Recent data has indicated that fewer people in the UK had their homes repossessed during the last three months of last year, and this was also mirrored by a definite fall in the number of court orders issued for the seizure of properties.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, lenders repossessed more than 10,000 homes during the three month period leading up to December, a figure that is 13% lower than the previous quarter, and also 2% down on the same period in 2009. During the period of October to December 2009 there were almost 17,000 home repossession orders in the UK, and this figure is 15% down on the previous three month figure to September 2009. Independent figures issued by the Ministry of Justice showed that 42% fewer mortgage possession orders were issued by English and Welsh courts during the last quarter of 2009 as compared to the same period for the previous year.

With the current signs of greater stability within the labour market, as well as the general consensus that interest rates will stay long for a continuing period, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has cautioned that its previous estimate of 53,000 repossessions throughout the coming year now appear somewhat overdone. The Council warned, however, that we continue to face a rather uncertain period. They caution that, although the lower levels of repossessions are a tribute to continued low interest rates as well as efforts from the government, lenders and the advice sector, borrowers are likely to come under pressure as and when interest rates are eventually raised.

The job market has also been one of the key factors in keeping the number of repossessions lower than expected, with unemployment rising much lower than had been expected and much lower than was seen in the previous recession. Overall confidence in the housing market has also improved with a 5% rise in the number of construction orders during the three months leading up to December 2009 up by 5% on the previous year. New buy-to-let lending also rose for the second quarter in a row, further stimulating market confidence. Many home owners being able to take advantage of some of the best mortgage rates in years as well as find quality re-mortgages have also helped contribute to this trend.

In many instances

standard variable rate (SVR ) is lower than the rate that had been paid during the initial deal. That’s the reason for many borrowers whose current deal is coming to an end to choose between  taking out a new deal or moving to their lender’s SVR.

Sometimes the mortgages arrangement fee cannot be justified due to the risk of defaulting so it must be due to the risk of interest rates rising.

Asking yourself if you should  insure against mortgage hike? There is only one answer:

Unfortunately there isn’t  any insurance that will protect against a rate increase.

Choosing to move to your lender’s SVR for the time being you should consider setting up a savings account in which the difference between your old and new lower monthly payment could be saved.

This money can be utilised in a future event of a of a sudden rate increase, giving you a buffer,  while you are looking for a new deal.

The only way to ensure that your monthly payment remains the same, regardless of any rate increase, is to move from your current deal onto a fixed-rate deal. But, even financial experts can’t agree on the way ahead.

Borrowers are facing unprecedented uncertainty over the future path of interest rates, which means a tough choice between low-rate tracker mortgages and the security of more costly fixed-rate deals.

Accordinding with L&C the tracker would be the best choice in terms of total repayments over the five years if interest rates rose at a slow, steady pace, but the fix would be better if rates rose sharply.

 Homeowners with low SVRs of 2.5% should also stay put. The  research shows that on any SVR at 4% or higher you could end up paying more than on a five-year fixed rate by the end of the term (in this „steady” scenario) and should consider remortgaging.

Remortgaging:  A good or bad decision?

When it comes to remortgaging, the answer is always dependent on the current economic status, and how good or bad of a deal you got when you first financed that home or business.  While it is sometimes are to see what is behind that closed door, we are going to provide you with the key to re-opening it. 

The best way to make decisions when it comes to remortgaging is to look at a variety of factors.  The first question to ask yourself is, "How were things financially when I made this investment".  That question should be quickly followed with the important question of, "Is my situation now, better or worse?"  Once you have gotten answers to the questions, you can narrow down the paths to choose between.  Obviously if you were struggling in the beginning  and have fought your way to a better financial situation, then remortgaging could be a great option for you to lower those interest rates.  For those of us who received our mortgage with low credit scores, this can make a drastic improvement in your financial well-being.

For all of those people who were in a better position than the rest of us, you most likely got a great interest rate on a cheap loan or mortgage option.  If you fall into this bracket then you will notice that lately it just does not really play in your favor to remortgage at this time.  With interest rates staying low after that initial introductory offer, many have chosen to stay with their initial lender. 

With the number of people opting out of remortgaging their properties, first time home buyers and next time buyers are benefiting as well.  With the competition amongst lenders heating up, it has proven to be a buyers market in which many have chosen to take advantage of expanding current investments instead of refinancing old ones.

Need to Know: Annual Percentage Rates for First-Time Buyers.

It is important that when we choose to make a serious investment that we truly understand the costs involved.  So for those first time mortgages we are going to break it down simply for you. There are numerous times of interest rates out there to choose from when in comes to repayment options.  These are often broken down into "variable" interest rates and "fixed" interest rates.  These rates will apply to all forms of financing from loans, mortgages, and remortgaging options.

