First Time Buyers Camberley..

The mortgage industry changes all the time. At our offices in Frimley, we get daily emails from lenders, telling us about the latest offers.

The good thing is, that we don’t get these details from just one lender, but from a whole host of lenders, so that we can survey the situation from on top.

Of course if we were tied to just one lender, then like the banks, we could only offer you deals from just one source, but this is the beauty of dealing with an independent mortgages adviser like myself, I get to find out the latest offers and pass them on to my clients.

10% deposit mortgage

I have just received details of a mortgage that requires just a 10% deposit, tracker mortgage.

Now, I have to tell you that many banks and building societies often promote certain types of mortgages in their window,  to get you through the door, but often when you get down to it, the actual mortgage advertised isn’t there.

But this is definitely available from a major lender that we have contacts with.

Obviously, you have to meet a certain criteria, but if you meet the criteria, then this 10% mortgage is available.

If you are thinking about getting a mortgage, or you know someone who is looking to buy, like a first time buyer, then give me a call and we can talk it through, to see if its a good fit.

As I said earlier, things are changing in the mortgage market and we are on the cutting edge, when it comes to the latest deals and offers.

Can I help you or someone you know to obtain a mortgage? Please call me 01276 670 777

Michael Usher

As I have mentioned before, all the financial experts are warning of interest rises this year, possibly in the first half of the year.

If you need mortgage advice in  Surrey click here

Good news for savers, but unlese advice is your mortgage rate is fixed, you will see your mortgage payments increase.

There’s a good peice in the Telegraph today written by Harry Wallop, their Consumer Affairs Editor.

He suggests households will need to find an extra £1,800 a year by 2015 just to pay the interest on their credit cards and other loans as interest rates rises.

“Interest rates on credit cards and loans are expected to increase by between 2 percentage and 3 percentage points in the coming four years meaning the average household will have to divert a significant chunk of their disposable income to paying their debt, accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) said yesterday.

The report comes just a few days after many economists predicted that the Bank of England would be forced to start increasing interest rates in the first half of this year, much earlier than originally expected.

Their warnings came after surprisingly high so-called factory gate inflation figures – the prices that manufacturers pay for their raw materials shot up because of the rising oil and commodity prices.

Traders in the Government bond market are pricing in a rate rise by June, ending nearly two years of stability, during which time the Bank of England has kept rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent.

An increase in interest rates would not only hit the 30 million credit card users in Britain but also the eight million home owners on variable rate mortgages.

Though the typical household reduced its unsecured borrowing by £500 in 2010, as families tightened their belts and tried to pay down debts, the average household still owes around £8,000 on credit cards and loans.

PWC has calculated that the increase in credit card rates – which have steadily climbed despite the record Bank Rate – would mean families would have to find an extra £1,800 a year just to pay off the interest”.

You can read the whole piece here

Now is a good time  think about what you are going to do about your debt, especially, your credit card debit..

Need help, need advice, call me for friendly down to earth advice

Michael
Senior Mortgage Adviser

Great news for some home owners with mortgages in Surrey and Hampshire

Is it time to get a fixed mortgage? or are there other alternatives.

Every case we handle is different and that is why it is important to get independent mortgage advice from experts.

According to most banking and city experts, interest rates are likely to rise a couple of points this year, which could be a serious issue for lots of people with certain types of mortgages.

Now is the time to review your morgtage requirements, new mortgages are coming out all the time.

Saving just 1% of your repayments, could make a hell of a difference long term.

So don’t delay, call me for a free review.

Michael
michael@mumsltd.co.uk

mums

Figures released today from the Nationwide Building Society, show that house prices remain unchanged for 2010.

There was a slight change and a modest increase in values for the last month, showing that prices have stabalised, but personally I like to take the longer term view.

Although these facts are correct UK wide, house prices in Camberley, Farnborough, Aldershot and Fleet have fared fairly well.

As I have said before on my blog, unless you are buying to sell houses (as a business), in the long term, buying a house is one of the safest forms of investments there is.

Even if you are buying a property to let out long term, as long as the mortgage is covered and the mortgage is being paid down, this is a great form of investment….LONG TERM

Nationwide’s Chief Economist, Martin Gahbauer, said:

“The seasonally adjusted price index for a typical UK property rose by 0.4% month-on-month in December, after having posted declines in the previous two months.[1]  The three month on three month rate of change – which smoothes out the monthly volatility of house prices and is a better indicator of the recent trend – rose from
-1.3% in November to -1.0% in December and is still consistent with modestly declining house prices.  For 2010 as a whole, house prices posted an unremarkable gain of 0.4%, as most of the price increases from the first half of the year were reversed during the second half.  The essentially flat outcome for the full year is in line with expectations.

