Blog

Young First Time Buyers Struggle with Deposits

It has been consistently in the news about the steady rise in house prices in the UK, and so with it won’t be any surprise that young first time buyers are struggling to get together a deposit for their first purchase.   A study conducted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies has announced that even the cheapest local homes are now out of each for more than 40 percent of young adults even with a 10 percent deposit.   Over a twenty years ago, back in 1996, more than 90 percent of 25 to 34 year olds would have been ... Read more

The Halifax State the House Prices Rose in August

In differing news from other lenders, the Halifax have recently announced that house prices have risen over the past year which is contrary to what the Nationwide Building Society recently stated.   According to the Halifax, house price inflation has risen to its highest rate in 12 months at an annual rate of 3.7%.   What will be concerning for many young people wishing to get on the property ladder is that the rate rise in the average house being a lot higher than the rate at which wages are rising. The average house is now thought to sit at ... Read more

August Mortgage Approvals Up

There’s been much speculation about the mortgage market and how the rise in the Bank of England’s Base Rate would affect the mortgage market.   Although there has been rises and falls in approvals and application over the course of the year, the mortgage approvals for August have proved to have gone up. Compared to the previous month, statistics show an increase of 2.7% however year-on-year there has been a decline of 0.7%.   August saw more than 66,500 approvals of which there was an increase in the amount of small deposit borrowers (those with less than 40% deposit) whilst ... Read more

Lenders Loosen Mortgage Standards

The mortgage market is said to be weakening, and as a result many lenders have taken the decision to cut fees and take less stringent lending standards in the hope that growth will be maintained.   After the dramatic market changes of 2008, many lenders have been careful to not to be seen to be encouraging over lending to mortgage applicants. Many mortgage lenders have been keen to ensure that the mortgage is affordable to the application and that stress tests are applied in the event of further rate rises.   Moneyfacts have stated that the amount of lenders now ... Read more

Bank of England Base Rate Increase

You may or may not be aware that the Bank of England has increased the Base Rate on 2nd August 2018.   It is only the second Base rate increase in over ten years however this is most often passed on to those with mortgages and those with loans and credit cards.   In general, most banks and building societies will seek, if they haven’t already, to pass this rate increase on to their customers by way of increase in interest rates on their mortgage offers or their standard variable rates.   This can mean a large jump in the ... Read more

Check Your Rate Before It's Too Late

If you’ve been putting off thinking about sorting your mortgage or finding a better deal, then time is running out.   The general consensus is that mortgage rates are on the increase both over the short term and the long term.   Rewind to less than one year ago and the cheapest 2-year fixed deal was under 1 percent, fast forward to today and the best deal on the market is currently set at 1.35 percent. If you think about that over not just a month but over the longer term such as a year, 5 years or 10 years ... Read more

Great Mortgage Deals to be Had

If you had any doubts that the great mortgage deals were now a thing of the past after the Bank of England Base Rate rise, then think again.   It was announced last week by two market leaders that they will be offering a ten year fixed mortgage deal as well as another market leader announcing rate cuts.   It’s an incredibly exciting time in the mortgage markets and more and more household names compete to offer the best mortgage deals on the high street.   For those planning on staying in their current property for the long-haul then they ... Read more

Millions Without Mortgage Cover in Place

When it comes to treasured possessions, most people will rank their family, their health and their home at the top of their lists however, so many repeatedly put these at risk.   A lot of us take for granted the fact that we can go to work each day and pay our bills. Should we become sick or be unable to work for any reason our home and family life as we know it can come under threat if mortgage payments aren’t met.   Although Life Cover isn’t a compulsory requirement, it is concerning that a huge amount of those ... Read more

Get Your Credit File In Order

If you’re looking at applying for a mortgage, it’s paramount that your credit file is in order.   Today, it’s easier than ever to ensure that your credit file is up to date and accurate. There are numerous companies offering services to enable you to check what’s held on your credit file and there are tips to get your score and file in shape ready for any credit or mortgage application you may make.   There are three credit reference agencies, these are CallCredit, Equifax and Experian. These companies keep information on record that lenders will refer to when you ... Read more

Cheap Mortgage Rates Coming to an End?

With rates having been so low for so long, it’s easy to fall into the trap that rates are going to be low for the foreseeable future however, economists are predicting that the period for cheap mortgage rates is about to come to an end.   Mortgage Brokers SPF Private Clients have seen evidence that two year swap rates have seen a dip since after the Bank of England’s Base Rate failed to increase in early April.   Put simply, a swap rate indicates the expectation that a bank is able to lend and borrow in a particular time period. ... Read more