A call for more transparency over mortgage fees

A campaign designed to put pressure on lenders to provide greater transparency when quoting financial fees and charges has had a degree of success with the Chancellor George Osborne announcing in the delivery of his Autumn Statement plans to make mortgage fees clear. 

Spearheaded by the consumer champion Which the move by the Chancellor came after 45,000 people supported the campaign and a further 3,000 contacting their local MP. 

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has been asked by the Government to investigate and come up with some practical solutions  as well as guidelines to make it easier to compare mortgage fees and the cost of mortgages generally. 

Selecting a mortgage can be quite costly and Which report that a couple with a new £100,000 mortgage could find themselves paying £1503 more over two years because of mortgage fees. 

Which also found that only 3 % of consumers could correctly compare five mortgage deals from cheapest to the most expensive from information currently presented by the lenders. 

For more details of the campaign and to provide support visit :http://www.which.co.uk/campaigns/insurance-bank-card-fees/ 

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

What is a Home Buyers Report?

This is a survey of a property you may be looking to buy that’s much more detailed than the basic valuation. It’s for your benefit, rather than the mortgage lender.

It will highlight potential problems with a property, such as subsidence, damp or woodworm. This can help you decide whether to go ahead or not with the purchase, or whether to look to renegotiate the price.

It is always a sensible (and we would say essential) precaution to have a survey of your purchase property especially if the property is an older build. 

A recent Which? Survey disclosed:

‘Those who missed problems spent an average of £2,500 putting them right. One in ten spent more than £10,000. Mark Morris from Newbury told us: ‘Since moving in, I’ve found the rot and damp was much worse than I thought. I’ve also spent several hundred pounds making the electrics safe.’ A quarter said that if they’d known in advance, they would have tried to renegotiate the price, and more than one in ten said they wouldn’t have bought at all'.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk