Last year they state they completed on 700 mortgages! This is an astonishing amount of business. If each loan was an average of 150k and they earned 0.50% from the lender “Dominion Credit” this would have brought in an income of € 750k . Not bad for a two-person business giving as a pro rata cost against income BP a run for its money.

If I had a company as successful as they have pertained to be the last thing I would do in current environment is completely change my name. It is a conundrum as usually only companies who have damaged their brand by poor service or failure feel the need to change their name.

The new website called “Ubiquitous Mortgages” is pretty much a rewrite of the old website however, the spot the ball competition at € 25 an entry no longer exists under the new brand.

The old saying if it seems to good to be true does not apparently apply or does it!!!!

See latest feedback on Low Rate Spanish Mortgages below .
The comments from Clive Ballard are posted below.

As you say, Dominion Credit and Finance website is new, The name was only registered Jan/Feb 2009. Low Rate Spanish Mortgages were advertising the Yen mortgages in Oct 2008. The DC&F website, like the LRSM website is not very professional for the nature of what it is supposed to sell, and the office in Singapore is not an office but only a phone answering service. Like yourself I could not find any references to Henry Braithwaite in the banking world. I phoned/e-mailed him on a number of occasions in March 2009 requesting information on agents, other than LRSM for these mortgages.
I got no responce to the messages left.
Since DC&F were not contactable, and had no website until Jan 2009, I wonder how LRSM were able to offer their mortgages in Oct 2008, and purchased the domain name in May 2008.

Low Rate Spanish Mortgages charge a non refundable, 500 € to apply for a Yen mortgage.
I applied for a mortgage from them in Jan 2009, when there office was in Valencier. Approximatly 6 weeks later when I chased the mortgage, they had apparently moved to Bilbao, though were working through a UK phone answering service. When they rang back, I was told the morgage was not granted, due to the financial situation, but if I liked to apply again in 3 months (and pay another 500€) the situation might have changed.
It seems to me that the only ones making money out of this, are “Low Rate Spanish Mortgages”, a 1/2 man run business who as well as running lotteries*, also run a dating site under their other company name of Marverose S.L
They also have interests in an Estate Agents (wherepropertysells.com), though I think this may now, have closed.
N.B. The original UK company named Dominion Credit and Finance went bust in the 1990′ies.

*IMS would like to state there is no evidence that Mark Foreman runs lotteries which would which under the gaming act would be a criminal offence. A lottery has very different regulations to a competition.
Brian McKenzie says:
January 25, 2010 at 12:17 pm

Hi.
Similar story as clive only this time they said the mortgage was not approved because the valuation was wrong,which made no sense as no valuation had been made on the property. This email stating the above information was sent to me only after repeated attempts to contact them and also they said that they had sent me an email stating this a month previous which was total rubbish. Further attempts to contact them to clarify this has been ignored. I am now quite sure after reading Clives letter that I have been well and truly scamed..
B.Mckenzie

G F Crudgington says:
February 22, 2010 at 4:46 pm

Like Bryan & Clive I have also had similar experience with Low Rate Spanish Mortgages and paid £228 for survey only to find that the survey was never done and the mortgage was refused on the basis of an “In House Valuation” made by a company Dominion Credit and Finance located in Singapore, thousand of miles away from my property in France and that the loan was below the Dominion Credit and Finance funding level. Communications have not been good. I doubt whether they will refund the money paid for a survey which was never carried out. I had hope that it was all above board but I am now convinced that it is a scam and it is highly unlikely that I will get the survey fee back.

Matt Onel says:
June 5, 2010 at 1:30 am

I was approached by ubiquitous mortgages and offered a multi currency mortgage for property in Turkey. They want me to pay the in-house valuation fee upfront as well.
These people have no idea how the buying process works in Turkey as UK nationals require to go through a military clearance process which usually takes about 3 months before a property can be registered in their name (and therefore be mortgageable!).
Also, if the property is ‘valued’ on a desktop from Singapore how can they be sure of the risk factor for the lender’s / underwriter’s capital is tied to? in other words, how do they know the property is really worth the amount of credit they’re offering?
This all sounds a bit too suspicious in the way that they gave me an agreement in principle within hours.

