What is a Tracker Mortgage?

Tracker Mortgages in Sheffield

Tracker mortgages are just one of the many different types of mortgages out there. Some mortgages will be more beneficial to you than others, it entirely depends on your personal and financial situation. Just because a Tracker Mortgage is perfect for someone else, doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be right for you.

As a mortgage broker in Sheffield, we recommend that you enquire or do your research first before taking out any products. You need to make sure that it benefits your circumstances. If you get locked into a deal that isn’t right for you, you may have to wait until the end of your fixed term to switch products or research your option for a Remortgage in Sheffield.

In this article, a Tracker Mortgage will be the primary focus, looking at how it works and why it may be a good option for you. Feel free to watch our Tacker Mortgage YouTube video below, where Malcolm explains what Tracker Mortgages are and the pros and cons that come with them:

What is a Tracker Mortgage?

When you take out a Tracker Mortgage, you’ll be tracking the Bank of England’s base interest rate percentage. This percentage will be used to work out your mortgage payments.

Usually, on top of the tracked percentage, your lender may add another percentage to slightly further increase your interest rate. The extra percentage of interest that they add is normally around 1%-2%. So, your interest rate should always be another percentage over the Bank of England’s.

How can a Tracker Mortgage help me?

Since a Tracker Mortgage tracks your interest rate percentage from the Bank of England, if their base rate is low, then your mortgage payments should be lower. Typically, their base rate lies around the 0%-1% mark, however, this will change month to month.

During the credit crunch crisis in 2008, the Bank of England’s interest rate shot right up. It even reached 5% at one point, which meant that customers were potentially paying their mortgage with a 6% interest rate. We all thought that a similar situation would happen again during the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, although, this time the rates went down. If you had a Tracker Mortgage in this period, you’d be tracking the Bank of England’s base rate at 0.1%! At the time, you couldn’t take out a Tracker Mortgage as the rates were too good to be true. Lenders would be losing money if they kept handing them out.

A Tracker Mortgage can be a gamble sometimes. You’re depending on the economy performing well so that your base rate maintains its percentage. The base rate may fluctuate now and again, however, in most cases, it should stay at a similar rate.

Your mortgage options in Sheffield

There are lots of different types of mortgages, and some will be much more beneficial to you than others. It all comes down to your personal and financial situation.

If you want to find out more about Tracker Mortgages and how they work, feel free to get in touch with our brilliant team. If you want to discuss your other mortgage options, that’s completely fine too!

Our mortgage advisors in Sheffield have been helping first time buyers in Sheffield, home movers and people looking to remortgage for over 20 years now – we know what we’re doing.

Book your own free mortgage appointment online today and we can discuss all of your mortgage options in Sheffield.

What is a Mortgage Illustration in Sheffield?

Whether you’re a First Time Buyer in Sheffield, a Home Mover or a Landlord looking to invest in a Buy to Let in Sheffield, there will be a point in the mortgage process where you will come across a mortgage illustration. Your dedicated Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield will bring this up once they have presented you with a suitable product.

A mortgage illustration is exactly what it sounds like. It outlines your mortgage product and goes into detail so that you are aware of all of the costs involved, your term length and how much you will be paying each month.

You will be presented with a mortgage illustration before you submit your application to your mortgage lender. This part of the process cannot be skipped.

What is included in a mortgage illustration?

During a run-through of your mortgage illustration, you will look at the costs of taking out the mortgage product. These costs include mortgage repayments, your lender, broker and sometimes valuation fees.

However, these do not cover solicitor fees and insurances, they are separate. It will only cover the mortgage and what’s included.

There will also be details of your chosen lender and Mortgage Broker in Sheffield. This includes legalities and general information too.

Do I have to agree to your mortgage recommendation?

You are under no obligation to take out your mortgage recommendation. Your Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield will be open and honest with you and make you are of this. In the rare occurrence that you are unhappy with your product recommendation, your advisor can try and find you another deal.

You also have the right to walk away if you want to. You will avoid paying broker fees, as we only charge on results, however, you will not be able to continue with the deal that we found you.

