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Tag: mortgage

What does the election mean for mortgages?

What does the election mean for mortgages?

by | Dec 27, 2019 | Mortgage News

All things considered, it’s probably fair enough that the news has been dominated by the question of what Boris Johnson’s election victory means for Brexit.  It’s probably also fair to say that Brexit will have a huge influence on the UK over the coming years, if not decades.

It is, however, also important to note that Brexit is only one issue among many.  The economy in general and the housing market, in particular, are also key issues for UK residents and while they will almost certainly be influenced by Brexit, they will also be influenced by various other factors, not least of which being government policy and practice.  With that in mind, here’s a quick overview of what the election could mean for mortgages.

The Brexit issue

Having just said that Brexit is only one issue among many, there’s no getting away from the fact that it is likely to be a very important issue.  Given that the Conservative win makes a hard Brexit massively more likely, it’s probably safe to assume that this will have an adverse impact on the Pound, at least over the short term.  This assumption can be supported by a look at the way the currency markets have reacted to Brexit-related news and, in particular, the way the Pound has dived since it was announced that Boris Johnson intended to try to make it illegal to delay Brexit any further.

In and of itself, a weak Pound is bad news for some and good news for others.  It does, however, have the potential to push up inflation and if that happens there will be one of two outcomes.  Assuming that the government sticks to the current rules on inflation (i.e. a target of 2% with a 1% margin of error either way), this would effectively force the Bank of England to raise interest rates, which, of course, is bad news for borrowers.  That being so, borrowers might want to look for a fixed rate, possibly a longer-term fixed-rate, to give themselves reassurance.

Any remortgaging decision should be taken with care and not just because there tends to be quite a bit of upfront expense and paperwork.  Fixed-rate mortgages can be relatively expensive, partly because they are still something of a niche market and partly because they essentially combine two products, a mortgage and an insurance policy.  At the same time, however, while there is a limit to how far interest rates can drop (unless you believe the government would use negative interest rates), they can rise indefinitely. 

The affordability issue

Whatever your views on Brexit, hopefully, you will benefit from the fact that the saga appears to be coming to a close and that, one way or another, we can all move on.  As is always the case in life, this is likely to be easier for some people than others.  For example, people in professions for which there is high demand globally may feel confident about their ability to “keep calm and carry on”, whereas other people may feel rather more vulnerable.

If you already own your home and are having concerns about how to pay your mortgage over the long term, then it might be a good idea to speak to a professional financial adviser.  They might be able to help you find options you might otherwise have overlooked, which could be anything from taking advantage of the rent-a-room scheme to looking for a mortgage product with some degree of flexibility, such as an offset mortgage.

If you are looking to buy your first home and are concerned that Brexit could make it harder for you to get a mortgage, then you may want to look at products such as the Lifetime ISA and/or the Help-to-Buy scheme, to see if they could make it easier to build a substantial deposit and thus increase your attractiveness to lenders.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

 

Owning a home is still possible

Owning a home is still possible

by | Oct 10, 2019 | Mortgage News

It’s no secret that it can be tough to get on the property ladder, either as a genuine first-time buyer or as someone who’s bought before but gone back to renting for whatever reason, for example, to spend some time abroad.  The good news is that, in spite of all the challenges, it is possible.  Here are some tips to make it happen.

The less you spend on rent the more you can save

This may seem like stating the blindingly obvious but it’s one of the many realities of life which can be a whole lot easier in theory than in practice.  To be perfectly blunt, putting together the deposit you will need to buy a home of your own is likely to be a lot easier if you are prepared to make compromises on where you live in the present.  Living with your parents may be the ultimate example of this (their house, their rules) but this is not necessarily a practical option for everyone.

For those living away from home, making compromises may involve choosing a smaller space over a bigger one, accepting a longer commute, or choosing a less-desirable area over a more chic one.  Obviously, all of these options have to be subject to the common-sense test.  There is a limit to how small a space a person can reasonably live in for an extended period of time and there is no point in choosing to live in a place where the housing is affordable but the commute is long if it means that you are just swapping housing costs for commuting costs (and time) and you clearly want to avoid living in a place which is actively unsafe.  All the same, however, all things being equal, you should probably give preference to the place with the lowest housing costs as rent is typically a substantial expense and hence anything you can do to reduce it can make a real difference to how quickly you can save for a deposit.

Always look for ways to increase your income

The nature of your employment will largely determine how feasible it is for you to earn extra money in your main job, but if you’re in a position where you get a fixed salary for (officially) fixed hours and have little scope to earn extra on top and you’d prefer to stay in that job, at least for the foreseeable future, then you can still look for other ways to earn extra money.  Getting a second job can bring all kinds of complications (including your current employer being unhappy about it, you new employer making requests which conflict with your main job and your tax being messed up, although this last should not happen), but there is nothing to stop you setting yourself up as self-employed and building your own little side-hustle.  Just remember that you will need to register as self-employed and pay taxes on whatever you earn.

