Moving forward to the challenges ahead.....and Happy Christmas!

This time last year, I was predicting that we’d have got over the shenanigans of Brexit and be moving forward in to the unknown, yet positive, challenges that lie ahead. 

How we can be no further forward still is beyond me.  But at the same time, I can’t believe the year has gone and I’m writing my last column for 2019!

The mortgage world has been pretty flat with figures estimated to be only a slight increase on 2018.  On the upside, choice of mortgage product is at it’s all time high and rates are incredibly low.  Great for the end consumer!

The festive period can be a time for reflection.  It can also be a time when many people start looking at new properties to move to. Or they may already be committed and are packing ready for the removal lorry, or they take time to review what mortgage they have and question if there is anything better out there. That is of course, if they are not simply taking a holiday, and why not?

Whatever your plans, it makes sense to review your current mortgage deal and see if there is a better option and perhaps look to secure a competitive rate for a few years. Whilst I always err on the optimistic side of a rates argument, we are entering a truly unknown era as we plan for Brexit (again) and there is no history to prompt what the immediate and longer-term implications will be.

Technology was due to take over the mortgage market in 2019 and despite millions being spent, this has only had a small impact.  Circa 72% of all mortgages generated are still via brokers/intermediaries.  You are entering into the biggest debt of your life and questions need answering.  You just can’t beat the human touch…. for now.   Many lenders have yet to evolve with the digital era and those who will win will be the ones offering quality technology, but also the human impact for those who prefer or need it.

Finally, I really appreciate you reading my column!  I’ve tried to provide an unbiased insight to what happens in the mortgage world, with a little bit of humour along the way!

A huge thank you to everyone who has instructed impact sf to source and arrange their mortgage during the past twelve months. It has been a fantastic year, including a brand name change and a new additional office in Barttelot Road!  We have a fantastic team and they are a truly hardworking and knowledgeable group of people.  Best in the business!

On behalf of all the staff and directors at impact specialist finance, we wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a Relaxing and Prosperous New Year!  Bring on 2020!

Don't be pressured to make a mortgage decision.

Some mortgage lenders are sending out letters to those coming to the end of their product term offering them new rates, but giving them a time deadline in which to switch.  We had one customer recently who was four months out from their current rate changing from a fixed rate and moving on to the lenders Standard Variable rate.  They were offered some great new rates to stay with the lender, but the way the letter was worded, suggested that there was a deadline of just two weeks in which to accept, even though their current product wasn’t changing for four months!  This is not acceptable, no one should be pressured to accept a deal.  What if rates decrease in the next three months?  You’d be annoyed.  Read the small print, do not panic and get expert advice. 

We all know life doesn't end at age 65-70 and neither should it on the high street!  Often, retired people have managed their finances successfully over the years and enter retirement mortgage free.  At the same time, many, whilst having no mortgage, also suffer from reduced income and there is a saying in our profession that it is not always wise to have everything tied up in bricks and mortar and yet have nothing to spend.  Others may wish to continue their mortgage past normal lender retirement age, whilst they may still be working.  There are schemes where equity can be turned into a mortgage (not necessarily equity release) and where off-spring may be able to assist with the repayments in order to secure and protect their inheritance whilst also ensuring a comfortable retirement for their parents.  This is not right for everyone, but it is certainly worth talking to a qualified adviser to review all possibilities.

And finally, do you look at your financial budgets frequently?  A report from a well-known credit referencing agency has suggested that over 78% of mortgage people surveyed are not currently budgeting for a rate rise.  We all know rates will rise at some point, probably after Brexit now, but nobody knows when this will happen!  Many people asked did not know how much a rate rise would cost them on a monthly basis, despite many respondents believing rates would rise over the next twelve months! A 1% rise on a £100,000 mortgage can increase the monthly payment by as much as £83.  As we go in to further months of uncertainty, and especially with regards to the cost of funding within the mortgage market, do make sure you are ready for all eventualities.

Buy to Let trends and Landlord confidence.

At the Property Investor and Homebuyers show at the London ExCel last weekend, it was a great opportunity to talk to professional landlords, as well as those looking to take their first steps onto the Buy to Let sector ladder.

With many changes and increases in taxation on profits being recently introduced along with licence requirements for houses of multiple occupation, minimum size requirements on rooms, and minimum standards for energy efficiency, etc, the Buy to Let sector has taken quite a beating! 

