There are a wide variety of reasons why a homeowner may instead look at moving home in Sunderland. Here we will take a look at the most frequently found reasons that have been seen during our time as an expert mortgage broker in Sunderland.
One of the much bigger reasons that we see people looking to move home, is because they are now in need of more living space. This is a step that makes a lot of sense, as first time buyers in Sunderland will most likely have gone for a smaller house at first.
In the future, when circumstances are likely to change, it could be because they want a bigger place to live in. There are many reasons for this thinking, from wanting to start a family, to generally needing some more room in their home.
Rather than moving home in Sunderland, if you want to create more space, you could instead remortgage for home improvements. In doing so, you raise capital (money) to put towards the changes you would like to make, such as extensions on your property.
We tend to find that this is most popular with young and growing families, giving them the freedom to continue living within a home they have grown to love and appreciate over time. Common choices include loft conversions, extra bedrooms, home offices and home gyms, to name a few.
Remortgaging for home improvements is also a great way to potentially increase the value, handy for if you ever decide you want to sell your home. Get in touch for remortgage advice in Sunderland if this is something that you would like to achieve.
Another popular reason we hear of is customers perhaps looking to have a change of scenery, growing weary of what they have gotten used to. Once again, this is fairly common in homeowners who have previously had first time buyer mortgages in Sunderland.
The reason that this may be the case, is that they could have previously had a limited budget, settling for a property that was affordable at the time. Once they have come into more money in the future, it may be plausible that they could purchase the house they truly desire.
It’s more than just this, however, as family can become a reason for needing a change of location. Not everyone thinks of schools when they buy a house, though if you decide to have children, you may find yourself thinking about which schools are best and looking at catchment areas.
Speaking of family, we also hear every now and again from home movers, who give their main reason for moving as wanting to be closer to family and friends. These types of scenarios become more frequent when a couple has started a family or has suffered a significant loss.
In regard to starting a family, if both parents are working full time, we find it likely that they will move closer to family for help with childcare. This usually is a much more preferred choice, as planning childcare around your life and finances can be time-consuming and costly.
If you are looking at moving home in Sunderland, we would recommend speaking to an expert mortgage broker in Sunderland today. Our team of mortgage advisors here at Sunderlandmoneyman will be able to run through the entire home-moving process with you, including any costs you’ll have.
We have the ability to search through 1000s of mortgage deals, finding you the most appropriate one for your financial and personal situation. Book your free mortgage appointment today and we will get started on all the ways we can possibly help you.
If instead of moving home in Sunderland you feel more inclined to remortgage for home improvements, this is something we often help customers with. Book your free remortgage review today and we’ll help you take the next step in your chapter as a homeowner.
Whether you are a first time buyer in Sunderland actively viewing properties or a home mover in Sunderland with your house on the market, you may have noticed that some of the larger estate agents and builders are very keen for you to use their in-house mortgage advisor and conveyancing services.
Being part of a stand-alone Mortgage Broker in Sunderland, we receive lots of feedback as to what sales tactics can be used, examples of this are;
Remember, when negotiating a purchase price, do you really want the seller of your property to have access to your personal financial situation and potentially knowing your maximum borrowing?
Most homeowners who are looking at moving home in Sunderland will need to sell their current property to proceed The equity (the amount at which you sell for without your current mortgage balance added on) will contribute towards a security deposit for the next purchase. You can top this up from savings or a family gift if you wish.
There is always a “magic number”, the minimum that a seller (vendor) is willing to accept to agree on a sale. However, when a home is listed for sale, it is essential to market and presents it in the right way. It can make a big difference in terms of how quickly it sells.
The asking price should portray that of its surrounding properties. Be reasonable, and some estate agents may suggest the highest possible price for the sake of it. With everyone now able to advertise on Zoopla and Rightmove, it’s a good idea to make the dive into the market and get as many viewings as possible, within the first two weeks.
If interest in your property seems to below, there’s a chance it was overvalued.
Before putting their current property on the market, people often like to research and visit other properties to identify which one might become their new home. If this is you and you need a quick sale, here are some tips to give yourself the best possible chance of selling it.
The first tip can be challenging to imagine, but the first thing you need to do is inspect your own house as if you were viewing it for the first time yourself. If it has excellent “kerbside appeal”, (i.e. it looks beautiful as you drive up to it) that will be a great first impression.