Does going through a mortgage illustration guarantee me a mortgage?

You are never guaranteed a mortgage. A mortgage illustration is simply an outline of your mortgage deal and the costs and details that come with it. Your Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield can present you with a mortgage illustration before submitting your application with you.

After outlining the mortgage product, if you are happy with the deal, you will then be able to start preparing your mortgage application.

Your advisor will have previously measured your eligibility and affordability before your free mortgage appointment, therefore, you will just need to provide evidential documents to support your income.

Is a mortgage illustration the same as an agreement in principle?

A mortgage illustration and a mortgage agreement in principle are not the same. A mortgage agreement is issued after your appointment and confirms whether your lender is willing to lend to you. These come in handy before making an offer on a property.

For further Mortgage Advice in Sheffield, make sure to book your free mortgage appointment online. We have slots available 7 days a week, mornings and evenings.

Can I Have Two Mortgages in Sheffield?

Second Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

Depending on your income, affordability and the amount of equity built up inside your property, you may be able to take out a second mortgage.

People take out a second mortgage for various reasons, such as for a Buy to Let, Let to Buy, Holiday Let, family purchase, specialist situation or Commercial purposes. If you are considering one of these options, watch the video below or read on to find out how second mortgages work and why one could be the best option for you.

Reasons to take out a second mortgage

In our twenty years of working as a Mortgage Broker in Sheffield, we have come across many different types of customers that are looking to take out a second mortgage. Here are some of the most common customer scenarios that we come across.

Buy to Let

Current or budding landlords may want to invest in another property to climb the property ladder. If you are a landlord and already have more than one Buy to Let in Sheffield, you may find it slightly easier to take out a second mortgage as you’ve already demonstrated that you can afford more than one set of mortgage payments. This does not mean that you are guaranteed a mortgage though. You will still have to pass usual credit checks and affordability assessments.

If you are a First Time Buyer landlord in Sheffield, you will have to prove that you are able to manage two sets of monthly mortgage repayments. Lenders will factor in the equity in your current property, the type of property that you’re buying, the rental income from the Buy to Let and your personal and financial circumstances.

Let to Buy

Similarly to Buy to Let second mortgages, If you are planning to Move Home in Sheffield to become a landlord/grow your Let to Buy portfolio, your lender needs to make sure that you can manage both sets of mortgage payments. Some of our customers have already had tenants for their Let to Buy lined up during their second mortgage application process.

Lenders will assess your income, affordability, equity in your current home and personal and financial circumstances before accepting your second mortgage application.

Holiday Let

Holiday Let properties are great investments for those looking for an extra source of income. As a bonus, you will also have a place to stay at no added cost!

They work in the same way as Buy to Lets, however, your income from the Holiday Let may be more infrequent. Peak times, e.g., summer or Christmastime may provide you with more income; the lender will factor this into your Holiday Let second mortgage application as there will be times when you will have no rental income to contribute to your repayments.

You will need a large deposit for a Holiday Let as most of the properties in holiday locations are expensive.

Family purchase

Are you looking to take out a second mortgage to help a family member move into a new property?

Housing prices have skyrocketed, and First Time Buyers are struggling more than ever to get onto the property ladder. With this in mind, family members are offering a helping hand and taking out a mortgage in their own name so that their loved ones can move onto a property.

An alternative for parents or grandparents would be to gift their family members a gifted deposit. This can take off some of the pressure of saving up for that 5% mark and could help boost the overall deposit when combined with the applicant’s own savings.

You must be aware that the donor of the gifted deposit must declare in writing that this is not a loan it is a gift that should not be paid back in the future. The donor must also provide bank statements and proof of where the deposit has come from.

Specialist situation

If you are in a complex situation and you need to take out a second mortgage, we are here to try and help. A common situation that we come across involves applicants separating or going through a divorce and one party needs to take out another mortgage so that they can move out of the property.

In this situation, your lender will need to make sure that you afford two sets of mortgage payments as you will still be accountable for the repayments on your’s and your ex-partner’s mortgage. When you move out of the property, until your ex-partner can afford the repayments on their own, you will have to contribute towards them.