One of the main specialist lenders in this area, Kent Reliance, recently issued their Buy to Let Britain Report, edition nine, which looks at Buy to Let trends and the sectors confidence.

The report suggests that Brexit uncertainty and Government intervention has subdued the growth of the Private Rental Sector.  However, rents are rising at their fastest annual rate since 2017, climbing by 1.3% to £896 pcm.

Despite landlord confidence falling to it’s second-lowest level, rents are outpacing house prices with average yields rising to a two-year high (4.5%).  Yields in London are at their highest since 2015!

The report continues stating that remortgaging activity accounts for three quarters of mortgage lending in Buy to Let as landlords look to lower costs and fix mortgage rates.  Whilst 72% of all Buy to Let mortgage applications for purchasing a property are now made in a limited company name.

Since the Prudential Regulation Authority stress test rules came into effect in 2017, lenders have to work out affordability on a Buy to Let mortgage based on the rental income achievable from the property and stress the product term over a five year period, often at 145% of a nominal rate of 5.5%.  Lenders interpret the rules differently and differentiate between a Buy to Let in a personal name compared to a property brought in a limited company name. 

So, if this is an area you are looking at moving in to, seek advice (and especially tax advice) as buying in a limited company name and over a five-year fixed rate, could allow you to achieve a mortgage loan substantially higher than against in your personal name and a based on two year mortgage deal.  Terms always apply and read the small print!

Specialist lenders can also offer Help to Buy

In the eyes of many industry commentators and members of the opposition, the Help to Buy scheme sits somewhere between being the Governments greatest achievement within the housing market, and a potential reason why many house builders and the new build sector could crumble like a house of cards in the future.

I’m focusing on the more dramatic end of the opinion spectrum here and with the end of the scheme inching ever closer, I expect it to generate even more views and headlines before it is gradually phased out.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government showed that:

•     - Over the period since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme (1 April 2013 to 31 December 2018), 210,964 properties were bought with an equity loan.

•     - The total value of these equity loans was £11.71 billion, with the value of the properties sold under the scheme totalling £54.48 billion.

•     - Most of the home purchases in the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 171,053 (81 per cent) of total purchases.

•     - The mean purchase price of a property bought under the scheme was £258,223, with buyers using a mean equity loan of £55,498.

These figures highlight how invaluable this initiative has been for many home buyers since its introduction, and how the take-up is unlikely to slow-down anytime soon.

Help to Buy has benefitted from an increased profile in recent times and this has helped more FTBs recognise its attributes – which is a good thing - although it’s prudent to point out that it should not be considered an all in-compassing solution. And, on the flip side, despite this rise in lending prominence there are still pockets within the market where it can prove valuable for a certain type of borrower which often goes overlooked.

I believe this type of product is seen by most borrowers, as being one which sits squarely in the domain of mainstream or high-street lenders. Meaning the role of specialist lenders can often go ignored, which is a shame. There are specialist lenders who can provide Help to Buy solutions for borrowers with an adverse credit history, IVA’s or even bankruptcy issues, and this is an important part of the scheme which we tend to hear very little noise around (T&Cs obviously apply!).

The specialists might not be applicable for everyone, and still form a small proportion of the overall lending figures, but they should be playing a bigger role in supporting more credit impaired borrowers get a foot on the property ladder for the first time or even back onto it after falling off.

Be aware of the technology around your mortgage application

There’s been a lot of talk recently about new technology, especially regarding the new ‘open banking’ opportunities and how your private transactions will come under scrutiny by lenders decision making computers, after you’ve given permission of course!

The idea is that the lender can review your incomes, outgoings and all other financial items just from delving in to your account, via open banking.  ‘Big Brother’ indeed.  The aim is to speed up the financial transaction and allow institutions to access your data at the touch of a button, as well as providing more competition and innovation to financial services.

The downside is that whatever is in your bank statements, lenders must take it into account when deciding whether to lend to you, or not.  There’s no hiding and now no apparent limit on time to be reviewed.  Currently lenders tend to look at just the last 3 months bank statements, but with open banking data at their fingertips, this could be unlimited moving forward.

Not all lenders have signed up to this as yet, but it’s only a matter of time.  Therefore, be mortgage ready.  If you accounts are all over the place, tidy them up!