Something simple like a freshly jet-washed drive and neatly cut front lawn indicates that you are the kind of person that looks after their home. It would help if you aimed for that feel-good factor, it’s more than likely that the potential buyer will think the inside is expected to be as nice as the outside.
If you have any kids, it’s best to put away any bikes or loose toys in the front garden. Make sure your front door looks appealing (clean), and the doorbell works. Spend a little bit of cash getting a nice new doormat or welcome sign.
Go around each room and caution around rooms like kitchen or bathrooms, pay much attention, ensuring that they are spotless, and have a high hygiene level. Cupboards and wardrobes should be neatly stacked and free of clutter.
One of the critical things is to ensure your home is immaculately clean. Wash your curtains, blinds, wipe down your walls, and clean all your floors and windows. All repairs should be up to date too and clean bedding on the beds. Windows should be sparkling clean inside and out. New carpets in smaller rooms can be an inexpensive way of creating the impression that your house is welcoming and has been well cared for.
If you are a smoker, it’s an excellent tip to air the rooms out before the potential buyer arrives. Ensure there are no bad smells lingering, buyers can be put off bad odours from pets or cigarettes.
You will want your buyer to feel at home and relaxed as they view your property so try and avoid having pets or young children getting in their way as they move around. That said, if it’s a family home you are selling, then just a couple of family pictures and paintings can help as it will them envisage bringing up their family there too.
A buyer likes to walk on their own, if there are two of them allow them some breathing space to talk amongst themselves but be ready to answer their questions honestly.
Your bathroom should be presented spotless declutter any items like cosmetics and co-ordinate your towels and flannels, maybe consider doing a small investment look at ways you could create a fresh feel with some minor renovations. Make the floor space spotless.
A well-lit house is more appealing to potential buyers, this is achieved through making sure lights brighten up rooms, and all curtains and blinds are open. Plants often block out light so place these strategically throughout the house.
White walls look fresh and clean, and it also has the added benefit for the buyer of being extremely easy to work whenever they redecorate. It helps to buyer avoid scraping previous wallpaper off the walls.
Interior doors should all be freshly painted. Polish the brass fixtures and ensure all entries open and close nicely, no broken locks, etc.
Buyers are looking at making the most of space, it’s recommended storing objects into cupboards and has clean and tidy worktops.
In terms of your garden, the viewer may want to look inside your shed so don’t just throw everything in there, and it needs to look neat and tidy.
Please pay attention to your fences, make sure all the slats are in place, and it’s nicely painted or creosoted. Tidy up any visible items such as outdoor barbecues. People do still like to see a colourful garden so ensure it’s beautifully turned out. Flowering plants are lovely to see if the season is conducive.
Make your garage space more efficient, therefore providing more space for a vehicle.
People buy from people, so it’s always better if you do the viewings yourself as the seller. You will no doubt feel very passionate about your home and can show it off in its best light, albeit pointing out any small issues that you have encountered over the years (“We leaked, we fixed it”) to present a balanced view.
Estate Agents do want to earn their commission, but they will have a certain amount of knowledge on your home compared to you.
Finally, remember the emotions attached to buying a home. If you have a family, it helps to accentuate it has been a happy home for you, and this is sure to rub off on the viewers if they are thinking of raising a family also.
It is very sad when you and your partner decide to call it a day. When you have made joint financial commitments unwinding that side of things does not always run as smoothly as you’d hope.
Here are three main questions that we get asked on Divorce and Mortgage Advice on a regular basis:
Obviously, when you buy a home together you don’t do so with the intention of splitting up in the future but it is a massive financial commitment and making changes to your mortgage further on down the line is not always easy.
When there are children involved, quite often it’s the mum that stays in the property but regardless of gender, there may come a time that whoever is “in situ” wants to take over the mortgage in their own right. This is not always straightforward!
The fact that you may be able to demonstrate you have been paying the mortgage without any help from your ex, does not change the fact that at the point of application you bought the property jointly or, in other words, in the event of mortgage arrears there are 2 people the Lender is allowed to pursue.
Before removing a party from a mortgage the Lender has to be sure that the remaining applicant has the means to be able to afford the mortgage on their own going forward and this means a full assessment of income regardless of whether you have kept up mortgage payments in the past or not.
Quite often in these situations, there is someone who can step in to replace the ex-partner such as a family member or indeed your new partner.
