mortgages

Want to know how much you could borrow? First time buyer? Having trouble getting a mortgage? Looking for free mortgage advice? Want to understand how moving your mortgage to a different lender can help you? Loads of questions... but no answers? The best way is to phone us on 08456 585750 (low call rate) or 01202 422254, but you can always try Money Made Clear (an FSA website). OK... you really want to know what the best rates are... follow this link - mortgage comparison table - and the mortgage tables will help you check the latest rates. Remember that there are many mortgage and finance providers, offering literally thousands of deals, which change on a daily basis. Each lender has standard criteria, but will also have additional discretionary policies that will not be published or appear in any web search. Our experience, the volumes of business we place with these lenders and the contacts we have built up over the years will enable us to access the very best deals for you. Once we have found you a suitable mortgage, applying for it is relatively simple. The first step is for your basic information to be forwarded to your chosen lender for an agreement in principle. To provide this agreement, the lender will carry out a credit search and your application will be assessed by an underwriter. Once the agreement in principle has been received from the lender, we can submit your full mortgage application. The application will include any documentation that the lender requires in order to complete the mortgage (such as payslips (or accounts if you are self-employed), survey fee, passport etc). Once the lender has received a satisfactory survey on the property and all the requirements of your application have been fulfilled, your mortgage offer will be sent to you and your solicitor. From this point, your solicitor drives the majority of the process, although we will be more than happy to help you with any queries using our experience to help you successfully complete your application... Remortgages In simple terms, remortgaging involves moving your current mortgage to a new lender. In today's competitive market, many borrowers choose to switch their mortgage every few years in order to take advantage of the new rates on offer. As a current homeowner you may want to consider taking this step for a number of reasons, such as: 1.To save money - If you're paying your lender's standard variable rate, it's highly likely that your existing lender will offer a better rate and greater flexibility on other available products. This could allow you to save money on your monthly repayments, or to repay your mortgage sooner. And if your current lender doesn't offer better rates or greater flexibility on its other products, you may want to consider switching your mortgage to another lender, even if doing so would trigger early repayment charges payable to your existing lender, as this could still mean a net saving to you. 2.To raise money - Higher income or a rise in your property's value means you could increase your mortgage to help pay for major outgoings such as a wedding or your child's university costs, rather than borrowing separately, and in some cases more expensively, for the outgoing itself. 3.To consolidate your debts - Remortgaging can allow you to release some of the equity you hold in your home and consolidate other debts, such as a car loan or credit cards, which can attract higher rates of interest than that of your mortgage. 4.To avoid moving home - It can be cheaper and more convenient to adapt or add an extension to your existing home, paid for by remortgaging or a further advance, than to move home. First time buyer As a first time buyer, you may have lots of questions about how to get a mortgage and which type suits you best. For example, should you choose a fixed rate, a discount, capped or tracker mortgage? We can help you understand the difference between the various offers, and help you secure a mortgage that fits your circumstances... even if you have no deposit and need to borrow 100% of the property value. Problems with bad debt? Past debt problems and CCJ'ss can be a real burden if you are trying to borrow money, especially if you're trying to reduce your monthly payments. Re-establishing your creditworthiness can take time and it can be expensive. But just because you've had debt problems doesn't mean you don't have access to finance now and in the future. While many lenders may refuse you a mortgage, there are specialist lenders offering finance for your personal circumstances. Bad debts are not the end of the world. You can get over them and get the mortgage you need. THE OVERALL COST FOR COMPARISON IS 7.9%. THE ACTUAL RATE AVAILABLE WILL DEPEND UPON YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. ASK FOR A PERSONALISED ILLUSTRATION. Can't prove your income? The Self-Cert Mortgage market has developed significantly over the last 10 years with many lenders offering innovative mortgage products to cater for growing demand. You may not qualify for a standard mortgage for all sorts of reasons. This may be because you are