“When house prices are trending down only modestly rather than decisively – as has been the case in recent months – it is not unusual to a see a mixed pattern of monthly declines and occasional increases.  Despite December’s increase, house prices have fallen in four out of the last six months and it would be premature to suggest that the recent downward trend has been broken on the basis of one month’s figures.  However, the December figures do underscore the fact the current downtrend is only very modest, particularly when seen in comparison to the second half of 2008.  During this period, the three month rate of change dropped to as low as -5.5%.”

So there you have it from an expert…A bit like myself

If I can help with any aspect of buying a property, please get in touch..

Best regards

Michael

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept UK interest rates on hold at 0.5%, and unveiled no new quantitative easing (QE) measures

Homeowners, or those with debts and anyone with a property to sell will be cheering the news.

However this is not great news for savers, particularly the over-55s and anyone looking to their future finances will have welcomed the news with a little less enthusiasm.

Martin Ellis, housing economist with Halifax has more good news “Interest rates are likely to remain very low for an extended period, which will support the improved mortgage affordability position for homeowners. As a result, we do not expect to see a significant fall in house prices.”At the MPC’s November and October meetings, there was a three-way split among its nine members.

Read more »

Good news for first time buyers in the local area.

Here in Camberley, first time buyers have been given an opportunity to get a foot on the housing ladder.

One of our favourite lenders Abbey, have launched an exclusive 85 per cent first time buyer loan to value.

This is a three-year fixed rate mortgage is available at 5.69 per cent with a £495 fee.  Borrowers are also offered free basic mortgage valuation and £250 cashback on completion.

Some of Abbey’s rates, especially fixed and tracker products have also been reduced by up to 0.2 per cent.

This reduction includes a two-year fixed rate at 3.25 per cent up to 70 per cent LTV. It was previously at 3.45 per cent.

The two-year tracker at 70 per cent LTV has also been reduced from 2.69 per cent to 2.59 per cent.

“Our latest rate cuts demonstrate our ongoing commitment to supporting intermediaries by consistently offering highly competitive mortgages to help them meet the needs of their clients,” Alan Mathewson, managing director of Abbey for Intermediaries, said.

Santander recently announced new three and five-year fixed and two-year tracker products available to existing current account and investment customers.

Please note this is not available to everyone, call me for further details, but it does offer hope for first time buyers in Surrey.

Obtaining a mortgage in surrey is no different to any other part of the country.

Below is an atricle by mortgage broker Andrew Montlake of Coreco, which was published on the BBC site. It makes some very interesting observations.

“The dark art of obtaining a mortgage”

Money Talk by Andrew Montlake

In recent weeks there has been a lot of talk about a decline in the levels of lending for mortgage purposes by both banks and building societies.

The British Banking Association (BBA) suggested that the main cause of this was a lack of consumer demand. This is not quite the case.

Lenders suggest they are providing almost all their applicants with the mortgages they apply for directly.

But there are many tales of woe from seemingly decent borrowers who have either been turned down or, more commonly, been told that they can only borrow a lot less than they need.

Difficult for borrowers

The difficulties some face in obtaining finance is all the more frustrating because the number of overall mortgage products has increased.

There are now some excellent choices, whatever your individual views on interest rates are.

Trackers under 2%, five-year fixes below 3.7% and deals that allow you to enjoy a low tracker now and to switch to a fix without penalty at any time are on offer.

Many of these products come with a free valuation and legal fees paid for remortgages.

Whilst this all sounds great, the reality is that most of these products are only available in the low loan-to-value, (LTV) arena, around 70% and below.

In order to really help the country as a whole however, there has to be more innovation in the 80% to 90% loan-to-value market.

Lenders who currently operate in this area, seem to make it very difficult for many borrowers to actually obtain the offer they request.

‘The dark art’

For those looking at borrowing, getting your documentation right and preparing before you start applying for a mortgage is key.

“The amount you can borrow is no longer simply linked to a multiple of your income”

The first hurdle to overcome is the dark art of the lenders credit score.

This can be tightened and loosened at will as a lender decides exactly when to increase or decrease their lending levels.

A good three-year address history is a must and it helps dramatically to be registered on the voters roll at your current address.

The amount you can borrow is no longer simply linked to a multiple of your income, but on an affordability basis linked to the credit score.

Monthly outgoings are taken into account, so a small credit card you could pay off, but choose just to pay the minimum, will affect your borrowing.