Of course, there are lots of Mortgage Lenders out there all with slightly different ways of assessing your ability to afford a mortgage so don’t give up hope if your existing Lender says no, we still may be able to help you.
In the event of a separation or divorce, you need to understand that even if you vacate the family home you remain responsible for any joint financial commitments you took out with your ex-partner. This is the case even if you make an agreement with your ex that they will make all the payments.
The mortgage payment for your old property will be taken into consideration if you want to buy a new property in the future so it’s essential in these instances that you take mortgage advice in Sunderland before making an offer. Some Lenders are more generous as regards how much they’ll lend you than others and I’ll take this into account when recommending the most suitable lender to apply for a mortgage agreement in principle with.
The answer to this one is YES, you can! Lenders and their credit scoring systems take many factors into account before they offer you a mortgage. On-going financial commitments are just one of these. The mortgage payment you hold with your ex will need to be inputted, alongside any other credit commitments you may have.
Once we’ve keyed all this in for you our system will confirm the maximum amount you are able to borrow. So you know your budget at outset and how much deposit you will need to put down.
It can be difficult to move on from your previous joint financial commitments. Just remember it’s all about risk as far as Lenders are concerned. They want to avoid repossession situations at all costs.
We offer a whole host of services, including remortgage advice in Sunderland and moving home mortgages. The best thing to do is to get in touch with us with your individual needs and we can advise you on the next steps.
Mortgage Protection Insurance is an umbrella term that encompasses different types of cover. The aim is to protect borrowers from events that could affect their ability to keep up with mortgage payments. When connected to a mortgage, they provide peace of mind and a sense of security to the borrowers.
There are generally two types of life cover; “Whole of Life” or “Term Assurance.” The whole of Life cover is guaranteed to pay out a lump sum on death, whenever it occurs. Term Assurance pays out if you die within a specified term of years.
There are also different types of term assurance – for example, “level,” “increasing,” or “convertible.” The type most commonly used as mortgage protection these days is “Decreasing Term Assurance.”
If you look at linking this to a repayment mortgage, the sums assured reduces at roughly the same rate as the mortgage balance. Because the risk to the insurer diminishes over time, the premiums are generally cheaper than other types of life cover if the policyholder dies within the term.
Then the sum assured should be enough to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance. Getting this should ensure the borrower’s dependents do not get left with a debt they might not otherwise be able to manage.
Some people say that life cover gets taken for the benefit of other people. Because, sadly, you won’t be around to see any interest.
However, these days, many people in Sunderland survive conditions that once might have been fatal. Nevertheless, while undergoing treatment and recovery, it could affect your ability to meet your financial commitments. Leading to the development of Critical Illness cover in Sunderland.
Working in a similar way to Life Assurance, in that gets taken for a specific term of years. It can also have different options, such as level/increase.
They get designed to pay out a lump sum and taken on a decreasing term—basis in line with the reduction of your mortgage balance. The key is that the benefit gets paid if you fall victim to one of several specified critical illnesses.
It will then pay out whatever the long-term prognosis of that illness. The type of illnesses covered varies for each provider. In general terms, insurers usually cover between 40 – 50 specified conditions, including cancer, heart attack, and stroke. Pay-outs depend on meeting the required level of seriousness of the particular situation suffered.
The life companies all work to at least the pre-designated clinical definitions as prescribed by the Association of British Insurers.
What we mean is they can’t just arbitrarily decide that you’re not ill enough. Hopefully, if your treatment is successful, it means that you can benefit by no longer having a mortgage to pay after your illness.
In practice, many companies will offer Life and Critical Illness Critical cover as a combined policy. Usually, a pay-out on the “first event,” i.e., whatever happens first, either death or severe illness. They can also get written on a single or joint life basis.
Whereas Life and Critical Illness cover pay out a lump sum, “Income Protection” pays out a monthly amount. They got designed to replace your wages in the event of you being unfit to work in Sunderland. Unlike Critical Illness cover, there are no restrictions on the illnesses or injuries covered.
The only factors being whether they make you unfit to work. There are, however, restrictions on how much you can cover and how quickly benefits would start to get paid because the insurers want you to have an incentive to return to work rather than being better off on sick.
Typically, the most you can cover would be approximately 55%-65% of your income. Benefits would begin to get paid after a “deferred period.” Usually, it equates to the length of time you would receive sick pay from your employer.
