Delays, low rates and AToM at the Property Investor & Homebuyer Show

Delays, delays, delays!  With so many lenders dropping rates to all time lows, it was inevitable that their back end would not be able to cope with front ends sales!  We are finding a number of lenders are often taking one to two weeks to turn things around.  A few are much longer and we know of one that is currently taking over nine weeks to review applications.  Yes, nine weeks!  When applying for the house of your dreams and with the Estate Agent demanding a quick survey, always check with the lender to find out their service levels before putting your mortgage with them.  You might find the agents won't be happy with a substantial wait. 

The other impact, just around the corner, is the impending Election.  Based on previous experiences, many people put their home plans on hold whilst elections occur and this can also have an effect on lenders, who then reduce rates to attract more business, and so we have a spiral effect as per my earlier comment above.

On the up side, we've seen some incredible offerings from lenders.  Last week we saw the lowest five year fixed rate deal at 1.29%, which was withdrawn pretty quickly and although the rate has increased, is still a very respectable 1.59% (up to 60% of the property value and £900 fee).  We also saw one Building Society launch a 0.89% two year fixed rate deal with a £1,495 fee.  How low can they go?  The choices are currently attractive and seemingly very good for the end consumer.  As always, terms and conditions apply and are subject to individual circumstances, so seek advice!

Finally, this weekend is The Property Investor & Homebuyer Show at ExCel in London (28/29th).  If you are looking at property to rent out, this is the ideal place for obtaining up to date property market information, networking and, of course, property to buy.  It is designed to cater for all levels of property experience, so whether you are a property novice or a seasoned investor you will find the answer to your questions.  Better still, both the show and seminar programme sessions are free to enter.  AToM will be exhibiting, so if you are attending, come and say Hi

Five year fixed at 1.29% available only via an app!

I can't ignore the headline of the week, from Atom Bank (not related!), who have launched a market leading five year fixed rate at just 1.29%.  This is available to those with a 40% deposit and has just a £900 fee.  They have also launched an 80% loan to value (LTV) fix at 1.49% and a 90% LTV at 1.99%, both with a £900 fee and for five years.  APRCs will relate to individual circumstances and obviously terms and conditions apply!  What is for sure is that these are so good, they are in huge demand, have been covered by all the major consumer websites including Martin Lewis, etc and won't be around for long, so be quick!   Only a few brokers in West Sussex have access to this product...

Long term fixed rates won't be for everyone as you are tied in for the full five years and will have a redemption penalty to pay should you repay the mortgage early.  However, they tend to be portable and thus can be taken with you, subject to the lenders criteria, should you move house.

Atom Bank do a lot of their functionality via an app, including voice and face recognition.  Impressive hi-tech stuff indeed. 

Already, most people will start their home buying process via the Rightmoves and Zooplas of the world, but some commentators are also predicting that the whole home buying process will soon become a digital revolution.  With more effective use of technology cutting down the mortgage process, and many lenders now processing everything online, I can see how that can happen.

However, at the same time, I can also see many customers just wanting to speak to someone face to face.  Especially those who have not grown up with technology! Plus, as mortgage volumes are increasing, we will see more and more customers fall out of the 'technology only' bracket.  So explore all options and if the technology becomes to confusing, pick up the phone!

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.

Lenders have to report statistics. Are you one of them?

According to the CML (Council of Mortgage Lenders), gross mortgage lending in January totalled an estimated £18.9bn.  This is an increase of 2% on January 2016, and down 6% from December.  There were 29,743 loans approved for house purchase in January, according to the British Bankers Association (BBA), with the average loan approved for house purchase rising to £182,500.

The Financial Conduct Authority reports that 69.75% of mortgage lending in Q3 2016 was for 75% or less of a property’s value.  Just 5.3% of lending was for mortgages over 90% of a property’s value!

Lenders are restricted on the amount they can lend in many different mortgage categories.  So for example, if a lender offers more than 4.5 x income, the maximum allowed across their business for the year will be a set percentage of business.  If this is, say 15% of business, once this target is hit, the lender will need to withdraw this offering (or dramatically increase other areas to bring the split of business back in line).  This is also the same with lending in loan to value bandings, so a percentage limit will be enforced on lenders offering over 90% loans to the value of the property and so on. 

The Office of National Statistics say that the average house price for first-time buyers was £184,973 in December 2016, which is an annual increase of 7%.

Whereas The Money Charity Statistics confirm that outstanding mortgage lending stood at £1.326 trillion at the end of January.  That means that the estimated average outstanding mortgage for the 11.1m households with mortgage debt was £119,752 in January.

As you can see, everything is a statistic.  With this in mind and with so many rate changes and reductions, lenders will look closely at an individual’s recent payment profile, how many recent credit searches have been incurred by financial institutions, and more.  So 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.  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.  If you’ve not checked your credit file before, it is well worth a review and most are now free.   

Be ready for some fairly detailed questions when submitting an application!