If you are in a complicated situation and you need to obtain a second mortgage, don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can take a look at your situation. We offer expert Mortgage Advice in Sheffield to all types of customers, struggling with all different kinds of mortgages.

Equity Release for a second mortgage in Sheffield

Equity Release is a way to release funds in your home to gain a lump sum of cash. There are different reasons why someone would want to release their equity; some people will use this cash to fund a second mortgage, take out a lifetime mortgage to replace their current mortgage or spend on something else of their choice. The lump sum that you release can be spent on anything you want to. We have seen customers use the money to pay for weddings, buy a new car and even to pay off debt.

Equity release is a very complicated subject, therefore, we would recommend getting in touch with our team to help you through the process. Getting a second mortgage can be difficult enough, never mind getting a second mortgage by releasing equity in your property.

Book your free mortgage appointment online or over the phone today by contacting a member of our team. We can’t wait to hear from you!

How much deposit do I need to put down?

First Time Buyer Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

First time buyers, home movers, landlords and the self employed will always ask the same question when it comes to applying for a mortgage – “how much can I borrow?”.

The answer varies depending on your individual situation. For example, how much you can borrow could change depending on your credit score, income, bank statements and your personal situation.

Let’s take a look into ‘how much you can borrow for a mortgage’ and how things have changed following the credit crunch.

Historic rules when borrowing for a mortgage

Long before the credit crunch, credit scoring was non-existent and mortgages were manually assessed by your local building society manager. Then, during the 1990s, lenders started performing income assessments to provide a consistent approach across applicants.

Maximum lending caps were also introduced. This meant that customers couldn’t borrow more than three to four times their annual income. Scary to think that before people could!

Despite these lending caps in place, in the early 2000s, lender’s income multipliers grew more generous. This meant that more and more people were borrowing more than they can afford to pay back. Furthermore, some lenders were even allowing some of their customers to ‘self-certify’ their income with minimal/no background checks such as payslips.

Of course, all of this went very wrong. Lenders were lending to applicants that couldn’t afford to pay them back, therefore the market crashed and all of sudden, it became extremely hard to get a mortgage from 2008-2010. Lenders tightened their margins and created a cautious (over-corrected) lending environment.

Nowadays approach to how much I can borrow

In 2014, the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) was introduced. This initiative helped the market get back up on its feet; it brought a new set of guidelines for lenders to adhere to. The old income multiplier method was scrapped and replaced with new, more sophisticated affordability calculators.

These new affordability calculators provided a closer look into an applicant’s spending habits and net disposable income. This meant that the lender could have an in-depth look at your bank statements to ensure unaffordable mortgages were not granted as they were before the Mortgage Market Review.

There is still a “lending cap” in place at about 4.75 times your annual income but your expenditures are also analysed. For example, lenders seem to penalise low-earners and even things like gambling showing up on your bank statements can sometimes affect your chances of being accepted. Some take pension contributions as a fixed outgoing so would often lend, say a public sector worker with a big pension deduction less than a private sector and so on.

Mortgage Broker in Sheffield

If you are currently trying to work out how much that you borrow, we would recommend trying our online free affordability calculator or speaking to us for a more accurate measure. A Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield will research the market on your behalf and try to find a lender that will lend you the amount you need.

Before you take out a mortgage you should sit down with a First Time Buyer Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield and work out your finances together to ensure that the repayments feel comfortable to you.

Right to Buy Mortgages Explained in Sheffield

Right to Buy Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

Right to Buy, a mortgage option that can help you out when you’re wanting to purchase your council property.

The scheme was introduced to help individuals living in council properties purchase the property they’re living in. As a Right to Buy mortgage applicant, depending on how long you’ve lived in the property, you may receive a discount on the property that you’re applying for.

This discount is likely to be used as your deposit, meaning you can organise your remaining savings to help with the rest of the process.

You may also be able to borrow money if you want to make home improvements for the property. Some lenders may allow this, but you will need permission from the Local Authority beforehand.