With this in mind and so many recent rate and criteria changes, lenders will look closely at an individual’s recent payment profile, how many recent credit searches have been incurred by financial institutions and more.  Don’t give them any excuses not to lend to you!  The more credit searches you have on your profile, over a recent amount of time, the more likely your credit score will be lower as a result.  Try and ensure there’s no missed or late payments as these will also decrease your credit score.  In short, your credit search/score are the basis on which most lenders will initially decide whether to lend to you or not.  The best rates will almost definitely go to those with the best credit scores.  

Finally, many customers forget to disclose an old student loan, or a 0% interest car HP agreement, or even the monthly payment out to a pension.   The lender sees all debts and any monthly payments must be taken into account when it comes to affordability.

So, plan ahead.  Work out your budgets, what your monthly payments are and everything that you need to disclose, before you go and see your local and independent mortgage adviser.  It’s time well spent and will stop any unnecessary delays, or possible declines, later on.

Tesco Bank and Which? Mortgage Advisers gone. Yet others launch new products.

Market conditions continue to cause huge uncertainty and as such, we’ve seen some lenders pull out of the market until more stable conditions return and others completely stop lending.  The most recent being Tesco Bank.  They announced that hey have ceased all new mortgage lending and are actively looking to sell their existing mortgage portfolio, to concentrate on serving a broader range of customers in more specific areas outside of mortgages. 

Whilst this is a slight negative for the mortgage market, as their lending book amounted to over £3.7bn, others continue looking for ways in which to help attract new business.

We’ve seen some great new product additions and just in the last few days, our friends at Masthaven Bank have launched some fantastic products aimed at the Buy to Let sector.

This includes the launch of a new ‘Specialist Property’ product to cater for a wider variety of property types including:

- Multiple unit freehold

- Larger Houses of Multiple Occupation (7-10 rooms) on single or multiple Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement

- Flats on floors 10-20

- Retirement accommodation

- Modular Housing

They’ve also launched a new ‘Specialist Landlord/Tenant’ product to cater for a wider variety of landlord and tenant types including Holiday lets, Airbnb lets, DWP/Asylum tenants and Houses of Multiple Occupation/Student accommodation (6 or fewer rooms on a single or multiple AST).  Great news. 

Further assistance for the Buy to Let sector was also launched recently by another lender who now allows for ‘Top Slicing’.  Basically, rental income is used to calculate the loan amount. If there is an excess, this may be used to assist other properties where the rental income falls short. Or if the rental income is not quite enough to reach the loan required, the customers income may be taken into account to ‘top up’.

Finally, Help to Buy (HTB) schemes have also been given a boost.  We have a lender who offers free standard valuations on all HTB products available in England and Wales.  They will also consider schemes with 5% Builders incentives and allow the mortgage offer to be valid for 6 months with extensions possible.

Obviously with all the above, terms and conditions apply and it’s down to the lenders standard underwriting and affordability checks.  But these are signs that despite the uncertainty, there are active and proactive lenders looking to help all types of customers.

The word to sum up these last three months is 'uncertainty'

With the first quarter of 2019 now over, we can safely say that the word to sum up these three months is uncertainty. Already we’ve seen three lenders stop lending or pull all of their products due to ‘costs of funding’ and ‘uncertain times ahead’.  This is all a bit ‘de ja vu’ compared to back in 2007/8 before the big ‘crash’.  However, this time we’re not on the verge of a global recession (hopefully) and once we know what lies ahead for Brexit, things should return to some normality, whatever that may be. 

Lenders usually want to start the new financial year with a flurry and so as expected we have seen a number of lenders launch limited edition products. These are short term offers and therefore if you are looking to secure your ‘uncertainty’ for the next three to five years, there are some great deals to be had currently.

It always surprises me how few people actually know what rate they are on, the type of mortgage, i.e., fixed rate, tracker rate, etc, and whether they are paying interest only, or capital repayment. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone knows what it costs per month to the nearest penny!  They will haggle for a £10 discount on a new washing machine or sky TV, whilst letting ‘sleeping dogs lay’ when it comes to the mortgage!

It’s very easy when the promotional rate period comes to an end to keep your mortgage with the same lender, ‘brush it under the carpet’, and deal with it ‘tomorrow’.  But we all know tomorrow never comes.  A review of what’s on offer from other lenders, especially if you’re currently on a Standard Variable Rate, or equivalent is wise. These types of rates tend to be a lot higher than what’s available in the market place.