Is there anyone out there who actually DID receive their mortgage through Dominion in Singapore? Can anyone please come forward and do us AND Dominion a huge favour and testify?

However we have received this positive comment from a Mrs Barbara Gosling in Mexico

I read your warning with interest!

While I cannot comment on Clive’s own application, all I can say is that I found the service provided by LRSM to be of an extremely high standard. Indeed, thanks to them I am happily residing in my new property soaking up the sun.

Low Rate Spanish Mortgages Changes Name is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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Bancaja who reduced loan to values to 60% at end of last year and removed interest only have in recent days said that they can consider on a case-by-case basis up to 65% loan to value for non-residents. This relaxation is possibly in response to a collapse of their non-resident applications and reverses a trend for them of increasingly tightening criteria’s.

Deutsche bank also announced last week that they have relaxed their criteria from 50% loan to value to 60% for non-residents.

Sol Bank conversely have; whilst keeping their 70% option; increased rates. They have incorporated a first year rate of 2.75% followed by Euribor plus 1.15% this is up from the previous 0.95% above Euribor with no first year rate incorporated.

It remains the case with all the banks with the exception of Lloyds/Halifax that life insurance is being insisted on. All Spanish banks need to cross sell other products to prop up incomes and profitability and whilst it is not legal to insist on other products are now digging in their heels whenever approving a loan. Most Spanish Banks have no access to wholesale funds to provide loans so are very reliant on lending the deposits they have and profit from other income streams.  It is also still the case that even where funds come from wholesale markets the price the banks have to pay for this money and the rates they can charge leave little actual short-term profit on lending.

More and more banks are starting to offer special mortgage terms for clients buying bank stock although promotion of this remains poor except where banks are promoting the offers to Spanish Nationals.

The trend for Euribor rates last month was upward and whilst these increases are very very small we seem to have hit the bottom on the Euribors with the trend of downward movement at the very least stalling. This does not mean we will see big increases in the various Euribor rates but small and steady increase across the board during the next few months.

All in all the news is a mixed bag with some positives and some negatives. I suspect this trend will continue as each bank assesses their own current market position and balance sheet strength with no clear consensus amongst banks as to the overall way the market is moving.

A Review Of Spanish Mortgage Lending May 2010 is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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As the year progresses more of these type of offers will come to the table. Every bank in Spain is now considering how to most effectively reduce the level of unsold stock they hold and are developing bespoke and attractive mortgage terms to encourage buyers and to provide access to buyers who have limited deposits and would normally be precluded from buying in Span due to lack of capital.

All banks will still require that clients fit their designated criteria on incomes and are able to provide evidence of this but the banks will take a more flexible approach to risk assessment where the client is committed to buying one of the banks own properties and in many cases will provide up to 100% of purchase on a loan.

Under Your Spanish Mortgage brand IMS will provide a transparent and cost effective service which includes securing of the property and all mortgage related work and will continue to work with the banks to develop and find further interesting and lucrative mortgage deals attached to good value and fully legal new developments.

Using long established relationships IMS are working hard to ensure that these types of deals; readily available and accessible to residents of Spain; are also provided to non residents and will update their portfolio on a regular basis.

100% Spanish Mortgages Now Available! is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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• 80% of valuation or purchase price whichever is lower
• 0% opening fee
• 0% redemption penalty for first 3 years
• Rates from 1.72%

No monthly payments for first 3 years

No interest rolled up

Terms up to 50 years to age 80

In order to qualify for the loan a property must be bought from the banks direct stock.

More information on property can be found at Your Spanish Mortgage.

Further information available from heather@imsmortgages.com

Details of an example property is shown below

Loan
0 € for 3 years.

Type: Studio or Apartment

• Location: Mijas (Malaga)
• Address: Urbanización Playa Lucera, A-32
• Postal Code: 29650
• Area: 158
• Bedrooms: 2
• Bathrooms: 2

General Characteristics

• 158 m² penthouse in Mijas 20 km from Marbella and 14 kilometers from Fuengirola.
• It is distributed in living room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
• The common area has a pool and landscaped garden.
• It is located 20 meters from the sea, beachfront, located in a quiet urbanization.
• TL4 Property Reference:
• This housing is included in the Housing Bancaja Commitment 2010. Buy your home now and pay nothing to Bancaja for your mortgage for 3 years!.

