When the mortgage deal that you are on initially finally reaches the point of confusion, your mortgage lender may wish to offer you a new deal for you to accept, ensuring that you stay with them. This kind of deal is known as a product transfer.
Although it would be nice, you will not be rewarded by a mortgage lender for your loyalty. The offer that they make you may not be competitive with the kinds of deals you could have access to elsewhere.
What also tends to be an annoyance for customers, is that the mortgage rates for these product transfers are not as good as the types of rates they would be offering their new customers. Great for a first time buyer, but not so much for an existing homeowner.
It may look like a fairly simple, straightforward process to just swap onto your current lender’s new deal, but please always bear in mind that it will be in your interest to at least have a look at what other deals you may be eligible for.
You might find that your lender tries to sway you onto their deal, without providing any mortgage advice.
This can be a really risky process, because if you go into their new deal without advice, you are essentially saying goodbye to all the valuable consumer protection you would otherwise have benefitted from by speaking to a remortgage advisor in York.
Over the years we have seen numerous examples of customers just agreeing to go onto these “follow-on” deals and locking themselves into a deal that is not appropriate for their circumstances.
The kicker here is that because they agreed to move onto the deal without taking any mortgage advice, they have waived a lot of their rights in terms of making a complaint about the lender or the deal.
We once had a mortgage case where a customer who was pregnant opted to take this route and was declined for a small further advance to fund some necessary home improvements a couple of months down the line.
She was then left with having to pay quite a large early repayment charge to swap from her existing lender onto a new one who was willing to lend her the necessary funds to accomplish her home improvement goals.
After we have taken a look at your case, if we think a product transfer is the most suitable deal for you we will recommend that as a course of action for you. If we don’t think so, then we’ll look at where to go next.
When we arrange the mortgage for you as a mortgage broker in York, then all the regulations and consumer protection will apply to you.
In short, even if the mortgage process seems pretty quick and straightforward, we will still always recommend that you seek expert mortgage advice. A second opinion costs nothing and making a mistake when taking a new product can be something that ends up costing more than you thought it would.
If you are looking to remortgage in York, you’ll find that the mortgage market is highly competitive and savings can typically be made by a dedicated mortgage advisor scanning the market for a new and more favourable mortgage deal.
Although the mortgage journey can sometimes seem quite stressful, in the long run, it can be extremely rewarding. You’ll go down one of two paths on your mortgage journey; one is that you find the property of your dreams that you can see yourself living in for the foreseeable future and two is that you buy your first home to get yourself onto the property ladder and keep going up until you find a home that suits you best.
Whichever path you choose to take, you will always find yourself coming to the end of your mortgage term. At this point, you are going to have to decide whether you want to remortgage or move home.
Another option could be to buy another property as well as keeping your current one and let it out as a let to buy. Also, this can work in the opposite way if you want to purchase a property as a Buy to Let.
A Remortgage is simply using the funding for a new mortgage to pay off your current mortgage. The term ‘Remortgage’ is very vague, it covers a lot of ground. You can actually Remortgage for lots of different reasons and in this mortgage guide, we are going to cover the most common reasons to why people Remortgage.
When you take out a mortgage product, its term will usually be somewhere between 2-5 years. There are lots of different types of mortgages, some being more popular than others. Their rate will vary depending on the product that you take out. For example, a Tracker mortgage will follow the Bank of England’s base rate; this rate will fluctuate depending on the economy and how it’s performing; whereas a Fixed-Rate mortgage will have set monthly payments that will never change until your fixed-term has ended.
So, you have a mortgage product that is perfect for you, however, your mortgage term is ending in 3 months time – what do you do?
– Firstly, you should check whether you can access a better rate or not. Occasionally, if from the point of when you took out your mortgage product you had a lower credit score than you do now, you may be able to get a better deal. To find this out for free, you should get in touch with a Mortgage Broker in York like ourselves. We will review your mortgage and your options to see whether or not you can access a better product.
– Secondly, once you find out about the options that are available to you, it’s your choice whether you want to renew your current deal or Remortgage/transfer products through your same lender.
If you don’t Remortgage, you will fall straight onto your lender’s standard variable rate of interest once your mortgage term has ended. Their standard rate is likely to come with higher costs than your current mortgage deal; that’s why you should always Remortgage! Ideally, you want to begin the process 3 months prior to your product ending.
