Remortgage

This is where you replace an existing mortgage loan with one from a different lender.  It may be to secure a more competitive interest rate, increase the loan for debt consolidation or home improvement purposes.  There may be penalties imposed by your existing lender for doing this.  You would need to check this first.

Residential Mortgage
 
This is a fixed or variable rate loan secured by real estate and used to finance the purchase of residential property.  The loan-to-value is typically up to 95% but 97% is available.

First-Time Buyers

Probably the biggest financial commitment you'll undertake is your first home. Yet most people jump into getting a first time buyer mortgage without ensuring that they have the most suitable mortgage product for their own personal requirements.
The mortgages available to you will largely depend on your income and typically, mortgages will be based on 3.5 times the gross income of a single borrower. For joint borrowers, the maximum loan is likely to be 3.5 times the first income, plus one times the second income, or 2.75 times joint income.   Some lenders will lend more or less than this dependent upon income and outstanding credit liabilities.  It will also help if you can show you've been paying regular rent for a similar amount to what your intended mortgage payments will be.
To ascertain the maximum you can afford to pay for a home, add on the cash you have available for a deposit. The size of the loan expressed as the percentage of the purchase price or valuation of the home is called the Loan To Value (LTV). If you have no deposit you will need to look at a 100% mortgages.

You will also need to build in to your budget all the additional upfront costs involved in purchasing a property such as legal costs/solicitor fees, valuation and survey fees.  Stamp Duty is also payable at 1% of the purchase price on properties costing more than £125,000 and up to £250,000 and 3% on properties costing more than £250,000 and up to £500,000; properties costing more than £500,000 are charged 4%.

You may have to pay an application fee for a special mortgage deal plus, perhaps, an arrangement or completion fee when you finally take the loan.  Some lenders also impose Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee (MIG) charges - a form of insurance that protects the lender, but is paid for by the borrower. If there is a charge for this, it may be added to the loan, or could be payable over the early years of the loan.

Finally, it is worth finding out what refunds or cashback lump sums are available from the lender and look out for lenders who keep fees to a minimum.

Self Certification Mortgage

This type of mortgage is beneficial to you if:-

• you are unable to prove some or all of your income;
• your income is made up of irregular payments;
• you are self-employed but do not have accounts;
• you receive income from several sources.

These mortgages can also allow for credit problems such as arrears, bad credit and ccj's.
The overall cost for comparison is 6.7%.  The actual rate available will depend on your circumstances.  Ask for a personalised quotation.

Self-Employed Mortgage

If you are self employed and want a mortgage, the lender will seek proof of your income.  You will need to show 3 years' audited accounts, although some lenders will accept only 2 years.
If you haven't been in business for long enough the lender should accept a letter of confirmation from your Accountant or you may have to pay a larger deposit.
How much you can borrow depends on how much you earn and how much the property you want to buy is worth but most lenders will loan up to 75% of the property's value and many will go to 90 or 95% ~ some will let you have up to 100% - but you'll pay over the odds for this and will probably be forced to buy a mortgage indemnity guarantee.  A few will even lend more than 100% but special rules will apply.  The amount you can borrow will vary between lenders but the rule of thumb is three times your annual earnings.
Some lenders will want to check you can afford the mortgage payments and will check your average outgoings eg your household bills, any debts etc. Some will get you to fill in a detailed questionnaire either by hand or on the phone or online etc.
If you are self-employed, you may have difficulty getting a mortgage from a mainstream high street lender so a mortgage broker could be your quickest route to finding the best mortgage for you, as they will have access to the whole market and know which lenders are best geared up to meet the needs of the self-employed borrower.

Buy-to-Let Mortgage*

A buy-to-let mortgage is designed to help you buy a property for investment purposes by renting that property out to pay the monthly mortgage commitment.  This type of mortgage is also good for people who wish to buy a holiday home and parents with children at college.  The typical loan-to-value is up to 85% of the purchase price.

Let-to-Buy Mortgage*

Let-to-Buy mortgages are an even newer concept than Buy-to-Let and allow you to buy a new home whilst retaining renting out your existing one. Eligibility is dependent upon the proposed rental income on your current property being sufficient to cover the cost of your existing mortgage.  Lenders generally require a deposit of between 5% and 10%, as opposed to the minimum 15% for Buy-to-Let schemes and this in itself can be a good reason to choose a Let-to-Buy mortgage.
If you have a reasonable amount of equity in your existing home you can consider a Let-to-Buy mortgage without a cash deposit. This involves re-mortgaging your existing home to simultaneously cover the mortgage on it as well as providing an additional sum to use as a deposit on the new home you are purchasing.

Commercial Mortgage*

This is a mortgage loan written for a business purpose with a building used as collateral.  Commercial lenders will typically lend 70%-75% loan-to-value of a purchase for business use although you can raise 100% of a purchase if you can offer additional security to the lender to the required value.

100% (Plus)

This is a loan for the full purchase price of the property you are buying.

Only a few lenders offer 100% mortgages (some will lend up to 125% of the purchase price) and they usually charge a higher interest rate than if you put cash towards the purchase price as a deposit.  The Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee ('MIG') premium is usually higher too although most lenders tend to allow this to be added to the mortgage.  However, you will then be paying interest on the MIG for many years.

Overseas Mortgage**

These mortgages are secured against foreign properties. 

A recent survey (The Times) found that one in 10 Britons will own a home abroad by 2008.

As house prices in the UK have rocketed, suddenly a second home abroad is within many people's grasp and families are not only buying a place in the sun as their holiday base, they also now regard property abroad as a major investment.

We can provide mortgages for properties purchased in the following countries:-

Please note that the loan-to-value % will vary considerably from country to country.

Adverse Credit Mortgage

Also known by the following names, adverse credit mortgages all refer to the same basic type of mortgage, namely one where the applicant has a history of bad credit.

• non-status mortgage
• bad credit mortgage
• sub-prime mortgage
• non-standard mortgage
• poor credit mortgage
• credit impaired mortgage

Adverse credit mortgages are for people who have an adverse credit history, and this could include the following:

• County Court Judgements (CCJs)
• Mortgage or rent arrears
• Self employed - although you can apply for a self certificate mortgage
• Decrees (Scotland)
• Bankruptcy
• I.V.A

Mortgage lenders may also turn you down if you have changed address many times or if you are self-employed and cannot provide 3 years worth of audited accounts. Self-employed borrowers may have to apply for a mortgage via sub prime lenders but may also apply for self-certificate mortgages, meaning they declare their earnings without having a set guaranteed salary.
Before lending money to an individual a bank will weigh up the risks and decide whether they are likely to get their money back with interest without too much hassle.  Some lenders will simply not lend to high-risk category borrowers, others will but will adjust their interest rates accordingly and you may, therefore, have to pay higher interest rates on your mortgage. On the positive side you get a home to live in that belongs to you and if you repay your mortgage as required by the lender, after 3 years your credit history will have benefited considerably.

As a consequence of this, after that 3-year period you could remortgage (switch mortgage lenders) to a high street lender and enjoy massive savings on discount interest rates. It's all about climbing the ladder from adverse credit history and no property at the bottom to positive credit history and ownership of property at the top.  This is based on a product with no early repayment charges after 3 years.

The overall cost for comparison is 7.19%.  The actual rate available will depend on your circumstances.  Ask for a personalised quotation.

* These types of mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

** If the mortgage is denominated in a currency other than Sterling, changes in the exchange rate may increase the Sterling equivalent of your debt.

We specialise in all types of mortgages
~ contact us now for a free, no-obligation consultation on 01803 313525
~ or via email by completing our online enquiry form.