As from 1 April 2014 the Competition Commission is being taken over by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and will assume the consumer functions of the Office of Fair Trading OFT concurrently with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) who will hold the law powers in relation to financial sector activities for over 50,000 applicable consumer credit regulation firms.
As from 26 April 2014 new lending rules will be applied as a framework for lending when the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) comes into full effect. For all types of regulated mortgage contracts, lenders will be looking for the ability of all borrowers to afford the loan at both the current rate and, additionally, if there were rate rises. It applies to staying with the same lender; repayment methods, further advances, part or full redemptions and equity transfer, as well as considering a new lender and non-bank mortgage lenders subject to risk-based capital requirements and liquidity risk management controls. Using detailed scrutiny, this advice driven model in essence focuses on responsible lending and affordability assessments.
‘The more organised you are and the quicker you can get to the point of exchanging contracts, the less time there is for movement in the market.’ Although we haven’t seen it recently, apparently gazumping is on the rise.
And …. crazy prices continue….
Image and Article credits: Copyright SUF © 2014