Many lenders are offering superb remortgage opportunities with minimal costs to change, including free standard valuations and some with legal costs.  Rates are competitively low and mortgage product choice is at its highest for some time.

If there’s ever a time to review all options and give yourself a piece of certainty, now might be a good time, as after Brexit, who knows where we will be..

Coming to the end of your mortgage deal? What next?

Some lenders are distributing letters to those coming to the end of their product term offering them new rates, but indicating a deadline in which to switch.  We had one customer recently who was four months out from their current rate changing from a fixed rate to the lenders Standard Variable Rate.  They were offered some great new rates to stay with the lender, but had an effective deadline of just two weeks in which to accept, even though their product wasn’t changing for four months!  This is not acceptable, no one should be pressured to accept a deal and we have passed this example on to the industry trade body to review and take on.  However, some customers might accept this and go with the deal. This might be understandable but what if rates were to decrease in the next three months? There would be every good reason to be annoyed!  Always read the small print, do not panic and seek expert advice.

With this in mind, do you look at your financial budgets frequently?  A report from a well-known credit referencing agency has suggested that over 78% of mortgage people surveyed are not currently budgeting for a rate rise.  We all know rates will rise at some point, probably a while after Brexit, but nobody knows when exactly this will happen!  Many of those questioned did not know how much a rate rise would cost them on a monthly basis, despite many respondents believing rates would rise over the next twelve months!  A 1% rise on a £100,000 mortgage can increase the monthly payment by as much as £83.  As we go in to some months of uncertainty, and especially with regards to the cost of funding within the mortgage market, do make sure you are ready for all eventualities.

Whether you require the security of fixing your payments for an amount of time, or whether you are a bit of a risk taker and might look at a short to a medium term tracker, right now, there are some potentially great products in the market.

However, always shop around.  The initial rate may look good, but there might be hidden fees, large lender fees and early exit fees too!  There may be better options available to you elsewhere.

Another lender closes it's doors citing 'cost of funding'. Should we be worried?

I mentioned last week that the mortgage market is buoyant.  And it is.  However, there have been some ‘ripples’ in this with three well known lenders (in the specialist sector) closing their doors, or revisiting their funding options in the first quarter of the year.

Sadly, last week there was another casualty of the uncertainty of funding lines (and Brexit) that is facing us all as Magellan Homeloans shut their doors.  Being a local specialist lender, based in Leatherhead, this is a real shame as they considered mortgages for those with a credit blip, help to buy schemes and specialist buy to let.

The Lender’s CEO stated ‘The competitive landscape has continued to shift, mortgage loan interest rates are reducing when the cost of funding is rising, and some lenders are taking on more credit risk despite the volatile economic backdrop. Magellan has prided itself on maintaining excellent credit standards whilst helping customers who have been disenfranchised by high street lenders. However, we do not wish to compete in a market which we view as unsustainable.”

We obviously wish all their team well for the future.

Is this the start of further lenders pulling out of the market…..who knows?  But we are set for a long period of uncertainty and if you are looking to review your mortgage finances, maybe you shouldn’t hang around. 

Conversely, with some lenders recently reducing rates and chasing completion volumes, we are seeing more people being declined.  Not necessarily due to adverse credit, but because their credit score is not as high as they thought, and they don't meet the lenders requirements as a result.

Credit scoring is one of the most widely used means to assess a customer’s ability to obtain a mortgage.  All credit scores include a credit search – this is a review your financial history, payments to utility suppliers, mobile phones, etc.  The high street lenders, in the main, use credit scoring.  However, do your homework as many smaller lenders will offer just as attractive rates, but they will manually assess your ability to obtain a mortgage and use a human to assess your credit profile, rather than a computer aided credit score decision making system.  And make sure you deal with someone who has access to the whole market, so you get the best possible options for your requirements. 

Brexit, uncertainty, opportunity!

Wow, February already!  Time flies.  It also brings us another month closer to Brexit.  Uncertainty remains and nobody knows what lies around the corner.  However, we’ve been through this before.  Remember the millennium bug that was going to be the ultimate in chaos, computers wouldn’t work and the world would be a worse place, etc etc?  But it didn’t and it wasn’t!  Life will continue the following day after Brexit and we can move forward, whatever the outcome.  The future might just be slightly different from beforehand, but we adjust.  That includes our financial sectors.  It had a huge downturn and readjustment back in 2007 and we lost a large number of lenders.  But, over the last 24 months a number of those same funders have reinvested in new lending platforms and opportunities have arisen again.