You may be able to save money in places you didn’t think you could by remortgaging!
If you feel like you’ve found your dream home and have no plans on moving home in York, you have an option to Remortgage for home improvements. Home improvements can mean anything from a loft conversion to a garden extension – it can be anything you could class as improvements for your home.
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, we received enquiries left, right and centre about Remortgaging for home improvements such as a home office, gym, new kitchen and even bars. We think that everyone’s mentality was the same at the time. This investment has not only provided more living and breathing space inside of the property, but has also risen the property’s value.
When you Remortgage for home improvements, you will be adding more to your total monthly mortgage payments as your total mortgage amount will increase to incorporate the costs for the home improvements. So, at first it may seem like it’s costing you more each month, however, in the long run you may find that the home improvements massively increase your property’s overall value.
You can also Remortgage in York to find yourself a better mortgage term. Homeowners often do this to reduce their term or gain more flexibility with their payments.
Doing this can result in you having a shorter period of time to pay back your mortgage, which means that you won’t be tied down for a large portion of your life. Yes, this will increase your mortgage payments, but it will allow you to finish your mortgage quicker than before you decreased your term. The longer your mortgage term is, the less your mortgage payments will be, and vice versa.
Once you’ve got that mortgage payment history associated with your name and your lender knows that you are a reliable customer, they may allow for flexibility with your mortgage term. Doing this can sometimes allow you to overpay your mortgage.
It’s likely that you’ll have some amount of equity within your home, even if it is only a little. You can work out the amount of equity that you have in your home by taking the difference between how much is still owed on your mortgage and the current value of your property.
You can release some of this equity and turn it into a lump sum of cash. This money can be spent however you want as it is your equity; for example, you may want to use it for home improvements, to put down a deposit on another property, to pay off a car loan or to go on holiday – remember, it’s up to you!
If you are a homeowner over the age of 55 and your property is a minimum value of £70,000, then it may be worth looking at equity release in York. To see if a later life mortgage is the best step for you to take, book a free mortgage appointment with a later life mortgage advisor in York.
If you have built up any unsecured debts in your past, did you know that in some cases you can incorporate these into your mortgage through remortgaging?
It may not be the easiest of tasks to consolidate your debts into your mortgage. Before allowing you to do so, lenders will look at how much money you owe, the value of your property and what your credit rating is like.
Lenders will always be very careful when it comes to letting applicants consolidate debts into their mortgage. One reason for this is that your monthly mortgage payments will be increased; they will question whether they think you’ll be able to manage the extra costs of consolidating your debts. Another reason for this is that if you fall into arrears and your house ends up being repossessed, all of these debts have been secured within the property, which may make the lenders get no profit from the property.
Before consolidating your debts into your mortgage, we always recommend that you speak to an expert Mortgage Advisor in York – particularly a debt consolidation professional.
If you are approaching the end of your fixed-mortgage term and you are thinking about Remortgaging for a specific reason, even if it isn’t one of these, you should get in touch with our team. We offer a free remortgage consultation/review to every customer in York, so we advise that you take advantage of this if you are thinking of Remortgaging.
You will get to speak with your own dedicated Mortgage Advisor in York, who will guide you through the whole remortgage process, trying to find the perfect deal for you and your personal and financial circumstances.
First time buyers and home movers in York use a mortgage broker to help purchase a property go as efficiently as possible. Buying a home can be a highly stressful experience, and our customers like to know they have got someone by their side, on hand to answer all their mortgage-related queries and questions.
Our mortgage advisors in York will ensure you obtain the most affordable mortgage that suits your circumstances. We take complete responsibility for advising the most suitable mortgage for you and package your application to the lender to provide you with the best chance of success. The same applies if you choose to come back to us when looking to remortgage in Hull too, we like to know our customers are on the cheapest deal for the entire mortgage period.
We think talking to an experienced mortgage advisor in York early in the process is a great idea. We may help you work out what you can afford to pay and how much different Lenders will let you borrow. You would be amazed at the vast differences between each mortgage lender to the maximum mortgage amount you are likely able to borrow.