Take care of your credit rating

If you’ve saved and worked to put together a solid deposit, it would be heartbreaking to be turned down for a mortgage because of silly mistakes such as going over the limit on a credit card or missing a payment.  Standard advice here is to put all payments on Direct Debit so that you never miss one, however, there is an alternative approach, which may save you a little money, at the expense of some organization.  Put as many payments as you can on manual and pay them the moment you have the money to do so, for example on payday or when you get your earnings from your side hustle (remember to set aside money for taxes).  This will minimize the interest you pay.

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

 

The UK’s best lender is the bank of mum and dad

The UK’s best lender is the bank of mum and dad

by | Aug 30, 2019 | Mortgage News

While the Bank of Mum and Dad must be one of the financial media’s favourite clichés, like many cliché’s it’s grounded in truth.  Even with a university education leading to a professional job, today’s generation of young people can struggle to save the hefty deposits needed in the modern housing market while also paying rent.  Unofficial “bridging loans” (or straightforward advances on their inheritance) can go a long way towards helping young adults to get the keys to their first home.  If you’re a parent contemplating assisting your child with a housing purchase, here are some points to consider.

Do your sums thoroughly before you speak to your child

Look after yourself first.  It isn’t selfishness, it’s self-care, which is very different.  If you wind up giving your child a sum of money which will (or could) leave you financially stretched (even if the child agrees to pay it back), then you risk laying the ground for all kinds of problems from the entirely practical to the emotional.  Do your sums thoroughly, so that you only offer money you are sure you can live without, not just in a best-case scenario but also in a worst-case scenario.

Set expectations clearly right from the start

In addition to deciding how much you can afford to give your child, you also need to decide whether the money is a gift or a loan and if the latter on what terms it will be given.  This may seem like a harsh comment, but loans between family members can be fraught with pitfalls even if they’re documented in such a way as to make them legally-binding contracts.  Let’s be honest, as a parent if your child fails to pay back a loan as agreed, are you really going to take legal action against them?  What if they experience a negative life event (sadly it can and does happen) and genuinely can’t pay it back, at least not in the time agreed, perhaps not ever?  On that point, if you do decide to advance money in the form of a loan, it is a very good idea to document this formally, rather than just “taking it on trust”.  That way, if your child does run into financial difficulties, you will have a claim on their funds in the same way as any other creditor (and it is entirely up to you what you do with any funds you are given from their assets, you can give it straight back to them if  you wish), whereas an undocumented loan is very likely to be ignored in any insolvency process.

Think about how your actions will impact other people

In principle, you can, of course, do whatever you like with your own money.  In practice, however, other people will have an opinion on your actions and sometimes this is entirely understandable.  In particular, if you have more than one child, being fair to each of them can be more complex than it sounds.  From a purely mathematical perspective, you could just give (or loan) the same amount of money to each on the same terms (although if you were going for real mathematical precision, the money would have to be given at the same time to negate the effect of changes to interest rates and inflation).  Life, however, is about more than mathematics, for example, if one child went to a traditional university and received financial support from you during their studies, while the other undertook an apprenticeship and paid their own way, would it really be fair to give them both the same amount of help towards a deposit on a property?  That’s a question only you can answer, but it’s definitely worth consideration.

The FCA does not regulate some forms of bridging loans.

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any other debt secured on it.

 

The key points of buy-to-let finance

The key points of buy-to-let finance

by | Aug 18, 2019 | Mortgage News

Even though the government seems to have been subjecting buy-to-let property investors to a non-stop barrage of financial attacks, the fact still remains that the laws of supply and demand still favour property investors.  At this point in time, however, it is no longer possible for investors simply to blunder into property blind and wait for a rising tide to do its work.  Now property investors really have to be careful to buy the right properties, in the right locations at the right prices and to be completely sure that their numbers add up.  With this in mind, here is a quick guide to the key points of buy-to-let finance.

Mortgage Tax Relief is coming to an end

This fiscal year is the last year in which Mortgage Tax Relief will exist at all and only in a very reduced form.  The announcement that Mortgage Tax Relief was to be abolished was widely reported in the financial press, as was the fact that the change meant that some landlords might be better off switching to a limited company structure.  This is a complex topic and might be worth discussing with a financial professional.  The more simple point to remember is that you will need to factor this change into your financial calculations, especially since you are no longer permitted to charge “add-on” fees to your tenants.

