Mortgage Deals

Young, Self Employed, No Accounts And No Savings. How

  • Posted on April 11, 2011 at 11:26 am

Young, Self Employed, No Accounts And No Savings. How Did I Get A Mortgage?

I was having considerable problems getting a mortgage to buy my first home about four years ago. If I was to believe everything I had heard, I was the ideal candidate for a mortgage – young, a first-time buyer and with an annual income of about 30k. Easy!

No, not easy, actually. Being young with a leaning towards enjoying myself, I had no savings – nothing to use as a deposit. But what about these 100% mortgages I had been hearing about? Surely I qualified? Oh, there was something else – I was also self employed with no accounts.

Self employed with no accounts and no savings.

Could I get a mortgage? It was virtually impossible. Not a single High Street lender would give me a mortgage. Even my bank who have had my services for ten years turned me down; even though my bank knew exactly how much I earned each year and how much I spent each week; even though my bank knew that making the monthly payments on a repayment mortgage would not be an big problem for me.

Then I heard about Self Certification Mortgages.

What is a Self Certification Mortgage? It’s essentially a mortgage whereby you decide whether or not you are capable of making the repayments. And that is when the penny dropped, because you see the entire process of applying for a mortgage is premised upon an institution (such as your bank) deciding whether or not you are able to make the monthly repayments.

And what is the formula for working this out? Well, if you are employed it is your salary – a bank will lend you, say, 3 or 4 times your annual salary. Normally they will ask you for a small deposit, say 5%, to demonstrate that your intentions are serious.

Obviously, if you are self employed, and particularly with no accounts, you often do not have an annual salary and you are unable to demonstrate regular monthly income. Many self employed people – notably me – live hand-to-mouth, regularly waiting for reluctant clients to settle outstanding invoices. So how can your ability to repay a mortgage be judged? I discovered that self certification was the answer – i.e. YOU. You make a judgement as to whether or not you are borrowing too much money and whether or not you will be able to afford the monthly repayments. After all, if you are bright enough to run your own business, manage your own tax affairs, handle purchasing and invoicing, surely you are bright enough to work out whether you can repay your mortgage!

Think about it – conventional, salary-based mortgages are judged on the basis of what a person has earned in the past, but a person could be made unemployed within hours of securing a mortgage. On the other hand, Self Certification puts the onus on you predicting what you will earn in the future. Sure, you could go out of business, but a salaried person could also lose their job.

So I thought, well this is good, but I bet that a Self Certification Mortgage is the stuff of loan sharks, with huge interest rates, crushing monthly repayments and Guantanemo-style penalties.

But there was something else I discovered about mortgages. Although the High Street is swamped by lenders, there are only actually a very small number of ‘actual’ lenders: the majority are intermediaries acting on their behalf, because the number of mortgage applications is so great that intermediaries are required to perform the process of judging each applicant and assessing risk.

So I discovered that whereas a High Street lender would turn me down, a smaller lender might accept me. But get this: the mortgage that I actually received from the small lender at the end of the day was exactly the same as the mortgage which had been refused me by the High Street lender! Only the forumla for judging my ability to repay the mortgage was different, not the mortgage itself!

So what’s the catch with Self Cerftification? There is always a catch in my experience, and in this instance it was a very big catch. Whereas a regular mortgage requires the borrower to contribute a deposit of, say, 5%, my Self Certification Mortgage required a deposit of 15%. Fifteen percent!! Of course I can see why they ask for this, why if you are not being judged using the conventional formula you are expected to show some serious committment. But I didn’t have any savings. I was young and self employed for crying out loud.

So what did I do? Okay, I would not recommend this to everybody, but I was desperate for my own home and I knew that I could afford the repayments. I took out a Personal Loan shortly before my mortgage application and, supplemented with a timely invoice payment, I was able to pay the deposit and afford the key refurbishment costs on the property (roof, re-wiring, plumbing etc).

On the High Street this would be called a Home Improvement Loan and acquired AFTER you have obtained a mortgage and purchased the property. I simply borrowed a little more in the form of a Personal Loan before I had acquired a mortgage. I was fortunate in that I could afford to carry the costs of these repayments for the forseeable future and I had bought on a rising market – the value of my property was already more than the mortgage and personal loan combined before I had even finished the refurbishment (ie. 4 months after buying the property). I would not recommend this to everyone, and you have to be very, very clear about how much you are borrowing and what the total repayments will be.

