Elaine Fielding

Elaine Fielding For help and information when purchasing a new property or remortgaging your current home, call 020 8950 6997. A dreadful prognosis but she overcame it.

I set up my business (Lifestyle Mortgages) way back in March 1998 specifically to help people who needed support and assistance with purchasing or remortgaging a property. Back then we specialised in helping people who were in debt through no fault of their own, for example, when a relationship broke down and they were left with the debt to overcome. As my staff and I had had first hand experience

of being in debt, we knew how our clients felt and could empathise and help them. Life continues and changes and in the years since, the business built up and I became more well known. I did TV and Radio interviews for the BBC and LBC and, despite huge nerves, enjoyed the experience. A turning point came in my life when my beautiful mother was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins cancer. It took a year of intensive treatment and, thankfully, she is now well. I became her main carer and I could not devote as much time as I wanted to my business. It was a heart-breaking decision that took me a year to make but I decided to step down from the business and concentrate on looking after my mother. However, my clients still kept calling and emailing for my help. There are many paths you can take in your lifetime and although I could never anticipate or believe I would never work in the mortgage world again, I found that even though I no longer had my own business, I could still help my clients. I now work with a number of independent mortgage advisors and am delighted that I can still be "in the business" without actually having my own business!

04/05/2021

For my darling dad who sadly left us on Sunday 2nd May at 6.08pm

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

06/07/2020

Stamp Duty Holiday!
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a stamp duty holiday for the majority of homeowners in his mini budget on Wednesday, according to reports.
Mr Sunak has drawn up plans to raise the threshold where buyers begin to pay stamp duty from £125,500 to £500,000, The Times reported.
It is expected to be a temporary change to the property tax, intended to kick start the country's economic recovery.😀

01/07/2020

NATIONWIDE NOTES FIRST ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE FALL IN 8 YEARS
The average house price in the UK dropped 0.1 per cent on an annual basis in June, Nationwide says, the first negative reading since December 2012.
On a monthly basis, house prices fell 1.4 per cent. This leaves the average house price at £216,403.
In May, Nationwide reported a monthly change of negative 1.7 per cent and an annual growth rate of 1.8 per cent.
The lender levels two obvious reasons at June’s tick downwards: “Economic output fell by an unprecedented 25 per cent over the course of March and April – almost four times more than during the entire financial crisis,” says Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner.
Second is the lockdown affecting housing market activity. Although with these “due to be eased in the weeks ahead, housing market activity is likely to edge higher in the near term, albeit remaining below pre-pandemic levels,” Gardner adds.
Nationwide believes that in the medium term, the outlook is “highly uncertain”, dependent as it is on the performance of the wider economy.
James Pendleton property expert Lucy Pendleton says that, “the public is repeatedly hearing that GDP has collapsed and we face a worse recession than the global financial crisis but that soundtrack isn’t translating into a house price correction at the moment.
“That kind of resilience would normally be seen as a sign of strength and confidence but we’re going to have to wait for the furlough scheme to end to find out what this market is really made of.”
And Glenhawk chief executive Guy Harrington has a downbeat view, too. He says: “The Covid-19 pandemic has well and truly brought the UK housing market to its knees. We are in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis, with consumer confidence at rock bottom.
“The raft of government measures designed to keep us afloat, coupled with undoubted pent up demand and longer-term sectoral tailwinds, may support a V-shaped recovery, but the near-term outlook is highly uncertain.”
PayProp chief sales officer Neil Cobbold takes a more specialist-focused view: “Many buy-to-let investors and landlords will be monitoring the market closely at the moment, looking for opportunities to expand their portfolios – especially if market conditions scupper continued house price recovery and growth.”
“The economic impact of Covid-19 could mean that more people have to rent for longer as they find it more difficult to save for a deposit to buy a home. This will be frustrating for prospective first-time buyers and housebuilders, but will provide landlords with confidence that rental demand will remain stable for the foreseeable future,” he explains.
“Meanwhile, the gradual scaling back of the furlough scheme could present further financial issues for prospective buyers, mortgage holders, private tenants and their landlords.”
By Gary Adams, Mortgage Strategy 1st July 2020

23/08/2019

Almost the end of the Summer and only 13 weeks to Christmas!

13/01/2019

FCA PLANS TO RELAX AFFORDABILITY TESTS FOR MORTGAGE PRISONERS
Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the FCA, has outlined the regulator's solutions to improving switching options for mortgage prisoners.
In a letter to Treasury Committee chair Nicky Morgan, Bailey said the vast majority of mortgage prisoners were with inactive lenders and unregulated firms, making up a total of 140,000 borrowers.
Although regulators, trade bodies and lenders have committed to helping borrowers with active, authorised lenders switch to a cheaper deal, Bailey admitted that the key issues remained those borrowers with a firm that cannot offer an internal switch.
In his letter, Bailey promised that the regulator "will take immediate action to help customers of inactive lenders and unregulated firms".
Since the implementation of the Mortgage Credit Directive in 2016, mortgage lenders have been required to undertake an affordability assessment of new customers even when they are not borrowing a larger amount. These customers can therefore only switch to a better rate if they meet the lending criteria of an active lender.
Bailey said the FCA wants to "remove potential barriers in our rules to these customers switching to a cheaper mortgage" and will consult on changes to our responsible lending rules, with the aim to deliver "a more proportionate affordability assessment".
The FCA plans to move the affordability assessment from an absolute test to a relative test, which assesses whether the new mortgage costs are more affordable than the current mortgage costs.
Bailey added:"There also needs to be a willingness from the industry to offer remortgaging opportunities to these customers once the regulatory barriers are removed.

