Halifax to raise SVR

wotsthat

julieq wrote: »

Weren't you hoping for increases in mortgage rates Graham to punish the overleveraged, reward the prudent, and push house prices down? Looks like you might get what you wished for coming right at you.

MSE reporting that 40,000 mortgage holders are likely to be seeing an increase in their housing costs.

Good to see one of the props being knocked away at last - these low interest rates have held up house prices for too long. Maybe Graham will be able to report whether this increase in housing costs leads to a fall in the value of his house - he won't mind that either.

Good news all round really.

Pimperne1

PaulF81 wrote: »

They cant change trackers either.

Not sure you are absolutely right there Paul. Some of the trackers are set to BoE base rate but some are set to the individual bank/building society rate (which can be different to the BoE rate and can be changed by the lender). Happy to be proven wrong (but I think my own tracker is one where Barclays/Woolwich can change it if they see fit).

Here's what Barclays say about theirs:

Barclays Bank Base Rate typically follows the Bank of England Bank Rate but it is not guaranteed to do so. The Bank of England Bank Rate can go up or down and is announced by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee every month.

Thrugelmir

PaulF81 wrote: »

They cant change trackers either.

In the small print of your mortgage contract is a clause, exceptional circumstances. So if need be terms can be amended.

Both Skipton and Norwich Peterborough Building Societies were able to effect changes without any interference from the FSA.

TC1

Pimperne1 wrote: »

Not sure you are absolutely right there Paul. Some of the trackers are set to BoE base rate but some are set to the individual bank/building society rate (which can be different to the BoE rate and can be changed by the lender). Happy to be proven wrong (but I think my own tracker is one where Barclays/Woolwich can change it if they see fit).

Here's what Barclays say about theirs:

Quote:
Barclays Bank Base Rate typically follows the Bank of England Bank Rate but it is not guaranteed to do so. The Bank of England Bank Rate can go up or down and is announced by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee every month.

What do we think ? Are others likely to follow suit ?

Pimperne1

TC1 wrote: »

Quote:
Barclays Bank Base Rate typically follows the Bank of England Bank Rate but it is not guaranteed to do so. The Bank of England Bank Rate can go up or down and is announced by the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee every month.

What do we think ? Are others likely to follow suit ?

I don't think so but I wouldn't complain if they did as I knew about it when I signed up for the mortgage (and, to be honest, the past few years have been unbelievably generous to mortgage holders).

PaulF81

Hsbc doesnt have get out clauses in the smallprint as i checked. I am aware of the 'barclays' bank rate and was the main reason we didnt select barclays as a lender when we borrowed. All goes to prove you MUST read the smalllprint no matter how dull.

Should have said that I had a hsbc mortgage!

Graham_Devon

julieq wrote: »

Weren't you hoping for increases in mortgage rates Graham to punish the overleveraged, reward the prudent, and push house prices down? Looks like you might get what you wished for coming right at you.

Do you see me complaining?

If not, whats your point?

y3andy

And now here's the confirmation. From May the SVR is upto 3.99%.

At least their giving two months notice huh? Plenty of time to move.

Almost a million homeowners will see their mortgage payments rise from May after the UK's largest lender Halifax raised its standard variable rate.
The rise in the Halifax standard variable rate (SVR) for existing Halifax borrowers from 3.5 per cent to 3.99 per cent will deprive around 850,000 Halifax mortgage holders of hundreds of pounds each year.
Halifax - which is part of 41 per cent state-owned Lloyds Banking Group - made its move despite efforts by the Bank of England to ease the pressure on cash-strapped families by keeping the base rate at a record low 0.5 per cent.







Squeezed: Halifax said rising funding costs made a rise to its SVR unavoidable but it means borrowers will have to find hundreds of pounds more each year to pay the mortgage.


Mortgage holders who assumed the low base rate would protect them from rises in borrowing costs have been given a rude awakening. Halifax follows Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS,) which signalled on Friday it was raising its SVR for 200,000 borrowers.
A rise in the Halifax rate looked near- inevitable after the bank last week lifted a SVR cap - enjoyed by 40,000 of its borrowers - to 3.5 per cent above the base rate from 3 per cent.
The bank today confirmed that all 850,000 borrowers who pay its SVR will see an increase in payments from 1 May.Read more:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-2109329/850-000-households-pay-hundreds-Halifax-hits-borrowers-mortgage-rate-hike.html#ixzz1o2q5tZnD

KrytenIceCubeHead

I look forward to Halifax raising the rates on their savings accounts as well.

wotsthat

KrytenIceCubeHead wrote: »

I look forward to Halifax raising the rates on their savings accounts as well.

Can I advise that you don't hold your breath whilst waiting?

They are trying to increase margins rather than transfer money from borrowers to savers.