However, getting on the property ladder and having my own home was the most important thing to me, and it just goes to show that if you look beyond the High Street you can actually find the same or similar financial products but with less of the hassle. The High Street had always made me feel inadequate, a financial failure

You might be interested to know that, because I was still looking for the catch in my Self Certification Mortgage, I went to a respected, independent financial advisor recently (on the High Street as it happens) and asked if I should change my mortgage to something better. His advice was that I had got a very good mortgage deal and that I should stick with it for the forseeable future. So I have.

Richard

What the bank won’t tell you about your home mortgage

  • Posted on April 4, 2011 at 11:26 am

What the bank won’t tell you about your home mortgage quote

Shopping for a house is probably the most significant financial decision that you will make in your life. When you shop for your home by first attaining a home mortgage quote, your decision becomes even more momentousyou need to perform a balancing act between the house of your dreams and factors such as the down payment and interest rate payable.

Your first stop in this process will probably be your bank. This is the most obvious option, but may not always be the right one; there are things your banker will not tell you about a home mortgage quote. In other words, the home mortgage quote that is good for your banker may not be the best one for you.

Prevailing interest rates

Take the issue of interest rates. Rates fluctuate according to market exigencies. When you start your negotiations for a home mortgage quote, the interest rate might be higher than at the time you actually avail the loan. You must keep a track of such fluctuations, and induce the bank to provide you with the advantage of the prevailing rate. Your lender may not tell you this, but the difference could mean several hundred extra pounds. Therefore, it is always a good practice to consider alternative information sources before finalizing the home mortgage quote, and then compare rates on offer. With easy access to the Internet, you can even generate online quotes from web sites. This exercise will help you prepare well for negotiating with your banker regarding the interest rate.

Mortgage tenure

The mortgage tenure is another important question that you need to query. From the point of view of the bank, a 30-year fixed rate is most suitable because it can bring in returns of up to 4-5 percent for the bank. However, is it good for you? If you are looking to refinance in a period of about seven years, a 30-year rate is a disadvantage because you would be keeping the loan for only seven years.

Hidden fees and levies

Once you have finalized the purchase of the house and the interest rate with the bank, you would think that getting the right home mortgage quote is guaranteed. However, you need to watch out for those hidden fees or add-ons, which your banker might not have explained at the outset: loan processing fees, warranties, insurance, and the like. It always pays to put these issues on the table before finalizing the home mortgage quote.

Disproportionate service charges

In your market research for the right home mortgage quote, your focus is obviously the lowest interest rate. However, this should not be your only guide because some banks attract customers with the offer of a low rate, but may levy charges for services that are non-existent. A real-world experience is of a Fairfield, Conn., graphic designer who discovered that his bank charges fees for services such as lender inspection and notary at a rate much higher than normally acceptable. It is a prudent step to compare the complete fee package before committing to a quote. It is important to remember that lenders often offer to waive a particular fee levied by your bank in an effort to close the deal. So, it is important to recognize such opportunities and press home the advantage.

Besides raising these factors, you must also consider issues that are more closely related to your personal decision-making capacity, and for which no banker can tender advice:

Be sure of the reasons for buying a house.
Ensure that the size of the house is right for you.
Choose the right time in the year to buy a house (there could be a particular time in the year when home prices drop, depending upon your location).
If you decide to involve a real estate agent in procuring your home mortgage quote, find the right estate agent and be aware of hisher commissions.
Select the location of the house carefully keeping in mind resale value.
Inspect the house thoroughly, identifying problem areas and factoring them into the price.

Getting a home mortgage rate that suits your requirement is one aspect, living with it is another. However, once you have understood the operating market forces in this arena, you will go a long way toward successful management of both these aspects.

What Mortgage Surveys in 2007 Depict?

  • Posted on March 28, 2011 at 11:26 am

The august 2007 survey on US mortgage has shown a significant downfall in the market due to lowered treasury yields. The fixed-rate mortgage for the 30-year and 15-year term has dropped due to this downfall as shown by the survey.

