The problem with email is the bland way that it conveys your messages without actually conveying the smirk on your face as you write it, the cheeky little twinkle in your eye or the sarcasm you would have said it with. As a result, alot can be misread and some can take offence when nothing could have been further from the truth.
I guess that is why in much online writing and message boards many use the kind of annotation symbols I used to find rather annoying but have now embraced with glee, you know the ones; lol, 
:-0)* (no idea on the last one, but you get the idea).
I was up before the crack of dawn yesterday morning, 4.15 am to be precise, for a stint on BBC Radio 5 Live’s’ “Wake Up To Money” followed by BBC Breakfast TV chatting about mortgage rates after one too many cups of strong coffee. We were talking about the different predictions around Bank Base Rate and what the hell the general public make of it all when it comes to making their own decisions with regards to their own mortgage.
Forgive me people for I have sinned! It has been far too long since my last confession, sorry, I mean blog post! In the meantime I have been through quite a bit, what with turning 40 yesterday (I know I don’t look it), and experiencing the general ups and downs of life and the mortgage industry, (more in a separate posting).
I have been paying alot of attention to the mortgage and financial press as you would expect, reading with both amusement, hearty agreement and utter despair some of the comments with regards to FSA regulation, self-certification, the behaviour of lenders and brokers, the proposed breakup up of some of our much maligned banking institutions, whilst also watching the pleasing plethora of new rates flooding the market.
A week may be a long time in politics, but in the lending market at the moment a week can represent a complete transformation in product choice that would normally evolve over a long period of time.
In a short space of time we have seen the return of some welcome elements of competition which, together with a fall in the cost of funds, has pushed product rates down. Some lenders, such as a re-invigorated Woolwich, have cut their rates by up to 0.6%, whilst others such as a totally reformed Northern Rock, have made an aggressive play to dominate the Best Buy charts.
I have just spent this morning looking at the much anticipated new FSA proposals for the mortgage industry, which weighing in at 118 pages is a healthy size, (actually my scan reading powers were put to the test to be honest!)
Whilst the majority of the proposals in themselves are not unexpected, the key will be in their implementation to ensure they benefit not only the industry, but ultimately the consumer.
We all know that there has been a need for a while now to drive out the darker elements and re-professionalise the mortgage industry, especially at a time when more and more people need advice.
Andrew Montlake, Communications Director at Coreco and ‘Mortgage Personality of the Year 2008’, gives his views — honest and no holds barred — on the latest developments within the mortgage and property markets.
