moneynet in the press

Birmingham Post (Main) – 29th March 2008

MORTGAGE HUNTERS SHOULD STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them on two, three and five year deals – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, said 30 per cent of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10 per cent fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22 per cent might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

The News (Portsmouth) (Main) – 28th March 2008

PLAYING THE RATING GAME

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, says 30 per cent of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10 per cent fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22 per cent might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

Financial Adviser (Main) – 27th March 2008

ADVERSE CREDIT LIMITS RE-MORTGAGING OPTIONS

Nearly 30 per cent of potential mortgage borrowers may be unable to provide proof of income to a new lender, a survey by Moneynet.co.uk has revealed.

Looking ahead many consumers were worried about the coming 12 months as one in 10 thought they were at risk of missing payments while a further 22 per cent stated that they would consider using credit cards to fund their mortgage.

About Property (Web) – 25th March 2008

GATHERING GLOOM FOR UK MORTGAGERS

Gathering gloom for UK mortgagers The UK’s mortgage borrowers are facing a perilous time, according to research from Moneynet.co.uk, with higher repayments and dwindling financial options becoming the norm.

Drawing on a major survey on the state of the nation’s mortgage market, the organisation finds over a third of UK borrowers have put themselves at the mercy of their lender and are now repaying mortgages over three-times their annual salary. Of this figure, nearly 30 per cent are unsure whether they would be able to provide proof of their income to a new lender, claims Moneynet.co.uk. “Many of these borrowers are likely to find it very difficult to remortgage now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end,” said Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown. “Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone who is considered at risk of default.”

Daily Post – 24th March 2008

ACT NOW TO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP MORTGAGE BILLS DOWN

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, says 30% of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10% fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22% might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

Express & Star (City Final – Wolverhampton) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Birmingham) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Cannock) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Kidderminster) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Sandwell) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Stafford) – 24th March 2008
Express & Star (Walsall) – 24th March 2008

TIMING IS CRUCIAL IN HUNT FOR MORTGAGE

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, says 30% of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10% fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22% might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

Sunday Herald (Web) – 23rd March 2008

MORTGAGE DEFAULT FEARS FEED THE RISE OF OPPORTUNIST SALE-AND-LEASEBACK FIRMS

With mortgage deals now being pulled daily, leaving few options for remortgaging, debt advisers fear that desperate homeowners will be swept into the arms of a new breed of mortgage ‘bottom-feeders’ promising to make their financial problems disappear through Sale-and-leaseback deals.

Richard Brown, chief executive, of financial group Moneynet.co.uk, is equally downbeat. Research into his own company’s user base found that some 35% were juggling mortgage debt in excess of three times’ their annual salary, while 30% were uncertain they could prove their income, making it virtually impossible for them to remortgage in the post-credit crunch world.

Daily Post (Wales) – 24th March 2008

ACT NOW TO MAKE SURE YOU KEEP MORTGAGE BILLS DOWN

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, says 30% of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10% fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22% might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

Mortgage Strategy (Main) – 24th March 2008

ADVERSE LOANS HARD TO PLACE

The regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers says that with lenders struggling to stay in the sub-prime sector it’s unable to place a whopping 25% of all adverse cases.

Meanwhile, Moneynet.co.uk has released figures showing that vast numbers of borrowers have made themselves financially vulnerable to buy property and are not in a position to remortgage.

Liverpool Daily Post (Main) – 24th March 2008
East Anglian Daily Times (Essex) (Main) – 25th March 2008
East Anglian Daily Times (East) (Main) – 25th March 2008
East Anglian Daily Times (West) (Main – 25th March 2008

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T WAIT FOR A NEW MORTGAGE DEAL

Any homeowner on a mortgage deal expiring in 2008 – there could be nearly three million of them – should be scanning the market for a replacement now, because the same loan could cost more later in the year.

Richard Brown, chief executive of personal finance website Moneynet.co.uk, says 30% of respondents to his recent survey could face difficulties; nearly 10% fear they will miss mortgage repayments in the coming year, while 22% might use other means of credit to maintain repayments.

Western Mail (Cardiff) (Homes Wales) – 22nd March 2008

CRUNCH TIME FOR OWNERS AS MORTGAGE PROVIDES PUT THE BRAKES ON LOANS

Many homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgages with nearly 10% admitting they are likely to miss a repayment during the coming year, research showed today.

