Good news for older borrowers
If you’re an older borrower, trying to securing a mortgage can feel like a near impossible business. Many high street lendersapply a maximum age of between 70 -75. And, although age is never cited as the reason for turning down an application (it’s illegal for lenders to discriminate against borrowers on that basis), some older […]
How watertight is your will?
Heather Ilott was recently awarded £164,000 after a decade-long legal battle to have her mother’s will overruled. The award represented a third of her mother’s £486,000 estate, which had previously been left in its entirety to various animal charities. In a letter accompanying the will, the mother explained that she’d disinherited Heather because she’d left home […]
Get Ready to Beat the Rate Hikes
Last month Mark Carney warned that a base rate increase is likely towards the end of this year or very early in 2016. Although it’s expected to be a minor increase, it’s the general trend that home owners need to prepare for – it may be worth taking steps soon to get ahead of the […]
Landlords Can Now Cover Rental Shortfall
Back in February our blog included a story about Barclays’ plans to let landlords cover rental shortfalls with personal income. We can now update you on recent developments: the bank has just scrapped its old B2L mortgages to make way for this new approach. Now, Barclays puts landlords through an affordability assessment to find out whether rental will be met. Where there’s a shortfall, […]
New Demand for Interest-Only Mortgages
If you thought interest-only mortgages perished during the financial crisis, be prepared for a revival in this area of borrowing. But this time, banks have tightened their lending criteria, narrowing the amount of people who can use them. Take Leeds Building Society for instance. It’s among the first of the lenders to return to interest-only, […]
Experts React to Landlord Tax Relief Cuts
As you’ve probably already heard, the government has clamped down on tax relief on mortgage interest payments for landlords in the latest budget. At the moment wealthy landlords can claim relief of up to 45%, but from April 2017, the limit will gradually come down to 20%. Predictably, it’s caused some strong reactions from experts […]
Mortgages For Company Directors ARE Possible
It’s become widely recognised that since tighter financial regulations came in, triggered by the economic crisis, securing a mortgage has become problematic in general. If you’re self-employed and working as a company director you face even more obstacles when looking for a lender. No more self-certification In the days before tighter rules, many self-employed people […]
Best Picks Of Low-Rate Mortgages
The great British summertime has finally arrived, bringing with it warmer days. But as our weather and BBQs heat up, mortgage rates continue to fall – even dipping below 1%. This is excellent news for borrowers who plan to spend summer searching for deals. The Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported […]
Does Maximum Age Limit on Mortgages Need to Rise?
Last week an interesting story dropped into my inbox relating to our recent blog posts about problems facing older borrowers. It’s certainly a hot issue on the mortgage scene at the moment. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recently ruled against HSBC for turning down a mortgage application for a couple in their forties. Stating that […]
‘Generation Rent’ Must Protect Its Belongings Too
Compared to 10 years ago the number of young people (aged between 24 and 34) renting homes has shot up. In 2004, almost 60% owned their own home. These days, it’s just 36%. Rises in house prices are the main culprit in causing this trend, with nearly half of this age group, known as ‘generation […]