Benefits would continue to get paid for as long as you remain unfit to work. Or until the policy term ends, whichever comes first. However, to make premiums cheaper, most companies offer a “budget” option whereby benefits would get paid for a shorter period.
Usually between 2-5 years – to at least allow you to make alternative arrangements. In case it looks like you’ll get incapacitated for longer than that.
Like Life and Critical Illness Cover. These policies are underwritten based on your health and lifestyle at the time you apply. All income protection policies get written on a single life basis.
Similar in many ways to Income Protection, you are covered by these policies if made unemployed. Benefits get usually linked to your mortgage and other costs (rather than necessarily your wages). It would usually be paid one month “in arrears” after a successful claim.
These policies only get underwritten at the time of a claim. Rather than at the outset, which can sometimes mean there can be some confusion/delay as to whether demand would get met.
They are a useful safety net if you get made long-term unemployed. But be sure to check the details of how/when any unemployment benefits would get paid out. As it may be that you would have returned to work before any monies become due.
Probably the least common of the “mortgage protection” type policies. However, these can often be valuable, particularly for those with young families in Sunderland. These plans can get taken to cover Life and Critical Illness and get underwritten on the application.
Unlike the traditional forms of policy or instead, pay out a lump sum. The covers would pay an annual or monthly income for the remainder of the term of the plan. Thus, it can replace the income of the primary breadwinner for several years.
Dependent upon a particular client’s circumstances. Because of this would usually be written on a level or basis. Or an index-linked basis designed to keep up with inflation.
There’s an adage that says you can never have too much insurance whether you are a First Time Buyer in Sunderland. A Buy to Let Landlord in Sunderland, or ready to Remortgage in Sunderland, looking into insurance is always hugely beneficial.
Many people have different types of policies, and it would be wrong to think of these as an “either/or” choice. You can have more than one kind of Mortgage Protection Insurance. However, in the real world, affordability plays a massive part while it would be fantastic to cover every type of Mortgage Protection Insurance.
A good Mortgage Advisor in Sunderland like us will sit down with you and tailor the type of cover to be the most suitable combination to your family’s priority and budget.
If you do take more than one policy, your Mortgage & Protection Advisor in Sunderland, typically, we would usually place all the cover with one provider. To help save you the additional policy administration charges which individual policies carry.
If you are a homeowner with a mortgage from a high street lender, you’ll find that you will probably have the option to port your mortgage if necessary. Porting your mortgage occurs when you are looking to move home part-way through a fixed-rate deal.
Rather than paying the early repayment charge (ERC), the lender may actually be willing to let you pick up what is left of your current mortgage and move it onto a new property. This of course will depend on the value of where you’re looking to move and is subject to the lender’s discretion.
Portable mortgages work out really well for homeowners who are only part way into their fixed-rate mortgage term but already want to move home. Normally to leave this mortgage early, you would be penalised with an Early Repayment Charge.
If instead you can find another property of similar value and inquire with your lender, there is a good chance they’ll agree to let you port your mortgage to that property. This will mean you avoid the ERC.
You’ll find that there are a lot of mortgages out there that customers are able to port, though it’s important to note that this won’t apply to all of them.
There are some specialist lenders that don’t allow their customers to do this, for example. By contacting your mortgage lender, you’ll be able to determine whether or not this is an option for you.
Though it may be a possible option for some homeowners, in a lot of cases we find that they instead choose to not do this. Some may ride out their term and look to remortgage at the end to release equity for making improvements to their home.
In other cases, homeowners may want to do this but are restricted from doing so, due to being unable to afford to borrow an additional amount if required. Any further advance (second charge) will be at a different rate to the current mortgage deal that you have.
Depending on the rates on offer from your lender for this, it may be more financially viable for you to take the Early Repayment Charge and cut your mortgage short, rather than staying put.
A sub-account on your mortgage will be created when you look to port your mortgage, with the additional funds being taken out on a different deal than your current mortgage is on.
It’s important to remember that although you have a only one mortgage and one direct debit in your name, each will have different rates applied to them.
As time goes on, having a sub-account can be a little problematic. This is because eventually you will reach a point where these products will overlap one another.
In order to get these aligned once again, one of your sub-accounts may have to fall onto the lender’s standard variable rate for some time.
