This week’s top five stories:
1) Self-employed broker slams ‘brainless’ visa income rules
A self-employed mortgage broker separated from his family by the Coalition’s visa laws has called for a rethink of the minimum income requirement.
2) Mortgage advisers: survival of the fittest
Through a process of natural selection the number of mortgage advisers is now down to 9,000. Broker Oliver Whitehead of Oportfolio looks at the changes in the market.
3) Co-op could withdraw ‘without fanfare’ from mortgage lending – analyst
The Co-operative Bank is likely to withdraw from active mortgage lending to focus on meeting its deadlines on capital requirements, a senior fund manager has predicted.
4) Abbey to pay brokers for current account referrals
Abbey for Intermediaries has unveiled a programme handing selected intermediaries a fee for current account referrals directing clients to the lender.
5) The toxic mortgage assets in the Co-op’s closet
The day after the 2013 March Budget, Help to Buy was the headline plastered over both the trade and national press. Few journalists studied the annual results of the Co-operative Bank – and if they did, it was probably to glance at the gross mortgage lending figure.
Here are some stories you may have missed:
Mortgage brokers caught in £3m false passport scam
Two mortgage brokers and an estate agent have been found guilty for their part in a £3m fraud.
Co-op plans Western Mortgage Services sale
The Co-operative group is planning to sell a mortgage processing business in order to boost its struggling finances, the Times has reported.
Cameron claims to close Help to Buy second home loophole
Prime Minister David Cameron has insisted that the Help to Buy scheme will not be available to second home purchasers.
Buyer surge triples valuation waiting times
Lenders need to allow valuations earlier on in the house purchase process in order to combat the lack of surveyors, a broker firm has urged.
Virgin Money pulls self-build mortgages
Virgin Money has withdrawn support for the self-build mortgage sector, claiming that it has seen ‘very little demand’ for these types of mortgages.
