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Banks hike mortgage interest rates
Features Banks have been hitting mortgage borrowers with interest-rate rises recently, even though the Bank of England base rate has remained at 0.5% since March 2009. Ruth Jackson finds the best deal on offer, and rounds up the rest of the week's personal finance news.
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Is it time to fix your mortgage?
Features The average rate for a two-year fixed-rate 75% mortgage is now 3.72%. Tracker rates are at 3.5%. So is it time to fix? Ruth Jackson investigates, and explains how to turn yourself into the ideal mortgage candidate.
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The age of interest-only mortgages is over
Features Interest-only mortages were enormously popular in the dizzying heights of the property boom. Now they are all but extinct. Ruth Jackson explains why.
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Protect your mortgage from interest rate hikes
Features For over a year now, anyone on a tracker mortgage has enjoyed incredibly low interest rates. But rates will eventually rise, leaving you with much bigger monthly repayments. Here, Ruth Jackson explains how to protect yourself.
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Repossessions reach a 14-year high
Tips Ruth Jackson looks at the rate of home repossessions - at a 14-year high but slowing - and rounds up the rest of this week's personal finance news.
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Should you fix your mortgage rate now?
Features The new year has brought some relatively good-looking mortgage deals to the market. But should you go for a variable or fixed rate deal? Ruth Jackson explains.
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Mortgage lenders change their terms
Features Mortgage lenders, including Northern Rock and Nationwide, have been criticised for unexpectedly changing their terms and conditions.
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Why interest-rate cuts won't affect your mortgage
Features Interest rates are now lower than they have been for decades, which sounds like good news. But when it comes to mortgages, personal debt and credit cards, the base rate makes practically no difference at all, says Merryn Somerset Webb. We're still paying through the nose.
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LIBOR: the world's most important number
Features LIBOR – the London Interbank Offered Rate - directly affects the cost of borrowing, from company loans to mortgages and overdrafts. Yet surprisingly few investors know what it is...