FINANCIAL SERVICES

- Despite all serving the same purpose (i.e. lending you money to buy property at a given rate of interest that you’ll need to pay back over time), there are many different types of mortgage available to consider when buying your first home. These include: • Fixed rate mortgages • Variable rate mortgages, which include • Tracker mortgages • Discounted rate mortgages • Capped rate mortgages • Offset Mortgages • Flexible Mortgages Being a first time buyer the broker will consider your full situation but 95% of the time there are only 3 types of mortgage products which will be relevant to yourself (Fixed Rate Mortgages, Variable Rate & Tracker Mortgages). If you feel it would be a good idea for further information of the other types of mortgages and it could help you please contact us today.

- When you buy your first home property it can be expensive, however modest your new home. A mortgage is not the only expense. Before you buy a home or go out viewing properties we would encourage you to work out how much you would need in total, this is not all about you being able to afford the monthly payments, there are also extra one-off charges and fees you’ll come up against. When working out your budget, you need to be sure you have money ready to pay them. These include: Deposit Mortgage arrangement fee (these can normally be added to your mortgage balance) Valuation / survey fee Legal fees Stamp Duty or land transaction tax, depending on where in the UK & purchase price Removal costs And don’t forget once you’re in your home, there’ll be regular ongoing bills you’ll face as a homeowner, on top of your regular mortgage payments, such as: Council tax Bills House insurance Repairs and decorating Furnishings It is always worth discussing the full move with your mortgage specialist and they can advise how much you would need to save before applying for a mortgage.

A buy to let mortgage differs from its residential counterpart in that it is largely assessed on the property’s profitability, i.e. how much rent it can generate vs. the cost of the mortgage – rather than on your own personal financial circumstances. Some buy to let lenders will require you to have a minimum salary, typically £20,000 or £25,000. Once agreed, your buy to let mortgage enables you to rent out the property to tenants, whereas you cannot do this with a residential mortgage.

The Financial Conduct Authority is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom, but operates independently of the UK Government, and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. All brokers registered in England are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This is for the customers protection and to guarantee that the service and mortgage advice level is sound. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

While it can seem like a trickier process, self-employed people can still successfully apply for a mortgage. Make sure you’re prepared with at least two to three years’ of financial documents as this is the amount some lenders will require. Keep your personal and professional bank accounts separate, and registering for the electoral roll can help lenders to confirm your identity. As always, it’s important to consider any personal and future circumstances when securing a mortgage, and seek professional advice to ensure you’re aware of the options, The mortgage services team we recommend are there to guide you through the whole process and help you get your dream property.

There are different levels of approval throughout the process of getting a mortgage agreed so it depends what part of the process you are in. After speaking to a mortgage specialist they can take you through every step to all three of these agreed for you: Affordability Check - Some clients are at the very beginning of their mortgage application process, therefore they might not currently have saved the correct deposit or be in a positions to move forward. They can offer a basic affordability check and provide further information to clients to let them know what they need to do and where they need to get to, to get them mortgage ready. Agreement In Principle - An agreement in principle can be obtained instantly in some circumstances but usually will take a few hours if needed that fast. This is where they gather all of the relevant information from yourself, search the mortgage market, find a suitable lender who fits with your affordability and then run through the lenders credit checking system to make sure this fits with there criteria. Once this has been done the lender will issue them with a certificate stating the amount you can borrow in principle. This puts you in a perfect position to find a property and start negotiations with the estate agent. Mortgage Offer - Mortgage Offer is where both you and the property you are purchasing have been approved by the lender. They have discussed your monthly payment, insurance protection and found the right mortgage for you. Approval requires a valuation to be conducted on the property and this whole process on average will take 2/3 weeks. Each application is different though, it doesn't matter whether you are a first time buyer, home mover or buy to let investor, some applications take 1 week and some can take up to 4 weeks depending on the full situation.

Typically the list of fees could include: Valuation fee – charged by the lender to value the property and generally paid up front with your application Solicitors fees – charged by the solicitor to complete the conveyancing transactions on the property. Part of this is paid up front when the solicitors are instruction but the remainder is paid upon completion. Stamp duty land tax – a tax levied by the government on any property purchase in England or Northern Ireland. Lender arrangement fees – charged by the lender for arranging the loan. This can be added to the loan in most circumstances but will therefore increase the size of the loan. Booking fee – charged by the lender for booking the funds for your mortgage and typically charged up front with your application Broker fees – Some brokers will charge a fee, as much as 1% of the whole mortgage. We only recommend Fee Free brokers so you do not have to worry about this at all!

Lenders often talk about the LTV requirement. LTV is an acronym for Loan to Value Ratio. This is a term used to describe the ratio of a loan to the value of the property purchased. For example, if you borrow £255,000 to purchase a property valued at £300,000 the LTV is 255,000/300,000 or 85%, the remaining 15% is your equity.

Yes, the company we recommend have a wealth of experience in a range of Mortgage types including in the increasingly popular buy to let Mortgage.

One of the biggest benefits of working with a broker is the simplification of the market comparison and application processes and help you find the right mortgage. Once you have provided your broker with a few basic details, they will typically handle most of the subsequent complexities on your behalf. Working with an independent broker also means gaining access to honest and impartial information, which is rarely available directly from a bank or lender. Brokers can also provide access to exclusive deals you won’t find on the High Street, often from lenders that do not work directly with the public. Expertise – An experienced and reputable broker can also help you choose from the various mortgage products and home loans available, ensuring you make the right decision to suit your requirements and your budget. Simplicity – The job of the mortgage broker is to do most of the hard work on your behalf, comparing viable and competitive deals from as many lenders as possible to find your perfect mortgage. Impartiality – With no direct ties or exclusive affiliations with major banks or lenders, independent brokers are free to offer 100% honest and impartial advice for the benefit of their clients.

This is forever changing, lenders regularly change the mortgage products they offer. The excellent news is though is that we only recommend companies that are whole of market & independent: Being independent and whole of market means they have access to every interest rate and deal on the market in the UK. This includes all high-street lenders such as Halifax, Barclays, Nationwide, Santander, Natwest and many more. Whatever your situation, they will help you achieve your best available mortgage interest rate and deal. They give the best mortgage services advice and guidance suited to your situation and the best available rates and deals. The team of advisers will complete everything for you whilst supporting you every step of the process. Our recommended Mortgage Specialists are online & face to face mortgage brokers offering a customer-focused service that is fee free!