Some of the largest lenders in the nation have been declared bankrupt and all transactions related to them have been stopped. In the second quarter of 2007, one-half of the previous borrowers, those who paid off their initiation loan and applied for a new one have augmented their mortgage voucher rate by approximately one-eighth on the existing rate at 30-year fixed mortgage rates.

The survey has pointed out that the refinance loan’s second quarter’s share also dropped to 42 percent from it’s initiation and is likely to decline more in the later half of 2007. The report also says that the refinanced loans which were prepared in the second quarter, has cashed out in a massive flow.

In the second quarter of 2007 the mortgage rate has been greater than before which in turn lowered the in general stipulation for refinancing. The companies are waiting for further downfall in refinancing, which will result in a rate in the second half of 2007 as low as one-third of the new mortgage application.

This Cash-Out Refinance Report 2007 has also exposed the assets that have been refinanced during the second quarter of 2007. It shows that those assets have experienced a medium house-price appreciation, which is even low from a revised 25 percent that prevailed in the first quarter 2007.

There is a large number of equity invested in homes that homeowners can beat if they are willing to go for a home improvement or some other kind of investments. But lowering home appreciation denotes that new current homebuyers will not have the privilege to build up much equity over the earlier years and they will not have much occasion to use their home’s equity in some productive means.

It might take longer than it appears to stabilize this sudden turmoil in the mortgage market. The home prices might fall 20% from the year 2006 when it hit the highest point. It is also pointed out that this formulates the call for a 25% fall whereas last year appears to some extent less radical.

The repayments are also becoming too expensive and involving more money being dried up, the assessment of the houses are less than the quantity payable by the home owner. It has been reported to the Congress that the January 2007 housing mortgages reorganize to market rates of 22 billion. These rearranging numbers are a dynamic issue in the escalating rise in foreclosures.

It is to be noticed that the major portion of mortgage rearrangements is not until next year. This gives the suggestion that the rise in the figure of foreclosures is due to the existing high current levels and putting more homes into a fragile housing plans. But it is also noticeable that this pressure from housing will definitely moderate over time. But that time is not coming in the next few months for sure.

Want to remortgage but are worried about your personal data?

  • Posted on March 21, 2011 at 11:26 am

Want to remortgage but are worried about your personal data?

The recent scandal where the personal data of 25 million people went missing is worrying. Lots of companies today want your personal details and very often they dont need them and shouldnt be asking for them.

This is more common in the mortgage market than almost anywhere else. www.mform.co.ukMortgage comparison sites ask you to provide your phone number so that a broker can call you back. Whats more concerning is that often you wont know which company is going to call you back because the website you were using has sold your details to another company (usually the highest bidder) and even they dont know who they have sold them to!

However there are sites that do things properly. A good example of this was quoted recently when a website user said Found this site very useful and easy to use. It gave me the information I needed without having lots of people keep contacting me by telephone.
I work full-time during the day and also have a part-time evening job so finding time to take ‘information gathering’ telephone calls was not what I wanted but it was amazing how many sites say that it is online and then when you have submitted the form then say ’someone will contact you’ and do not provide any useful information online.

If you are concerned about your personal data and dont want to be called by someone you dont know, then make sure that you use a real mortgage comparison site one that actually compares the whole of the mortgage market and lets you apply for the mortgage there and then.
Be wary of sites that are actually just there to make money by selling your details to a broker. You should be able to get a personalised illustration without giving your contact details.

Get the right site and not only will your data be secure but you will improve your chance of finding the right deal for your www.mform.co.ukmformmform?contentKey=mortgageinformationbuyertypesReMortgaging.xmlremortgage.

Understanding Mortgage

  • Posted on March 14, 2011 at 11:26 am

A mortgage is defined as a way in which property or jewelry is used as a security against the debt. The loan that is taken against mortgage is termed as mortgage loan. This loan is taken in many countries mainly for the purpose of purchasing home or for wedding in the family.

Mortgage can be taken from banks or money lenders in many countries. People involved in mortgage include-creditor, debtor and at times a legal representative. The term creditor can also be used synonymously with lender. Money lenders, insurers, banks or financial institutions are creditors who provide the money to the person in exchange of property or jewelry.

