admin charges if they amend cover levels, change address, or cancel due to reasons outside of their control*

Managing Director at LV= general insurance, John O’Roarke, said: “We believe in offering good quality insurance policies, at competitive prices, with no hidden costs.  We know that customers often have to make minor amends to their policy for reasons out of their control and we don’t think it’s fair to charge them admin fees for this.”

“At LV=, we operate a culture where treating customers fairly is central.  This is a clear example of how we go further than most general insurers to provide a more transparent service”.

* Fees will only be charged for customers who wish to cancel their policy for reasons within their control, when there is a change of vehicle or driver and a request for duplicate documents

LV= offers car insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and pet insurance direct to consumers by telephone from UK call centres in Bournemouth and Croydon and online from the website: www.lv.com

>>Click here to compare LV= with other insurance companies

HSBC has extended the rate matcher mortgage offer by 6 weeks, making it available until 29th June 2008. The rate matcher mortgage from HSBC is for UK homeowners whose fixed rate mortgage deal ends before 31st August 2008 and is only available if affordability criteria is met and the maximum loan to value is 80 per cent.

Not suprisingly this has been a very popular mortgage product and as a result HSBC mortgage sales have increased to average a staggering £100 million of new mortgage sales every day, since April.

I’m sure this will come as good news for thousands of people looking for the next best fixed rate mortgage to replace their existing deal. In the current mortgage climate it will surely save thousands of homeowners hundreds, if not thousands of pounds worth of mortgage repayments. For further details and mortgage rates see this post; http://www.thefinancialblog.co.uk/hsbc-offer-new-rate-matcher-mortgage

HSBC head of mortgages, Martijn van der Heijden, said; “Rate Matcher has been exceptionally well received by homeowners. We successfully serviced 37,000 calls in the first four days of the offer and we are continuing to sell almost four times our normal value of mortgages. Importantly, the increase in business has not been at the expense of quality. We have maintained our conservative credit scoring, and have seen the average mortgage equal just 56 per cent of the property it was secured against.

“While the mortgage market remains challenging for borrowers, extending the availability of our Rate Matcher mortgage means we can offer many customers an alternative to significantly higher monthly mortgage payments.”

>>Click here to compare fixed rate mortgage deals now!

ASDA Head of Insurance, Gideon Ingham, comments: “Tesco’s offer is another addition to all the other Over 50s life cover products that are unfair as consumers could have to pay in far more than their cover will pay out.  We cannot understand why another new product to market hasn’t got a cap on it.  This launch looks like every little premium helps Tesco and we are asking them to review its offering and introduce a cap”

ASDA Financial Services last week asked if it’s fair that thousands of people with over 50s life policies could have to pay in far more than their cover will pay out.  ASDA pledged to put that right with its new Over 50s Life Cover and the promise that customers who maintain their premiums won’t ever have to pay in more than they get out.

“For too long, thousands of Over 50s Life Cover policy holders have been penalised for living longer by having to pay much more in premiums than is paid out.  ASDA has a long standing reputation as a consumer champion and will go that extra mile to identify policies which do not unfairly penalise customers.  Our new cover is going to ruffle a few feathers, but it’s high time that this customer group was treated fairly - so we think that all over 50s life policies should put a cap on premium payments.

>>Click here to compare life insurance policies and find the best insurance for your needs

Following in the footsteps of the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS, Bradford and Bingley are the latest UK bank to go to it’s shareholders for additonal funding. The planned £300 million rights issue will offer existing investors the chance to buy more shares.

Shareholders will be offered 16 new shares for every 25 they already own and the price will be 48 per cent below yesterday’s closing price. It is standard practice for a company to offer shareholders new shares at a discounted price and they are offered in proportionary amounts. For example, if you own 5 per cent of the existing shares you will be offered 5 per cent of the new ones.

Bradford and Bingley had previously denied, only last month, that it was planning to raise additional finds from shareholders.

Because Bradford and Bingley are Britian’s largest buy-to-let mortgage lender and it funded a large proportion of these mortgages from the money markets, it’s share price has fallen this year and Bradford and Bingley say the rights issue will bolster “Our position as one of the better capitalised banks in the UK.”

>>Click here to compare mortgages and find the best deals