Straightforward mortgage advice in York can play a large part. We keep all new and existing customers notified about their application’s progress by email. It’s good to know that we are also at the end of the phone when you need us, or if something goes wrong during the process, our mortgage advisors in York can keep you updated on every step.
Mortgage brokers work for the customer, not the lender. We are in your corner throughout your entire Mortgage journey, sometimes having to argue the strengths of an application to ensure it goes through. We understand our customers’ financial situation inside out. By requesting and checking your proof of income and bank statements well in advance of a lender seeing them, we look to avoid any potential hurdles before we hit them carefully.
We can also help you choose the right type of survey for your transaction and instruct a solicitor on your behalf to carry out the legal aspects. We are experts in completing application forms on behalf of our clients to ensure accuracy and give your application the best chance of completion.
Finally, a great mortgage advisor will love to build up an ongoing relationship with a client. It frequently starts with an affordability assessment and agreement in principle before even finding a house.
Even after the purchase is complete, we keep regular contact via email and re-engage by phone in the six months running up to the initial mortgage product coming to its end. We then compare the market on your behalf once again to obtain the best remortgage deal available.
Divorce or separation from a partner is always a daunting experience. However, if you and your ex-partner have finally decided to part ways and bear a joint mortgage, you would be worried or confused about how to work around a solution.
Here are three main questions that most ex-couples thinks of while receiving Divorce & Mortgage Advice in York regularly:
To help you understand the basics of working around a solution, we’ve put together the following guide to make things a little clearer and, hopefully, a little easier for all concerned. Often the case gets complicated if there are kids involved. It’s often the mum who stays in the property, but there may come a moment that whoever is in position wants to take over the Mortgage in their own hands.
When you are trying to remove your ex-husband’s name from the Mortgage, you’ll need to provide sufficient evidence that you’ll be able to meet your mortgage payments successfully on your own. Lenders are instructed to review your salary and your disposable income and then decide if you are financially strong enough to manage the load of instalments or not.
Similarly, the lenders will evaluate your ex-partner’s affordability and decide whether he’ll be able to afford mortgage payments forward or not. So a thorough check will be performed on both parties regardless of whether you have stayed up to date with your mortgage payments in the past or not.
Quite often in these situations, someone can intervene to replace the ex-partner such as a family member or indeed your new partner. You can also reach out to Mortgage Lenders for help.
If you decide to remove your name from the Mortgage, it’s a more similar process to how you removed your ex-partner’s name. But since you choose to vacate yourself from the property and move on, it might create difficulties for you at times.
This might need consent from your partner that you want to call off your name from the Mortgage. Your lender will also perform an affordability check on your partner to find out if he can afford the future mortgage payments or not.
Once you get given consent to remove your name from the Mortgage, you’ll undoubtedly start looking for a new house of your own. The mortgage payment for your old property will be considered if you want to buy a new property in the future. Hence, it’s essential in these instances that you take Specialist Mortgage Advice in York before making an offer. You’ll find some lenders as more generous while others are strict.
The answer to this one is yes, you can. Lenders & their credit scoring systems consider many factors before they offer you a mortgage. Continuous and timely financial payments are just one of these. The lenders will scrutinize how much you are contributing to the existing mortgages and whether you will be able to manage additional mortgage payments on top of them or not.
They will also consider the risk factor, for instance, how likely your home gets repossessed because you could not afford your mortgage payments. They will not take any risks either. The monthly payment of the Mortgage you still hold with your ex will need to be input alongside any other loans & credit commitments you may have.
Once we have keyed all this in for you the various Lenders’ systems will confirm the maximum amount you can borrow so you know your budget at the outset & how much deposit you will need to put down.
Consolidating unsecured credit into your mortgage is not something that should be considered a light decision. Before making this decision it is important to speak to a mortgage advisor in York to consider all the options.
By rolling unsecured credit into your mortgage, you will normally pay back more overall. However, your monthly payments may be lower and for some people that is the main motivation behind it.
Remember, you are securing debt against your home. If mortgage payments are not kept up with then you will be at risk of your home being repossessed which is very different to missing payments on loans or credit cards.