A borrower is also known as debtor, obligor or mortgagor. A debtor gets the amount equal to the value of the mortgaged article. A mortgagor is required to abide by all the obligations or conditions of creditors. Or, else there are chances that as a way of recovering debt, the property may be taken away by the creditors. There are various properties as a result of foreclosure. These properties are available for reasonable costs for the other buyers.

It is always that the legalities of mortgage are done under the supervision of a lawyer. All the conditions and the amount of money involved should be stated in written and signed by the creditors, debtors and lawyer present. It adds authenticity and removes any confusion if any.

Currently many Certified Financial Planners work in combination with Certified Mortgage Planners so as to provide mortgage loans to financially sound people.

In addition to creditors, debtors, legal representatives and government agencies, there is involvement of pension funds and life insurers. Terms involved in the legal process of mortgage loan are Disbursements, Mortgage Deed, Conveyance, Land Registration, Sealing Fee, Freehold, Leasehold, Seasoned mortgage and Legal Charge.

Freehold is defined as the land and property ownership. Disbursements include all the money involved as search fees, stamp duty and land registry. Legal Charge is a document that has all the minute details of the land or property owner. Conveyance is the document that transmits the possession of unregistered property. Sealing Fee is paid when the creditor discharges the charge over the land. Land Registration is also referred as title. This document contains the details of the ownership of land and property. Seasoned mortgage is linked with secondary market. In seasoned mortgage payment is made on regular basis. Mortgage Deed is a document that gives detail of possession of ownership.

Legal mortgage are of two kinds- Mortgage by legal charge and Mortgage by demise. There are essentially two types of legal mortgage. A lender becomes the legal owner of the mortgaged land till the money is paid in full. A lender is free to auction or sell the mortgaged property. While under Mortgage by legal charge, a lender can not sell the mortgaged land. He may possess the land legally but the right of selling and buying of the land lies with the debtor. Also, to provide safety to the lender, the details of mortgage are recorded in a register.

UK Mortgages – Need To Know Information

  • Posted on March 7, 2011 at 11:26 am

Whatever stage of the mortgage game youre at, unless you happen to be a qualified financial advisor, solicitor and broker all rolled into one, youll need professional help to find and arrange your loan. This guide presents some basic information on mortgages, but youll need to take specialist advice for your individual circumstances.

Having a general awareness of the processes involved and an idea of whats available to you should help you to make the right decision when you choose your mortgage.

You should be aware, too, of the difference between information and advice. Anyone can give information, and a survey of the web will offer literally thousands of pages about mortgages. Be aware of the legal aspects of mortgages and finances any agreements should be in writing, and you should check all documents carefully before signing. Verbal agreements and information should always be backed up by written copies. Below are some useful starting points for you to explore. Good luck!

Information

The web offers any amount of information on mortgages check that the pages are recent as rules and offers change constantly. Good sources of official information are:

The Financial Services Authority includes a guide to money, mortgages and debt, plus details of regulatory bodies and ombudsmen www.fsa.gov.uk

Direct Gov general information on finances and benefits
www.direct.gov.uk

Inland Revenue check the tax rules that apply to you
www.hmrc.gov.uk

Advice

Anyone offering you advice should be a qualified professional. They should be registered with an appropriate independent regulatory body, and you can ask to see copies of their qualifications. Theres a lot of free advice out there, that should help you without obligation, and its worth taking advantage of.

Independent Financial Advisors

Find an advisor at www.impartial.co.uk and a mortgage specialist at www.unbiased.co.uk

Solicitors

Often family or friends will recommend a solicitor, otherwise look for one that specialises in conveyancing and house buying. Check www.lawsociety.org for professionals in England and Wales, and www.lawscot.org.uk for Scotland.

If you have a query or complaint

The FSA are now the body that regulates financial professionals and lenders the Financial Ombudsman can investigate complaints or disputes and usually resolve them. Contact the professional or lender first they should have a complaints procedure. If you are still not satisfied, you can ask the ombudsman to consider your case: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
.
(The websites of the respective law societies of England & Wales and Scotland are the place to find out how to make a complaint about a solicitor or firm, see above.)

UK Mortgages – Need To Know Information

  • Posted on February 28, 2011 at 11:26 am

Whatever stage of the mortgage game youre at, unless you happen to be a qualified financial advisor, solicitor and broker all rolled into one, youll need professional help to find and arrange your loan. This guide presents some basic information on mortgages, but youll need to take specialist advice for your individual circumstances.

