What were the trends of 2018 in the mortgage world?
We have continued to see very low fixed rates and there have been some marginal increases during the year, we are talking probably 0.10 – 0.20% compared to the best rates during the year, at the time of writing.
There are always fluctuations with many lenders making several changes a month to their rates.
These changes are dependent on market pressures (including the rate at which lenders borrow money wholesale), perceptions and predictions of what rates may be in the future, business levels (it’s not uncommon for any given lender to make their rates slightly less competitive to reduce the flow of business if they have too much to process). Lenders own lending targets will have an impact too, i.e. reduce the rates to get more business through the door.
What they generally don’t do is give personalised rates for individual customers – some give a guarantee that their existing customers will not get charged more than a new customer, many of the banks ‘market’ that they give preferential rates to account holders BUT in reality shopping around can often get better rates in both cases.
Now you may think the way to check whether the rate you are being offered is to resort to a comparrison site (aren’t we inundated with TV ads for these things nowadays!). The flaw with these sites is that whilst they may ask some income or other info to ‘narrow’ the options, the reality is that it is impossible to replicate any lenders affordability checks in a single online tool.
Anyone thinking that it makes the job of finding a suitable scheme/lender easier is much mistaken.
The solution of course is to take advice from someone who knows who will lend what, any odd nuances in application procedures, knows what documentation maybe required, how to deal with the timing of switching from one lender to another and everything else necessary to make sure its all a seamless process so that you get
- the best rate
- at minimal (if any) set up costs
- the most appropriate scheme for your circumstances i.e. fixed, capped, tracker, discount, offset etc
- having covered repayment methods, mortgage terms and other options with you including options to overpay or use offset facilities
- talked through any requirement to borrow more to repay debts or cover home improvements etc
- discussed any future plans too
- reviewed any life, critical illness, income protection or buildings and contents cover for you
- and lastly guided you through the process and dealing with lender, solicitors and anyone else necessary
So dont call the bank ‘Call the Browns!’
hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you all a very prosperous New Year
If you want to chat through options now or even cover plans you may have for the future –
Please call me on 07710 770969 or 01442 252040 or 01525 877650
or email advice@sbms-online.co.uk to discuss your situation.
Stuart
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Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up the repayments on your mortgage.