In the past, it has often been quite easy to obtain credit, perhaps too easy. It’s quicker for people to borrow money rather than saving up. Sometimes people have used the loophole of investing in remortgage for home improvements to increase the value of their property by a sizeable amount. It is hard to try and pay off the debt itself when over time it is accumulating interest. Not everyone qualifies for zero percent credit card transfers.
Before consolidating credit, it is best practice to do a budget planner beforehand which will allow you to analyse your outgoing expense. These may be luxury items that you are able to go without for a while, i.e. gym membership, takes, etc. Perhaps a personal loan to consolidate your credit cards could be an answer as a loan has a set end date whereas a credit cards. Additionally, since a personal loan is normally taken out over a shorter term than a mortgage then you may pay back less interest.
It may also be worth speaking with a family member who may be able to help. It may seem embarrassing for some people to ask for a bail out but often family members understand and if they are able to help then they will.
If all the available avenues have been exhausted, then a debt consolidation mortgage might be right for you. It certainly is one way of reducing your monthly payments if you are struggling to save but it could be difficult to carry out without an experienced remortgage broker in York.
Equity Release mortgages can help people in a number of ways. Many people have heard of them, but are unsure as to whether they would be eligible and what benefits they may obtain, so in this article, we’re going to look at:
Firstly, your “equity” can be summarised as the value of your stake vested in the bricks and mortar of the property. So, if you already own your home, then your “equity” is the open market value of your house less the balance of any mortgage outstanding on it. If you’re a buyer, your “equity” is the amount of cash deposit you are putting into the transaction.
Secondly, Equity release Mortgages are aimed at older borrowers. Thus, you’d need to be at least 55 years old to be considered for an Equity Release plan and for some types that increase to age 60. In general, it’s fair to say that the older you are, the better terms you’re likely to be offered by a lender.
Other factors that would be considered in a traditional mortgage application, however – for example, earned income, pension income, number of dependents etc. – do not come into it. It is purely based on the value of your property.
The answer to this question is not entirely straightforward. Put simply, the amount you can borrow on this type of deal will be dictated by a combination of how old you are and how much equity you have?
Most providers have their own calculators and these can vary, but it’s fair to say the older you are, the more equity can be released. Your Equity Release Advisor will be able to accurately calculate this figure for you when you meet up.
The uses of Equity Release are many and varied, here are just a few examples:
In short, most legal reasons can be accommodated. Don’t forget, equity release mortgages in York are not necessarily suitable for everyone and in some of these instances there may be other, more suitable courses of action, but your Advisor will help you with this.
At Yorkmoneyman.com, we’ve got a history of providing you with bespoke, detailed, mortgage advice in York as to what may be the most suitable way forward in your particular circumstances.
To add to this local service, we’ve now teamed up with Equity Release Specialist and between us, we’d be happy to come to meet you in the comfort of your own home to discuss any questions you may have on anything mentioned above.
If you are possibly considering taking some form of equity release mortgage, it is understandable that you will want to know what the risks are. Equity Release Mortgages may not be suitable for everyone so it is important that you get proper equity release advice in York before making any arrangements. Most people’s concerns fall into the following categories:
With a traditional mortgage, lenders have the right to take possession of a property should the borrower fail to keep up regular monthly repayments. However, since most equity release schemes don’t require a monthly repayment, then this question of “affordability” becomes irrelevant. With a Lifetime Mortgage, your interest would normally “roll up” so there should be no reason why you would lose your property to a lender.
Historically there have been instances where lenders took possession of properties but these days this type of lending is highly regulated and the industry works hard to avoid circumstances where repossession is required.
The terms of your agreement would normally allow you to stay in the property until you die. If your circumstances changed – for example you needed to go into long term care – then the property would normally be sold. With a Lifetime Mortgage, the lender would then be repaid all capital plus any rolled up interest from the sale proceeds and you would retain any excess over this amount.
If you have a Home Reversion Plan, you would have already sold the home to the provider, so in these circumstances, they would then sell the property on the open market and keep all proceeds. This is one reason why it is important to understand the difference in the type of plan, so make sure your advisor goes through these fully and clearly before making any commitment.
With Lifetime Mortgages, upon your demise, the property would be sold and the capital, plus all accumulated interest would be paid back to the provider from the sale proceeds to settle their mortgage. The difference between the sale price and the settlement figure would then go into your estate to form part of your inheritance. People often ask: “What if the debt has increased above the value of the property? Will my family have a debt to pay back?”.
