RMBS – is there hope on the horizon?
Bank deleveraging and cheap central bank funding schemes are constraining European securitisation volumes, and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services believes that UK residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) issuance could fall again this year. That said, some specialised mortgage market segments – such as buy-to-let – have begun to slowly re-emerge, which could be mildly positive for […]
Failure to mitigate loss?
Anyone involved with the post completion mortgage administration process will be acutely aware of the pressures to show ‘forbearance’ to borrowers who are facing difficult times. However, many involved in the industry will have been surprised at the level of ‘forbearance’ being applied by lenders. Data collated by the FSA and contained within the recent […]
Tenant Arrears
A recent survey by a Law of Property Act receiver estimates that there are 99,000 tenants that are two months overdue on rent. This will be unwelcome news for any holder of a buy to let mortgage portfolio, and although it does not automatically follow that tenant arrears result in a landlord not being able […]
Can TPAs survive the downturn?
The mortgage market has changed hugely since the seismic shocks of 2007/8 and it is not just lenders and borrowers who are experiencing a very different playing field from that which existed before the crash. Consider the plight of Third Party Mortgage Administrators (TPAs) who between 2000 and 2006 gorged themselves on a regular supply […]
Can you afford not to keep your records up to date?
We first reported on the accuracy of data held by lending institutions in June 2011, but it appears the issue is far from being resolved. The recent fine levied by the Financial Services Authorities (FSA) on Bank of Scotland (BOS) for failures within their systems to keep accurate mortgage records for its customers, highlights there […]
Mitigating risk
Standard and Poor’s have recently commented that the securitisation market during 2012 will remain slow due to wider market pressures, the fragile economic backdrop and subdued underlying mortgage lending, which will likely hold back RMBS issuance volumes. In addition the costs of all types of funding remain high, and combined with tougher regulatory capital requirements, […]
The Importance of Valuation Instructions
Phimister v DM Hall LLP [2012] CSOH 169 The issue was the scope of the surveyor’s duty to a purchaser. Phimister sought damages from DM Hall for professional negligence in respect of a mortgage valuation report, on the grounds that the firm owed him a duty of care to check the area of the property […]
Buy to let lending – solicitor conflict of interest
It appears that a number of solicitor firms are just starting to test the subtlety of some of the requirements and provisions of the recent changes to the Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct 2011. One challenging area relates to conflicts of interest in respect of “buy to let” transactions. Chapter 3 of the SRA […]
MMR – Regulators against self-certification
Recent Mortgage Market Review (MMR) consultations seem to confirm the regulators stance that self-certification mortgages should be consigned to history. Rockstead has never been anti self-certification. In fact, our view has always been in line with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) initial consultations, which were announced in their ‘Dear Chief Executive’ letter in February 2004 […]
Fraud on a lenders mortgage book
The recent findings from the Financial Services Authority’s mortgage fraud review indicated that although some lenders have adequate checks and controls in place, Tracey McDermott, acting director of enforcement and financial crime at the FSA, was concerned that not all lenders were embracing the findings of their review. A key aspect that was highlighted, was […]