The remortgage market is awash with lenders actively looking to attract new customers. Whether you want to fix your monthly payments for a period of time, or you fancy a low rate tracker mortgage, or maybe both - a tracker rate with the option to fix later on, there are plenty of great products currently available.  Many lenders are offering superb remortgage opportunities with minimal costs to change, including free standard valuations (lender survey on your property) and legal costs (solicitors or conveyancer to register the charge in the new lenders name).  Rates are competitively low and mortgage product choice is at its highest for some time. So pull out that paperwork and have a no obligation conversation with your local, independent and whole of market mortgage advisers!

Alternatively, if you are looking for additional funds, but are already on an attractive rate with your lender, there are other options rather than a full remortgage. Depending on the amount already lent as a mortgage, compared to the value of the property, most lenders will allow a ‘secured loan’ to be added as additional borrowing, right up to 95% of the property value.   A secured loan is a 2nd, or subsequent charge which allows the equity in a property to be used as security.  The secured loan is usually repaid over a shorter term than a mortgage, circa 3-7 years, but the term can be longer, although this will increase the amount of interest repaid.   Second charge lenders are also in the midst of a price war.  Many have reduced rates, one or two new lenders have entered the market and rates can now be below 4%.  Rates vary depending on the customer’s circumstances and current level of borrowings.  Make sure you review all options available to you and always seek advice.

In either of the above the lenders are looking more carefully at affordability, not just for now but also any potential changes that may affect your income in the next five years. Be ready for some fairly detailed questions when submitting an application!

A Place for Landlords - Horsham!

My column has to be submitted by Tuesday so, by the time you read this, the budget will have taken place and we will all be digesting the Chancellors latest updates.   However, we already know that people with Buy to Let properties will see their tax bill increase as the mortgage interest and other financial costs relief begins it's phase out from April onwards.   Expect this to be under the spotlight, although I don't think there will be a back track.  I'll cover any other property finance surprises in future columns.

Whilst on this subject, we're bringing back our popular ‘A PLACE FOR LANDLORDS  INVESTOR PROPERTY’ show in April!  This year it will take place at the Drill Hall, Denne Road, Horsham where you can learn about the new tax relief changes, the new PRA rules surrounding Buy to Lets and legal entities as well as meeting many local specialist companies.  These include AToM, Kreston Reeves Accountants, Coffin Mew Solicitors, Courtney Green Lettings, Leaders Lettings, Lady Decorators, The National Landlords Association, Durrants Removals and more!   It is likely to be a packed event and we expect the free Seminars to be oversubscribed, so BOOK EARLY!  To find out more, email landlordshow@atomltd.co.uk or call 01403 27 26 25.  A Place For Landlords - 1st April - 9am to 2pm- Drill Hall, Denne Road, Horsham RH12 1JF.

And finally, staying with Buy to Lets, the minimum deposit can be as little as just 15% although, at this level there are fewer product options.  With a 20% deposit, the number of products increases substantially, as do those with a 25% deposit, and so on.  Rates in this sector are now so low that there's actually not a huge gap between Buy to Let rates and normal Residential rates, as there used to be. 

As the new taxation changes are implemented, we are seeing a lot more people purchase properties in a Limited Company name.  This sounds complicated, but any good property accountant will be able to advise you at the early stages if this is more beneficial to you, rather than buying in a personal name (see the free seminar at A Place for Landlords!).  The most important thing is to ensure any property investment outlay gives you the best return possible and professional advice should always be sought.

Right to Buy or Shared ownership?

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a marked increase in enquiries for Right to Buy properties and those looking to purchase on a Shared Ownership basis.

Right to Buys are usually via the local council selling their properties to the existing tenant at a discounted price.  This discount can be up to £77,900 (£103,900 in London) and applicants must have been a public sector tenant for at least three years.  Some lenders will allow borrowing of up to 100% of the purchase price.  If you resell your home within five years you will usually have to repay some or all of the discount you received, however remortgaging is usually allowed in this time period.  There are other schemes available to housing associations and the Government has plans to extend Right to Buy to more housing association tenants.  So if you think you are eligible, register on the Government's website.

Shared Ownership Schemes are normally provided through housing associations.  You buy a share of your home, between 25% and 75% of the property value, and pay rent on the remaining share to the housing association.  You usually have the opportunity to purchase a bigger share of the property later on (normally called ‘staircasing’).  Local housing associations must confirm your eligibility in order to join these types of schemes.

Both schemes are proving popular in the local area and a wide number of lenders are looking to lend in both scenarios and to a number of different customer types, even those who may have had financial credit blips in the past.  So always seek advice.

Finally, first time buyers generally are in the spotlight again with many great rates and low fee products available.  One in particular, launched over the last few weeks, will allow customers to achieve, subject to an affordability assessment and minimum income levels, a loan equivalent to six times their income.  Yes SIX!  With a 15% deposit required and a competitive rate of interest, this product is an exclusive from the Tipton & Coseley Building Society.  Obviously terms and conditions apply.  There still needs to be a lot more innovation in helping the First Time Buyer sector overall, but huge credit to those trying to assist in the current climates.