Different Help to Buy Schemes for Buying a Home in Leicester

It can be tough saving money for a deposit, particularly if you’re paying rent as well. To help those struggling to get on the property ladder in Leicester, the government introduced various Help to Buy Mortgages. 

This article will include the following:

• Help to Buy Equity Loan
• Help to Buy Shared Ownership
• Help to Buy Armed Forces
• Lifetime ISA Scheme

All aimed to help First Time Buyers in Leicester who are struggling to save for a larger deposit to get onto the property ladder.

Help to Buy Equity Loan

The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme is popular amongst first time buyers in Leicester. To qualify for this scheme, you will need a minimum of a 5% deposit, and you can only purchase a new-build property. 

How does the scheme work?

Once you have saved up for a 5% deposit or more, the government will loan you 20%; if you have a 10% deposit, which makes up a 25% deposit. 

You will be left with a 75% mortgage and a government equity loan to pay off. You get five years to pay off this equity loan interest-free.

If you can’t meet the 5-year cut off point, you will start receiving interest in the outstanding loan amount. 

How our mortgage advisors in Leicester help

As a mortgage broker in Leicester, we understand the challenges of balancing your mortgage payments and the equity loan repayment at the same time. 

There are ways around this. For example, you may be eligible to remortgage to raise capital for this loan, however, doing so may lead to your mortgage payments increase.

Help to Buy Shared Ownership

The Shared Ownership scheme allows applicants to purchase a percentage of a property and then pay the rest back on rent.

The percentage of the property that you own usually needs to be between 25-75%, though this can change. The remaining portion is likely to be owned by the housing association. 

The way that your payments work is that you will have both your mortgage plus rent outgoings. So, you are paying 100% of the ground rent and service charge on the property. 

Help to Buy Armed Forces Scheme

Following the success of the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, this scheme had a similar concept as its predecessor, except you have to work in Armed Forces.

If you fit into the criteria, it could be an excellent option for you. The good news is from 1 January 2023, The Forces Help to Buy Scheme will become an enduring policy, ensuring its availability to all service personnel now and in the future. 

Lifetime ISA

The Lifetime ISA can be still beneficial, and it can help you secure a property as a First Time Buyer in Leicester. Essentially it’s a savings account where the money grows tax-free. 

The government will also top up your savings by an extra 25%, so if you meet the £4,000 maximum amount, you will receive a nice £1,000 bonus.

You have to pass specific criteria to gain access to this scheme. All of the details will be on the Government Lifetime ISA page.

Should I Use My Estate Agent’s In-House Mortgage Advisor?

Estate Agent Mortgage Advice in Leicester

During the start of your mortgage journey, you’ll most likely have to deal with an estate agent. If you end up in conversation with a larger estate agent, they will want you to use their own in-house team of mortgage advisors & conveyancers.

A lot of first time buyers in Leicester fall into this and are persuaded to use their services, usually spending more money than they otherwise would’ve had to.

The good news is that you don’t need to use their advisor at all, a point we’ll expand upon later on, and you may also open yourself up the either the same deals or better by going elsewhere.

Speaking to a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester outside of the estate agent could be a much better route for you to follow. The advisor working for the estate agent will give you a biased view that only benefits them and their profit.

A dedicated mortgage broker in Leicester will help you see the positives and negatives of each side. If you do still choose to go with the estate agents mortgage advisor, that is okay, though it’s important to remember that you have options.

We always aim to be transparent & efficient, looking to give the best possible experience and the best advice for our customers personal and financial circumstances, whilst providing a fast & friendly mortgage advice service.

Sales tactics of estate agents

If you do opt to use the services of your estate agent’s in-house mortgage advisor and conveyancer, have a good think about where their service cost is coming from.

They could potentially be charging you for their services without asking you and adding it onto the costs of other services, hoping you won’t notice.

Taking on expert mortgage advice in Leicester will reduce your concerns of this, as you will be well informed and aware of what you’re paying for. Your dedicated advisor will break down the cost of everything for you.

Even though it is highly illegal for them to do so, if you have opted not to use their services, they may refuse to put your property offers forward.