A ban on “add-on” fees

Picking up on the previous point, as of June this year it will cease to be permitted to charge tenants any extra fees over and above their rent.  This is entirely separate to the ban on letting agents charging fees to tenants.  In principle, this should not actually make any difference to a landlord’s finances because it will simply mean that instead of fees being charged at the time the service is rendered (or shortly thereafter), they will be factored into the level of rent charged, however this does put the onus on the landlord to have a totally clear view of everything which they will need to charge to the tenant rather than only thinking about it when the job needs to be done and billed.

The removal of the “wear-and-tear” allowance

This is another change which really is probably more about administration than finance, the old 10% “wear-and-tear” allowance is no more and now landlords have to itemise each deductible item.  In short, if you have never been in the habit of holding onto receipts for maintenance and upgrades to property, then you need to start developing it.

Stamp duty tips against investors and towards first-time buyers

The 3% surcharge on second or subsequent properties, has been a fact of life for some time now, however, the decision to relieve first-time buyers of the need to pay stamp duty is rather more recent.  In principle, improving affordability for first-time buyers as compared to other buyers (especially investors) could make it more difficult for investors to secure quality property, but, then again, the fact that buy-to-let landlords will simply pass on their expenses to their tenants may counterbalance this.

The issue of affordability

Anyone interested in starting a buy-to-let portfolio (or expanding an existing one), should be aware that mortgage lenders are now obligated to undertake affordability checks on “portfolio landlords” currently defined as a landlord with four or more distinct mortgaged Buy to Let UK rental properties (or seven or more for remortgage applications without capital raising).  This definition could, of course, be updated and/or the requirement for affordability checks extended to all landlords seeking mortgages.

Regulatory issues

As a final point, letting residential property is now a highly regulated activity and regulations can and do change so landlords must keep appraised of them otherwise they risk financial penalties, even if their only offence was an administrative error with no real-world impact.

 

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

The FCA does not regulate some forms of buy to let mortgages.

Moving Down In The world

Moving Down In The world

by | Aug 11, 2019 | Mortgage News

Family homes are great for families, but once children fly the nest, they can suddenly become a whole lot bigger than one or two people need, or want, on their own, and for all the happy memories they have helped to create, it’s often the right decision for people to move onwards and downwards, into a cosier home, which requires less cleaning and maintenance.  Downsizing can seem like an intimidating task, especially if it’s been a while since you last moved, but there are many advantages to it, such as releasing equity in your current home, allowing you to move somewhere better suited to the final stages of the ageing process and, last but by no means least, allowing you to clear out your physical possessions at your own pace.  If you’re one of the many people who are thinking about downsizing, here are some tips to get you started.

Persuade children/grandchildren/other people to clear out any remaining belongings

If you’ve been living in the same house for an extended period, while the young adults (or other people in your life) have been moving around, then your home may have become an unofficial storage unit.  Start your downsizing journey by speaking tactfully to the relevant people and, where possible, encourage them to move their stuff from your home.  If they’re really not in a position to take back their belongings and you still want to help them, then you may want to add helping them with a storage solution to your list of downsizing tasks.

Downsize your possessions working from the every day to the sentimental

There are varying approaches to downsizing and you might want (or need) to try out a few before you find the one which works for you.  Two common approaches are to start by item and to start by area (or you could try starting with specific items in a specific area).  Whatever approach you choose, you may find it easiest to start with items which are purely functional before working your way towards items to which you have a sentimental attachment.  When you do come to sentimental items, remember that the extent to which you purge is entirely up to you, so if you have a genuine emotional attachment to something, then it’s perfectly reasonable to keep it, however, you might also want to consider the option of taking a picture of it and moving it on to a new home to make someone else happy.

Photograph your home (and garden) in “sale-worthy” condition

Whatever your future plans, it makes sense to achieve as a high a price as possible on your current property, even if you don’t need it now, it may be helpful for later in retirement or you could give it to someone else (or your favourite charity).  A standard part of the sales process is to put your existing home into the best, possible condition, such as by undertaking any outstanding maintenance tasks (indoor and outdoors), refreshing the decoration and decluttering.  This could be a great opportunity for you to photograph your home looking its absolute best and you could even get your photos bound into a photobook as a lovely souvenir of your family home.  The photos you take are likely to be very different from sales photos, which are created to show off the house in a way which allows a potential buyer to visualise themselves living in it.  These photos are a hugely important part of the sales process and if you choose to sell your home yourself, you may wish to organise a professional photographer to take them for you.  That said, you may find that opting for a traditional estate agent offers a higher level of convenience and can be more economical than you might expect.

 

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

 

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