The Right to Buy process

The Right to Buy scheme is simply a way to help council house owners take a mortgage out on the property they’re living in.

The first step to getting a Right to Buy mortgage is completing a RTB1 and finding out whether you’re eligible or not. If you’re unsure of how to do this, you can contact your local authority or a mortgage broker in Sheffield like us. We can help you get your right to buy process in Sheffield started.

Following this step, someone will arrange for a property survey to be carried out on your property. This means that the local authority can get a true value for your home and can work out the mortgage amount. You should also be able to access a Right to Buy discount on the property. This discount can be used for your deposit or used on solicitor, legal or arrangement fees.

Like the usual mortgage process, you’ll have to provide evidence that you can afford a mortgage and pass affordability assessments prior to being accepted. This is why it’s essential that you’re managing your finances well and being sensible with your money during the months leading up to your Right to Buy mortgage in Sheffield.

What fees are included?

When taking out a Right to Buy mortgage, you’ll come across similar fees and costs that applicants taking out a regular mortgage come across:

• Lender’s valuation fee (some lenders do this for free, proving helpful to save on finances)
• Lender arrangement fee (sometimes this isn’t necessary)
• Mortgage broker’s fee (an experienced advisor in Sheffield will be able to support you through the process)
• Solicitor’s and legal costs
  
  

Right to Buy in Sheffield

In summary, Right to Buy presents a great opportunity to council house owners and gives them chance to get onto the property ladder. A scheme like this is something to look into if you’re thinking of buying out your council property.

You will, however, have to live within the property for a certain amount of time before you can sell it, otherwise, you’ll be issued with a penalty. This will be in the form of repaying a sum of money linked to the original property discount generously presented at the start of the process.

If you can afford to purchase your council home and can compensate for new costs such as property damages and repairs, the scheme could be for you. Remember that an affordability assessment will be carried out before you take one out, so make sure that you’re as prepared as you can be.

What is a Property Chain & How Can You Avoid Them?

Moving home mortgage advice in Sheffield

When you’re moving home in Sheffield, you may come across all sorts of different hurdles and obstacles along the way. Whether it’s something to do with your offer not being accepted straight away or your application being stuck in the pipeline, there’s always something.

A common problem that homebuyers come across are property chains. Getting stuck in a property chain can often slow down, if not put to a halt, your home moving journey.

What is a property chain?

A property chain is a string of house purchases that rely on one another to complete the chain. If you’re a first time buyer in Sheffield, you will always be at the start of the chain, whereas, if you are selling a property, you’ll be at the end.

Picture it as an actual chain linking houses together. For a buyer to move into the property that they’re buying, they need to wait for the seller to move out first. However, the seller is in the same situation as you! They too are waiting for their seller to move out so that they can move in.

Depending on the property chain that you’re linked with, the link could go on and on. If you’re lucky, you may only have a couple of purchases linked with your property chain or even just one!

How long will the process take in a property chain?

The answer to this question is completely situational. You don’t know what situation that your seller’s seller is in (complicated… we know).

You may not even know that you’re in a property chain, the whole process could run smoothly, and you wouldn’t know any different. Everyone hopes for this situation, who doesn’t want a quick and simple moving home process.

If things don’t go your way, you may be stuck in a waiting scenario. As a mortgage broker in Sheffield, we recommend that you begin your process at least six months of preparation. This means that you have plenty of time to search for that dream home and allowed time just in case you get stuck in a property chain.

What happens if my property chain breaks?

Unfortunately, if you’re linked with a property chain and one purchase doesn’t go through, the whole chain behind it could suffer. When a property chain breaks, you will have to wait or look for another property.

If the property chain breaks at your purchase, if you act quickly, you may be able to stop it from breaking the entire chain. If you’re selling, you could contact the people planning to buy your property by contacting your estate agent; this way, you can inform them of the situation sooner rather than later.

