Contractors looking for a remortgage might be interested to learn that the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have both introduced new remortgage deals this week.
The new offering, which is available both in the branch and over the phone, is a 5 year fixed rate mortgage at 4.39% with a maximum LTV ratio of 60%. The two banks have also launched a 2 year fix at 2.75%, with LTV of 50% and cashback of £250.
Spokespeople from the banks say these products will be of interest to consumers who value the certainty of knowing they will make a fixed payment every month.
NatWest has been busy launching new products recently. These include tracker mortgages and 2 and 5 year home loans with a loan to value ratio of up to 90%.
Meanwhile more and more people seem to be lying about their financial situation when they apply for a contractor mortgage. In fact two thirds of borrowers who cannot meet their repayments told lies in order to obtain their mortgage, according to CoreLogic Solutions.
In the first half of this year, reported mortgage fraud increased by 2% and losses quadrupled for mortgage lending companies. The total amount of fraud surpassed £1bn at the start of 2010; the first time this has ever occurred.
A fraud consultant at CoreLogic Solutions said that over 6,500 of the CML’s recorded repossessions in Q2 of this year will have had wrong information included in the mortgage application form.
She commented that consumers think they are merely telling white lies, rather than committing fraud, when they complete the forms and although lenders do check income, there are still some cases that slip through the net.
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