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Buy to let - a tale in two parts...
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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These last few months we have seen more of one particular type of customer at the Society. These are people looking for mortgages on houses they plan to let. I hesitate to call this group buy to let landlords as they could not be more different from those followers of hyped up schemes launched by high energy presenters in hotels up and down the country in 2004-7. That group had little of their own cash and operated on the basis of growing large portfolios of properties (often newly built) by using the rental streams to service ever larger loans. The desired end game was a portfolio rising in value to outstrip the debt. In fact, for some, as prices stalled and poor property selection meant... |
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October 2011
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Shutting the door on Post Office savers
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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This week’s news that the Post Office is to stop operating its savings and investment accounts has caused dismay. If the comments posted on one national newspaper’s website are anything to go by, the change is seen as a real blow to many of the PO’s long standing customers, particularly the elderly.
In July National Savings and Investment (“NSI”) Easy Access accounts will close completely and in May the Investment account will become postal only (with passbooks replaced by statements). More immediately, new accounts cannot be opened after November 2011.
It’s clear that not all the 2.35 million PO’s savers affected will accept... |
| September 2011
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Get ready for JISA's
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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It is twelve years since ISA’s were created as a tax free vehicle for cash savings or the investment of shares or funds. On 1st November 2011 they will be joined by a new variant – the Junior ISA (“JISA”); a tax free savings account for children.
Whilst they share many features of ISA’s these new accounts are slightly complicated by... |
| August 2011
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Whose roof is it anyway?
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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There is, in north Oxford, a house with a 25ft fibre glass shark attached to its roof. If you doubt me have a look on Wikipedia. I have no idea whether the homeowners have a mortgage and, if so, if their lenders had something to say about this “improvement” made in 1986. Rather less exotic additions to roofs are however in the news again and lenders are very interested.
The Energy Act 2008 introduced a system of... |
| July 2011
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Bricks and mortar in 2011
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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It’s been a turbulent few days what with the Greek riots, public sector strikes and the evident pain of well known retailers like TJ Hughes, Habitat, Jane Norman and Thornton’s. The frankly scary days of 2007/8 may be behind us but in their place a new gloom of austerity holds sway.
Mervyn King characterises the events on our High Streets as symptoms of the...
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Self-builds
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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Getting your finances in order before starting to self-build is essential, Mark Robinson, the chief executive officer of the Market Harborough Building Society, said: "Lenders will have a number of concerns when looking at self-build propositions. Central to this is the realism of the project costings. A well-prepared budget with plenty of... |
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Compare and contrast
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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I honestly try not to be a grumpy old man but sometimes I succumb. Two things happened this month which pointed out what great and awful service looks and feels like. I’ll keep the names anonymous but I’ve bent the ear of many friends with the saints and sinners involved.
The first involved a part replacement to a product which... |
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Society reports rise in mortgage values
by the Leicester Mercury |
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Market Harborough Building Society said the value of mortgages it lent last year rose by 12 percent to £69.5 million after winning business from rivals. This led to a 2.8 per cent rise in its mortgage book in 2010, despite the difficult housing market. Chief executive Mark Robinson said: “Such growth represents a significant winning of market share from competitors.” |
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Maths of first time buying
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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A fascinating speech was recently given by the economist David Miles (a member of the Monetary Policy Committee) to the Home Builders Federation. The theme was whether the housing market was broken or “merely” in transition into a “post crunch” world.
This is not as dry as it sounds...
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March 2011
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Biggest is not best
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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The FT on Saturday is not a volume newspaper, but its Money section is often a place to go for interesting stories on personal finance. In late February it ran a piece headed "Small societies beat the big banks". The article reported the outcome of research into where to go for the best fixed rate mortgages. According to Moneyfacts only six of the top 50 two-year fixed rates at 85% loan to value were provided by the UK’s largest lenders - even though they have a 75% market share. This may be surprising…...surely the scale of the big lenders allows them to always win on price?
Well, "no" is the answer. Smaller lenders like Market Harborough have... |
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Surveys and valuations
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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With the prospect of spring not too far away it’s probably the time many of us think about the house move that we put off from last year. The wave of new selling instructions makes it an even more fascinating time than usual to scour the agents’ adverts.
House buying is a potent mix of "head" and "heart" – often compounded by... |
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Tackling debt early
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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The worst day of the year according to "researchers" is probably the third Monday in January; "Foul weather, debt, fading Christmas memories, failed resolutions and a lack of motivation conspire to depress". So let's get that well behind us!
Debt problems are a terrible burden and it seems now they can bite at any age. In 2010 there were around six times as many bankruptcies for retirees as in...
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How much for the gold taps?
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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I don't admit this often but in the 1980's I qualified as a chartered surveyor specialising in valuations. We learnt about the different methods of valuation although not the entirely fictional Darraby method (as in "Darraby worth about £250,000").
In a buoyant market with lots of transactions valuing can be a fairly comfortable activity as the valuer can access plenty of market data on which to base the opinion. Indeed in the US... |
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November 2010
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End of interest only mortgages?
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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A change is quietly taking place on the High Street as lenders amend their policies on so called "interest only" mortgages. These are mortgages where instead of monthly payments comprising part interest part capital, they instead service only the debt. As a result, the mortgage balance remains static for its whole life. If this rings bells it's the method associated with endowments where... |
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Can lend, will lend
by Mark Robinson, Chief Executive |
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The national press has been running with the theme of "mortgage drought" for many, many months now. As a participant in the market we always feel a slight twinge that the truth is not quite as simple as the headlines. True, new mortgage lending in the UK is dramatically... |
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