With uncertainty brings change!  Several lenders have recently changed rates or criteria in the market to assist customers.  

VIDA Homeloans has increased its Buy to Let loan to values from 80% to 85% for loans up to £250k for properties outside of the M25.  This now means there are three lenders in the market that only need a 15% deposit for a buy to let.

They have also increased their Residential loan to value offerings from 85% to 90% with a max loan of £400k.  A number of their rates have also dropped by up to 0.5%.  Great move from this specialist lender.

In the mainstream sector, we’ve seen changes from Virgin, Platform, TSB, Barclays, Coventry and Saffron Building Society.  Some rates up, some rates down.

Complex scenarios are on the increase.  We had one recently where the clients had built a number of properties but could not sell them for the desired price, siting Brexit as a major factor in this.  Having financed the build with development funding, this can be quite expensive if you run over the agreed timescales.  In addition, this company was running at a loss for this project, as all the building costs had been put through the accounts without the counterbalance of the properties selling to recoup funds.   Not a case many lenders would look at!  However, a lender was found who was willing to assist due to the fact that the clients had previously completed many projects like this, had a number of shareholders, and, as they were converting the properties in to Buy to Lets, this would be a long-term venture.

This is the benefit of using an independent adviser rather than anyone limited to a small selection of mortgage lenders and a restricted panel.

Don't stay on the lenders standard variable rate for the sake of it!

2019 has started as expected, with the main stay being uncertainty. Already we’ve seen three lenders stop lending or pull all of their products due to ‘costs of funding’ and ‘uncertain times ahead’.  This is all a bit ‘de ja vu’ compared to back in 2007/8 before the big ‘crash’.  However, this time we’re not on the verge of a global recession (hopefully) and once we know what lies ahead for Brexit, things should return to some normality, whatever that may be. 

Lenders want to start the year with a flurry and a number of lenders have launched limited edition products.  These are short term offers and therefore if you are looking to secure your ‘uncertainty’ for the next three to five years, there are some great deals to be had currently.

It always surprises me how few people actually know what rate they are on, the type of mortgage, i.e., fixed rate, tracker rate, etc, and whether they are paying interest only, or capital repayment. Unsurprisingly, almost everyone knows what it costs per month to the nearest penny!  They will haggle for a £10 discount on a new washing machine or sky TV, whilst letting ‘sleeping dogs lay’ when it comes to the mortgage!

It’s very easy when the promotional rate period comes to an end to keep your mortgage with the same lender, ‘brush it under the carpet’, and deal with it ‘tomorrow’.  But, we all know tomorrow never comes. A review of what’s on offer from other Lenders could give you a nice start for 2019, especially if you’re currently on a Standard Variable Rate, or equivalent.   These tend to be a lot higher than what’s available in the market place.

Many Lenders are offering superb remortgage opportunities with minimal costs to change, including free standard valuations and some with legal costs.  Rates are competitively low and mortgage product choice is at its highest for some time.

If there’s ever a time to review all options, now might be a good time, as after Brexit, who knows where we will be..

Coming to the end of your product term? Be wary....

As I have said before and with the run up to year end, lenders have been actively looking at their offerings and loosening their criteria, positively. Some rates have even been reduced and nearly all re-mortgage deals now come with a contribution to valuations and legal fees to keep the cost of changing lenders to a minimum.  There’s no excuse to be sitting on a high rate when you don’t need to be!

Also, BEWARE, that some lenders are sending out letters to those coming to the end of their product term offering them new rates, but giving them a deadline in which to switch.  We had one customer recently who was four months out from their current rate changing from a fixed rate and moving on to the lenders Standard Variable rate.  They were offered some great new rates to stay with the lender, but had a deadline of just two weeks in which to accept, even though the product wasn’t changing for four months!  This is not acceptable, no one should be pressured to accept a deal and we have passed this example on to the industry trade body to take on.  However, some customers might accept this and go with the deal.  What if rates decrease in the next three months?  You’d be annoyed.  Read the small print, do not panic and get expert advice. 