Whether it’s something wrong on the seller’s level or on your level, there are still ways to prepare for a break in the property chain. For example, you could try and buy a property that isn’t in a chain or in a small chain, sell your property and rent temporarily or buy a new-build property, etc.

For more moving home mortgage advice in Sheffield, contact our expert mortgage advisors in Sheffield today.

How can a property chain break?

A property chain can break for many different reasons. It could happen at your’s, your seller’s or even your buyer’s level:

• The buyer’s mortgage application was declined
• A seller decides that they don’t want to sell their property
• A buyer/seller loses their job or becomes ill
• The property survey that was carried out on the property highlighted some major damages and structural issues
  

These are just a few examples, there are many more reasons. Depending on the length of the property chain that you’re in will depend on how drastically these situations impact your ability to move home.

How can I avoid a property chain?

It can be hard to avoid a property chain; especially if you’re buying a busy time of year or when the market is hot, for example, January.

Moreover, you could do your research and talk to your estate agent so that you know exactly what your position is during the application stage. Arranging your finances as early in the process as possible would be smart. The more that you are prepared for things that could wrong, the better.

If you manage to avoid a property chain (also known as ‘chain-free’) you should be able to continue straight through the moving home process. This is assuming that you provide evidence that you can afford a mortgage and provide a deposit for the property.

Thinking of moving home in Sheffield?

If you are buying and selling your home, let our moving home mortgage advisors in Sheffield help you through your process.

You can book your own mortgage appointment for free online. Get started today and we can help you get through the moving home process stress-free. We can’t wait to hear from you.

The Importance Of Having Your Mortgage Reviewed in Sheffield

Mortgage review advice in Sheffield

One of the biggest financial commitments in your life will be a mortgage, therefore, from the moment that you take one out, you must be aware of the things that come with getting one.

People tend to think that once you get a mortgage, you can forget about it and just keep paying it off one month at a time, however, this is not the case. When you take out a mortgage, you will be fixing yourself into a term and your term could be between 2 and 10 years (It’s usually 2-3 years).

Once this term is over, you will fall straight onto your lender’s standard variable rate of interest and it’s likely that this rate will be higher than your current one, therefore your mortgage payments will increase. This is why you should keep on top of your mortgage and make sure that you know when your term ends. It’s also why you should be getting your mortgage reviewed towards the end of every term.

You may be able to access a better rate or deal; you will never know unless you get your mortgage reviewed and find out.

What is a mortgage review?

It’s exactly what it sounds like!

To get one, you need to approach your mortgage broker in Sheffield, lender or building society and let them know that you want to re-evaluate your mortgage product and see whether you can access a better rate. From here, you will start your journey to remortgage in Sheffield.

Overall, the process works just like how your first mortgage process did. You will be asked to provide evidential documents to support your affordability, you are who you say that you are, etc. With this information, they’ll see what sort of products you can access.

Since you’ve been paying off your mortgage and have hopefully been keeping up to date with your payments, your credit score should be well above fair/good and maybe even excellent. A higher credit score can potentially open you up to competitive mortgage products.

Some of our applicants can’t access a better product than they’re already on. In this situation, you can maybe think about renewing your mortgage product with your lender. As a mortgage broker in Sheffield, we only charge for our services past the point where you move forward with your mortgage deal, not whilst searching for one. It’s completely up to you if you continue with us or not.

Why is a mortgage review important?

Going through the mortgage process again can be tiring, but would it be worth it if you ended saving money on your monthly mortgage payments? We think so…

Getting a mortgage review and evaluating your mortgage product could prove financially beneficial further down the line. If you manage to get a better rate, you could end up saving lots of money.

Taking a mortgage review at the end of every mortgage term would prevent you from slipping onto your lender’s standard variable rate of interest (SVR).

Standard variable rate (SVR)

Your lender’s SVR is likely to be much higher than your current rate. This is because lenders SVR is tracked from the Bank of England’s base rate plus their own percentage. If you end up on your lender’s SVR you can choose to either stay on it if you’re happy paying their rates or can take a mortgage review and try to access a better deal.

