Residential Mortgages & Remortgages

Whether you are a first time buyer, potentially moving back to the UK to purchase your first home, or are looking to buy a bigger home, a mortgage will normally be required.  Typically, a lender will provide a secured loan to purchase the property which you then pay off in monthly instalments. The contract typically lasts for 25 years (although this period can be longer or shorter depending on your needs).

Similarly, if you are looking at consolidating your debts, raising money for home improvements, or looking for a better monthly payment than you currently have, you could look at remortgaging your property – this involves moving your current mortgage to a new arrangement, either with your existing lender, or a new one.

If you want to help someone else obtain their own home by using your financial stability, such as children who are looking to get on the property ladder,  it is possible for you to act as a guarantor for their mortgage, to enable them to get a larger loan than they would otherwise be able to afford.  In this case, the lender will normally require you to offer your property as security against the guaranteed part of the mortgage.

The cost of monthly repayments can vary, depending on the type of mortgage chosen:-

• Tracker mortgages follow the UK base rate i.e. the initial interest rate may be the base rate + 1.5%.
• Another type of mortgage is a fixed rate mortgage – this typically has a fixed initial interest rate for a period of approximately 2 to 10 years before the rate is re-evaluated. The main benefit of a fixed mortgage is the ability to budget for the mortgage without the risk of change to the payments, however, they tend to have a higher initial rate than tracker mortgages.
• Repayment mortgages mean your monthly repayments cover both capital and interest on the loan. As the term continues, the amount outstanding on the loan reduces so the full amount of the loan will have been repaid at the end of the loan.
• With an interest only mortgage, your payments to the lender cover only the interest on the loan (ie. you do not repay any of the capital). This will reduce your monthly payment, however, your debt does not reduce over time the full amount of the loan still has to be repaid to the lender at the end of the term, so you will need to ensure you have the money or an investment vehicle to cover this.

A mortgage is secured against the property you are purchasing; this means that if you are unable to keep up with the monthly repayments the lender will repossess your home.

The home loan market is complex and there are many different mortgages to choose from. The benefit of seeking whole of market mortgage advice is that you will get access to all the non-directly brokered mortgages available across the market place, i.e. not limited to a select few lenders, so you are more likely to get a better rate.