For example, you could be instead using the services of a mortgage broker and they may push forward someone else’s offer to completion over yours, purely out of spite that you didn’t use their services. Once again, this type of practice is illicit behaviour.

Estate agents may get even attempt to charge their customers extortionate fees for in-house conveyancing. Even with a straightforward purchase, you may find yourself being charged somewhere within the realm of £1,500, which is far too much.

Any time this occurs, you have full consumer rights to be given a full breakdown of exactly why it costs this much and where their calculations came from.

An experienced mortgage broker in Leicester will only want to do right by the customer. By coming to us for mortgage advice, you can avoid the tactics mentioned above.

How can I get a mortgage in Leicester?

Finding The Right Mortgage Advisor

Making sure you use the right Mortgage Advisor can be difficult; but can you make it easier?

From time to time, mortgage cases may require specialist care from a trusted mortgage advisor in Leicester. The in-house mortgage advisors from the estate agents don’t care for the details, so long as they can make a profit from it, even if it’s detrimental to you.

Speaking to an expert mortgage broker in Leicester you’ll find yourself matched up with an appropriate advisor with experience in a situation that’s at least similar to yours. They will work with you to ensure you get the right outcome.

An example of this would be the buy-to-let mortgage experts we have on hand for any landlords, new or experienced, looking to get a mortgage.

Once you’ve completed your free mortgage appointment and obtained an agreement in principle (we can normally get this for you within 24 hours of your appointment), your mortgage process can finally get underway.

We utilise our many collective years of providing open & honest mortgage advice in Leicester, helping thousands of customers achieve their home owning goals and dreams. Our customer reviews are a great inside look at how much of a difference our service makes to homeowners.

Kickstarting Your Own Mortgage Journey

Some people would rather take on the world of mortgages by themselves, and this is okay! The internet is a wonderful place and you can now do most of what you would need to do, by yourself on your browser.

By utilising price comparison websites, you may be able to find the best mortgage deal for your circumstances through your own research and understanding.

An obvious benefit to doing this would be that you’d save money on additional fees. Providing you have confidence in what you’re doing and understand the process, you could get through it awfully quick, more so than someone going to their bank.

The catch is that online mortgage shopping is quite difficult to do. Before you make any agreements, you should always make sure you have the best fit for your circumstances. Here are some tips if you’re doing this;

• Can you match the criteria for the “Best Buy” rates? Check before you apply for anything, to reduce the risk of harm to your credit score.
• Have you conducted the right research? A lot of comparison sites have commission based relationships with lenders. It’s their job to direct you to these companies for a payday. If they do not have a commercial relationship with a certain lender, they may just leave that deal off the list.
• In the event you encounter a problem along the way, you could be at a financial disadvantage. Pay attention to valuation and applications fees if you are not 100% sure you have been accepted, as they won’t be refundable.
• Progressing your application and sorting out any future concerns is solely your responsibility.

Should I Use My Bank or a Mortgage Broker?

Using Your Bank’s Mortgage Advisor

Making an appointment with a bank to speak to a mortgage advisor may be challenging. This isn’t always the case, though it also may just be the wrong choice for you to make. Here are a few things to look out for;

• The bank won’t shop around for the best deal, they will only present their own products, some of which may not even be suitable for you.
• No matter how long you’ve banked with them, you may find yourself getting declined. We’ve had genuine instances where 20 plus year customers have been turned away for lack of information.
• Mortgage appointments with a bank tend to have a long waiting list, with some lenders’ waiting lists being almost 6-months long.
• Your bank may have inexperienced mortgage advisors and struggle to help with difficult circumstances. Instead of solving problems, they have been known to just turn people away.

Using a Mortgage Broker in Leicester

Taking on the services of a mortgage broker that has no association with any estate agents ensures that you, as an inexperienced first time buyer in Leicester, have someone there to do the hard work for you, without any conflict of interest risks.

We work for you and only you, with no external ties. Whilst we do have mortgage lenders on panel, we don’t work for them, we simply match customers up to their various unique deals.