Get A Mortgage In Spain With Nothing To Pay For 3 Years! is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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Bank stock now provides probably the widest and most cost effectively priced property you can find.

Many properties are very much resident style property being in major Cities or areas within coastal regions that are not suitable for holiday homes but if you look hard enough a few gems are around.

Considering bank owned stock before buying is good for clients for two key reasons. The first being the price per square meter you can achieve and secondly because despite tight criterias on finance for non residents of Spain each bank is far more flexible on underwriting and loan to values where the client is buying one of the banks own stock.

There is no hard fast rules each case is taken on an individual basis and individual merit but getting up to 100% Spanish mortgages for right profile client is possible.

In most peoples book this activity is a form of blackmail “buy from us and you get a loan don’t buy from us and loan will be difficult and restricted”. It however works for both parties in the current environment and should not be ignored. Individual private sellers may have issues with it as selling a property in Spain at present is tough enough without the banks being your main competitor for the limited buyers available but until bank stock flows through the whole market will remain static. Perhaps it is just a pill we all have to swallow for the long term good.

If you are a buyer the ability to buy keenly priced property without parting with chunks of your own cash is now more of a reality again; as long as you source the property from the bank you are getting finance from.

Clients would be well advised to talk to brokers who can check up front what might be available if a client buys from the bank. The client then can make any offer to the bank secure in the knowledge the mortgage finance fits their budget and is available.

A good Spanish mortgage broker will be able to search the banks portfolio for you and provide details of possible purchases and then speak to the bank and get an agreement in principle for that property should you decide to proceed.

For more information contact us here.

Spanish Banks Desperate To Sell Their Growing Property is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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The FSA in the UK who are looking at changes to be implemented this year after the credit crisis of 2008 and 2009 are looking like they will insist in future lenders in UK work on affordability ratios in the same way.

Fast track lending and self-certification will almost certainly disappear from the market and the documents required for a mortgage approval increase considerably for all applicants as has been the case in Spain.

UK residents will have to get used to providing a significantly increased levels of paperwork which will no doubt come as shock to everyone except perhaps those clients who have applied for mortgages in Spain recently who will already have experienced the high level of due diligence required and heavy document requirements that are insisted on.

Debt to income ratios often provide a higher level of funding for those clients with little or no other debts outside the mortgage but penalize heavily anyone with personal loans or credit card balances.

If the UK follows Spain banks will work off debt to income ratios of around 35%. This means that the amount of money going out each month on repayment of loans, cards and mortgages cannot exceed 35% of after tax not pre-tax incomes.

After years of easy money many clients who previously experienced no issues in obtaining further loans because of a high credit rating will find obtaining lending a much more difficult and painful process.

As brokers in Spain arranging Spanish Mortgages, we are very used to working with these restrictions but know from feedback from our clients that there is a real resistance on their behalf’s to supply so much information and a complete lack of understanding of why and how the banks work. Often clients who are rejected by Spanish banks cannot understand, as they have never had issues raising money in the UK. These very clients may in the future find UK lending difficult to achieve.

One of the key issues of the application process when working off debt to income ratios is everything has to match up so what appears on credit files must match with what is seen going out from bank statements. Because credit files and actual payments do not always match exactly the level of detail, a client then has to provide to confirm actual payments is high and precise and becomes extremely frustrating when dealing with an application as logic and judgment don’t apply just tick box verified facts.

It looks like the days of “The bank has the property as security so what’s the problem” are going to be well and truly over.

I many ways affordability ratios in fact make a lot of sense but there will almost certainly be a cultural backlash to the changes.

For once the UK will follow Spain rather than the other way round.

Mortgages in UK To Reflect Mortgages in Spain is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

Whilst we cannot access this product on behalf of clients; as an advice company it is important to us clients are aware of all options available to them. I am however a little concerned about the conflicting information provided by Abbey and hope over the next few months the information given improves.