A further 22 per cent said they may have to resort to other types of credit to do so, said financial website Moneynet.co.uk.

Mortgage Introducer (Main) – 22nd March 2008

REMORTGAGORS ‘CAN’T PROVE INCOME’

Nearly 30 per cent of remortgagers with a mortgage greater than three times their gross annual salary cannot provide proof of income, research from Moneynet.co.uk has claimed.

The firm claimed that the current risk-adverse market would make it difficult for these borrowers to find a refinance deal.

Blackpool Gazette – 21st March 2008

MORTGAGE DEALS ARE STILL OUT THERE FOR HOME BUYERS

Worried about your mortgage in the face of the credit crunch?

Millions are worldwide, with banks and lenders putting in place tighter lending conditions in the face of financial uncertainty.

Richard Brown, chief executive of Moneynet.co.uk, said: “Many of these borrowers are likely to find it very difficult to remortgage now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end.

“Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone who is considered at risk of default.”

Huddersfield Daily Examiner – 20th March 2008

HOMES THREATENED BY CREDIT CRUNCH

Swathes of UK borrowers have put themselves at the mercy of their lender by overstretching themselves on their home loans, a major survey on the state of the nation’s mortgages has revealed.

Well over a third – nearly 35 per cent of respondents are juggling a mortgage debt more than three times their gross annual salary a survey for Moneynet.co.uk has found.

Telegraph.co.uk – 19th March 2008

MILLIONS SEEK HELP WITH DEBTS, SAYS CHARITY

Rising mortgage costs have forced millions of people to seek help in paying their household bills, two leading debt charities have warned.

Richard Brown, Moneynet.co.uk chief executive, said that many borrowers on fixed-term mortgage deals were likely to find it difficult to remortgage “now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end”. He added: “Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone considered at risk of default. These borrowers will have little choice but to accept what their present lender is prepared to offer when their current deal comes to an end.

Daily Mail (Web) – 19th March 2008

AS LENDERS GET TOUGH, PROPERTY PRICES LOOK TO DROP 20 PER CENT IN TWO YEARS

House prices could fall by up to 20 per cent over the next two years, a senior economist warned yesterday.

The finance website Moneynet.co.uk said more than one in three home buyers are struggling to cope with repayments on a mortgage debt that is more than three times their gross salary.

Northern Echo (North) (Main) – 19th March 2008

RISE IN PEOPLE SEEKING ARREARS ADVICE

The number of people seeking help with mortgage arrears has surged, it was revealed yesterday.

In another troubling sign of the financial unrest affecting the economy, Citizens Advice said staff at its bureaux (CAB) in England and Wales had seen a 35 per cent increase in people contacting them for help in January and February, compared with the same months last year.

Meanwhile, in a survey for financial website Moneynet.co.uk nearly ten per cent of homeowners admitted they were likely to miss a repayment during the coming year.

Moneynet.co.uk said that at the same time, thousands of borrowers who are coming to the end of fixed-rate deals were likely to face problems remortgaging after lenders tightened their criteria in the face of the recent credit crunch in the financial markets.

Richard Brown, chief executive of Moneynet.co.uk, said: “Many of these borrowers are likely to find it very difficult to remortgage now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end.

“Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone who is considered at risk of default.”

Evening Standard (London) (Homes and Property) – 19th March 2008

ITCH TO SWITCH

Uncertainty in the housing market might persuade some home-owners to stay put – but that shouldn’t mean ignoring the mortgage. Bank of England base-rate cuts in December and February should have cut monthly payments for borrowers with variable rate or tracker mortgages, yet not all lenders have passed on last month’s 025 per cent rate cut in full.

Calculations carried out by the financial website Moneynet co.uk show just how severe that shock can be: a family with a £200,000 interest-only mortgage with Northern Rock, at 5.19 per cent, will see its monthly payments rise by almost 50 per cent once the Rock’s SVR kicks in.

Daily Telegraph (Main) – 19th March 2008

MILLIONS ARE SEEKING HELP TO COPE WITH RISING DEBTS, SAYS CHARITY

Rising mortgage costs have forced millions of people to seek help in paying their household bills, two leading debt charities warned yesterday.