However, you would normally receive a “No Negative Equity Guarantee” which, in simple terms, means that if the above occurred, then that is a risk the lender would have to take and there would be no further repayment required from your family.
Finally, should you have any further concerns, there is an industry body known as The Equity Release Council which exists to ensure that all products of this type are safe and accessible. All participants in the Equity Release Market should subscribe to the Council’s Statement of Principles which you can check on their website – https://www.equityreleasecouncil.com – along with any other details that may concern you. In a nutshell, therefore, as long as you ensure that you obtain advice from a firm whose advisors are members of the Equity Release Council, and who recommended products from providers who are also members, then you can be confident that you will receive full, clear information about any worries you may have.
At Yorkmoneyman.com, we’ve a history of providing you with bespoke, detailed, specialist mortgage advice in York as to what may be the most suitable way forward in your particular circumstances. To add to this local service, we’ve now teamed up with an Equity Release Specialist and between us we’d be happy to come to meet you in the comfort of your own home to answer any questions you may have on anything mentioned above by way of a free consultation.
A portable mortgage is a term used to describe a mortgage that can be moved from one property to the next without penalty. Often, customers who are in the middle of a fixed rate deal and are looking to move, ask “Can I port my mortgage?” This is because they can avoid early repayment charges if their lender allows it.
Not all mortgages are portable but most High Street mortgages are. If you are with a specialist lender, then you may not have the option to port. However, a quick call to your lender will confirm one way or the other.
Even when porting is an option, not all customers choose to do so. A few things to consider are:
A sub-account on your mortgage is created when you port your mortgage and the additional funds end being on a different deal to the original one. This means that although you only have one mortgage and one direct debit, two different rates of interest apply.
Down the line, having sub-accounts can be quite confusing as the different products will overlap each other. To get them back aligned at some point will mean one of the sub-accounts having to drift onto the lenders’ standard variable rate for a period of time.
For specialist mortgage advice in York, please get in touch with one of our mortgage advisors in York and we’ll see how we can help.
Sometimes remortgaging can be a stressful situation but it does not have to be. COVID-19 led to the majority of people realising that their home may not be suitable in terms of size now that they are spending more time in their home.
A few lenders are undecided on which applications they are progressing, this can be passed onto customers and can be unclear as to what they can do or not in the current climate. Though Mortgage applications for remortgages are still able to go ahead, customers who are seeking a remortgage for extensions may be allowed to do so given their application is approved by lenders.
There are many remortgage options that you can choose from. The first step will be to review the different remortgage deals that are available to you. If you stick with your current lender you will be limited to only the products that they offer. By looking at other deals and other lenders, you broaden your options of existing deals that are available to you that may save you a great amount of money.
Currently in the mortgage market rates are rock bottom and may not change for a while, this is particularly good for customers on a fixed-rate mortgage, so now has ever been a better time if you’re thinking about a remortgage. Our mortgage advisors in York will help with the process, they will access thousands of deals that you wouldn’t stumble upon by yourself.
The costs for a remortgage for an extension have no set price. Multiple factors may affect the amount you pay back each month and the amount possible to borrow. Such factors include the size of the extensions and the specificity of the home improvement.
You will also need to consider that to remortgage in York, you’ll go through another affordability assessment, even if you switch deals through the same lender.
Mortgage rates have not been this low for a long time so now is the best time to remortgage. Your lender could extend the period of your remortgage process, this could mean your home improvements may start 6-9 months anyway, so it’s best to start as early as possible.
When choosing to remortgage in York, we always recommend that you obtain remortgage advice in York as soon as possible. We will be sure to search through thousands of available remortgage deals that we have at our disposal and pick out the perfect one for you. We understand that times are difficult at the moment, so having a friendly mortgage advisor in York by your side could make the process much more efficient.
Please note this information is no longer relevant in todays mortgage markert. At the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government promised that all borrowers would be allowed a three-month mortgage payment holiday. Most lenders followed the Government’s guidelines and did their best to help their borrowers during these hard few months.