You can’t switch mortgage products mid-way through your fixed mortgage term without paying an ERC (early repayment charge), so you’ll have to wait until the term finishes. Even though you can’t switch right away, it can still be worth looking at what sort of deals that you can access to get an idea of what you could move onto after your mortgage term is over.

Remember that you are not required to stay with the same lender/remortgage in Sheffield, if you want to shop around elsewhere to find a better deal, you can do so.

Equity Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

Lots of equity in your home

Due to the constant rising in house prices, if you’re lucky enough to have built up equity within your home, you may be able to access more competitive mortgage deals.

Mortgage rates are based on loan to value ratios. By rule of thumb, the more equity you have, the lower the interest rates you will be able to access.  

There may also be some capital raising options available to you. If you are interested in this, please speak with an expert mortgage broker in Sheffield like us.

Little equity in your home

If you haven’t owned a home for long or your property hasn’t increased in value yet, there may still be money-saving options with your current mortgage lender. 

If you’ve kept up to date with your mortgage payments, you may find that you’ll be able to access product transfer deals.

The true cost of a mortgage deal

The mortgage deal that carries the lowest interest rate may not be the best deal. This is because these types of deals often come with high set-up/arrangement fees.

As a mortgage broker in Sheffield, we will consider all the costs that come with getting a mortgage and try to find a deal that saves you money in places that you didn’t think you could.

We will consider your personal and financial situation when it comes to trying to find you the perfect mortgage deal. And, we will also take your credit history, the property being mortgaged, valuation fees and any arrangement fees into account.

Get in touch for Remortgage Advice in Sheffield today.

Can I get a mortgage as a student?

Student mortgage advice in Sheffield

University is a place to enjoy some of the greatest things that come with adult life; for example, freedom and independence Although, University costs a lot of money, and sometimes it can be hard to see exactly what you’re putting your money into, especially when it comes to accommodation fees.

Student accommodation can be a hit or miss situation. You may get an amazing landlord in Sheffield that takes care of you and your housemates, regularly checking in and taking care of property repairs and damages. On the other hand, you could get a landlord who does the opposite and leaves you with something like a broken washing machine for 4 weeks!

When you’re raking out money for rent month on month and getting the minimal back, it can be hard to ignore the fact that you should be getting treat better. Why don’t you look at becoming your own landlord? This way, you will be in charge of things and manage your property your way.

This can be made possible through a student mortgage. Taking out a mortgage as a student may not only save you money in the short term, but also in the long run.

Why should I get a student mortgage?

Getting a student mortgage will allow you to save costs on your accommodation and will also give you an early opportunity to get yourself onto the property ladder. They are more popular amongst higher education students who plan to continue their education through to their masters/PhD.

If you’re not planning to live in the property in the future, you can always sell up when you’re ready to move on. You could even keep it as a buy to let in Sheffield to rent out to other students!

By the time that it comes to the end of your course, you should have built up a bit of equity within your home. You can withdraw this equity if you would like. Equity can be turned into cash, and you can spend it however you want, it’s your money after all. It could be anyway from a wedding to a new car. The more equity in your home, the more money you can withdraw.

There are lots of things you could do with your property in the future!

How can I get a student mortgage?

Student mortgages can sometimes be hard to obtain. The reason behind this is that you need to have funds in place to afford one, and as a student, that can be difficult.

As a mortgage broker in Sheffield, when we come across a student mortgage application, we have to ask the applicant a set of questions so that we can find out whether they qualify for one or not. Firstly, we will need to know if you have a deposit for the property. This can be something like a gifted deposit, a Lifetime ISA or even as simple as funds from a savings account.

Secondly, we need to know that you can actually afford a mortgage. Your mortgage advisor in Sheffield will measure your affordability right off the bat. You will need some sort of income to take out a student mortgage. Some lenders will accept a part-time job, whereas others will only accept a full-time job.

Showing reliability

Your lender needs to know that you’re a reliable applicant. You can show this in multiple different ways. Here are a few examples:

Increased deposit amount – Putting down a higher deposit would mean that the total amount that you borrow would decrease, hence also decreasing your mortgage payments.

Using government schemes – Using government-led schemes under the “Own Your Home” program, you may be able to access a larger deposit for your student mortgage. A few of the schemes included are the Help to Buy Equity Loan, Lifetime ISA and the Shared Ownership scheme; there are many more if you visit https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk/all-schemes/.

Have an AIP ready – An agreement in principle can benefit your student mortgage application. It proves that a lender has already agreed to lend to you providing that you can supply documents to evidence your income, affordability, etc.

This is just naming a few. For further ways to appear more reliable during your student mortgage application, get in touch with our mortgage advisors in Sheffield today.

What type of property can I buy with a student mortgage?

Like most mortgage options, you have to meet certain requirements before getting the green light:

• The property that you’re taking the mortgage out on has to be within a 10-mile radius of your University.
• The property has to be 3-4 bedroom house.

With this in mind, you’ll also have to think about what you’re going to do with those spare rooms. To help you manage your money, the best idea could be to look into renting them out.

What happens if I can’t afford my payments?

Lenders will be aware of all of the risks that come with lending to a student. This is why they always take precautions.

When signing the papers for your student mortgage, you’ll have to declare a guarantor. This is someone who will cover your payments if you fail to pay them at any time. There are some limitations to who your guarantor can be:

• They cannot be over 65 at the point of your application.
• The guarantor must own a property in the UK.
• They must live inside this property in the UK.

Lenders have to have a backup just in case anything happens. This situation is in the worst possible scenario of course.

For help achieving your student mortgage dreams and first time buyer mortgage advice in Sheffield, get in touch today. We can help you see whether you match the criteria for a student mortgage or not.

First time buyer mortgage advice in Sheffield

Shared Ownership – What is it? How does it work?

Introduced off the back of the credit crunch in 2012, the Shared Ownership scheme gives first time buyers and home movers the opportunity to buy a share of and rent a property.

Shared Ownership Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

What is shared ownership?

Utilising the Shared Ownership scheme will allow you to take out a mortgage on/purchase a percentage of a property and then pay the remainder back on rent. The percentage that you take out will usually be between 10%-75%. Although, in some cases, you may be allowed to take out a 10% share.

As a result of taking out a mortgage in this fashion, you’ll be able to put down a smaller deposit. This makes your task of getting onto the property ladder a whole lot easier!

Perhaps partial homeownership is the route that you need to take.

How does the scheme work?

Since it’s likely that you’ll only be purchasing a 25%-75% share in the property, the minimum required deposit should be lower; although, this can still differ depending on your credit history.

You’ll be accessing Shared Ownership through the ways of a mortgage, meaning that you’ll only need to take out a mortgage on the percentage that you’re buying. For example, if you’re buying a share of 50% on a £250,000 house, you’ll only need to take out a £125,000 mortgage. Plus, rather than producing a deposit that’s based on the full property price, you’ll only have to supply a deposit based on the percentage that you’ve taken out; in this example, if you were required to put down 5% or more, you’d only have to supply £6,250.

After you’ve put down your deposit and your offer is accepted, you’ll start paying back your mortgage month on month; just like any other mortgage. As an additional cost, you’ll also be paying rent to the housing association. Your rent plus your mortgage payments shouldn’t be as expensive as had you taken out a 100% mortgage.

Costs and fees

There are lots of different costs to consider when taking out any type of mortgage. In terms of Shared Ownership costs, you will have the obvious set-up/arrangement fees and maybe some booking fees. Also, you are likely to receive stamp duty tax if your property is above the stamp duty threshold and you’ll have to consider legal solicitor fees too.

Costs will vary depending on the property that you’re buying. Factors such as deposit size, monthly payments, arrangement fees will differ from property to property.

How can I apply?

