Mortgage Rates

Published on August 2, 2023August 2, 2023 by David Category: Uncategorized

Mortgage rates have been steadily increasing over the last 18 months and will likely stay higher than we have become accustomed to over the last 10 years.

*Source Bank of England Monthly Interest rate of UK financial institutions sterling 2 year (90% LTV) fixed rates.

Whether your current fixed rate is ending in the next 6 months or 24 months you should start to think and plan for higher payments.

What should you be doing?

If the rate is ending in the next 6 months then you should be speaking to your mortgage adviser to start a review of the mortgage rates available from lenders so that a new rate can be secured ready for the current rate ending. This could be a new rate from your current lender or a remortgage to a new lender whoever is going to give the best rate to suit your personal circumstances.

No matter when the current rate ends, if you can, start to make overpayments to your mortgage. Most lenders will allow overpayments of 10% of the outstanding mortgage balance per annum without penalty.

This will get you used to a higher monthly payment ready for the current rate ending but will also reduce the mortgage balance which could mean a lower loan to value when it is time to review rates available. The rates from lender are typical tiered based on the loan to value percentage with rates lower the more equity in the property.

To discuss your mortgage options and rates available get in touch to arrange a review.

Call David or email mortgage@portfs.co.uk

We offer a comprehensive range of first charge regulated mortgage contracts from over 65 lenders across the market but not deals that you can only obtain by going direct to a lender.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Shared Equity Schemes

Published on February 24, 2023February 24, 2023 by David Category: Shared Equity

Shared Equity Schemes

LIFT Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE)

With this Shared Equity scheme there are restrictions on the maximum purchase price.This based on the area in which the property is being purchased and the size of property.

If accepted, you are then able to purchase a property that is being sold on the open market. You must contribute towards the purchase with the maximum mortgage you can obtain plus any deposit you have available. You can get between 10% and 40% assistance from the Scottish Government in the form of an equity loan. If with the mortgage available and your own deposit you can raise more than 90% of the purchase price you will not be eligible for the scheme.

You do not have any monthly payments for the equity loan and are not charged interest but on sale of the property you have to repay the percentage of equity assistance provided based on the sale price of the property.

https://mortgagebrokeraberdeen.com/free-review-get-in-touch

New Supply Shared Equity (New Builder)

This again open to First Time Buyers but can also be considered where you may have previously owned a home and have experienced a significant change to personal circumstances such as a martial breakdown. The scheme can also apply a maximum household income which if exceed would mean that you would not qualify.

The assistance available will range from 20% to 40% of the purchase price of the property. You will own 100% of your new home but the Scottish Government will take a security over the property for the percentage of the assistance provided.

This scheme is offered by social landlords/housing associations and by some approved house builders.

Low-cost Initiative for First Time Buyers (LIFT) – Homeowners – gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Mortgage Advice

To find out more about the schemes and whether you would qualify and if they would be of benefit to you get in touch with David who will be able to review your mortgage options.

Call on 01224 679330

Email david@portfs.co.uk

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Cost of living and rising interest rates. How will it affect your mortgage?

Published on February 7, 2022February 7, 2022 by David Category: Uncategorized

With the cost of living increasing and inflation at 5.4%* the Bank of England has increased their base Lending Rate to 0.5%.This will no doubt mean that lenders will increase the rates available for mortgages.

If you have taken out a new mortgage in the last 10 years you will have benefited from the low interest rates that have been available. But if you are looking to move home or your deal is ending, then the rates available will be higher than you have been paying. The rates available from lenders vary depending on the size of deposit you have available or the equity in your home (if remortgaging) with lower rates available the more equity/deposit you have.

The other impact due to the higher rates of interest and cost of living is loan size available. Lenders use affordability calculations to work out the size of loan they will offer, and these calculations consider living costs, loan/card payments and interest rates to determine the size of mortgage. Most lenders will use figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) for living costs and with these on the rise lenders will be adjusting their affordability calculations.

There is no standard formula for affordability with the loan size varying between lenders.

If your mortgage deal is ending or you want to move to a new home, then get in touch and we can review the mortgage options available to ensure that you get the best rate for your individual preferences and assess the loan size available from lenders.

Email david@portfs.co.uk

Telephone David on 01224 679330

*(ONS CPI rate for 12months to December 2021)

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Shared Equity House Purchase

Published on April 20, 2021April 20, 2021 by David Category: First time Buyer, Shared Equity

Shared Equity schemes – The First Home Fund relaunched on 1^st April and 7 days later all the funding from the Scottish Government had been allocated and applications closed.

If you were hoping to use this scheme to help with the purchase of your first home then have you considered the other shared equity schemes available?

Help to Buy

The Help to Buy Smaller Developers New Build scheme Affordable New home scheme is for new build property being sold by registered home builders. This is available for both home movers and first time buyers but there is a maximum purchase price which is £200,000 with the maximum assistance available 15% of the purchase price.

A list of the smaller developers under this scheme is available at Help to Buy (Scotland) Smaller Developers New Build Scheme.

New Supply Shared Equity (Home Builder)

This is open to First Time Buyers but you can also be considered where you may have previously owned a home and have experienced a significant change to personal circumstances such as a martial breakdown. The scheme can also apply a maximum household income which if exceeded would mean that you would not qualify.

This scheme is available via some housing associations and house builders. This can be as part of the planning permission to build a set number of affordable homes.

The assistance available will range from 20% to 40% of the purchase price of the property. And you are required to contribute typically 5% deposit from your own funds.

You will own 100% of your new home but the Scottish Government will take a security over the property for the percentage of the assistance provided. A version of this scheme is also offered from some Housing Associations / builders with the shared equity loan being split between the Scottish Government and Housing Association / builder.

More information is available at https://www.mygov.scot/new-supply-shared-equity-scheme/overview/

LIFT Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE)

With this scheme there are restrictions on the maximum purchase price and size of property that can be purchased depending on where the property is located.

If accepted, you are then able to purchase a property that is being sold on the open market and are given a 3 month time period to secure a property which needs to be approved by the scheme prior to making a offer on it.

You must contribute towards the purchase with the maximum mortgage you can obtain plus any deposit you have available. You can get between 10% and 40% assistance from the Scottish Government in the form of an equity loan. If with the mortgage available and your own deposit you can raise more than 90% of the purchase price you will not be eligible for the scheme.

https://mortgagebrokeraberdeen.com/lift-shared-equity

Financial Advice

Whether a first time buyer or a looking to move home getting the correct financial advice is the key to making your plans a reality. To discuss the different shared equity schemes and get the mortgage advice you need get in touch with David on 01224 679330 or email david@portfs.co.uk.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

Shared Equity Home Purchase Schemes

Published on December 14, 2020December 14, 2020 by David Category: First time Buyer, Help to Buy, Shared Equity

If you are looking to purchase a new home then there are a number of “shared equity” schemes available from the Scottish Government to assist and I have summarised below details of these shared equity schemes.

First Home Fund

The Scottish Governments First Home Fund has proved very popular since its launch and has now run out of funding for the current financial year. The scheme will reopen in the New Year for applications from First Time Buyers for purchases completing between April 2021 to March 2022. (for more information on the First Home Fund head over to https://mortgagebrokeraberdeen.com/first-home-fund)

The First Home Fund is the most flexible of schemes available to assist First Time Buyers but it is not the only “Shared Equity Scheme” available.

LIFT Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE)

With this scheme there are restrictions on the maximum purchase price and size of property that can be purchased. This is based on the area in which the property is being purchased and the size of property allowed for your household.

https://mortgagebrokeraberdeen.com/lift-shared-equity