Having a general awareness of the processes involved and an idea of whats available to you should help you to make the right decision when you choose your mortgage.

You should be aware, too, of the difference between information and advice. Anyone can give information, and a survey of the web will offer literally thousands of pages about mortgages. Be aware of the legal aspects of mortgages and finances any agreements should be in writing, and you should check all documents carefully before signing. Verbal agreements and information should always be backed up by written copies. Below are some useful starting points for you to explore. Good luck!

Information

The web offers any amount of information on mortgages check that the pages are recent as rules and offers change constantly. Good sources of official information are:

The Financial Services Authority includes a guide to money, mortgages and debt, plus details of regulatory bodies and ombudsmen www.fsa.gov.uk

Direct Gov general information on finances and benefits
www.direct.gov.uk

Inland Revenue check the tax rules that apply to you
www.hmrc.gov.uk

Advice

Anyone offering you advice should be a qualified professional. They should be registered with an appropriate independent regulatory body, and you can ask to see copies of their qualifications. Theres a lot of free advice out there, that should help you without obligation, and its worth taking advantage of.

Independent Financial Advisors

Find an advisor at www.impartial.co.uk and a mortgage specialist at www.unbiased.co.uk

Solicitors

Often family or friends will recommend a solicitor, otherwise look for one that specialises in conveyancing and house buying. Check www.lawsociety.org for professionals in England and Wales, and www.lawscot.org.uk for Scotland.

If you have a query or complaint

The FSA are now the body that regulates financial professionals and lenders the Financial Ombudsman can investigate complaints or disputes and usually resolve them. Contact the professional or lender first they should have a complaints procedure. If you are still not satisfied, you can ask the ombudsman to consider your case: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
.
(The websites of the respective law societies of England & Wales and Scotland are the place to find out how to make a complaint about a solicitor or firm, see above.)

UK mortgage and remortgage deals

  • Posted on February 21, 2011 at 11:26 am

Mortgage is a way of securing a debt by using your own property as a guarantee to the lender. If For some reason you cannot pay your debt in time you may lose the property. The term mortgage itself refers to the debt and also to the legal device used when securing the property.

In the countries where properties are highly demanded and the prices are quite elevated, there are strong loan and mortgage markets. The UK mortgage market is famous for this reason, it is one of the best in the world, and the competition is very high. The main difference between the UK mortgage market and the ones in other countries is that in the UK the state is not interfering with it and all the loans are funded by banks or credit unions. Also one can find a lot of types of loans in the UK mortgage market.

The UK mortgages are of different interest rates. These rates can be:
-fixed rates – they remain constant for all the period of the loan, usually up to five years because loans with fixed rates that last more than five years are not that popular.
-variable rates – the interest rate of the UK mortgage varies in time, depending on the agreement between the lender and the client
-discount rates – variable rates that benefit of a discount for a period
-capped rates – a mixture between variable rates and fixed rates – the interest rate may vary but cannot raise over a certain fixed limit
Furthermore, these UK mortgage rates may also be combined, depending on what the lender and borrower agree on.

Lenders in the UK are usually also asking for a valuation fee, required to pay an observer that must visit the property and evaluate it in order to make sure that it can cover the UK mortgage amount.

Sometimes after taking a remortgage loan you may wish to switch the mortgage to another lender that asks for lower interest rates, so that you can save some money. This is called remortgaging. The UK remortgage market is also very innovative and competitive, almost half of the mortgage applications are in fact for remortgages.

An advice on UK remortgage is to only remortgage your loan if its interest rate drops under 2% under your current interest rate. But the interest rate is not the only thing that should be taken into account when thinking about a UK remortgage. Also consider the amount of time that you plan to live in your home – it has to be enough to cover the costs of the mortgage.

Tips for Refinancing Mortgage

  • Posted on February 14, 2011 at 11:26 am

Refinancing home mortgage is one way to make the most of your money. Many people find it a smart tool. This is true to an extent and also depends on prudent judgment and good assessment of certain things such as your personal goals and your homes current and past value, plus the particulars of your current loan. Refinancing is no doubt a good option and a smart way of maximizing your saving if you take all these conditions into account. Otherwise home mortgage refinancing may not make any sense at all and may prove to be a futile exercise.

