http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk Compare the best UK mortgage and remortgage deals Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:32:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The latest information from  John Charcol Index showed the number of remortgage applications being submitted has increased month on month in the last quarter. Purchases accounted for 47.3% of mortgages sold by John Charcol in February, down from it's height of 58.5% in November 2009. The February figure is the lowest market share taken by purchases since for ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/11/remortgage-activity-on-the-increase/ Abbey is to reduce the rate on its four-year fixed mortgage by up to 0.4% later this week. The latest mortgages include a four-year fixed rate at 4.49% with a £994 fee at up to 70% LTV available for purchases and remortgages. No fee options include a four-year fixed rate deal at 4.99% at ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/10/abbey-to-lower-rates-later-this-week/ Mortgage availability in the UK  for home purchases has improved over the past month, according to figures from  Moneyfacts. At the start of March there were 1,798 mortgages available which required deposits of between 0% and 40%. That was 6% more availability than a month ago and 68% more over the last 12 ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/09/mortgage-availabilty-on-the-increase/ The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep base rate at 0.5%, marking the one-year anniversary of record low rates. The MPC has also decided not to extend its quantitative easing programme beyond the £200bn it has already spent on buying up assets to boost the economy. Minutes published ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/05/rates-held-at-05-2/ With the current base rate at 0.50%, it is fair to assume that interest rates can only go up up, the hard part to predict is when. The majority of opinions from economists is that when the Bank of England does start to increase base rates, they will do so cautiously, desperate not to ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/04/maybe-its-time-to-fix-your-mortgage/ Homeowners looking to make their homes more environmentally friendly will be offered a wide range of new government incentives. http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/03/green-loans-for-homeowners/ Connells Surevey and Valuation latest figures show that the amount of valuations being instructed on residential properties grew 61% in February. The positive statistic is that of year-on-year increases also continued, with the number of valuations conducted in February up nearly 25% on the number a year ago. The increase in valuations ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/03/02/61-increase-in-valuation-activity/ Nationwide  announced thet house prices in the UK fell during the month of February, a combination of extreme weather and the end of the stamp duty holiday were to blame. Their House Price Index fell 1.0% on the month to stand up 9.2% on the year. This was the largest monthly drop since February 2009. Martin ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/02/26/house-prices-drop-1/ Halifax plans to stop offering its guarantor mortgages next month, because of a lack of demand for the mortgage product. The guarantor mortgage allowed parents to act as guarantors for their children when buying their first house. Halifax says other products, such as its Lloyds TSB Lend a Hand mortgage has overtaken the popularity ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/02/25/halifax-to-withdraw-guarantor-mortgages/ The financial advisory business of the Towergate Partnership, has announced the acquisition of John Charcol, the independent mortgage advisory business. All John Charcol staff and directors will be making the move to Towergate Financial. John Charcol CEO John Garfield will work closely with Towergate Financial CEO Ian Darby – a former ... http://www.best-mortgage-direct.co.uk/2010/02/24/john-charcol-bought-out-from-receivership/