Contractor mortgage seekers looking for long-term security over their payments might be interested to know that the Chelsea Building Society has now launched a 10 year fixed rate product at 3.99%. However, the mortgage is only available to people with a 30% deposit and it does attract a fee of £1,495.

Freelancers and contractor mortgage seekers who are considering moving home may like to consider buying a home in the North East of England, after the Land Registry published data showing the area was the cheapest place to buy.

Six high street mortgage lending institutions were responsible for 81.5% of all UK home loans last year, according to the Largest Lenders List from the CML.

The outlook for the UK housing market is still unstable and one expert has warned that homeowners should not rely on state aid to fully cover their mortgage repayments if they lose their job.

Newcastle based Northern Rock has cut the rates on its contractor mortgages by as much as 0.90% and extended the £500 cash back offer to all buy to let mortgages which attract percentage fees.

The UK’s major mortgage lending institutions say the mini contractor mortgage revival fell away last month.

Concerns are increasing that mortgage lending institutions will soon start taking a tougher stance on mortgage defaulters leading to an increase in the number of properties repossessed.

Accord, the area of the Yorkshire Building Society which operates through mortgage brokers, recently launched an interesting hybrid product.

People with negative equity, or just a small amount of equity, can have problems remortgaging when their introductory contractor mortgage deal comes to an end.

827,000 mortgage borrowers are currently in negative equity – the situation that arises when the amount they owe on their mortgage is greater than their home is worth.

In 2004, John Prescott, the then deputy prime minister, announced plans to help first time buyers by providing homes for £60,000.

More than seven out of ten UK homeowners worry about mortgage rates and 14% are struggling to keep up with their repayments, according to a new study by consumer group Which?