Our team do what they can to make sure you’re happy with your mortgage journey and the outcome you end up with. Managing Director Malcolm Davidson is here to explain both the positives and negatives of using a trusted mortgage broker:

The Pros and Cons of Using a Mortgage Broker in Leicester

As could likely be predicted, we personally feel like there are some really great reasons why you should use a mortgage broker in Leicester. This isn’t born out of bias, however, as we understand there are pros and cons to both, no matter if you’re a first time buyer in Leicester, looking to remortgage in Leicester, or have another situation.

Regardless of if you’re going via a branch or online, you are still able to go direct to the mortgage lender yourself. Below are all the pros and cons to either of your options.

Pros & Cons

When thinking about going direct to a bank or building society, the first thing that springs to mind is that you won’t be required to pay a broker fee, which in turn would possibly save you money. In the past, another positive that people thought of was “the bank manager knows my finances inside out”, though after credit scoring systems were introduced, this no longer became a factor.

On top of this, some mortgage lenders will have exclusive mortgage products on offer, that can only be obtained by going direct. They offer these as a way of attracting a good spread of business from their consumers and other brokers, turning exclusive products on and off whenever they believe it to be necessary. On the other side of the coin, some products may only be accessible by going to the broker and not by going direct to the lender.

From 2014 onwards, lenders were restricted from selling their mortgages on a non-advised basis to any customers of their services (those with bank accounts, for example). Up until that point, some applicants felt like members of staff who were not qualified for giving advice, were pushing their services on them.

They also felt like they weren’t able to benefit from some of the consumer protection that would normally come with mortgage sales performed by professionally trained mortgage advisors in Leicester.

The changes took a long while for lenders to come to terms with and towards the back end of 2014, it was not uncommon for customers to have to wait a long time to get a mortgage appointment. This is unfortunately still the case today sometimes. When you have had an offer accepted on a house, this is the last thing you need or want!

Because of the issues present with going direct, much like the wait for an appointment, more and more applications were made with mortgage brokers who could freely offer a same day service, something we are able to do ourselves. When you get in touch with us, we get you booked in with a mortgage advisor in Leicester as quick as we can, either on the same day or at your earliest convenience.

Affordability is an important factor too, as the quality of a lenders deal won’t matter if you have no way of affording it. Buying a house is such a large step in people’s lives, that they often would rather get professional and personal advice from a qualified and experienced mortgage advisor in Leicester.

Handling Difficult Cases

Nowadays we find that a lot of mortgage applications aren’t as simple anymore. For whatever reason it may be, there are so many things that can make a case more complicated. Some examples of these are:

• Mixed source of deposit (savings/gift)
• Poor credit history
• Let to Buy (keeping your current house and buying another)
• Affordability
• Contract workers/zero hours contracts
• Self-Employed Income

In the past, mortgage lenders were able to stand head and shoulders above the competition by simply offering a deal that was similar to one offered by another lender, but with slight differences to make it more appealing. Fast forwarding to where we are now and it is all so much more different, with lending criteria being the difference maker between deals and lenders.

An example of this, is that some lenders may lend more than other lenders might have to Self Employed applicants. Some also take a more sympathetic view on previous discrepancies that are showing on your credit report.

Your situation will be unique to you. It may be similar, but it will never be the same as another case. When you explain your position to an experienced mortgage broker, it is highly likely that there will at least be at least something similar that we have encountered before, allowing for a more personalised service. Hopefully, our hard working mortgage advisors will be able to get you a favourable deal with good interest rates.

It’s more than just getting a mortgage though. Even if the application itself is fairly easy, our customers who are first time buyers in Leicester rely on our experience and knowledge for more insight into the mortgage process.

For example, we are able to sit and discuss how much they are going to offer on the property they are buying. From there, our team of mortgage advisors in Leicester can recommend our customers other necessary professional services such as solicitors, whilst also explaining the different types of property survey and protection that is available to them.

Responsive Service

One of the main pros of using a mortgage broker in Leicester, we believe, is that we are a lot more responsive than the mortgage lenders have been known to be. Our team work from early until late, all throughout the week (including out of hours), dedicated to our customers and ensuring the process is as speedy and stress-free as it can be.

