In what is understood to be a unique agreement, the IFS School of Finance has agreed to train and provide accreditation for all underwriting staff at Abbey National.
All underwriting staff will have a choice of two levels of training, Certificate or Diploma. The Certificate level course will be achieved in conjunction with the Abbey National certificate in underwriting and provide a customer services professional level qualification. The Diploma is more suited to those aiming for more senior roles and will involve the Applied Diploma in Corporate Banking.
These developments are sure to make the whole operation better in the future, leading to an improved experience for anyone buying an Abbey National mortgage or any form of insurance for which underwriting is needed.
In the current property situation it appears that the majority of homeowners improving their properties are doing so to increase its value according to the Halifax.
The Halifax survey found that around 28 percent of people are planning home improvements this year, with the primary objective being add value. Of these people around half of them are expecting to add in the region of GBP5,000 to what the property is worth, with over 10 percent aiming for between GBP10,000 and GBP25,000.
By far the most popular improvement is redecorating, followed by garden improvements and adding new furnishings. A Halifax spokesman said that home improvements can add value to a home, although expectations of higher property values should be balanced against a market where the buyer is stronger right now, so prices can be variable.
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A review of the current mortgage market by Legal and General shows that the fixed rate mortgage is still very popular with consumers despite the recent rate rises they have experienced.
Legal and General have looked at the differences in mortgage choices between Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of this year, seeing where the key trends are. Fixed rate mortgages fared very well, going up from 35 percent of the market in Q1 to 58 percent in Q2. This was achieved even though interest rates went up, on average, to 6.51 percent from 5.87 percent on the popular 2 year fixed rate mortgage.
The market for mortgages is going to remain very keen on fixed rate products it seems due to the expectation of increased mortgage costs in the future. House buyers want a level of security say Legal and General, something that a fixed rate mortgage provides as the repayment amount will not be affected by base rate changes.
