[Finance] Time to review your mortgage?

[Uncle Spielberg]

Happy New Year!

Mortgages have been in the news more than ever over recent months due to interest rate uncertainty at a time when we're all trying to find ways to trim household outgoings.

Whether you use a broker, or make your own mortgage arrangements, you should aim to start taking a look at options on the market 7-8 months before any existing deal ends.

Most lenders now have mortgage offers that last for 6 months, allowing borrowers to lock in a deal, protecting themselves from near-term rate rises.

If you are planning to move, are a first-time buyer or need some advice on buy-to-let mortgages please send me a pm or contact me via my website for tailored advice. As well as mortgages, I'm also able to help out with insurance products.

US/Gareth

 

[Eggman]

Highly recommend Gareth. He got us over the line at a very difficult time... Top man

 

[Solid at the back]

Chance would he a fine thing. Some of us are doomed to paying off someone else's for the rest of our lives

 

[SuperFurrySeagull]

US has saved us a small fortune, in spite of the current financial craziness. We made it over the line just at the beginning of this month & we're saving money each month instead of paying more, & we couldn't have done it without US's help. Totally reliable & trustworthy; well of course he is, he's BHA through & through just like the rest of us - what more of a recommendation do you need? Cannot recommend him highly enough, seriously.

Cheers Gareth, Tim.

 

[SuperFurrySeagull]

US has saved us a small fortune, in spite of the current financial craziness. We made it over the line just at the beginning of this month & we're saving money each month instead of paying more, & we couldn't have done it without US's help. Totally reliable & trustworthy; well of course he is, he's BHA through & through just like the rest of us - what more of a recommendation do you need? Cannot recommend him highly enough, seriously.

Cheers Gareth, Tim.

...I felt I should add - as I kill time before the game after which I'll shut up - & I think it's very pertinent; me & the other half are a financial basket case; I'm a quite low earning self-employed & the partner is a very basic nurse (very talented, mind), & my work practically dissolved to next to nothing during the lockdowns yet Gareth STILL found & arranged a very good deal which has basically steadied our ship & then some, so to speak. Really, whatever your circumstances, it could be well worth your time dropping Gareth a line. Anyway, as you were. UTA!

 

[mothy]

I'm an accountant & do our households (& other peoples finances) totally fine. I've never used a broker before, but decided to this time as our mortgage deal expired in 2024 & I could see the turmoil on the horizon. Gareth / US got us transferred to a great rate that was held until we completed in april 2023, which is fixed for 10 years.

The rates were changing regularly & Gareths fee was well worth paying, as he sorted out all the applications & paperwork & ID requirements to complete- including managing a problem with different names on bank accounts & passports on our side..

So I'm sitting pretty with my feet up & can afford to live in my home for the next 10 years (as long as I don't lose my job or split up with the mrs - fingers crossed)

 

[jakarta]

Thankfully paid off last year, a huge weight off our financial worries. If you can manage it I can only say do it...

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Thanks for the interest and kind comments. This thread will slide off now

 

[Weststander]

In today’s Telegraph, relatively good news. Mortgage rates peaked last November, new deal rates have been falling (regardless of the BoE) due to competition.

“Borrowers are in a much stronger position than they have been for some time, but only if they shop around.”

The price war has already knocked thousands of pounds off the cost of borrowing since mortgage rates peaked in November last year.

The average two-year fix has fallen from a high of 6.65pc to 5.43pc today – a saving of £153 in monthly interest, or £1,836 a year, for a typical borrower with a £150,000 loan.

Craig Fish, of broker Lodestone Mortgages and Protection, said lenders were rescuing fixed rates on a daily basis.

Mr Fish said: “When one lender announces a rate reduction, the others tend to follow. The rate war is well and truly on and it's now a race to see who is going to be the first to offer five-year fixed rates below 4pc.”

 

[7:18]

Had a mortgage offer for our first purchase, a new build. Due to complete at the end of this month. Mortgage offer is about to expire but can be extended. Between getting the first offer, and now needing to extend, we have had our first child. Mortgage broker has asked us if we have had ”any changes that may negatively impact your finances”.

Anyone been in this situation before? Not sure what the best thing to do is…any help would be greatly appreciated.