self employed or have irregular earnings, or your income comes from a number of different sources. A Self Certification mortgage is where you confirm your income without the need for independent verification. Self Cert Mortgages are ideal for self employed people or where income is paid by more irregular means e.g. bonuses. For advice on self cert mortgages please call us on 08456 585750 (low call rate) 01202 422254. Buy-to-let Property is an excellent long-term investment, with the potential to offer good income and good growth. Many people invest in a buy to let property as a sort of pension - the rent each month can be used to supplement your retirement income, or the property can be sold and the proceeds used as a nest egg. Mortgage rates are not the same as in the residential market - lenders consider buy to let a greater risk, so their interest rates or arrangement fees are normally higher than their residential rates. The deposit required for buy to let mortgages is also higher. Most lenders ask for at least 15% of the value of the property. We can help you search the whole market for buy to let mortgage deals, including some exclusive products only available via brokers. Method of repayment: 1. Repayment mortgage - With this type of mortgage, each payment you make pays the interest and some of the mortgage balance. A repayment mortgage guarantees to pay off your mortgage (provided you keep up your payments) however only a small amount of the loan is paid off in the early years. 2. Interest-only - With this type of mortgage, each payment you make is only paying the interest due on your loan. If you take this option, you will still owe the amount you borrowed at the end of your mortgage term and you may therefore need to set up a form of regular savings or investment to provide sufficient capital to repay the loan. Note that there is a risk that, if your investments do not cover the value of your mortgage at the end of the term, it may not be possible for it to be repaid in full and you may have to sell your property to clear the debt. Interest rate options 1. Fixed/ Capped Rates - A Fixed Rate mortgage is when your mortgage payment is guaranteed to stay the same for a fixed period of time. By comparison, a Capped Rate mortgage is when your payments are guaranteed to never go above a certain rate (for a set period of time) but may come down if the Bank of England base rate is lowered. 2. Discount/ Tracker Rates - Both Discount and Tracker rates are variable rates. This means that your monthly payments will also vary, either in line with the Bank of England base rate (tracker) or with the lender’s standard variable rate (discount). These offers normally run for a few years, however some will run for the entire lifetime of the mortgage. Flexible mortgages Flexible mortgages may be interest-only or repayment mortgages that attract fixed or variable rates! They are flexible because they allow you to overpay or underpay your monthly payment, and even take payment holidays. You can also increase your loan, without the need for a new application, to a pre-agreed limit or by borrowing against any overpayments you may have made. Some Flexible mortgages even allow you to put all of your financial arrangements (such as your bank account, overdraft, loan, savings account) together as one facility, secured against your home. Foreign currency mortgages Very few people know that it is possible to obtain a foreign currency mortgage for a UK residential home. Borrowing in a foreign currency that has a lower interest rate than Sterling is an attractive proposition and offers the possibility of sizeable reductions in monthly payments. Whilst it is very tempting to look only at the cash flow benefits of low interest rate currencies, it should not be the only consideration when assessing the suitability of a foreign currency mortgage facility. The effects of fluctuation in exchange rates should also be considered as these can directly affect the size of a borrowers outstanding loan. If the chosen currency weakens against the value of sterling, the value of the mortgage debt will be reduced. Equally, if the currency strengthens, then the sterling equivalent of the mortgage will increase. Minimum loan is £250,000. Contact Matthew Fleming-Duffy on 08456 585750 for further details. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE. Abacus Financial Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Abacus Financial Ltd is entered on the FSA register (www.fsa.gov.uk/register/) under reference 461796. We may charge a fee for mortgage advice, and this may be up to £595. Loans subject to status, value and type of property. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. The Sterling equivalent of your liability under a foreign currency mortgage may be increased by exchange rate movements. Changes in exchange rates may increase the Sterling equivalent of your debt. The guidance and/or advice contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore targeted at consumers based in the UK. The FSA does not regulate all forms of the products or services we provide.