Something that does get overlooked from time to time when looking at why customers may prefer to use a broker, is that everyone nowadays everyone has such a busy schedule. You might need a mortgage but don’t have the required time to sort it out. In these cases, your mortgage advisor can take the weight off your shoulders and work through it for you.

Professional applicants especially will see the benefits of this service, as they have clients of their own that they charge out their services to and often don’t have the time to work through it themselves. The customers we deal with regularly appreciate the benefits of having an expert on their side.

Perhaps in the future we’ll see lenders wanting to limit their links to brokers and wanting to take their business back. If this does happen, we don’t see it being likely that they will hire more staff in their branch networks. The future of all industry seems to be based around technology and the mortgage market may very well be heading this way too.

That may work for customers who are more than happy to do business with a “robo-advisor”, especially for cases that are easy and don’t require a thorough analysis. For the majority of people, however, there’s an element of “realness”, that “human touch” that can’t be obtained by going this route, and can only be found by speaking to a real mortgage advisor in Leicester.

To find out more information on our service or to present any mortgage queries that you have, please Contact Us and we’ll book you in for an appointment with a mortgage advisor in Leicester as soon as we can.

The Different Types of Mortgages Explained in Leicester

The different types of Mortgages in Leicester we provide

When you start your mortgage process in Leicester, you will come to realise that there are lots of different options available to budding homeowners and existing homeowners alike.

Whether you’re a First-Time Buyer looking for your first home, are Home Movers looking for your next home or are looking to Remortgage in Leicester, there are many different routes you could take.

This article will cover a list, alongside related videos, of the most popular types of mortgages available on the market to customers. If you have any further questions mortgage-related, then please do not hesitate to contact us and speak to one of our dedicated Mortgage Advisors in Leicester.

What is a Fixed-Rate Mortgage?

A fixed-rate mortgage means that your mortgage payments will remain as they have been for a set period. You can set the length of the fixed term yourself, with common options typically being 2, 3, or 5 years or longer.

No matter what happens to inflation, interest rates, or the economy, you can rest assured that your mortgage payment, usually your biggest outgoing, will not change at any point during your term.

What is a Tracker Mortgage?

A tracker mortgage means that your interest rate will follow on with the Bank of England’s base rate. This means that the lender that you are with does not set the rate themselves.

You will be paying a percentage above the base rate of the Bank of England. To provide an example of this; if the base rate is 1% and you are tracking at 1% above base rate, that means you will be paying a scale of 2%.

What is a Repayment Mortgage?

When you take out a repayment mortgage, you are paying capital and interest together. So as long as you keep your payments going for the full length of the mortgage term, the mortgage balance is guaranteed to be paid off at the end, with the property becoming yours.

It is the most risk-free way for your capital to be paid back to the lender, in the early years it is mainly the interest that you are paying, and your balance will go down at a slower rate, especially if you have taken out a 25, 30, or 35-year term.

This situation will switch up in the last ten years or so of your mortgage, where your payments are paying off more capital than interest, and the balance will come down at a much quicker rate.

What is an Interest Only Mortgage?

While many Buy to Lets in Leicester get set up on an interest-only basis, it is much more challenging to get a residential property on that same basis.

It is a lot less likely for lenders to offer an interest-only product nowadays. However, there are certain circumstances where this may be a viable option.

These include downsizing when you get older or having other potential investments that you will use to pay back the capital. Lenders are being a lot more stricter when it comes to offering these products now, and the loan to values are a lot lower than they once were.

What is an Offset Mortgage?

With an offset mortgage, the lender will set you up a savings account alongside the mortgage account you have with them.

This works in a way where, let’s say you have a mortgage balance of £100,000 and £20,000 gets deposited into your savings account, you would only pay interest on the difference, so in this case it would be £80,000. It can be a very efficient way of managing your money, especially if you pay higher rates of tax.

What is a 95% Mortgage?

A 95% mortgage is as simple as the name would suggest; you are borrowing against 95% of the price of a property, and then you are covering the remaining 5% with your deposit. An example of this is if you looked at buying a property that was worth £150,000 with a 95% mortgage, you would be putting down £7,500 as your deposit and borrow the remaining £142,500 from the lender. 

