Cheap mortgages and flat property growth

Monday, 27th January, 2020
cheap mortgages

You’ll be pleased to know that despite the ominous title, this article is not a dreary take on the UK’s bleak property outlook. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

According to Nationwide, weak property price growth in 2019 coupled with rising wages and employment played a driving factor in helping first time buyers get a mortgage. In fact, in the 12 months to October 2019, 354,400 got a foot on the property ladder – more than double the lows of 2009.

As a Guildford mortgage broker, the team at Complete Mortgages believes that there is also a third factor at play: the ability to get a cheap mortgage.

We covered this in a recent article about remortgaging, which touched on the number of great mortgage deals currently on the market. However, we didn’t examine cheap mortgage deals against the backdrop of flat property prices, so let’s do that now.

1. Now is the time to apply for a cheap mortgage

Huge competition amongst mortgage lenders is driving down mortgage rates. But just remember: nothing lasts forever. Maybe you’re a first time buyer searching for a first time buyer mortgage. Or maybe you’re simply ready to upsize. Either way, mortgages don’t come much cheaper than what they are right now, so if you’re ready to arrange a mortgage, then now is the time to do it.

2. Cheap mortgages + flat property price growth = a good deal

Take point one and add the fact that property prices are not currently skyrocketing, and you might find that you have more purchasing power than you thought (or certainly more than you did a couple of years ago). However, the ‘nothing lasts forever’ point stands here, too, as the same Nationwide survey stated how prices moved up 0.1% in December. Now, if they continue to move up then this is, effectively, eroding the value of your mortgage deposit.

3. Don’t hang around

We’ve covered how now’s the time to take advantage of the best mortgage deals. We’ve also looked at this in tandem with flat lining property prices, which may not be flat lining for long. And let’s not forget that the ambiguity around Brexit, which has been instrumental in the stalling of property price growth, seems to be over. Finally then, with employment and wage growth, you might want to ask yourself whether or not interest rate rises will follow. In which case, the three things currently working in your favour may switch to become the three things that ultimately work against you.

We can’t predict what is going to happen with property prices, employment growth and interest rates – and this article certainly doesn’t represent any advice on our part – however, they are certainly three points to consider if you’re contemplating getting a mortgage in 2020.

Ready to apply for a mortgage and in need of good mortgage advice? Look no further as our team of Guildford mortgage advisers will be able to help guide you through the process and make getting a mortgage as seamless as possible. Call us on 01483 238280 or email info@complete-mortgages.co.uk.

How to get a cheap mortgage

Wednesday, 7th August, 2019

This isn’t a cheat. Nor does it involve any sneakiness or withholding of information on your part when it comes to applying for a mortgage. And yes, it’s legal!

In fact, it’s so above board that you may even kick yourself and wonder why you haven’t done anything about it before.

Note: if you’re an existing Complete Mortgages customer then this doesn’t apply to you as, for reasons you’ll understand if you read on, we wouldn’t have let this happen to you in the first place.

According to Yorkshire Building Society, more than £26bn worth of mortgage deals are due to mature in October. Simply put, this means that £26bn worth of mortgages are about to slip on to the more expensive standard variable rate (SVR).

It’s a bit like energy providers or telecoms firms; when you’re coming up to the end of your contract you can either renew on a more cost-efficient deal – or start paying more.

The building society’s analysis further reveals that by avoiding the ‘default mortgage setting’ of the SVR through remortgaging, homeowners could be saving themselves up to £200 a month. That’s £2,400 a year!

If you’re not currently a Complete Mortgages customer but are one of the many UK homeowners whose mortgage is about to become more expensive, then our advice is that you start looking into remortgaging as soon as possible. Of course, as an award-winning Guildford mortgage adviser, then we recommend you call us on 01483 238230 to kick start the remortgage process.

Either way, failing to change mortgage deal – or even mortgage lender – if you’re about to fall onto the SVR could end up costing you a pretty penny.

As to why it doesn’t apply to our customers, we contact each and every single one of them months before their mortgage deal is due to end – regardless of whether that’s in October or not.

We have a team of people whose role it is to make sure that not a single client falls onto the SVR. The reason we do this is because being a good mortgage broker isn’t just about making sure the customer gets the best mortgage available to them, but also that they save as much money as possible along the way.

Yes, remortgaging takes a bit of time and legwork (although a mortgage broker worth its salt should gladly handle this for you), but it isn’t particularly difficult. And as the price of not doing it can be as much as £2,400 a year, then why wouldn’t you explore your options.

If you’re not currently a Complete Mortgages customer and think that you might need to remortgage in the not too distant future, then contact the team on 01483 238280 or email info@complete-mortgages.co.uk.

If you are already a customer, then you needn’t do anything at all. If your remortgaging needs are already catered for then remember that we also specialise in first time buyer mortgages, buy to let mortgages, adverse credit mortgages and equity release mortgages.

By Mark Finnegan, Director at Complete Mortgages