No maximum age on some mortgages..

Halifax have recently carried out a survey and found that many customers are now choosing a longer term in which to repay their mortgage.  Some lenders now offer up to a 40 year term.  Of the First Time Buyers that were surveyed by the lender, 26% took a 35 year term.  Taking a longer term allows the monthly payments to be lower as the costs are spread over a longer period.  However, this also means that interest on the mortgage will be payable for longer.

From one end of the scale, to the other!  Over 65’s were given a boost this week as the Dudley Building Society has scrapped their maximum age limit entirely.  Older borrowers have struggled for sometime when it comes to mortgages in to retirement or later life.  With no limits, and human underwriting, rather than a computer decision, this will allow people to apply for mortgages when they don't conform to 'normal' retirement ages.  With most of the high street lenders wanting mortgages repaid by age 65 to 70 in the main, it's good to have lenders who will cater for those  who may not want to be released from their mortgage as yet, especially if they are continuing to work on or their pension and investment income is at the right level.

The year has started with something of a bang in the mortgage arena and we are already seeing lenders vying for business with new rates, terms, conditions and criteria changes designed to attract new customers.  The later life mortgages being just one such innovation!  Others include new Buy to Let products for both private and Limited Company purchases or re-mortgages. One lender will now do a 100% mortgage on a residential property as long as the applicants can manage the full payments themselves and that 20% of the mortgage can be charged against the equity of a parental property. This product has rates in the mid 3% range too.

Whatever your circumstances, it is possible that there is a suitable lender and product opportunity for you.  Maxims will always include ability to pay, credit history, deposit available, type of property and term required and the lenders overall assessment of affordability.