95% Mortgage Advice in Leicester

Off the back of the March 2021 Budget, Boris Johnson announced a Mortgage Guarantee Scheme for mortgage lenders, making 95% mortgages more readily available from the bigger high street banks.   

This is fantastic news for First-Time Buyers and Home Movers alike, as this scheme will continue running until December 2022. Certain terms and conditions will apply though, which is something your Mortgage Advisor in Leicester will be able to look at, to see if you qualify.    

All our customers who opt to Get in Touch will receive a free, no-obligation mortgage consultation where one of our dedicated mortgage advisors will be able to make a recommendation on the best possible route for you to take.

Can I get a 95% mortgage?

95% mortgages are usually accessible by both First-Time Buyers in Leicester & those who are Moving Home in Leicester. Whilst saving for a 5% deposit sounds like a pretty straightforward concept, you’ll still need to have an acceptable credit score and prove that you are able to afford your monthly mortgage repayments, in order to access a 95% mortgage.

Improving your credit score

A good credit score is essential in the process of obtaining any mortgage, especially a 95% mortgage. Things like paying any current credit commitments on time, ensuring your addresses are updated and checking that you’re on the voters roll, can all help with your credit score.

Affordability 

Affordability is another one that is important to take note of. By giving the lender details of your income and monthly outgoings (things like your bank statements will be necessary for this) and any pre-existing credit commitments, your lender will be able to get a general overview of whether or not you are able to afford this type of mortgage.

Can my family help me get a 95% mortgage?

Nowadays we see lots of family members helping each other get onto the property ladder, especially parents looking to further their children’s lives. The way this usually happens is by gifting the person looking to find their home, the deposit required. Known through the industry as the “Bank of Mum & Dad, Gifted Deposits are only intended to be a gift, and not as a loan. The lender will need proof that this has been agreed, before it can be used towards your mortgage. 

How do I choose the right 95% mortgage?

When looking for a 95% mortgage, you want to make sure you have the right type of mortgage. Each mortgage type works differently, with that choice allowing you to find one that is most appropriate for your personal and financial situation. 

Some homeowners and home buyers prefer Fixed Rate or Tracker Mortgages, mortgage types which mean you either keep interest rates at a set amount for the term given or have your interest rates tracking the Bank of England base rates.

Alternatively, you might find that Interest-Only or a Repayment Mortgages are more your style. Interest-Only allows cheaper payments until you need to pay a lump sum at the end (mostly now used for Buy-to-Lets), whereas a Repayment mortgage (a normal mortgage if you’d like) means you’ll be paying interest and capital combined per month.

How can a bigger deposit help with my mortgage? 

Seeing as a mortgage is such a large financial outgoing, you need to be prepared and need to be aware. You might find things like higher interest rates, remortgaging difficulties due to less equity and then negative equity all cropping up if you’re not. 

There is no need to worry though, as all these can be avoided if you’re savvy enough with your process to begin with. The more deposit you put down for a property, the less risk the lender will see you as. 

A larger deposit, of say 10-15%, would not only reduce the rates of interest by a noticeable amount, but would also give the property more equity and reduce the risk of negative equity, thanks in part to you borrowing less against the property. 

So, whilst the risks may seem intimidating, planning ahead and saving for a bigger deposit to access something like a 90% or even an 85% mortgage will be a massive help in your mortgage journey and something you’ll be able to reap the rewards from in the future. 

Getting a Mortgage Agreement in Principle in Leicester

A Mortgage Agreement in Principle (AIP) is essentially a document to prove you have a mortgage in place. To the Estate Agent, it shows you are creditworthy as you have passed the lender’s credit score.

However, it is not a guarantee that you will get a mortgage as a full application. It will require further background checks.

The value of a Mortgage Agreement in Principle

How having your mortgage agreed at the outset can help you negotiate on an asking price. A Mortgage Agreement in Principle is essentially a document to prove you have a mortgage in place. It is something we obtain for all of our clients, and almost all Lenders offer them.

A Mortgage Agreement in Principle is not a guarantee that you will get a mortgage. As your full application will require further background checks. Such as evidence of income) and a satisfactory valuation of the property itself.

