The government’s new Help To Buy scheme is set to boost lending to homebuyers with small deposits could push down interest rates on 95% mortgages to their lowest level since 2008.

The scheme could reduce interest rates for those with only 5% deposit from around 6%- to nearer 4%. In addition there should be far more high loan to value mortgages available.

The scheme is also avalable for home movers and is avalable for properties up to £600,000.

The Bank of England is considering the “extraordinary” idea of negative interest rates as one of a number of radical policies to help return the UK to growth.
Paul Tucker, deputy governor for financial stability, raised the possibility in front of MPs after saying the Bank could be doing more to help the economy, including measures to boost lending to small businesses.
Negative interest rates would mean high street lenders paying the central bank to place their money with it. The move would be intended to encourage more lending to businesses and households. But it could also lead to a reduction in the interest paid on individual savers’ accounts held with high street banks.
The Bank has considered cutting rates from their record low of 0.5pc in the past but decided against doing so for fear of bankrupting a number of smaller building societies. To get round the problem, the Bank is reviewing a possible change to its remit so it can set a separate interest rate specifically for excess deposits placed by financial institutions at the central bank.
This could have dramatic effect on mortgage repayments including the possibility of many people having no interest payments at all.

Typically these are bought from receivers at attractive prices, and unlike traditional development lenders we are able to get involved part way through a project. Funding can be provided to complete the purchase, and with additional security we can also fund the development costs in stages.
We are also able to fund projects where the developer has taken the site as far as he can using his own funds, and needs a final tranche of funding to complete the build.

BM Solutions is reducing rates by 0.15% and increasing cashback on selected products currently available in the 0-75% LTV buy-to-let product range.

From today, the following products will see rates reduced:

– 0-75% LTV, 2 year fixed rate product is reduced by 0.15% to 4.54% with a £995 fee. This product is available with a £500 cashback

– 0-75% LTV, 3 year fixed rate product is reduced by 0.15% to 4.64% with a £995 fee. This product is available with a £790 cashback.

Finance has recently become available for the conversion of residential properties- for example
Converting a single house into flats
Converting flats into a single house
Building a house or two
Demolishing an existing house to rebuild a larger one
Adding a new bedroom, bathroom or both
Or any other type of conversion

· LTVs up to 70% or higher with additional security
· Advances of up to £1,000,000
· Stage drawdowns available (interest only charged on monies drawn down)
· Payment options available
· Terms of up to 12 months
· Available in England, Wales and Scotland

Please contact us for more details

Valuations activity in November saw an annual rise after a strong performance from the buy-to-let sector, according to the latest Housing Market Activity Reports.

The total number of residential valuations was 3% higher than a year ago. This improvement came despite a monthly fall in activity of 1%, although looking back over the last five years this was less than the average fall of 3% recorded between October and November.

New buy-to-let valuations were central to the strength of November’s figures, with a 14% rise in activity in the sector compared to October, leaving buy-to-let activity 18% higher than a year ago. Buy-to-let valuations made up 16% of the market, the highest level since 2007.

Funding for Lending has changed lenders’ behaviour, and prospective landlords have benefited as a result. Cheaper credit from the Bank of England has so far mainly gone to lower LTV products, such as buy-to-let mortgages, due to the requirements on banks to simultaneously hold more capital. Meanwhile, investors are picking up on the severe lack of supply and strong yields in the lettings market, making good use of these cheaper mortgages.

While first time buyer activity may have weakened in the month, down 8% from October, it was still 4% above the level seen a year ago.

One of the major colleges in Edinburgh has asked if we know of any host families that would be prepared to accommodate international students. Is this something that either you or anyone you know would be interested in considering?

Tesco Bank are leading the current mortgage rate war. Available for either purchase or re-mortgage their 2 year 1.99% fixed rate is available for up to 60% Loan to Value. There is a non-refundable booking fee of £195 and product fee of £800 which can be paid upfront or added to the mortgage.

They will also pay your standard legal fees and your first standard valuation fee.

The average price of detached houses in Scotland increased by almost 70% over the past 10 years. The average price is now worth an average of £238,000, over £20,000 less than five years ago but £100,000 more than in 2002, when the average value was just £140,000. Compared to other types of properties, detached homes have seen the smallest drop in price over the past five years. The average price of property has fallen by 21% since the height of the market in 2007, with flats down by 23%, their values having suffered as a result of the difficulties faced by first time buyers in getting a mortgage.

Between 2002 and 2007, when it was easier for first-time buyers to get on the property ladder, the average price of flats rose by 126%. Semi-detached homes – which have had seen their average value fall by 16% over the last five years – and terraced homes now account for a larger share of property sales than in 2007. Flats now make less than 32% of property deals, down from 36% in 2007.

The gap between the average price of a detached home and other types of property has grown in the last five years. The average price of a detached property is now 113% more than for a flat and 107% more than a terraced home, compared with 82% and 67% respectively five years ago.

Business Secretary Vince Cable will announce today the first steps in creating a Government-backed business bank, including new Government funding of £1 billion.

It will aim to attract private sector funding to support up to £10 billion of new and additional business lending.

The Government will build a single institution that will address long-standing, structural gaps in the supply of finance, identified in Tim Breedon’s report on non-bank finance. It will bring together in one place Government finance support for small and mid-sized businesses. It will also control the Government’s interests in a new wholesale funding mechanism which will be developed to unlock institutional investment to benefit small businesses.