For more information, please feel free to get in touch and speak with a dedicated mortgage advisor in Sunderland. We would love to get started on the next step in your mortgage journey.
Whether you are moving house in Sunderland, need help with a buy to let mortgage or are self-employed and require mortgage advice, we’d love to help you.
We have availability every day of the week, so book yourself a free appointment for when best suits you and we’ll see how we can help.
For first time buyers in Sunderland hurdles in mortgage, acquisition is something often faced by lots of customers, and they are not impossible to deal with either. Here is a list of 5 common problems people may encounter when looking to obtain a mortgage in Sunderland.
Childcare fees are not a reason per se for a mortgage to be turned down, rather they tend to reduce the amount a mortgage can offer.
One thing that needs to be noticed is that when parents or guardians return to work and pay for childcare, they have to monthly dedicate hundreds of pounds. Lenders take them as a liability similar to car loans.
If childcare fees are not to be paid, and still the income is low, the guardian or parents might still not get as much amount as other applicants. However, this benefits by being considered as tax credits.
If you seek mortgage advice in Sunderland, you will come to know that such lenders exist who don’t count childcare fees as outgoing funds, resulting in higher chances of mortgage acquisition.
If things don’t work out in a relationship and you decide to go for separation or divorce, things tend to get tough when it comes to your monthly mortgage repayments.
Normally we get these three questions when people seek mortgage advice in Sunderland:
The answer to all of the above can be yes, but you will need expert Mortgage Advice in Sunderland. If you end up receiving maintenance, this can sometimes get used as part of the assessable income for a mortgage.
You would be happy to know that almost all types of benefit incomes are considered as incomes and include pension or eligibility for pension, disability benefits, working tax credits, and child tax credit.
To take advantage of such opportunities, all you need is to seek out mortgage advice in Sunderland and you will be good to go.
This one comes up a lot, but it is usually easy enough. Some Lenders need you to have been in work continuously for a certain period, but others don’t. You can even get a mortgage if this is your first job. If you are due to start a new career soon, then you may be able to get a mortgage if you have a signed contract and job offer letter.
Gaps in employment can be a problem with some Lenders. Probationary periods tend to be ok, in any case.
Anit-Money Laundering precautions are pretty strict these days. All Lenders will need you to evidence your deposit, and you will get asked to prove where the money came from. Your Solicitor and the Estate Agent you are buying from may ask you for this too.
Cash is a big no-no. Any significant cash deposits into your Bank will question, and your application may get rejected.
It is possible, in fact, regular, for some or all of the deposit to come from a gift. The person gifting you the money will need to confirm in writing that it is a gift, not a loan.
All the content provided above is for reference purposes only, and does not constitute mortgage advice.
When you begin the process of looking for a mortgage in Sunderland, you will soon realise that there are a wide variety of different options available. By enquiring for expert mortgage advice in Sunderland, we’ll help you to determine which one is right for you.
Below you will see a list of the most popular types of mortgages available on the market. If you have any questions regarding the mortgage options below, do not hesitate to contact our fantastic team of mortgage advisors in Sunderland.
A fixed-rate mortgage means that your mortgage payments are going to remain consistent for a particular duration. You are able to choose how long you fix your payments for, with this typically being around 2-5 years.
This means that no matter what happens with inflation, interest rates, or the economy, you know that your mortgage payment, which will most likely be your biggest outgoing, will not change.
When you have a tracker mortgage, this means that your interest rate will follow alongside the Bank of England’s base rate. In this situation, the mortgage lender that you are with will not be setting the rate themselves.
You will be paying at a percentage above the Bank of England base rate. For example, if the base rate is 1% and you are tracking at 1% above base rate, that means you will be paying a rate of 2%.
Home buyers who are looking to take out a repayment mortgage will have a combined amount of capital and interest to pay each month.
If you are able to maintain those monthly mortgage payments, he mortgage balance is guaranteed to get paid off at the end, with you owning the property outright.
A repayment mortgage is generally considered to be the most risk-free way to pay your capital back to your mortgage lender. Early on it will mainly be the interest that you are paying and your balance will reduce very slowly, especially for homeowners with say a 25+ year term.
This will change over time and in the last ten years or so of your mortgage, your balance will be reducing at a much quicker rate, as you will be paying back more capital than interest.
