Buying a property isn't accessible to everyone, but how much does renting really cost? Renting is £172,513 cheaper than owning a home over a 10-year period based on upfront and monthly costs alone, according to Bunk. The lettings platform found that, across the UK, the average monthly rent is £676. With the newly introduced five-week cap, that means a rental deposit costs an average of £845 and renting at this average monthly rate over a 10-year period would cost a total £81,

If you are buying your first property, follow these commonsense rules for a successful purchase. First-time buyers are back in business. The government is keen to help people buy their first home, interest rates are at an all-time low, and lenders are keen to lend. Whether you’re planning to buy next month or next year, and regardless what’s going on in the economy or housing market, there are a number of things you should do now to prepare yourself for the first rung of the

Deciding whether to fix your mortgage rate or opt for variable product is a common conundrum faced by prospective borrowers. However, new figures out today reveal the majority are choosing to fix their mortgage rate. According to data from Experian, in May, 81% of mortgage shoppers were searching for fixed-rate mortgages, where the interest remains the same for the entire length of the deal. It comes following a couple of months where the proportion of would-be borrowers look

Customers could benefit from more choice in how they buy a mortgage after a major review by the financial watchdog recommended changes to the way home loans are sold. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) wants to make it easier for mortgage firms to make innovations that will help potential borrowers make more informed choices and get better value deals. In particular, it wants to make clear the distinction between getting advice when taking out a mortgage and going through

They might provide less certainty, but tracker mortgages are currently looking more competitive, offering increased product choice and lower rates, the latest analysis has revealed. Tracker mortgages charge interest at variable rates, which can go up and down according to external influences, usually the Bank of England’s base rate. New figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk reveal average tracker rates for two-year mortgages have been falling and are currently at 2.02%, despite the B

Downsizers should be exempt from stamp duty in order to increase liquidity in the housing market and free up housing for families and those looking to climb the property ladder. That’s according to Saga, which is calling on the Government to allow one stamp duty-free move for those who want to ‘right size’ in retirement. Its plea comes after it carried out research which found a quarter of potential downsizers whose current houses weren’t right for them said the costs associa

Around 1,000 household per week have got onto the property ladder thanks to the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, new statistics have revealed Data released today revealed just over 52,000 home purchases were completed in 2018 under the scheme, which provides a loan to enable people to put down a deposit to buy new build property. This is the equivalent of 1,000 homes each week, or 143 per day, and highlights the success of the scheme which has helped secure the purchase of nea

Selecting a property which meets energy efficiency standards, is in good condition and is based in a good location will help boost your chances of getting a buy-to-let mortgage. That’s according to Andrew Turner, chief executive of specialist buy-to-let broker, Commercial Trust, who has offered his ‘dos and don’ts’ on applying for mortgages in this sector. By providing an insight into lender criteria he hopes to help potential buy-to-let purchasers or those remortgaging to st

What would happen if, for some unforeseen reason, you were unable to work and couldn’t cover the mortgage repayments? Taking out a mortgage loan is one of the largest financial commitments most people make in the UK. As such, we always recommend that our customers take out protection cover, such as life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection. Although it is not compulsory to take out this kind of cover, we strongly advise that you should consider it if you’re

Every month thousands of people in the UK come to the end of their fixed or tracker rate initial deals. If they were to do nothing at this point they would move onto their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). This means monthly payments would rise – and most likely by a large amount! The gap between the average maturing two-year fixed rate mortgage and lenders’ SVRs has now hit its highest level since February 2008, according to research. Borrowers who opted for a two-year

Mortgage borrowers are enjoying a product boom with ‘historically low’ rates and product numbers at record highs, analysts have revealed. Since the end of the financial crisis, when the Bank of England cut interest rates to 0.50% to address the fallout, mortgage rates have nearly halved, said experts at Moneyfacts.co.uk. What’s more in the last decade the competition between lenders providing these mortgages has become extremely vigorous meaning there is now greater availabil

A no-deal Brexit would result in a ‘sharp increase’ in borrowers falling behind with their mortgage repayments over the next three years, a lender has warned. In-depth analysis by Kensington Mortgages found a third more borrowers would be in arrears if Britain left the European Union (EU) without a deal than if the UK were to remain. Kensington also forecast repossessions would also soar by 10% in the next five years if there were a no-deal Brexit. The projections, which were

Stricter borrowing rules and the hassle of switching provider have been named by borrowers as the main reasons for not remortgaging last year. In a study by credit reporting agency, Experian, only 6% of the people questioned had switched their mortgage provider last year and many were paying their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR). This is the deal your mortgage ‘defaults’ to when you come to the end of your introductory offer – it is usually more expensive. In fact, Expe

Out of 105 towns and cities, only two made a loss over the last 10 years - but which were they? The average homeowner has boosted their earnings by more than a quarter over the last 10 years, according to research by Responsible Life. Britain’s major urban areas have seen property prices rise by an average £63,444 in a decade on average — equivalent to 25.6% of average take-home pay over the same period. Top of the class Britain’s two most famous university cities have seen t

Mortgage choices for borrowers who want to guarantee their monthly repayments are at a record high, it has been revealed. The latest analysis of the mortgage market shows the number of fixed-rate mortgages available has soared by more than 600 since this time last year. These deals, which charge borrowers a fixed rate of interest each month regardless of any changes to the Bank of England’s base rate, have become increasingly popular recently. Research by Experian revealed 89

There's a new way for the Bank of Mum and Dad to help their children onto the housing ladder First-time buyers with no deposit can now apply for a mortgage from Lloyds Bank – but they will need a family member to back up the loan. The 100% loan to value (LTV) mortgage is fixed for three years at a rate of 2.99% and comes with no product fee. Homebuyers will be able to borrow up to £500,000. Parents or other family members will have to put down cash worth 10% of the loan into

More borrowers are seeking peace of mind amid the uncertainty of Brexit by fixing their mortgage rate for longer periods. That is according to Yorkshire Building Society, which has reported a 44% increase in the number of borrowers choosing five-year fixed-rate mortgages in December 2018 compared to same month in 2017. Seven year and a ten year fixed-rate deals were also rising in popularity as homeowners attempted to secure a static mortgage rate which will remain the same r

At Mortgage Tree we know firsthand the work that NHS staff put in as many of our friends, family, neighbours & partners work for the NHS so this is our way of giving a little something back. From January 2019 on wards we will give £100 to all NHS staff members on completion of any mortgage transaction we do for them. #nhs #nhsstaff #nhsstaffoffer #nhsstaffmortageoffer #nhsmortgageforstaff #independentmortgageadvisor #mortgagebroker #yorkmortagebroker #leedsmortgagebroker #mor

First-timers have not yet been deterred by Brexit, but buy-to-let landlords are less bullish when it comes to purchasing property There were 36,200 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in November 2018, 5.8% more than in the same month a year earlier, according to UK Finance. They borrowed a total of £6.0bn of new in the month, which was up 9.1% year-on-year. Keith Haggart, managing director at lifetime mortgage provider Responsible Lending, said: “The march of the first-