We have thought carefully about the possibilities of what could happen to your mortgage over the next few months and are working very closely with all of our lenders to ensure that if anything changes, we can inform you right away and recommend the best option for you to take so that you still feel secure, comfortable and happy with your mortgage.
Essentially a Mortgage Payment Holiday is an agreement settled between a bank, building society, or mortgage lender who decides to delay your monthly payments for a period of time, which in this case is three-months.
However, this does not come without shortfalls. The break in payments does not mean that this will not have to be paid off. The interest that is delayed being paid back is re-added onto the loan amount whilst the overall capital balance will not decrease. Simply put, the mortgage amount will increase a slight amount and you will continue to attract interest on the overall amount.
When you’re able to pay your mortgage regularly again, your mortgage will be recalculated at a slightly higher level or your mortgage term could be increased. Though most lenders would prefer the mortgage to be recalculated so that for some borrowers, the term doesn’t take them over retirement age.
Depending on the conditions included with your mortgage deal and your lender, there may be an opportunity to pay off a lump sum to help get back on top with where your mortgage originally was.
Mortgage Payment Holidays are available both for those with residential or Buy to Let mortgages in York, which means landlords also have assistance if rental payments are affected.
The full proposal is in detail below:
When approaching looking into your Mortgage Payment Holiday, we would recommend speaking to a Mortgage Advisor in York as opposed to directly looking to undergo a mortgage payment holiday if there isn’t a pressing need to do so, as Lenders will be prioritising the most urgent cases first.
By approaching our Mortgage Broker in York, we will be able to look over your situation and look at all options available to best help your circumstance.
For a customer, up to date with payments, not in arrears and impacted by COVID-19:
When mortgage payment holidays are normally carried out, they tend to show on your credit score as a negative impact but most lenders have now stated that any cases linked to the virus will mean that this does not apply in the current scenario, so it should not affect your credit score in this way.
It is important for clarity and reassurance that you ask the question directly to your lender and make note of the response, keeping a record of the name of the person you are speaking to and the date of the enquiry. This will avoid any possible mishaps down the line because different lenders are carrying out different things.
The matter of remortgaging and product transfer have come to be seen as quite controversial elements in the property market at this moment in time. There has been apparent evidence suggesting that lenders are urging borrowers not to make any unnecessary changes to their mortgages so that they can focus their attention on sorting out the financial situation of current borrowers who are experiencing hardships. So, lenders are not allowing these to happen during this time.
This however means that borrowers who are near to the end of their existing product may be forced to move on to the higher lenders variable rate. This could possibly mean many borrowers who act too early may find themselves on a mortgage payment holiday that gathers interest on an even more expensive variable rate.
Our Mortgage Broker in York team highly recommend speaking to a Mortgage Advisor in York before you take any further action to see what the safest option would be, and the most sensible way forward.
Whilst the Government has advised people to not move house unless absolutely necessary, if contracts have already been exchanged and the process is at the end with all in agreement, then going ahead and completing the purchase will be fine.
You should not pull out of your purchase unless for example you are worried about losing your job as a result of Coronavirus. We are advising everyone to proceed as normal for now and “wait and see” – you are not committed to completing your purchase until contracts are exchanged.
There are other options available where some lenders are willing to offer ‘interest-only’, which will help borrowers reduce their monthly payments drastically but not to add any increase to the loan amount by still servicing the mortgage interest payments each month.
It may not be deemed necessary to convert all your mortgage to interest-only and even putting just a part of the mortgage on this basis could help relieve some tension in your mortgage payments in the long term.
To borrowers who hold savings in their accounts may find that remortgaging onto an offset basis may offer some more structured support as this will reduce monthly payments whilst their savings remain untouched.
An example for this for certain borrowers who may not understand offset mortgages would be as followed:
– someone with a £400,000 loan and £100,000 in savings would only pay interest on £300,000 reducing their payments accordingly.
For others, a straight Remortgage in York to another lender may offer some relief in mortgage payments. By calculating the cost of any Early Repayment Charges that may occur, this may well be enough to ease the burden, or simply extending the term of your mortgage which could be seen as helpful if you are struggling with your mortgage term or monthly payments.
To discuss any of these options, or to just have a helpful chat about your current situation please get in touch with a Mortgage Advisor in York.
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