And finally, do you look at your financial budgets frequently?  A report from a well known credit referencing agency has suggested that over 78% of mortgage people surveyed are not currently budgeting for a rate rise.  We all know rates will rise at some point, probably after Brexit now, but nobody knows when this will happen!  Many people asked did not know how much a rate rise would cost them on a monthly basis, despite many respondents believing rates would rise over the next twelve months! A 1% rise on a £100,000 mortgage can increase the monthly payment by as much as £83.  As we go in to some months of uncertainty, and especially with regards to the cost of funding within the mortgage market, do make sure you are ready for all eventualities.

Complex scenarios are common in the mortgage market.

The high street lenders tend to only deal with pretty straight forward scenarios.  So, you will need to fit their standard credit score requirements, meet their standard income multiples and, in the main, simply be easy to deal with.  However, we all know that not everyone fits this ‘ideal client’ picture.

Complex scenarios are on the increase.  We had one recently where the clients had built a number of properties but could not sell them for the desired price, siting Brexit as a major factor in this.  Having financed the build with development funding, this can be quite expensive if you run over the agreed timescales.  In addition, this company was running at a loss for this project, as all the building costs had been put through the accounts without the counterbalance of the properties selling to recoup funds.   Therefore, this was not a case many lenders would look at!  However, we found a lender who was willing to assist due to the fact that the clients had previously completed many projects like this, had a number of shareholders and, as they were converting the properties in to Buy to Lets, this would be a long-term venture.   All in all, the clients interest rate changed from over 10% on the development finance, to less than 5% on the buy to let rates.  They also managed to recoup their funds and rent out the properties. 

These are just some of the benefits of using an independent mortgage brokerage and especially if they are ‘whole of market’ and have the ability to deal with any lender and are not restricted to a small panel of lenders.

Other examples include applicants with no credit: too much credit: a desire to pay up front or add additional security in the form of another property thus increasing their ability to borrow more.

AToM has a vast number of lenders on its Complex Prime panel already looking at these types of difficult scenarios. These lenders may not be household names, but you’ll probably find they are extremely helpful and will look at most scenarios, manually, with no credit scoring and have an appetite to lend! Most importantly, their interest rates are mostly very competitive too!

A Bridging Loan could help you if you need something short term.

There is an abundance of choice for consumers across the mortgage market currently and this includes the bridging / short term lending sector.

Bridging Finance is the term most used for funds to be used in the short term to facilitate a financial transaction which has either an urgent or short lifespan and which is primarily geared to a property transaction. The most regular type of transactions include: a property being purchased at auction: the purchase of a new property whilst the current one is still being sold: acquisition of a property which needs substantial renovation before it is suitable for a traditional mortgage or payment of an unexpected expense whilst more regular finance is being arranged. This can also be used for legitimate tax payments or short term business requirements.

More recently we’ve seen hesitation with new properties that would have sold with ease now coming across some delays as people decide whether to wait or not as the uncertainty of Brexit deepens. This inevitably might require the builder to look at refinancing their current and sometimes expensive development finance, whilst the properties remain on the market.

We’ve also just completed a Bridging Loan for a conversion of a Barn. The lender wanted full plans, permissions and a host of other information, but they offered short term funding with timescales of up to 18 months to get the conversion complete.

There are a myriad of other reasons for which short term lending can be applied and each application is looked at on its own merits before a lender will agree to assist. The best way to look at this is as a means to an end. These lenders will need certainty on the exit route (how will they get their money back?) and they will always insist on an agreement being in place from a traditional mortgage lender to provide a mortgage, at a given time and once any requirements have been fulfilled. Alternatively, the exit route might be from the sale of the same or another property. So, short term lending is designed to fulfill the need or desire to act quickly.

Finally, this type of funding has become more competitive over the years with some now offering rates as low as 0.44% per month for the right customer.  Obviously, individual terms and conditions apply and with these types of offerings, as always, seek professional advice!

We are entering a truly unknown era as we plan for Brexit, is it time to fix?

As we move in to August (where has the year gone?), I feel the need to be a pain and reiterate that whatever is spent on credit cards has to repaid!  If you are looking to review your mortgage in the next few months and load the credit card balance up during the holiday period, remember that lenders will use the balance and offset against your income, before working out what you can borrow. That includes interest free credit cards, loans and also HP agreement and student loans. They are all taken in to account.