To qualify for Shared Ownership, you will have to meet certain requirements:

• You have to be at least 18 years of age.
• If you live outside of London, your combined household annual income must be less than £80,000. If you live in London, this is upped to less than £90,000.
• You cannot own another property during your Shared Ownership mortgage application. You must either be a first time buyer in Sheffield or in the process of selling your current property.
• If you can afford a house on the open market, you will not be able to access this scheme. It was designed to help struggling homebuyers.
• You must prove that you are not in any kind of arrears, this includes mortgages and rent.
• You’ll have to provide evidence that supports a good, clean credit history. This means that you will struggle if you have a CCJ (county court judgement) associated to your name or have had previous credit problems.
  

This may seem like quite a lot, however, it’s only the same as most other Help to Buy schemes. Some requirements differ, but at the end of the day, the scheme was made for a specific target audience. For example, if you do have bad credit problems, there are different ways to go about getting a mortgage rather than trying to use the Shared Ownership scheme.

Speak to a Shared Ownership Mortgage Advisor in Sheffield

We have been working within the mortgage industry for over 20 years now and have successfully helped many applicants get through their Shared Ownership journey.

Shared Ownership sometimes comes under the umbrella of ‘Help to Buy’, so for Help to Buy mortgage advice in Sheffield, you should get in touch with our fantastic team.

We offer a free Shared Ownership mortgage consultation to all customers; take advantage of this 7 days a week! We hope to hear from you soon.

How a Mortgage Broker in Sheffield can take away the stress of Moving Home

Moving home has built up a reputation of being stressful and daunting, however, it isn’t like that at all!

With the help from a mortgage broker in Sheffield, your moving home journey can be made stress-free. It’s our job to handle the mortgage side of the process, trying to find you a great mortgage deal whilst you search for your dream home.

Whether you’re thinking about moving home, taking up property viewings or are ready to make an offer on a house, we can help you get your mortgage process started.

Why a Mortgage Broker in Sheffield?

How can a mortgage broker in Sheffield help? How can we help you through your moving home journey?

Taking care of the ‘stressful’ parts of the process

It’s our job to search through mortgage deals on your behalf. You won’t have to shop around for thousands of mortgage products, trying to find one that matches your financial situation and the property that you’re making an offer on… that’s our job!

We only need some documents from you to evidence your income, who are you etc. Then we can search for the perfect deal for you. If we find one that matches your personal and financial situation that comes with a competitive rate and you want to continue with it, we can get ready to submit your mortgage application for you.

Fast and friendly process

We have been in the mortgage industry for over 20 years now, we know what we are doing. If you’ve already a property that you want to make an offer on, we can quickly help you find a mortgage offer that matches your situation so that you can continue with your purchase.

Our mortgage advisors in Sheffield are experienced in finding a quick but competitive mortgage product. Once you’re in contact with our team, we’ll pass your straight onto your dedicated mortgage advisor so that they can arrange your free mortgage consultation and get some information from you.

We can also arrange an agreement in principle for you within 24-hours of your application. Potentially, this can aid your property offer as it shows that a lender is willing to let you borrow for them.

Or an easy-going process

You may be a first time buyer in Sheffield or moving home in Sheffield, and want your journey to completion to be a little slower, and that’s completely fine!

If you want a simple, easy-going process, your mortgage advisor can slow things down for you. Don’t be afraid of asking lots of questions and taking your time during the process. Your mortgage advisor in Sheffield will be open and honest with you at all times, they will tell you exactly what’s going during every step of the process.

Speak when it suits you

Our team work during out of office hours so that you can speak to us at a time that suits you best.

We want you to be able to communicate with us when you feel most comfortable. Whether this is early or late, we’ll be available. This doesn’t just apply to our customer care team, your mortgage advisor in Sheffield will be able to book an appointment during the same working hours.

It’s all about taking the stress out of the mortgage process. We feel that we can help take away the stress from the process if you can contact your mortgage advisor in Sheffield at a time that is best for you.

Mortgage Advice in Sheffield

Our superb mortgage advice team can help you through the whole moving home process – from start to finish.

We offer a free mortgage consultation to every single customer, no matter their mortgage situation, so feel free to get in touch today.

Remember, as a mortgage broker in Sheffield, it’s our job to take away the stress from the whole moving home process. We work 7 days to ensure this!