The first one we shall discuss is variable interest rates.  Depeding on the company in which you recieve your loan from, the rates are calculated with a range for potential variance.  For example, if you recieve at loan at 5% interest monthly, that is not a guaranteed rate for every month during that year or term of the investment.  It will have a range of values in which it can vary between throughout a single term.  The term can be monthly, annually, bi-annual and quarterly.  Also, which an interest rate is provided to you, it is important to know the time periods in which the interest is going to be applied.  Maybe a little more than you had orginally thought was required to simply make that next home purchase?  It really is not as difficult as it seems.  You are not expected to be an expert in financing as that is your bank or other financing instituions job.  However, it is important that you have basic knowledge of the information you will be presented with so you can ask questions.

The second topic in regards to interest rates are the different types.  The is a different between simple interest and compounding interest. A simple interest rate is easily calculated by simply taking the amount owed (principal), and multiplying it by the interest rate and time period ( number of quarters, months in the year, or number of years).  That will give you the amount of interest that will be paid over the duration of your loan.  This interest type is associated with a nominal APR.  Then there is the matter of compounding interests.  This is the option that most lending providers will choose.  This simply means that everytime interest is applied to your loan, that amount will be applied to the total loan amount.  Now, when it is time to apply the next interest amount, you will be charged interest on the new principal amount which includes the last interest addition.  Just think about it as buying jelly candies.  If I charge you tax for every candy you have, then when you start with 3 candies, the initial tax will be charge on three candies.  Now that you purchased two more, your collection has risen to 5.  The next time I charge you taxes it will be on 5 candies.  Not as hard as you thought right?

Finally, a fixed APR will result in a constant percentage rate being applied to your original loan amount for the duration of your loan.  This is often chosen by those who seek consistency and prefer smaller risks that can be associated with variable interest rates.  Now that you have the basic understand of APR’s and how they can affect your loans, you have enough knowledge to at least ask questions and do not have to solely depend on your or trust your financial institution’s suggestion for "best choice for you".

Unbiased.co.uk is a web site that answers questions that people have on mortgages and other topics related to housing needs in the United Kingdom.

They answer varying questions with professional advice on a wide area of topics that will hopefully help the general public.

The company released some statistics on the question areas most asked and it turns out that some 41% of the questions were related to first time buyers.

The second area of questions was on remortgages which was some 33% of the questions. This area grew by some 5% which means more people are becoming interested in this area of home buying or repurchasing.

The third area of interest came in at 24% and this was on the residential property market, where there were many questions asked in this area.

The remainder of the top ten questions included buy-to-let, self-employed, high loan to value, equity release, flexible, sub-prime and right to buy. There were a total of 5,940 questions asked of the web site which shows that there is a high level of information being sought.

David Elms, the Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk commented, “These latest figures suggest a stirring amongst those thinking about re-mortgaging, after the previous two months drop in re-mortgage enquiries. More of those looking to re-mortgage are now seeking a whole of market mortgage adviser who can give whole of market advice and start to unravel the confusion of the current mortgage market.”

He continued, “It is also clear from these new figures that first time buyers remain baffled with the mortgage maze, and are continuing to seek whole of market advice to get guidance and help on the right mortgage decision for them.  With some mixed news on whether there are signs of recovery in the property market, as well as mortgage options and deals still changing at a fast pace, it is not surprising that those looking to enter the market are seeking advice.”

A string of companies including Ingard, Exclusive Connections, SimplyBiz, The Mortgage Alliance, Stirling & Law and Genesis Home Loans, as well as Mortgage 2000 ‘Encore’ users, have contributed to the rapid growth by selecting Mortgage Brain as their preferred solution for mortgage sourcing. Mark Lofthouse, CEO of Mortgage Brain, comments, “With this announcement we want the mortgage industry to know that we’re the only sourcing company prepared to offer guaranteed mortgage product details with the launch of Mortgage Brain Premier Plus+. With its release, we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of companies and mortgage advisers exclusively selecting our products and services.”

He continued by saying,“Intermediaries have been asking for guaranteed product data and we’re delighted to be the first and only sourcing system to deliver it, ensuring they have the confidence in the system they use is of paramount importance and a huge deciding factor when choosing software solutions to help manage their businesses.”

He finished by saying, “Quite simply, mortgage advisers are turning to Mortgage Brain as they see us as the best and most reliable sourcing system on the market and one in which they can confidently place their trust.”

Premier Plus+ is Mortgage Brain’s new and innovative mortgage sourcing system, which guarantees product data to give intermediaries complete confidence in the advice they give their client.