Richard Brown, Moneynet.co.uk chief executive, said that many borrowers on fixed-term mortgage deals were likely to find it difficult to remortgage “now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end”.

He added: “Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone considered at risk of default. These borrowers will have little choice but to accept what their present lender is prepared to offer when their current deal comes to an end.

Daily Record – 19th March 2008

£112M RISE IN SCOTS’ DEBT

More and more Scots are drowning in a sea of debt, MPs heard yesterday. And growing numbers of pensioners are taking their debts to the grave.

Meanwhile, nearly 10 per cent of homeowners say they are likely to miss a payment in the coming year, according to a study.

A further 22 per cent said they may have to resort to other types of credit to do so, said financial website Moneynet.co.uk.

Daily Mail – 19th March 2008

AS LENDERS GET TOUGH, A WARNING THAT HOUSE PRICES WILL FALL BY 20pc

House prices could fall by up to 20 per cent over the next two years. A senior economist warned yesterday.

Research by Moneynet.co.uk shows 30 per cent of the one in three buyers juggling with mega-mortgages are in danger of being classified as a credit risk.

These people are worried they do not have sufficient income to convince a bank to give them a new home loan.

The website’s chief executive, Richard Brown, said: “Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone considered at risk of default. They will have little choice but to accept what their present lender is prepared to offer.”

Daily Express (Main) – 19th March 2008

HOMEOWNERS FACING CREDIT CRUNCH THREAT

Threat of repossession looms over millions of homeowners as a report today highlights that mortgage arrears are on the up.

More than one-third of borrowers are juggling mortgage debt worth more than three times their annual salary, according to Moneynet.co.uk.

“Many of these borrowers are likely to find it very difficult to remortgage now these days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end, “said the website’s chief executive, Richard Brown.

The Times (web) – 18th March 2008

CAB REPORTS 35,37; RISE IN QUERIES FROM STRUGGLING HOMEOWNERS

The number of people seeking help as they struggle to meet their monthly mortgage payments has soared by more than a third so far this year, the Citizens Advice Bureau said today.

Richard Brown, Moneynet.co.uk chief executive, said that many borrowers on fixed-term mortgage deals were likely to find it difficult to remortgage “now that the days of easy borrowing have come to an abrupt end”. He added: “Fewer and fewer lenders will be prepared to offer competitive alternative deals to anyone considered at risk of default. These borrowers will have little choice but to accept what their present lender is prepared to offer when their current deal comes to an end.

PA News Wire – 18th March 2008
Grimsby Telegraph – 21st March 2008

HOMEOWNERS ‘STRUGGLING WITH MORTGAGE REPAYMENTS’

Many homeowners are struggling to keep up with their mortgages with nearly 10% admitting they are likely to miss a repayment during the coming year, research showed today.

A further 22 per cent said they may have to resort to other types of credit to do so, said financial website Moneynet.co.uk.

The Lady (Main) – 18th March 2008

NEW RULES FOR ISAs

With less than three weeks to go to until the end of the tax year, personal finance pages of the newspapers (not to mention window displays of banks and building societies) have more than a scattering of advertisements for ISAs.

Financial comparison websites: www.moneyfacts.co.uk; www.moneynet.co.uk; www.moneysupermarket.com

Birmingham Post (Main) – 15th March 2008

BRIEFS

Northern Rock customers who have been told their fixed-rate mortgage will not be renewed face ‘financial meltdown’, says personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk.

Moneynet’s Richard Brown warns: “For those who have a history of adverse credit, a high Loan to Value (LTV) or who rely on non-standard means to prove their income, searching for an affordable deal could be very difficult.

Huddersfield Daily Examiner – 13th March 2008

ROCK CUSTOMERS IN HARD PLACE

Thousands of homeowners face an impossible rise in mortgage repayments as Northern Rock tries to dump loyal customers, it is claimed.

Despite the ‘business as usual’ message on the troubled bank’s website personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk predicts many thousands of borrowers could be left stranded as the bank looks to dump its mortgage book.

Eastern Daily Press (Main) – 8th March 2008

YOU’LL SAVE A PACKET IF YOU PACK IT IN

The health benefits of giving up smoking are indisputable – but you also stand to save a lot of money if you kick the habit

As well as the extortionate cost of buying cigarettes – someone smoking a packet of 20 a day could be spending something in the region of £2,000 on cancer sticks – you stand to save big bucks on your life.