The number of dependents you have also has a bearing, as will any outgoings many take for granted such as childcare….

This means that although they may be on the same incomes, a couple with no children or credit card debts may be able to borrow substantially more than a couple with two children and outstanding credit card balances.

Payslips and bank accounts

In terms of documentation, lenders will want to see your last three months payslips and last P60 as well as potentially your last three months bank statements.

These must be sequential with no single statement missing.

Be warned that many lenders do not like internet bank statements, even though they encourage their own customers to switch to online statements.

If purchasing, proof of the deposit monies will also be required.

If this is a lump sum that has suddenly appeared in your account then they will want to know the origins of this.

Self-employed

For those who are self-employed or have more erratic income, lenders are generally asking for much more documentation.

Apart from the last two years accounts and possibly the last 12 months bank statements, lenders have also been asking for form SA302, which shows the tax calculation made by the Revenue.

This is something that many do not necessarily receive as a matter of course and will need to be specially requested, slowing down an application.

The frustrating part is that there seems to be no uniformity to what lenders will ask for and when.

Decent independent mortgage brokers will know which lenders are moving quicker than others and what they are likely to ask for at any given time.

Prudent

The days of simply chasing the cheapest rate, armed with a passport and a smile, are long gone.

As with most things in life, cheapest does not necessarily mean the best.

The lender may not lend you the required amount in the timescale needed at all.

Of course, it is not necessarily a bad thing that lenders have become more prudent.

But there are many good borrowers who are being turned away every day for reasons they cannot quite fathom.

=============

I can agree with many things that Andrew Montlake of Coreco says

This piece was taken from the BBC site

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

More bad news if your “flippin” houses I’m afraid. (Buying houses to do up and sell quickly) Unless you can buy at 10-15% below market.

So if  this is you and you have a property to sell now is the time to sell, according to the doom makers in our midst.

Most of my clients are not buying property in the Camberley, Aldershot, Basingstoke areas to to flip. My clients are buying for the long term and in the long term, property is one of the best investments you can make. LONG TERM….

Nevertheless, below is an article I snatched from the Financial Times.

From their reporter Aamina Zafar

“Nationwide warns of falling house prices”

Wednesday, 24, Nov 2010 02:00

“The cost of buying a property in Britain is set to decrease, as UK house prices continue to decline in the near future, the Nationwide building society has said.

According to the mortgage lender, potential buyers are being deterred by the current uncertainty surrounding government cuts to public spending.

It went on to say, however, that price falls would not be as great as those seen in 2008, due to low interest rates, which it claimed would restrict mortgage arrears and repossessions.

“In the housing market, conditions have weakened noticeably over the last six months, with both a decline in buyer demand and a modest downward trend in house prices,” explained Graham Beale, Nationwide’s chief executive.

Meanwhile, the British Bankers’ Association has this week revealed that UK mortgage approvals have slumped to a 19-month low.

According to the group’s latest figures, a total of 30,776 home loans were approved last month – down more than 25 per cent from October 2009.

Economists have suggested that, with housing market activity running at such a low, the UK could see property prices fall further in the coming year”.

But if you are buying for the long term…YOUR OK!!!

.

Here in the UK mortgage approvals fell to a 19 month low.

As always the news headlines that you see and hear in the media are for the UK nationwide.

Here in Camberley and surrounding areas, we are in a unique position. Here at Michael Usher Mortgage Services, we are rather busy with obtaining mortgages for our clients.

Although it is more difficult that than it was 2-3 years ago to get a mortgage, there is a shortage of property in the south of England.

It all comes down to the mortgage deposit that you have.

People still want to buy, but have to either save more for their deposit, or find money from an external source to help them achieve getting their deposit together.

Often young people will go to their parents for help, or a friend or relation.

They work out a deal whereby, the deposit is lent to the buyer on the understanding that when the house is sold, the parent, friend or relation will be repaid with interest or a cut in the profit.

I have known many parents do this and it makes sense.

In the good old days, “well off” parents always (if possible) lent their kids money for their deposit.

If you are thinking about how you can get a mortgage and you need some advice on raising enough money for a mortgage, give me  a call.

For mortgage advice in Camberley, Farnborough Aldershot and Basingstoke…

Call me 01276 670777

If you need a conveyancing solicitor in Camberley, look no further that Matthew Brogan.

Matt used to be a an estate agent, so he really knows how things work.

He’s the sort of guy that just gets on with it and doesn’t sit on paperwork.

If you want more information about Matthew, click here

Conveyancing is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority