Articles
As a leader in the provision of loans and mortgages for the UK,
we also provide a series of regular articles to help you make the
most of your finances and get the best loan or mortgage deal for
you.
Credit Repair Advice
Have you got bad credit, due to CCJ's, late payments or other reasons? We provide you with advice and information on how to repair your financial status.
The Mortgage Code
We adhere to The Mortgage Code. Here you can find out more about what it is, and why it is important to only deal with companies who adhere to it.
Buy to Let Mortgage Guide
Want to get a buy-to-let mortgage? Our helpful guide gives you up-to-date information on how to go about it.
Mortgage Glossary
With so many options, legal clauses, and terms & conditions, make sure you are in the know with our mortgage glossary.
Loan Glossary
The financial industry is rife with it's own language, acroynms and word definitions. Read our loan glossary and make sure you are in the know.
Car Loans
Our new car loans article provides information for car loan borrowing, with advice on whether to get a secured or unsecured loan.
Cash Loans
Advice on what is a cash loan, how to take one out, and what the alternatives are to taking out a cash loan (or payday loan).
Bridging Loans
In general, people rely on the sale of an existing property to pay before buying another. The cash that comes from the sale will be used for the deposit on a new property. This isn't always possible, so for these times a bridging loan is required.
Loans & Credit Card Basics
An overview of credit cards and loans, helping you to work out which is the best deal for you.
Student Loans
Studying at University can be expensive, and without help, it would prohibitively so for some people. Read our introduction to student loans.
Student Advice
We offer advice on how to cope with the financial aspects of student life, in this article by someone who has been through it themselves. you have to pay close attention to balancing your outgoings and spending with the funds you receive.
Consolidation Loans
Are you struggling to meet your monthly payments on your credit cards and loan agreements? Has manging your debt suddenly become the main worry in your life? A consolidation loan could help you. Consolidation loans allow you to pay off all your debts and sometimes also provide you with a lump sum to use for any purpose.
Bad Credit Loan
If, in the past, you have made late (or missed) payments on a loan, credit or store card, or have had other problems such as business liquidation, you may have been marked as having bad credit.
Low Interest Loans
Many high street loans companies provide advertisments containing details of the interest rates on their loans products. The problem with interest rates is that if you have nothing to compare them against, you do not really get an immediate understanding of whether their "low interest rate loans" are low or not.
Flexible Loans
A flexible loan could be the financing answer that you have been looking for, providing you with a degree of control over your repayments and allowing you to manage your monthly expenditure around your income, with the option to increase or decrease the amount that you repay on a month-by-month basis.
Mortgages
A mortgage is a loan that is secured against the value of your home, and is generally a long-term financing solution for a large sum or money. When you are looking to buy a property you will almost certainly require a mortgage with which to fund the purchase.
Credit Cards
Credit cards are hugely popular in the UK, with many millions of them in the wallets and purses of consumers up and down the country.The benefits offered by credit cards are not limited to their wide acceptance by retailers and convenience for the customer, but they also..
Interest Rates
Many economists believe that the basic rate of interest will be held unchanged at 4.75% following the meeting to decide it next Thursday. Due to the upcoming general election, the announcement of the decision may be delayed until after the elections have taken place.
Pocket Money
It seems as though the kids of today are far better at wage negotiations than their parents, as figures show that the average pocket money amount went up last year by an inflation-busting seven per cent.
Money Management
Taking care of your money is important to ensure that it is doing the best for your finances that it can. Earning high interest on your savings and paying as little as possible on any debts is the aim, and with a little effort you can get close to this goal and reap the rewards.
Savings Accounts
Research into the instant savings accounts market has shown that accounts which use a passbook offer lower rates on average than other forms of instant access savings accounts.
Monetary Policy Committee
Interest rates affect every form of lending, from loans and mortgages, to credit cards and hire-purchase schemes. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for setting this rate, taking into account a number of factors...
Managing Debt
If you have a number of outstanding debts, be it on loans or credit cards, you may feel that meeting the repayments is a struggle, and that clearing the debts is something that just seems a dream. There are ways to manage your debt effectively and ensure you are not paying more than you need to...
Personal Finance
Looking after your finances is important to ensure that your money is working for you. You work hard to earn it, so why not spend a little time making sure that it is working hard for you? Making the most of your finances needn't be difficult...
Consumer Spending
Perhaps the single biggest influencing factor on the cost of loans and mortgages is the level of consumer spending, a fall in this is often followed by a reduction in the base interest rates...
Flexible Repayments
Offering a high degree of control over the repayments being made, flexible loans and mortgages can be a real benefit in many cases, find out what they offer and who they are designed for...
Savings Rates Fall
The banks have taken an unusual move to lower the rates of interest paid on savings accounts despite the base rates remaining unchanged, this signals a possible interest rate cut in the near future...
Future Interest Rates
The cut in base rates by the Bank of England following 12 months of stability signals the end of the cycle, and a downward trend is now expected...
MPC Close Call
August's cut in interest rates was the result of a split vote at the MPC, narrowly winning out over keeping rates unchanged with a vote of 5-4 in favour...
Debt Cooling Off
Figures from the Bank of England for July show that net lending grew at a subdued rate, suggesting that people are less willing to take on loans and other credit...
Credit Card Spending
Credit cards are becoming a more and more popular form of payment, and are now at a level of usage that is not far off that of debit cards. They can be a convenient means of payment...
Future of Secured Loans
Secured loans have seen a huge rise in popularity over recent years, helped in part by the strong increases in house prices giving borrowers more equity to play with...
Housing Market Picks Up
With the fear of diminishing house prices slowly coming to an end and property value beginning to level out. Buyers have begun come back to the housing market, especially first time buyers...
Interest Rates Unchanged
In its monthly meeting the MPC has voted to hold the base rate of interest unchanged at 4.5% this November, the third consecutive month that they have remained the same...
The Cost of Learning
Many people in the UK aged between 25 and 50 would like to embark on further education, however they are being put off by the costs involved in doing so...
Interest Only Loans
You may have given thought to taking out an interest-only mortgage and attempted to weigh up the benefits against the flaws; we approached the subject in a similar way and made some interesting finds...
Sales Rise
The retail sector has been having a hard time during recent months, with a slowdown in the growth rate across the board. Things do appear to be on the turnaround however, as with lower interest rates and the christmas period...
MPC Keeps Rates Unchanged
In the first meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the year, there was overwhelming support amongst the members to keep the base rate of interest unchanged, leaving it at the rate...
Rate Setting Time
The February interest rate setting meeting of the MPC is just around the corner, but what will the second meeting of the year have in store for us? and what effects could any changes have on...
Computer Loans
Today it’s very hard not to come in contact with a computer. At some point in the day you will have to use a computer for some reason or another. In this day in age everyone probably needs a computer in some shape or form....
Housing Demand Rises
The property market is continuing to see an increase in demand, and this has started to have an effect on prices as estate agents do not have the stock to meet the demands, and therefore prices have seen modest increases...
Online Loans
The vast amount of loan products on the UK market in innumerable. But with the loan/lending market ever increasing alongside the ever-changing personal/financial situation of borrowers there is always room for more loan options...
Economic Outlook
The financial outlook for the coming year is a mixed one, with the housing market currently enjoying a good period whilst the retail sector is still stuggling with poor sales. Interest rates may remain stable for the near future...
Family Offset Mortgages
At least one major mortgage lender has stopped offering its family offset mortgage because of lack of demand, so what is a family offset mortgage? and should there have been more demand for them, or are borrowers right to stay away?...
House Prices Strengthen
March has seen house prices in the UK once again on the rise following a breif stagnant period during February. With the upward trend in the cost of homes seemingly continuing it looks unlikely that they MPC will introduce a cut in interest...
April Interest Rates
The MPC met ealier this month for their monthly rate-setting meeting, in which they considered what level interest rates should be. A number of factors are taking into account to decide this, and after looking through the figures they decided...
More Debt, But Less Cost
The level of debt that individuals hold in the UK recently topped the one trillion pound mark, however the cost of those debts has been falling over the last fifteen years as earnings rise and interest rates have fallen...
Second Hand Car Season
For some unexplained reason from the about the start of spring (March/April) through till about August about 7-8 million of us Britons go out and buy a second hand car. The average price spent on a car is around £5000 - £6000, funded predominantly by personal loans...
Levels of Debt
Many people in the UK have at least some debt that they are currently repaying, there are a significant number who have debt levels that exceed ten thousand pounds...
Shop Around and Save
Consumers are constantly shopping around for a better deal on groceries, utilities, clothes etc, but it is time they realised that the same techniques can be applied when trying to find a bargain loan...
Mortgage Approvals Fall
Figures from the Bank of England for the month of April show that the number of mortgage approvals during that month fell compared to the previous month. Mortgage lending is still...
Is Renting Cheaper?
A new study of twelve separate regions of the UK has shown that based on average costs, renting is acutally cheaper than buying a property in five of those areas - in a couple of cases substantially so...
Dos and Don'ts of Personal Loans
With hundreds and maybe even thousands of loans and mortgage products on the market at any given time, where do you even begin to start looking? The important thing is to shop around but what follows is a list of fundamental 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' that should point you in the right direction...
MPC Down to Seven
The Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for setting the base rate, something that is supposed to fall to the nine members of this committee, however recently their number has fallen to seven...
July Interest Rates
It has now been 11 months since the last time the base rate of interest was changed, with the MPC deciding this month that rates should remain at the current 4.5%...
New MPC Members
The MPC will be back up to a full compliment of nine members come this October when two newly oppointed experts will have joined and begun taking part in the rate-setting meetings...
CBI Wants Rates Unchanged
The head of the Confederation of British Industry, former MPC member Richard Lambert, has made calls to the MPC for them to keep rates unchanged, following findings in a CBI report...
Mortgage Approvals Rise
June saw new mortgage approval rates rise to the highest level for five months, showing that the housing market is still seeing good growth despite the feeling among many analysts that rates...
Interest Rates Rise
The August meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has resulted in the base rate of interest being raised by a quarter point, leaving it now at 4.75%...
Being Credit Worthy
Not everyone who applies for a loan will be approved by the lender, there are certain criteria that the potential borrower must meet in order to...
September Rates
The Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep rates unchanged in their September meeting, which is good news for mortgage holders...
CBI Calls for Rate Rise
The CBI has revised it's forecasts for gross domestic product and consumer price index inflation, both to higher levels, and it believes that a further increase in interest rates is needed in order to keep inflation in check...
Rates to Stabilise?
Figures for economic growth during the second quarter of 2006 show that actual growth was not as high as first thought, which means that a further rise in rates this year is now looking unlikely...
Final Spending Spree
It’s just one last treat before making their final commitment to their mortgage...
Financial Outlook
With the year rapidly coming to a close, what does 2007 hold in terms of the financial world of loans and mortgages, and what will the all-important interest rates do...
Will Rates Rise?
The monthly meeting of the MPC for November is expected to result in a quarter-point interest rate rise, following continued growth in inflation and the housing market...
Base Rates Rise
While a rise in rates was expected in the first quater of 2007, no one expected it to come quite so soon in the year. The quarter point rise was intended to get the public's attention...
CPI Falls
Decreasing energy costs have led to a fall in the Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation. This could lead to stable interest rates for the short to near term...
FTB's Buying Abroad
The young professionals of this country are realising that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder in this country. Frustrated young professionals / first time buyers are looking abroad to earn their status as home owners...
UK Rates Unchanged
The Bank of England has put interest rates on hold for a second month. The rate, which stays at 5.25% is likely to please borrowers but is predicted however to rise in May. The last change...
UK Rates Rise
The Bank of England has voted to raise interest rates to 5.5%. The increase, which has not come as a surprise, is the first since...
Housing Market Swells
Sellers keen to avoid the additional costs of having a HIP (Home
Information Pack) compiled are putting their houses on the market
early before the August HIP introduction comes into force. This
has led to an influx of new properties on the UK housing market...
August Rate Hold
The MPC has decided to keep rates on hold following five previous rises this year, this despite
the fact that the CPI is still running above target. This is good news for those with variable rate mortgages...
House Prices To Reach £300,000 Average
The average cost of a house in England will rise past the £300,000 mark within five years research suggests...
Has the Housing Market Peaked?
The number of new mortgage approvals has fallen in July, suggesting that the previous rate rises are beginning to show their effect on the housing market...
House Market Slows
New mortgage approvals have fallen for the second month in the row, with remortgages also showing a slowdown, leading to many finance experts to suggest that this is the beggining of a slowdown in the housing market...
Oil Prices Hit Record High
Oil prices have set a record high due to the low dollar and continuing tensions in eastern Turkey. US light crude rose to $90.07/barrel (higher then its previous record of $90.02) late on Thursday in New York...
House Price Uncertainty
The UK has seen a downturn in the average house prices, with lessening demand in the market brought about by rising interest rates and uncertainty on where the market is heading...
Credit Crunch
With lenders becoming increasingly careful about who they lend to, it is getting more difficult for people to get credit. With fixed-rate mortgage terms coming to an end, this is exactly what many people need to do in order to remortgage to a more competitive rate...
UK Public Finances In Record Shortfall
The UK's public finances fell further in December 2007, increasing the likelihood that the governments full-year borrowing targets will be overshot and limiting the chance to counter slowing growth...
Interest Rates Cut Unlikey
Further interest rate cuts from the Bank of England could not happen if its quarterly inflation report confirms rising prices amid slowing growth...
Interest Rates Decision Is 5%
Homeowners seeking a cut in borrowing costs have been left disappointed after the Bank of England held interest rates at 5%...
Nationwide Halves Its Lending
Nationwide, the UKs biggest building society, cut its mortgage lending in half last year as it halted an expansion drive and turned to retail savers to fund growth during the credit crunch...
Halifax Raises Mortgage Rates Again
Halifax is set to disappoint more potential customers as it is set to raise its fixed rates on loans by 0.5%...
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