So next time when you consider refinancing home mortgage, before doing so consider the following point:

First, know your homes value. Assess the value of your properly. Find out whether it is increasing or decreasing. It is very likely that real estate prices always go up. Hence currently it is likely that your home value has also gone up. However, there are also certain conditions when real estate prices come down. So dont ever take for granted that your home value has gone up. Call up a mortgage lender or a local realtor and find out the current real estate prices. If it is going down, defer your home mortgage refinancing until the situation is favorable.

Another aspect that you need to look at is for how long d you intend to stay in your present home. If you stay for long years, long enough to pay off the points as well as closing costs of refinancing, then you may go for refinancing. However, if you intend to look at other homes in the near future, refinancing of your homes mortgage will not make any sense.

Find out what is real motive of refinancing of your homes mortgage. If it is to reduce debt, do something that will increase your home value. You can in fact consider renovation before refinancing it so that its value goes up. Investing in renovation is not a bad idea because the amount you have spent in doing so will give better returns in the long run. It is worth investing.

If you consider the above points, refinancing your homes mortgage may give you wonderful results. Monthly mortgage payments can be reduced to a certain extent and you can save more. Lower interest rates mean lower payment and increased saving. Suppose you owe 100,000 on your homes mortgage on a thirty-year conventional loan taken at an interest rate of 6.5 percent, your monthly payment will then be 632. If you can lower that interest rate to 5.5 percent then your monthly payments comes down to 567. This means you can lower your homes monthly payment by 68, which is a big amount.

Since you are not an expert on home mortgage refinancing, it is always better to consult realtor or mortgage lender before taking any decision. They will help you to determine which type of loan is best to refinance your home mortgage. All said and done, refinancing home mortgage is done taking advantage of fluctuating real estate prices.

Tips for Mortgage Refinancing and Debt Consolidation

  • Posted on February 7, 2011 at 11:26 am

Many people discover that their credit card debt is out of control when they get their monthly bank statement. Mortgage payment, everyday spending, services and occasionally getaways or dining out can bring your balance over-the-limit fees. Its time to consider debt consolidation to save your money – credit card balance transfer, home equity loan or mortgage refinancing.

One of the best ways to obtain debt relief is by consolidating your debts with a mortgage refinancing if the timing is right. Refinanced mortgage is a form of debt help for the borrower, who will be able to pay down the old mortgage with the money of a new loan. The benefit of mortgage refinance is based in not only debt consolidation of other debt, but in getting a lower interest rate, lower pay off, and taking cash out of the home equity. Although every borrower may have their particular reason for applying for a new loan, all of them share the desire for debt relief by reducing their mortgages’ interests rates and liquidating cash from their home equity when possible. Mortgage refinancing usually costs a couple of thousand pounds in closing cost besides the time you spend on research, application etc. Debt advice on home mortgage can easily be obtained through the mortgage lender, mortgage broker, financial institutions and Government Consumer Protection Offices.

Because secure loans and mortgages are backed up by collateral property or a guarantee for any other sort of asset, lowering the rates means more savings and debt relief. Mortgage refinancing could quickly reduce your debt if done properly. Mortgage refinancing lets you cash out your equity to be applied for debt relief purposes, and allow you to qualify for lower rates than a home equity loan. A single mortgage is often considered less risky than having two loans.

Taking a shorter term in your mortgage refinancing may further lower the interest rate. For instance, if your original mortgage is a 30-year loan, you may consider a 15-year mortgage while refinancing the loan. The monthly payment of a 15-year loan is about 20-30% higher than the one of a 30-year mortgage, not as high as out intuition tells us.

Genuine debt help comes when you weigh the pros and cons of debt consolidation. Obtaining a mortgage refinance may be the best option for debt relief, remembering that you will have to follow a similar process like the first time application so make sure to keep a good credit history before you apply. Be sure to get mortgage quotes from at least three mortgage lenders before you commit. Weight the pros and cons of your current mortgage, and compare the actual interest rates you are paying off in comparison to those resulting from your new debt management perspective, considering collateral involved in the debt and possible future risks as well. Your financial adviser can offer valuable advice for your debt relief.