Mortgages

There are hundreds of mortgage products available offering a wide range of interest rates, rate types, flexibility, fees, features and penalties. Each mortgage lender specifies its own lending criteria and changes take place continually.  Our independent advisers know and understand the evolving market; we want to make sure you get the right mortgage that is most suitable for your circumstances and gives you the best value.

The decisions involved with a property purchase or mortgage are amongst the biggest financial ones that most people will ever have to make. It is therefore important to make the right, informed, choice from the beginning. A mortgage that begins at the lowest rate may not necessarily be the most suitable or cost effective in the long term.

A mortgage is a big commitment and a long term commitment and sometimes the list of things you have to pay for seems endless. Protection insurance can really help. Without the right protection you could run the risk of falling off the property ladder altogether and losing that independence you worked so hard to achieve.  Visit our Protection pages for more information.

Not only do our Advisers give advice and recommend products to you, we also act as intermediaries between you and the mortgage lender as well as other parties such as the estate agent and your solicitor. We strive to make the process as easy for you as possible, remove unnecessary stress and avoid you being bombarded with paperwork unnecessarily.

Rate Types Explained

• SVR - Standard Variable Rate – the Lender’s normal interest rate when no special discounts apply, set by the Lender and changes according to market conditions.

• Fixed - the rate is fixed for a defined period of time. A fixed rate mortgage is less attractive if you expect interest rates to fall as you could be stuck with an uncompetitive rate but allows you to budget more effectively as you know the payment won’t change for a set period.

• Discount - the rate fluctuates with the base interest rate, but at a lower discounted level for a set period.

• Capped / Collared- the rate is variable and may fall, a capped rate means it can only rise to a fixed limit and a collared rate means it can only fall to a fixed limit.

• Tracker - the rate will increase and decrease in line with the changes made by the Bank of England. It can be for only a few years or for the duration of the mortgage.

Repayment Types Explained

A repayment mortgage is where each payment pays a bit of the capital and the interest on the loan.  At the end of the term, provided all payments are made, the mortgage is guaranteed to be repaid.

An interest only mortgage is where you only pay the interest payments each month, meaning the loan capital itself remains the same throughout the term and you need to make other provision to repay the capital at the end of the term.   Other ways to repay the capital include Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs), other investments, pensions or sale of property.  

There will be a fee for mortgage advice. The precise amount will depend upon your circumstances but a typical fee will be £395.

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