However, it is a good idea to get one done at the earliest opportunity for the following reasons:

• Negotiating Power.
• Avoiding Disappointment.
• Knowing Your Limits.

Negotiating power with a Mortgage Agreement in Principle

When you are ready to make an offer on a new home most Estate Agents will undertake due diligence. This will result in them asking you to produce evidence that you have funds available to complete the purchase.

It will take the form of bank statements and also an Agreement in Principle certificate that we can provide for you. Once you have provided them with all this documentation, the Estate Agent will then frequently stop marketing the property and put a “Sold” or “Sale Agreed” board up.

If you already have a Mortgage agreed before you make an offer you are making yourself appear as an attractive proposition. In any case, this proves you are not making an offer on a “whim”, you’ve thought about how you’re going to fund the purchase and do something about it.

However, this might persuade a seller to accept an offer you put forward on their property underneath the asking price.

Avoid disappointment with a Mortgage Agreement in Principle

When it comes to buying a house, some clients have always “put the cart before the horse.” They go full steam ahead and make an offer on a property without first checking that they can proceed. It can lead to terrible disappointment if the mortgage application fails.

By that time, they have got their heart set on their new family home. This disappointment can get avoided by contacting us at an early stage.

Sometimes some things are causing a mortgage to decline that can get overcome given a little time.

For example, there may be a niggling issue on your credit report, perhaps a disputed mobile phone bill that can get easily rectified.

Maybe you thought you were on the Voter’s roll, and you’re not – once again, that can get sorted out given a few weeks.

Or maybe you can’t get a mortgage at all! But if that’s the case, it’s better than you know now rather than mess people about and we’ll be able to tell you what you need to do to improve your credit-worthiness for the future.

Knowing your Limits with a Mortgage Agreement in Principle

Ok, so you know you’ve got a good credit rating because you’ve never get turned down for credit, register on the Voter’s roll and you’ve always made your credit card payments on time.

You could approach ten different Lenders these days and get ten different maximum mortgage amounts!

They all calculate affordability in their unique ways. If you’re Self-Employed in Leicester, it is a minefield: some Lenders take your net profit, others your salary and divided. Some use your latest year, others an average over three years.

Knowing your borrowing limits is essential as then you know for sure what your price range is. We’ll be able to advise you of the maximum mortgage available to you.

Also, more importantly, together, we’ll work out how much you can afford to pay back each month.

How to Improve your Credit Score in Leicester today

Mortgage Advice in Leicester

Without a doubt, we recommend that everyone should spend time to manage to boost their credit score. The higher your credit score, the more chance you have of your mortgage application getting accepted. No one is guaranteed to get approved, and different Lenders have their internal scoring systems.

Following we advise everybody like a First Time Buyer in Leicester, to not worry if you fall short with one Lender. Contact us and Speak to one of our Mortgage Advisors in Leicester their job is to match you to the correct Lender that suits your circumstances, end of the day we both want the same outcome to get you the best deal available.

Different reference agencies

We recommend going to ether Experian and Equifax. It’s a good idea to use multiple agencies to get an average of the numbers for your credit score. Just using one agency might hold incorrect data. Checking with several agencies will help you identify any such discrepancies.

There are some excellent practices listed below regarding things you can be doing to improve your credit rating:

Avoid unnecessary credit searches:

Firstly multiple credit searches can harm your score. Be careful when using price comparison websites, which are significant culprits of credit searching on individuals. However you know you want to apply for a mortgage soon, it is wise to avoid using it for any other credit. While having some credit and paying it back is a good thing for your score, in the long run. In conclusion, Lenders do not like to see you increasing your borrowings just before making a mortgage application.

Are you on the Voter’s Roll?

Being on the electoral roll adds many points to your score. It indicates stability and Lenders like that. Ensure your name spelled correctly and that it’s your current address, not an old one. However, if you are not registered, it’s easy to do so online.

Don’t Run Close To Your Maximum Limit

If you max out your card each month, that will reduce your score. Using a credit card and paying off the balance in full each month is preferable. Not to mention, it is indicating that you are good at managing your money. Worst of all would be exceeding an agreed card limit or overdraft. Lenders want to know that you take your finances seriously.

