UK mortgages have been hit by credit crunch

Published: November 15, 2007

More and more consumers are finding that the global credit crunch has affected their ability to get the best mortgage deal, a new study has shown.

GE Money Home Lending found that around one in four mortgage deals in recent months have been in some way hit by the current global credit tightening.

A staggering 87 per cent of the brokers the lender questioned said that they had handled mortgage applications which have been hit by the situation.

In particular, the survey found that lenders have been withdrawing mortgage offers on short notice.

"During these challenging times there will inevitably be changes to ranges with shorter notice periods, but communication is key and lenders should endeavour to give brokers reasonable notice to alterations in product ranges and changes to pipeline dates," explained Duncan Berry, sales director at GE Money Home Lending.

A recent study by Birmingham Midshires found that consumers were increasingly heading online to getadvice about mortgages.

Tim Hague, managing director of mortgages at Birmingham Midshires, explained: "The internet has empowered consumers to do their own homework before they commit to a financial product."