Weeks to get an appointment with your Bank?

We have had many mortgage customers approach us who have become frustrated in recent times.  Mainly with two things:  firstly, that some of the local banks or building societies cannot see mortgage customers for a matter of weeks (we heard one was booking four weeks ahead!) and secondly, each appointment often takes well in excess of an hour.  Sadly, for whatever reason, that lender could not offer the customer what they wanted and so they went to another and sat through another hour or so only to find they could also not then offer what was required, and so on.  This is a large consumer commitment to time but without a satisfactory solution.  This is where independent and whole of market brokerages come into their own.  They will be able to offer you access to a number of lenders, including the high street names, if appropriate, and you only need to have one conversation with the same person.  In addition, they should have access to lenders who will manually assess your needs rather than a ‘computer says no’ type scenario, if required.  If I can also ‘plug’ a little, we also have access to a number of limited access lenders and exclusive products not readily available to the wider mortgage market!

With this in mind, we have seen lenders reviewing criteria options over the last few weeks.  For those looking at investing in property to rent out, Buy to Let mortgages are now available with just a 15% deposit.  For those looking to get on the ladder with a small deposit, or even remortgage with little equity in the property, this is now possible right up to 95% of the value of the property.   Some lenders have reviewed options for those wishing to by their council property and Right to Buys seem to be back in fashion.  Shared ownership options (buy part of the property, rent the rest) are also on the increase in both demand and supply, especially on newly built properties.  Finally, the lenders in the specialist sector are catering for many options.  Terms and conditions apply, but whatever the scenario, make sure you review all the options available to you!