This I believe is vitally important in Spain where when purchasing non refundable deposits can be passed over. If you think you are getting 80% and have an approval in principle it would be a nasty shock to find out 12 weeks down the line you can in fact only get 75%.  My belief is that 80% is possible but given feedback this week I am now a little unsure.

This week alone; including one personal call to them made by me; varying terms have been outlined to clients accessing them.

These have ranged from

• 75% of valuation to 80% of valuation or purchase price depending on which consultant you speak to.

• Rates of 1.35% above 12 month Euribor with 12 month Euribor being quoted at as low as 1.11% or 1.99% again depending on consultant at other end.

• 1% redemption penalty for lifetime of loan, which was a shock as by law in Spain maximum, should be 0.50%.

• Timescales for applications ranged from 6 weeks “might take longer” to it is 12 weeks and will not be any quicker.

Where all consultants were in agreement the following terms were offered.

• Fixed rates of 6.8% for a three-year fix or 7% for a five year fix

• Bank fee 1.25%

• Term maximum 25 years up to age 75 years

• Minimum loan size € 40.000

• Minimum income single applicants £ 30,000 per year

• Only Mainland Spain covered

All consultants were also obliged to tell client they could give no advice as to suitability of product and that clients were taking a non-advice transaction.

Confusion Reigns Over Abbey National’s Spanish Mortgages is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

Whether this is just a temporary measure because Bancaja have exceeded the level of non-resident business they wanted for 2009 or a permanent move is as yet unknown.

Bancaja Change Their Credit Scoring System is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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Halifax are now distinguishing not only between rates applied for interest only but also against loan size and whether 12 month or 1 month Euribor is selected.

The pricing is somewhat complicated making decision making on whether Halifax is best lender in longer term and whether the right index has been selected more difficult to make.

Interest only is now looking a lot less attractive at 2% above 1 month Euribor up from the previous 1.4%. 60 basis points is a huge jump. They remain however with Lloyds one of the few lenders offering the facility.

Other applicants most penalised by the changes are those who require loans of less than € 100.000. You will now pay 0.20% more in margin for the same loan to value if your loan is below € 100.000 rather than above.

It is expected that Lloyds will also announce the same rate margin increases as the two continue their merger activity and bring criteria unto line. It is also expected that Lloyd International the third Spanish mortgage distribution channel will fall in line on rates and criteria.

Banco Halifax and Lloyds will be very focussed next year on maximising incomes from mortgage clients and cross selling of other products will be the key focus of branch staff.

It remains to be seen how much time is dedicated to also making sure clients understand the mortgage they are taking out.

It is hoped that training for branch staff advising clients who access Halifax direct is improved from previously including their international department who most UK clients end up dealing with as getting it right and ensuring client knows exactly what they are taking has just got a whole bundle more complex.

The three year fixed rate on repayment at 3.75% is looking the best value of the portfolio.

Same fixed rate on interest only at 5.35% is looking unattractive.

At IMS we are dedicated to ensuring factual information is provided so anyone unsure of what they are being offered and whether it constitutes good advice should contact us now.

Halifax Announce Spanish Mortgage Interest Rate Changes is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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This offer provides a great alternative for any client in a position to take up GMAC’s offer. Having the capital reduced by 10% is a fantastic deal and at the same time given GMAC rates were high a lower rates could also be achieved making it a complete win, win situation.

The key issue for GMAC clients is that they probably went to GMAC because they could not evidence incomes; as no other lender allows self certified a move to another provider will only be possible if incomes; sufficient to meet the new banks criteria can now be proved. Re-mortgages are also only available at 60% of valuation and GMAC lent at the height of market at 65% loan to value.

Many self-employed clients may however have chosen GMAC as the simplest route rather than their only route and could in fact qualify for another lender; other clients circumstances may also have changed sufficiently for them to now be able to evidence the incomes they declared to GMAC allowing a move to happen.

Any clients wanting to check if they can be accommodated by another bank and take advantage of the current GAMC offer can contact us at IMS to check their overall situation and feasibility of a new lender taking over the loan.

GMAC Spain Look To Close Down All Their Operations is a post from: Spanish Mortgages Experts International Mortgage Solutions

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