The Nationwide Building Society has announced that it will cut the price of selected fixed and tracker rate mortgages by some 0.5%.

This is one of the largest organizations that is doing this and hopefully this will carry on to other banks and lenders making it for a more competitive market.

For those buying a home, the two year fixed rate is available from 3.98%. If you’re a new customer, you can borrow up to 85% LTV (Loan-To-Value) and existing accounts who are simply moving can borrow up to 95%.

A three year fixed rate is also available with interest at 4.58% with the same LTV values as the two year loan.

A two-year tracker is also available with rates at 3.08%. New customers have an 80% LTV value while existing borrowers have a 95% LTV.

There are also deals on the table for those involved in a remortgage of a home, with rates up to 4.78%. All deals have a reservation fee of 896-pounds and a booking fee of 99-pounds.

Commenting on the new deals, Andy McQueen, mortgage director at Nationwide said, “We are cutting the price of selected fixed and tracker rate mortgage deals by up to 0.50% so our range offers even better value for new borrowers. We have a superb range of products for existing customers coming to the end of a Nationwide deal including two and three year fixed rates which are currently among the best in the market compared to remortgage deals offered by other lenders.”

He finished by saying, “These mortgages are ideal for borrowers who are uncertain about how interest rates will move in the future as they provide assurance that the mortgage rate will not rise above a certain level.”

The Bank of England confirmed the expectations of many when it decided to hold the base rate down to 0.5% again for the fifth straight month in a row.

Analysts are predicting that this base rate isn’t going to change anytime soon as long as unemployment is high and the recession still looms.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to pump another 50-billion pounds into the system to help get banks on their feet again.

The low base rate is a boon for tracker mortgages as they are based off of the base rate with an added percentage of interest added to the number. There is approximately 3-million homeowners with tracker mortgages who have made out on this deal.

Fixed rate mortgage owners aren’t seeing much in the benefit of a low base rate as many homeowners had their rate locked down before the base rate began to fall. Companies, such as Nationwide, cut their rates this past week for future borrowers but that doesn’t do much for those who have already locked in their rate for some time to come.

According to Moneysupermarket, “The cheapest two-year fixed rate deal on the market is currently from First Direct, priced at 3.34% and with a 1,498-pounds arrangement fee. However, the deal is reserved for homeowners who only need to borrow 60% of the property value.”

According to the company, 90% deals are becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain. To receive a deal like that you’ll need to have an excellent credit rating and employment that is quite secure to gain that type of mortgage.

Halifax has denoted in the past week, that at least for its customers, their spending power has increased by at least 10% over the past year.

The company has a survey that shows how much the money that they spend has at least increased over the last year in comparison with the amount of money they had available in 2008.

According to the company, mortgage holders have more money left over after buying their home essentials than they did the year before.

Halifax says that since March 2008, that they have seen their discretionary income raise from 892 pounds to 989 pounds according to their records.

A Halifax economist said that over the past year, homeowners have seen that income which they should have for household items has increased because of the the mortgage that they have has been lower than in times before.

The fall in the mortgage amount has been a major factor in allowing the homeowner to have more money for things around the home in comparison to making a major house payment when they go shopping for better loans.

We should mention that food prices have increased by at least 10% and utility bills by considerably more, however shopping for your mortgage should still result in better saving if one takes the time to shop around for a short term mortgage.

With a short term mortgage, we will probably see a reduction in the mortgage rate as fall and winter approach and that could see a better result in the amount of money available for consumers, but that is up to the buyer as far as the length of the loan that they want and whether it is fixed or variable.

There are many British citizens who have a spare apartment in London that they use every once in a while that are looking at it as extra income. According to Cluttons, the property consultants, there are many apartments of this type that are available and owners have chosen to start renting them out as a way to increase their bottom line.

Unemployment has caused some of this folks no longer to need their London apartment which has resulted in a rise of some 15% of these properties coming available in comparison to the past. Cluttons says that there are many letting agents who are listing these properties for those working in the London area. Rather than taking out a mortgage, they rent the properties their interested in.

A lettings partner at Cluttons’ Belgravia office, Louisa Woodbridge had comments about this type of situation, “The pied-à-terre has long been a status symbol in prime central London, so it is little surprise that their existence has diminished somewhat in recent times as the recession takes hold.”

She continued to say, “This has created new opportunities for more London tenants to live in some of the most desirable central locations, at rents they can afford. Pied-à-terre owners looking to generate income from their property are usually keen for a quick return, so this lifestyle can now be achieved at some very competitive rental rates.”

Cluttons currently is renting properties like this. As an example they have one near Holland Park. Situated just off High St. Kennington, that is currently renting at 395-pounds per week.