With the date of the Budget now confirmed as 24 March, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has produced a Budget submission urging the government to commit to the ongoing funding of measures to help borrowers in financial difficulty.

Mortgage activity rose again in February, according to Countrywide and its 700 mortgage consultants.

Property sales in Britain in 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier but it was very much a year of two halves, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk.

The majority of landlords support stronger regulation of buy-to-let mortgages and advice, according to a survey conducted by LSL Property Services plc.

New bank Aldermore is to launch a range of mortgage products during the second quarter of 2010 exclusively via intermediaries.

In the latest of his series of property and risk related articles, Malcolm Edwards of SGH LLP examines the latest changes in Home Information Packs (HIPs) and comments on how he believes they could be further improved

The introduction of the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010 will result in some significant changes for Scottish repossessions. Mark Higgins of Irwin Mitchell LLP explains  

Fast-track mortgages in the prime sector are no more risky than income-verified prime loans, concludes a report by Fitch Ratings.

Special Resolution Services Limited is to merge with newly formed Ethicall Field Services Limited to create a new proposition in the field agency support market.

The continuing impact of the recession is driving record numbers of people to seek help from Citizens Advice Bureaux with debt, benefit, employment and housing problems.

Latest research published in the annual Moore Blatch 2010 repossessions report, compiling the views of lenders and asset managers, reveals that 65% of mortgage lenders are worried about an increase in buy-to-let repossessions if rental yields reduce.

Zoopla.co.uk is holding online weekly auctions initially focused on repossessed properties.

Jonathan Hoey of TLT examines the potential implications for lenders of the recent consultation paper from the Ministry of Justice, 'Mortgages – Power of sale and residential property (CP55/09)'

Goldsmith Williams, the direct conveyancing firm, says that it has seen the number of remortgage instructions being submitted by intermediaries increase by nearly a third since mid-January this year.

The long-awaited conclusion to the debate that has continued for the last two years, regarding whether or not consumer credit agreements (CA) can be ruled as legally unenforceable, has been decided by the High Court in favour of the borrower.

A consultation on whether homeowners who have failed to repay consumer credit debts should have accrued a minimum level of debt before a court can order the sale of their home has been released by the Ministry of Justice.

Gavin Dowell of Glenisters assesses the current judicial approach to mortgage possession litigation as lenders continue to show forbearance

A new Scottish Bill is set to bring about big changes to lenders’ repossession procedures in Scotland. Lenders need to be aware of what is on the horizon, says Denise Loney of Optima Legal

Orbiter’s Wayne Smethurst believes technology in the form of mortgage sourcing systems can help the intermediary market once again find favour with lenders

Neil Warman of HML examines how funding is driving strategic change throughout the mortgage industry and how obtaining it is only the first hurdle when deciding how to operate in the UK lending market

David Ellis and Guru Rao of Capco look at what is key to successful sourcing initiatives and how the adoption of a particular governance model is dependent on the size, maturity and development of an organisation's sourcing capability

The TrigoldCrystal equity release sourcing system went live today for all users. This new tool enables intermediaries to source and select equity release products using a ‘benefits driven’ sourcing engine and will be available to the seven out of ten brokers using the TrigoldCrystal system.

Xit2, the property data hub, has joinied the Council of Mortgage Lenders as an Associate Member. The CML now has 84 Associate Members and, after Bank of China joined in October, 136 Full Members.

Servicing commercial mortgages is complex, particularly since the number of loans in default has risen. Mark Miller of LNR Partners & Hatfield Philips discusses how CMBS servicers’ responsibilities have increased

Since September 2008, HSBC has been actively reuniting customers with money in lost or forgotten accounts.

Metro Bank has been granted a banking licence by the FSA and is set to become the first bank to open on the UK high street for more than 150 years.

Coventry Building Society has confirmed it is in early stage merger talks with Stroud & Swindon Building Society.

Andrew Weller of Equifax Predictive Sciences explores the new landscape of credit scoring in the mortgage industry as borrower affordability becomes even more of an issue for lenders

What do TCF and Doctor Who have in common? And who, in this case, are the Daleks?  Terry Russell of Intouch Consulting discusses the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly campaign