Check your address history Is keyed correctly

Quite often, it can appear that you are living in two places at the same time on your credit report. Maybe you had forgotten to tell one of your credit providers that you have moved to a new house. Check all addresses have been spelled correctly. If you have lived in a flat, this can be tricky as the flat/apartment number can get formatted in different ways.

Close Down Any Unused Credit Accounts

You should contact the providers of store/credit cards you no longer use and get the account closed. In the short term, this can harm your score briefly as the credit reference can’t tell if it’s you closing the account down or the provider. However don’t worry, it’s one step back to take two forward. Another good thing to do to reduce your chance of falling victim for fraud should you not notice you have lost a card you don’t use regularly.

Remove Financial Links to others

If you have a family member or ex-partner connected to you, then this could be affecting your score. You won’t be able to get the financial association removed if the account is still live, in any case. To remove one of these links, you should contact the credit reference agencies and make a request.

Furthermore, many consumers had felt that credit scoring is an ‘unfair way’ of Lenders assessing applications. Lenders feel differently. It is much cheaper for them to operate this way.

Send an up to date copy of your credit report to your Mortgage Advisor upfront, and you will increase your chances of being accepted the first time. The more your Advisor knows about your finances, the better. There are still some smaller Lenders out there that do not credit score. These Lenders do it the old-fashioned manual way, they will always have specific rules about the number of defaults and CCJ’s they will allow.

Mortgage Advice in Leicester

Coronavirus & the Mortgage Market | Mortgage Advice in Leicester

Coronavirus impact on the mortgage market in Leicester

This article was originally published on 30th March 2020 and as of the 20th May 2020 the property market has now resumed and this information has become outdated. Everything was 100% accurate at the date that this article was published.

The mortgage market has endured thanks to the coronavirus. Everything has come on a bit fast, and we thought we should catch you up to speed.

Our intentions aren’t to scare you, but explain what has happened to the mortgage market and do our best to help you through the problems you may face during these difficult times.

Mortgage Surveyors

The central dilemma for the mortgage market is that surveyors and mortgage valuers can’t go out and visit properties because the whole property market is on hold. Lenders need to know what they are lending against, so require some sort of valuation before accepting your application.

Some lenders rely on AVM’s (Automated Valuation Model) for valuations on a property. The reason being it’s a way for lenders to receive an estimate without actually going out to the property.

However, when they don’t need to send someone out to look at the property physically, these types of mortgages get restricted and to lower loan-to-values only.

During the last couple of days, as of March 28th, some lenders have been restricting their maximum loan-to-value down to 60%. So, they are continuing to process these types of applications but not necessarily ones at higher loan-to-values.

A lender’s viewpoint

Each lender is taking a different approach. So far, no mortgage offers got withdrawn, and we think that it is just a waiting game at the moment, lenders are just putting everything on hold before rushing into accepting more mortgages.

We have whiteness that some lenders have decided to extend the periods of their mortgage offers from six months up to nine to allow the economy and the mortgage market to get back up and running again.

Mortgage Payment Holidays

Following our recent article about Mortgage Payment Holidays, we want to remind you that you should only take one if you need to. Do your research, talk to a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester, evaluate your options, and see whether it is the right thing for you.

It is more than likely that they will extend the period of your mortgage anyway, so it could be better just to hold off. You should contact your lender if you are questioning your ability to meet your monthly mortgage payments.

If you decide that this is your best option, lenders are asking for you to get in touch online due to the sheer volume of calls they are receiving.

If you are going to request a payment holiday, check that it won’t affect your credit rating or mark any arrears against your account. Also, don’t just cancel your direct debit and remember that you will need to seek permission from your lender to take a payment holiday.

Speak to a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester

The main thing is not to panic. We are here to help you with all of your mortgage problems and get you and your mortgage through these next couple of months. At some point in the coming weeks or months, someone is going to press play again.

We will all be back to normal in the given time. You can still get in touch with a Mortgage Advisor in Leicester from 8am – 10pm, 7 days a week. Business is as usual. We can’t wait for you to get in touch and help you with all your mortgage needs.