The holiday period can also be a time when many people start looking at new properties to move to. Or they may already be committed and are packing ready for the removal lorry, or they take time to review what mortgage they have and question if there is anything better out there. That is of course, if they are not simply taking a holiday, and why not?

Certainly, once the holiday is over, then it makes sense to review the current mortgage deal and see if there is a better option and perhaps look to secure a competitive rate for a few years. Whilst I always err on the optimistic side of a rates argument, we are entering a truly unknown era as we plan for Brexit and there is no history to prompt what the immediate and longer-term implications will be. It may well be that we need to be prudent and a medium to long term fixed rate will allow the head to drop comfortably onto the pillow each night if rates do rise as a result of our exit.

So take the chance to look and see if a re-mortgage to a fixed rate might benefit you. Actually, it is wise to consider this anyway as there are millions of people on their current lenders standard variable rates with little contact from their mortgage lender. Why? Simply because lenders are comfortable with you paying over the odds and expanding their margins!  It is worth looking for a better deal and many lenders will welcome you with free valuation and legal initiatives and a difference of 1% can save you a substantial sum over the coming months and years.

When did you last review your current deal?

As we move deeper into the holiday period, I feel the need to be a pain and reiterate that whatever is spent on credit cards has to repaid! If, you are looking to review your mortgage in the next few months and load the credit card balance built up during the holiday period, remember that lenders will use the balance and offset against your income, before working out what you can borrow. That includes interest free credit cards, loans and also HP agreement and student loans. They are all taken in to account.

The holiday period can also be a time when many people do one of three things in the mortgage sector. Firstly, they start looking at new properties to move to. Or they may already be committed and are packing ready for the removal lorry, or they take time to review what mortgage they have and question if there is anything better out there. That is of course, if they are not simply taking a holiday, and why not?

Certainly, once the holiday is over, then it makes sense to review the current mortgage deal and see if there is a better option and perhaps look to secure a competitive rate for a few years. Whilst I always err on the optimistic side of a rates argument, we are entering a truly unknown era. We have never left the EEC before and so there is no history to prompt what the immediate and longer term implications will be. It may well be that we need to be prudent and a medium to long term fixed rate will allow the head to drop comfortably onto the pillow each night if rates do rise as a result of Brexit.

So take the chance to look and see if a re-mortgage to a fixed rate might benefit you. Actually, it is wise to consider this anyway as there are millions of people on lenders standard variable rates enjoying complete and deafening silence from their current mortgage lender. Why the silence? Simply because lenders are comfortable with you paying over the odds and expanding their margins! They are under no obligation to offer you a better deal when you come to the end of an incentive term and you automatically flip onto their variable rate. It is worth looking for a better deal and many lenders will welcome you with free valuation and legal initiatives and a difference of 1% can save you a substantial sum over few years.

See if a remortgage to a fixed rate might benefit you..

We are in the middle of the Easter school break and this is traditionally a time when many people do one of three things in the mortgage sector. They start looking at new properties to move to: they are already committed and are packing ready for the removal lorry or, they take time to review what mortgage they have and question if there is anything better out there. It might be argued that huge numbers of people simply take a holiday, and why not?

Certainly, once the holiday is over, then it makes sense to review the current mortgage deal and see if there is a better option and perhaps look to secure a competitive rate for a few years. Whilst I always err on the optimistic side of a rates argument we are entering a truly unknown era. We have never left the EEC before and so there is no history to prompt what the immediate and longer term implications will be.

It may well be that we need to be prudent and a medium to long term fixed rate will allow the head to drop comfortably onto the pillow each night if rates do rise as a result of Brexit (whoever thought of that word to describe it?)

So do take the chance to look and see if a re-mortgage to a fixed rate might benefit you. Actually, it is wise to consider this anyway, regardless of Brexit as there are millions of people on lenders standard variable rates enjoying complete and deafening silence from their current mortgage lender. Why the silence? Simply because lenders are comfortable with you paying over the odds and increasing their margins! They are under no obligation to offer you a better deal when you come to the end of an incentive term and you automatically flip onto their variable rate. It is worth looking for a better deal and many lenders will welcome you with free valuation and legal initiatives and a difference of 1% can save you a substantial sum over few years.

Talk to an independent mortgage adviser and see what they can offer.