Darren Dicks, head of protection marketing at Norwich Union, said: “As well as not spending more then £5 on every pack of 20 cigarettes they would have bought, people could save twice over by cutting the price if their protection products, too.

It’s a message repeated by analysts at comparison site Moneynet.co.uk. “The cost of buying cigarettes is just the headline rate,” said Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown.

Lancashire Evening Post (Preston) – 4th March 2008
Financial Times Online (ft.com) – 23rd May 2008

BANKS RACK UP CHARGES

NORTHERN Rock customers who have been told their fixed-rate mortgage will not be renewed face ‘financial meltdown’, says personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk.

Moneynet’s Richard Brown warns: “For those who have a history of adverse credit, a high Loan to Value (LTV) or who rely on non-standard means to prove their income, searching for an affordable deal could be very difficult.

Irish News (Belfast) – 4th March 2008

POUND NOTES

Northern Rock customers who have been told their fixed-rate mortgage will not be renewed face ‘financial meltdown’, says personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk

Moneynet’s Richard Brown warns: “For those who have a history of adverse credit, a high Loan to Value (LTV) or who rely on non-standard means to prove their income, searching for an affordable deal could be very difficult.

Liverpool Daily Post (Main) – 3rd March 2008

NORTHERN Rock customers who have been told their fixed-rate mortgage will not be renewed face ‘financial meltdown’, says personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk. Moneynet’s Richard Brown warns: “For those who have a history of adverse credit, a high Loan to Value (LTV) or who rely on non-standard means to prove their income, searching for an affordable deal could be very difficult.

“After months of Government platitudes, the outcome many Northern Rock customers feared most have come true – they are going to lose out in the worst possible way.”

At worst, a borrower with a £200,000 interest-only loan at 5.19% could have to find nearly 50% extra in monthly repayments if their deal reverts to Northern Rock’s variable rate of 7.59%.

Wales on Sunday – 2nd March 2008

NORTHERN Rock customers who have been told their fixed-rate mortgage will not be renewed face ‘financial meltdown’, says personal finance data comparison site Moneynet.co.uk.

Moneynet’s Richard Brown warns: “For those who have a history of adverse credit, a high Loan to Value (LTV) or who rely on non-standard means to prove their income, searching for an affordable deal could be very difficult.

Money Market (Main) – 1st March 2008

BANKS PROFIT FROM GAMBLING

The majority of credit card providers are now treating online gambling transactions in the same way as cash advance, which attracts a higher rate of interest than other purchases, according to a report be Moneynet.co.uk.

Unlike most credit card purchases, which can be interest free up to 56 days, online gambling transactions incur interest from the day of purchase. “Unless gamblers are treated differently from normal everyday purchases they will be losing money hand over fist as the top rate if interest stacks up,” said Moneynet.co.uk chief executive Richard Brown.

Niche Personal Loans (Main) – 1st March 2008

BRITS PLANNING FOR A DEBT-FREE GETAWAY THIS SUMMER

The trend of consumers borrowing to pay for their annual break in the sun, appears to be coming to an end, according to Moneynet.co.uk.

Richard Brown, chief executive of Moneynet co.uk said the statistics show the fallout from the current market conditions is beginning to hit the high street.

He said: “It is clear that the UK is now feeling the effects of the credit crunch and (people) are tightening their belts when it comes to luxuries.

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Press enquiries:

   Andrew Hagger, PR & Communications Manager 07887 717763
   (Also available for enquiries outside office hours)

   David Andrews/Cathy Tully, David Andrews Media Ltd: 07941 255855 /
   01273 774109 / 07747196854

   Richard Brown, Chief Executive: 0208 313 9030


Consumer enquiries: 0208 460 2833 / info@moneynet.co.uk

Moneynet.co.uk is the UK's longest established online personal finance research and data analyst company. The company offers consumers a choice of thousands of low cost financial services products. From mortgages, personal loans to motor, home and medical insurance, credit cards, savings accounts and best buy products, Founded by chief executive Richard Brown, Moneynet is one of the most comprehensive consumer finance online services of its kind in the UK.