Interest only mortgages - are they still available?13 December 2016 | 12:50 PMThe interest only mortgage market has had a chequered history. Originally developed alongside endowment insurance products, their popularity soared during the 1980s, with a huge proportion of new mortgages during that period taken on this basis. Once endowment insurance products started to perform poorly, other methods of repaying the mortgage balance were considered by lenders, s... (Read More)
Is the Help to Buy scheme ending?02 December 2016 | 09:30 AMThere is much confusion on this subject - a yes AND no answer doesn't really help! Firstly, the yes – one element of the scheme provided to lenders by the Government (the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee) is scheduled to end on 31st December 2016. Whilst this guarantee provided a welcome boost to the market for 5% and 10% deposit mortgages when introduced in 2014, we do not envisage a... (Read More)
Is online mortgage advice a reality? Long live the mortgage geeks!28 November 2016 | 04:35 PMAs with most other industries the mortgage world has seen many technology driven changes over recent years. It is something we constantly monitor to improve our own proposition. Up until now there has been no real “Uber” moment which has turned the market on its head, with so called disruptive technologies finding it difficult to account for the many weird and wonderful requirements... (Read More)
Is it worth paying my early repayment charges to secure a lower interest rate?21 November 2016 | 02:29 PMThis is a question many people are asking following the recent fall in interest rates. Most mortgage products, whether fixed or discounted variable rates, apply early repayment charges for an initial period - this protects banks and building societies against customers switching their mortgages too frequently and therefore making the business unprofitable. The actual charges vary ... (Read More)
