If you are a first-time buyer, it can be a daunting task getting a mortgage. If you have not borrowed money before, you may not have built up enough of a credit history to satisfy lenders.

But a change in the way that credit reports are calculated might help you out.

One of the UK’s three credit reference agencies is set to take consumers’ rent payments into account in credit reports. Experian is launching Rental Exchange to include tenants’ rental history, in the hope that it will strengthen their credit ratings. (Rent payments will only be included in reports with consumers’ permission).

This means that if, like most first-time buyers, you have been renting for some time – that could now count towards your credit history.

Of course you need to pay your rent on time, although Experian have said that in the case of genuine disputes over a missed payment, the information will not appear on a tenant’s record until it is resolved. The company will also safeguard credit records from being affected by late payments of housing benefit.

This is a positive move from Experian. For many people who have not yet built up a credit profile, this is a chance to improve their ranking. It will also emphasise to tenants the importance of paying rent on time. Their payments will, in effect, be like a mini mortgage.

For more advice and help getting a mortgage for the first time, contact us at Limetree. We are happy to help in any way we can.

Last year figures came to light showing that over 12 million consumers had never switched any of the 20 most common financial products.

These include car insurance, home insurance, their energy provider, credit card and mortgage lender.

13.8% of consumers had never switched their home insurer. As the UK Insurance Index said:

This is interestingly juxtaposed to the fact that 81 per cent of Brits are hoping to save money this year with 22 per cent citing bills and the rising cost of living as their biggest financial worry.

With another year well under way, now is the time to get in touch with us at Limetree Financial Services to assist you and take all the stress and hard work out of shopping around for mortgages and insurance.

We are whole of market for both and have a panel of 40+ insurers who can underwrite the most simplest or complex of policies for you. These include non-standard construction types, specialist landlords or just your basic home insurance, which can be tailored specifically for your requirements.

With all the financial news of further doom and gloom this year, let us help save you money and time.

I am pleased to announce that the Limetree Financial Services is expanding, and we currently have vacancies for mortgage brokers.

We have positions available for both employed and self-employed roles, depending on experience.

Details are on the Jobs page. At Limetree it is as much about ambition, motivation and a strong work ethic as it is about qualifications and experience.

If you want to join the Limetree team, and think you can offer the highest levels of service and advice to our clients, please get in touch.

Most people know what a variable rate mortgage is. It is a mortgage where the interest rate on the loan is regularly adjusted by the lender. It may go up or down, based on whatever the rate is linked to, or at the lender’s discretion.

The knock on effect is that your monthly payments may fluctuate. People arrange variable rate mortgages in the hope of benefitting from lower rates, although the rates can of course go up as well as down.

But most people are only aware of one type of variable rate, when in fact there are three.

Tracker mortgages are guaranteed to follow the Bank of England Base Rate. When the base rate changes, the tracker interest rate changes by the same amount.

Discount variable rate mortgages have an interest rate where a discount is applied to the lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) for a set period. It moves up and down to the same degree as the SVR. A lender’s SVR is influenced by the movement of the Bank of England base rate, but not exactly. Mortgage lenders use their own discretion to set the rate.

Libor mortgages track the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. This is the rate at which banks lend money to each other in the money markets. Most Libor mortgages have a three-monthly rate review but are not a liable to change as the other two.

If you have decided to go for a variable rate mortgage, you still need to choose between the different types. We are happy to advise you to find the product that suits your needs the best. There is no charge for talking to us – simply get in touch.

If you could invest in rental property anywhere in the country, where would you choose?

London, for the high demand and premium prices? Somewhere in the South East, where buy-to-let activity has always been high?

Well, both of those would be good choices, but neither compare to the leading location, in terms of return on investment.

According to haart, the best place to invest is Peterborough. Haart’s monthly Yield Index reveals that yearly returns on one to three-bedroom properties in Peterborough are the highest in the country. The yield can be as large as 9% per annum, for a two-bedroom apartment.

It’s no surprise then, that the East of England as a whole, including Cambridge, currently offers the best rental yields out of any area in the country, followed by the East Midlands and South Yorkshire. A bit more surprising that London comes fourth, although that’s still high on the list.

It’s not just the recent stats from haart that commend Peterborough to prospective landlords. I can speak from personal experience. I spent five years living in the town, and own two buy-to-let properties there. Want to know how I have found it?

Both my properties have been serviced well. I have never had a void period longer than two weeks, and both rental income and capital value have increased over that period. Also, with the price being a lot lighter, I got a bigger property for my money than I would have in a lot of other places.

So it’s thumbs up from me for Peterborough as a place to buy-to-let. If you want any help getting started as a Landlord – in the East of England or anywhere – don’t hesitate to get in touch.