Self Employed Mortgage Advice in Leicester

Speak to an experienced Mortgage Broker in Leicester

Many Self-Employed Applicants in Leicester worry about how much they can borrow for a mortgage, and if they’ll even qualify.

The business they run may have been performing well, however, some try and keep their tax liability as low as possible, so they can reinvest in their businesses.

Their accountants often encourage putting their expenses through as high as possible, to keep profits at a minimum.

This, unfortunately, leaves them with a problem when it comes to borrowing money. Sadly, you can’t have it both ways!

Self Employed Earnings

Fortunately, some lenders will assess your income in a variety of ways. There are lenders out there who will lend more than others.

It’s our job to find the one most suited to our client’s circumstances.

For example, a lot of lenders will only look at the last two years of your earnings, whereas we have access to some who will only look at the latest year. This really benefits applicants whose earnings have recently risen.

Company Directors

For a Limited Company Director, the average of the last two years’ salaries plus dividends is generally all most lenders need.

There are some instances, however where this varies. Some lenders only see you as employed if you own a certain percentage of the company.

This counts even towards Directors, so they may consider going off your payslips from the last 3 months.

Net Profit

Some business owners run organisations that are highly profitable but don’t need the income so take a low dividend.

This type of applicant can be at a disadvantage by the salary + dividend method, but there are lenders out there that will consider using the net profit of the Limited Company as a solution to the problem.

Why as ‘Self-Employed’ You Should Use a Mortgage Broker in Leicester

Being self-employed means that there is a wide range of circumstances for mortgage applicants.

As a result, there is a variation in how mortgage lenders consider the self-employed. Leicester Money Man can provide experience and mortgage insight to help with your application.

Self Employed Mortgage Advice | Leicester Money Man Can Help

You can always speak to one of our experienced Mortgage Advisors in Leicester, the projected figures if your business is due to complete a set of accounts.

Our mortgage advisors can calculate what your maximum borrowing would be based on a draft of the figures, although the accounts would need to be finalized prior to a formal mortgage application.

We are experienced in helping self-employed people find mortgages. Sole Trader? Partnership? Limited Company? We can help.

Summary

In summary, it really is quite challenging to calculate the maximum borrowing capacity for a self-employed applicant.

You could easily go to 10 different lenders and get 10 different answers! Using a friendly Mortgage Broker in Leicester like ourselves would probably be the best port of call If you need to maximize your borrowing capability. We would urge any Company Director to do so!

33% of All Mortgage Applications Are Ruled Out By Lenders

Application Statistics Provided by Experian

Experian statistics show that 33% of all mortgage applications are ruled out by lenders, due to mismatches in criteria.

To us, the statistics highlight the importance of customer care and their values when using a Mortgage Broker in Leicester and the importance of getting it right the first time.

We have experience dealing with customers going through a variety of circumstances.

What did they discover?

Experian also found out that only 3.5% of people searching for mortgages were eligible for deals on the market.

However, just because you had seen these cheap deals online, it cannot guarantee that you will qualify for it.

As our customer, we will offer you full customer service, trying to find you the perfect deal.

What else did they discover?

Experian had shown that 22% of applicants started using price comparison websites to find the right mortgage.

We recommend that if you happen to fall inside that demographic, remember that price comparison websites exclude the matching of a lender’s criteria.

On top of that, the application can take weeks to process, not to mention the lender can dismiss your case. Ideally, speak to one of our members of staff.

We’ll search 1000’s mortgage deals and picking the right ones for you, saving you time and money.

What does this reveal?

The analysis also showed that 27% were eligible for a mortgage but only for a reduced amount to meet the lender’s affordability requirements.

Again, we find this happens all the time. A lender says you can borrow one amount, but down the line, find a reason to reduce the mortgage available.

We can help you

Our customers are our priority, and as a trusted Mortgage Broker in Leicester, whether your Self employed or looking to Remortgage in Leicester.

We’ll recommend the best deal tailored to you and ease the pressure throughout the entire purchase.

Our brilliant Mortgage Advisors in Leicester and outstanding back office team will do the bulk of the work for you.