While you will find that a lot of buy to let mortgages in Sunderland get set up on an interest-only basis, it is much difficult for a residential home buyer to take out an interest only mortgage on their home.
Typically, you will find that it is much less likely for a mortgage lender to offer interest only residential products to customers, though there are a selection of circumstances where this type of mortgage may still be applicable.
These tend to include downsizing when you are older or have other investments that you will use to pay the capital back. Mortgage lenders can be quite strict when it comes to offering these products now, and the loan to values are a lot lower than they used to be.
With an offset mortgage, your mortgage lender will go ahead and set you up a savings account that will run alongside your mortgage account, to help you offset the balance and reduce the interest paid overall.
For example, let us say you have a mortgage balance of £100,000 and £20,000 is deposited into your savings account, you only pay interest on the difference, which in this case would be £80,000.
It is for this reason that an offset mortgage could be a truly efficient way of managing your money, especially if you are a higher rate taxpayer.
If you like the sound of any of the mortgage options that have been mentioned above, have any other questions relating the mortgage process or would like to get the ball rolling on your mortgage journey, please do get in touch.
In booking your free mortgage appointment online, you’ll benefit from speaking to a trusted and qualified mortgage advisor in Sunderland, who will look to guide you through the process as best they can, finding the most suitable mortgage product to fit your circumstances.
With any mortgage that you take out, you will be paying a combination of capital (the balance) and the interest (at a percentage of the remaining balance). You may actually be able to reduce the amount of interest you pay per month, by taking out an offset mortgage in Sunderland.
When a mortgage applicant takes out an offset mortgage in Sunderland, their mortgage lender will open a savings account for them, in their name, to run alongside their mortgage term. This savings account will not pay back your mortgage balance, but instead will lower the amount of interest that you pay.
So if we were to say, for example, that you had a £100,000 mortgage to pay off and put £20,000 into your savings account, you’d still have that £100,000 mortgage to pay per month, but you only pay interest on £80,000.
The amount of interest that you will have to pay is generally calculated at a percentage of your mortgage balance, which is what increases the overall cost. In short, the more interest you offset into your savings account, the less that you have to pay back on interest overall.
This of course, can save you a lot of money.
As mentioned above, the money that you deposit into your savings account will offset against the interest, reducing the amount that you pay overall. Unlike a standard savings account, you will not be paying tax on your savings, which can be beneficial for higher rate taxpayers.
A possible downside to this type of mortgage, is that your savings will not see any growth either. Interest will not be earned on any of the savings that are linked to your offset mortgage in Sunderland.
Even with this in mind, a potential offset mortgage applicant may not be deterred, especially with the potential for savings by offsetting the interest against the mortgage balance. Additionally, the flexibility of the account is another positive.
Using the aforementioned example of a £100,000 mortgage and £20,000 in savings, if you for any reason needed to dip into your savings, you have the freedom to do so. It’s important to remember though, that you would be paying interest on a higher balance amount.
So whilst with the savings in you would be paying interest on £80,000, if you drew out £10,000 to use, you would be paying interest on £90,000 again until you deposited further funds back into your savings account.
You will still have the responsibility of maintaining your monthly mortgage repayments, you would just have less interest to pay per month.
If you managed to offset our entire balance towards the end of your term (maybe through a combination of work bonuses and an inheritance helping you to achieve this), you would still be responsible for the repayment side of things, until the end of your mortgage term.
As mentioned earlier on, your monthly mortgage payments will be a combination of interest and capital. Whilst offsetting your whole mortgage balance would effectively reduce your interest rate to nought, the capital will still remain and require payment.
Depending on your mortgage lender, you may be able to repay your mortgage by a specific additional amount each calendar year. As a general rule of thumb, you can repay up to 10% per year, though you should always ask your mortgage lender prior to doing this.
Overpaying by too much per year can result in you owing an early repayment charge to the mortgage lender.
Whilst there may be a limit on the amount you are able to overpay on the mortgage balance, you are free to deposit as much funds as you would like to into your savings, whenever you see fit.
There is a lot to consider when dealing with an offset mortgage, as to whether or not it is the most suitable mortgage option for you. This can be quite a difficult decision, especially if you are applying for a first time buyer mortgage in Sunderland.
Really, it’s all about weighing up the positives and negatives. As said previously, this will be beneficial to higher rate taxpayers because they can deposit savings tax-free. Again, they are also very flexible, allowing you to deposit and withdraw funds at any time.
