Mortgage blog
Welcome to our mortgage blog: The destination for insightful, educational and authoritative information on UK mortgages.
Our mortgage blog covers finance options for first time buyers, home owners remortgaging, equity release, buy to let mortgages and development loans for aspiring and experienced developers.
We don’t just blog on UK mortgages, we also love talking about property and provide market news and analysis.
How much can I borrow? Lenders look at your monthly income and all your monthly expenses to get an estimate of how much you will have left at the end of the month to cover your mortgage. It’s all about affordability! As a rule of thumb and to ensure you have access to the widest choice of lenders, work on 4 times your income. You can stretch it to 4.5 times your income, but your panel of le... »
The ideal scenario is to own your property outright. But if that’s not possible, then you need to seriously consider shared ownership. I attended the First Time Buyer Home Show at the Business Design Centre in London. It features all the major housing associations and developers showcasing their new build homes, and in visiting each of their stands, I kept on coming across one word: Resales.... »
The critical steps required in securing a mortgage agreement in principle: 1. Obtain a copy of your credit file: Your credit file is your financial CV. This is the first document a lender looks at before they make a decision to lend you money. Therefore, at least make sure it contains accurate information. You can obtain a copy of your credit file from Experian, Equifax, or Call Cre... »
The Family Building Society and Barclay’s have created niche products for first time buyers and the bank of mum and dad. Both lenders offer highly competitive 95% LTV products. Mortgage rates are more expensive once you exceed 75% LTV. But these lenders have created innovative products to mitigate the cost of lending. The Family Building Society has developed a product that enables first tim... »
Japanese Knotweed is an invasive alien plant that can take over your property and destroy it. This plant can grow through concrete foundations, tarmac, and roads, and can cut through the foundations of your house like a knife through butter. It’s been listed by the world’s conservation society as one of the world’s worst invasive species. Forget Jack and the beanstalk, this is the real McCoy! It ... »
Yorkshire Building Society is launching an interest only 75% loan to value mortgage. You will need to have a suitable repayment strategy to repay the interest only component. Wow! common sense prevails. This is a fantastic option for the right borrower. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate most types... »