"It may be that we see a two-tier approach, with the larger lenders offering a choice to those with the simplest needs, for example those with a repayment mortgage not in arrears, and a range of more specialist lenders able to manually underwrite more complex cases."
Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “It is a positive step that the FCA has set out the action it will take to help those customers stuck on reversion rates who are with inactive or unregulated lenders.
“The FCA has noted the progress made through the industry’s voluntary agreement to help borrowers with active lenders switch to a better deal.
“But it has also recognised that regulatory changes are needed to remove the barriers to helping the thousands more customers who are currently with inactive and unregulated lenders.
“We will continue to work constructively with our broad range of members and the FCA to help ensure those customers who want a like-for-like mortgage can switch lenders more easily.”
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, commented: "It has never made sense that borrowers are prevented from switching to cheaper mortgage deals because they do not meet their lender’s affordability criteria. Clearly they will be better able to make mortgage payments on a cheaper rate, avoiding missing repayments and getting into debt, which will only exacerbate their situation.
"This issue has caused extreme hardship in some cases and prevented mortgage prisoners from taking advantage of some of the cheapest mortgage rates we have ever seen.
"However, while we welcome news that the FCA is working to change the current system, how lenders interpret and apply any changes will be of equal importance. After various regulatory changes we have seen many ‘unintended consequences’, one of which led to mortgage prisoners in the first place."

20/12/2018

To all my Clients, Colleagues, Friends & Family - Wishing Season's Greetings, Good Health & Prosperity in 2019

20/11/2018

SVR Interest equal to payday loans: Private Finance

£15.4 billion of annual interest is being paid by mortgage borrowers sitting on their lenders’ SVR - equivalent to over £7,500 per borrower - according to research from Private Finance

"With rates falling fast in recent years, the gulf between SVRs and typical mortgage rates is becoming increasingly apparent. "

£15.4 billion of annual interest is being paid by mortgage borrowers sitting on their lenders’ SVR - equivalent to over £7,500 per borrower - according to research from Private Finance.
FCA data indicates that a quarter of UK mortgage borrowers with authorised lenders have been on an SVR for six months or more, equating to 2.04 million people.
With a typical loan of £173,677 and an average interest rate of 4.39%, SVR borrowers pay £7,546 in annual interest.
In comparison, a borrower with the same size loan but on an average 75% LTV two-year fixed rate of 1.76% would pay just £3,012 in annual interest, or 60% less.
Borrowers who remain on an SVR for the full term risk paying 65% of their original loan in interest.

Private Finance says the scale of this interest relative to the original loan would be similar to short-term, high-cost loans such as those provided by Wonga.
Shaun Church, director at Private Finance, commented: “Standard variable rates have always been uncompetitive, but with rates falling fast in recent years, the gulf between SVRs and typical mortgage rates is becoming increasingly apparent. Lenders are cashing in on borrowers’ inertia, charging rates that are more than two times the rate they would charge to new customers.
“Given so many borrowers end up sitting on an SVR rather than switching, we believe there is a strong market for 10-year fixed products, which require little effort from the borrower but guarantee a long-term competitive rate. A lack of flexibility can put some borrowers off these deals, so we would encourage lenders to consider products that allow borrowers to port or end their deal before the fixed period has ended without hefty charges. However, there is little motivation for lenders to do so given the considerable amount of funding they receive from SVR interest.
“Though it is ultimately the borrower’s choice, lenders are making significant profit by punishing customers for being loyal. The message to borrowers is clear: don’t fall into the SVR trap and always switch to a more competitive deal once your existing mortgage term comes to an end.
An independent mortgage broker will be able to advise on the most suitable deal, noting other factors such as product fees and flexibility can be just as important as the headline rate.”

06/08/2018

It WORKS!! I have a whole new news feed. I’m seeing posts from people I haven’t seen in years.
Here’s how to bypass the system FB now has in place that limits posts on your news feed.
Their new algorithm chooses the same few people - about 25 - who will read your posts. Therefore, I ask you all a favor so I can see your news feed and you can see mine.
Hold your finger down anywhere in this post and "copy" will pop up. Click "copy". Then go your page, start a new post and put your finger anywhere in the blank field. "Paste" will pop up and click paste.
This will bypass the system.
Thank you.

20/12/2017

As I sit at my desk to write this message, I am reminded that life is full of ups and downs - hopefully more ups though!!!
With the Festive Season almost upon us, I would like to take this opportunity of wishing all of our friends and clients best wishes for a safe and peaceful Festive Season and may 2018 be kind to you all. I look forward to speaking or working with you in the New Year and thank you for your continued support. Season's Greetings everyone xx

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