Another positive, especially for a first time buyer in Sunderland, is that someone else may have the option of offsetting against your mortgage. This means a family member could help you lower your interest rates, though this varies from lender to lender.
On the other hand, offset mortgages in Sunderland usually have higher interest rates than other mortgage deals that could be available to you. You are more or less paying a premium for a flexible mortgage type with the ability to offset against the interest.
Additionally, as touched upon above, you won’t be earning any interest on those savings as you would with a regular savings account. Furthermore, whilst you could offset against the interest if you come into more money, you could also just overpay your mortgage to reduce the balance.
There are many different reasons as to why it could be a good or bad idea for a home buyer. At the very least, you need to pay in a good amount into your savings account for it to be worthwhile, especially when it could cost a good amount to set up in the first place.
Book your free mortgage appointment and talk to a trusted mortgage broker in Sunderland today, where you will benefit from expert mortgage advice in Sunderland on the topic of offset mortgages and how they could work alongside your mortgage journey.
If you are applying for a mortgage, having a high credit score can make it more likely to get accepted for a mortgage and this is especially the case for first time buyers in Sunderland. Lenders will have a thorough check of your application to make sure that you can manage your monthly mortgage payments.
Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you obtain a mortgage. You will find that find every lender has their own different lending criteria, meaning that you may not match every single of them.
Because of this, you may be unsure of which mortgage product to go for – this is where we come in. As an experienced mortgage broker in Sunderland, we can provide you with a tailored recommendation based on your financial and personal circumstances as well as your mortgage goals.
Approaching a mortgage broker, like ourselves, will give you the chance to speak to a mortgage advisor in Sunderland who will ask you a series of questions to build a picture of your financial situation in order to find you the most appropriate mortgage deal
Your credit score can play a big role in getting a mortgage which is why we will always be available to provide insight on ways to improve your credit score and help you find the perfect mortgage deal.
If you are looking to get a more detailed insight into your credit, check out the wide range of credit scoring agencies like Experian and Equifax. Prior to making a decision, research each agency it is possible that they could be keeping incorrect data and could help you find any inconsistencies.
Improving your credit score can be challenging, but here are a few more straightforward ways of going about it:
Making multiple credit searches could harm your credit score. Price comparison websites will also damage your score, so be extra careful. We also advise you to not apply for credit during the mortgage process as a lender may look at this and think that you are struggling financially.
It is a good thing in the long term though as it shows that you can pay recurring payments.
Another way to improve your credit score is by registering for the Electoral Roll. In the lender’s eyes, it shows stability which they want to see. When enrolling, you must spell your name correctly and set your address to your current one and not an old one.
If you are not registered, then you definitely should as it’s quick and easy to set up and it could help improve your credit score. Make sure everything is correct.
Maxing out your card each month is bound to reduce your credit score. The lender looks at your credit card statements to check whether you have paid off balances by the due date or not. If you are meeting due dates and have never exceeded overdraft limits.
Then a lender will see that you can manage your finances quite well and it could prove beneficial towards your application.
However, if you don’t manage your finances carefully, then the lender will believe that you don’t take payments seriously, hence making your chances of being accepted by them low.
We sometimes find that people who have moved house have not told their previous credit provider. It means that on their records, you still live in the other property.
So there are two separate addresses/properties linked with your name. Again, make sure you are on top of this as lenders don’t like to see your address history all mixed up.
Do you have a family member or ex-partner connected to your financial commitments?
You might not even know if you do, but it’s worth checking to be sure because you can’t get the economic association removed if the account is still live. If you are trying to remove any of these links. Then you should contact the credit reference agencies and make a request.
Applicants see credit scoring as being an unfair approach to accessing whether they can get a mortgage or not. Lenders disagree as this method provides a faster, fresher approach to the credit scoring system. It’s also a lot cheaper for them, and it gives always provides a result that they can trust.
If you want to get ahead of the game. You should send an up-to-date copy of your credit report to your Mortgage Advisor in Sunderland. Starting in advance will increase your chances of being accepted the first time. The more that your advisor knows about your financial situation, the better.
Also, there are still some lenders that will want to do the process the old-fashioned way and will prefer a manual approach. They will have specific rules that they stick by about the number of defaults and CCJ’s that they will allow.