Buying a new home is exciting. Whether it's your first property or moving up the ladder, it can be a daunting prospect without proper guidance.
The team at Bigmore Associates are experienced, expert mortgage advisers who provide a comprehensive service across the whole of market. We cover all areas of the mortgage market, including residential mortgages, buy-to-let mortgages, equity release and later life products such as lifetime mortgages. From finding the right mortgage for you, to managing the application process, to driving through till completion we are there for you every step of the way.
Moving home can be stressful. With several aspects to juggle involved with selling and purchasing a property, seeking mortgage advice to relieve some of this stress is essential. There are various mortgage products to choose from so it is important to cater the mortgage solution to your needs.
When you’re ready to make your next purchase Bigmore Mortgages takes care of your mortgage so all you need to focus on is the move.
If you are planning on buying a property to move up the property ladder, it is important to understand your options and assess how much you can borrow before viewing properties.
Read our article on The Home Buying Process.
As a first time buyer the path to purchasing your fist home can be equally exciting and daunting, as you navigate the minefield of options available. There are many different mortgage products to choose from so it is important to get the solution that best meets your needs.
Bigmore Mortgages aim to make your first purchase as smooth and hassle free as possible, by guiding you from looking at your mortgage affordability, to putting an offer on a property and through to having a mortgage offer in place and working towards completion.
We can also advise and assist with the government schemes available to assist first time buyers.
Access our free Guide to Homeownership for First Time Buyers
Your mortgage is the largest financial commitment you will make so it is important to ensure that you find the right option for you, and not just to stay with your original Lender because it seems easier. In the same way that you might search for the best deals for car insurance, it makes sense to review your mortgage on a regular basis. The team at Bigmore Associates can do all the leg work for you, leading you through the process with thorough guidance giving you the confidence that you have received the best advice out there.
We recommend reviewing your options 6 months prior to your current deal expiring. It is at this point where you should seek expert remortgage advice. It is not a given that your existing Lender will have the best deal on the market, and if they don’t, having someone to guide you through this process can help secure the best mortgage deal moving forwards.If you do not secure a new deal, you will automatically revert to the lender Standard Variable rate, typically between 4-5%. As whole of market advisors, we are not tied to one lender. This means we can review the entire market of options and switch your mortgage to the best deal possible.
Read our article When It’s Time for a New Mortgage Deal
Property represents a form of investment typically less volatile than other asset classes, offers opportunity for long-term capital growth, and short-term income from rent.
Buy-to-let mortgages function differently to residential loans, and despite the benefits, investing in property may not be right for everyone. This makes it even more important to seek quality property investment advice. Our professional mortgage advisers are on hand to guide you through the process.
Releasing equity can be life changing. Be that for carrying out home improvements, helping a loved one buy their own home, or paying for care costs later in life. However it is not right for everyone, and there are potential risks associated with it. At Bigmore Mortgages, we appreciate this, and by working with our colleagues in the financial planning arm of the business, we’re uniquely placed to offer holistic equity release advice and address your retirement planning needs.
There are now a variety of products available to help older borrowers release equity from their homes, and increasingly age is no obstacle to borrowing in many cases. We are authorised to advise on all types of later life and equity release products, but the most common by far are lifetime mortgages.
Typically, a lifetime mortgage involves borrowing a lump sum – sometimes with the potential to draw down on additional funds subsequently – on a rate that is fixed for life. The term will be open ended, and there are no compulsory monthly payments. In most cases, the loan will be repaid when the borrower either dies or enters long-term care permanently, at which point the property is sold and the debt repaid.
Bigmore Mortgages are members of the Equity Release Council, the leading industry standards body, and we’re committed to the highest standards of advice.
Read our article on Equity Release with a Lifetime Mortgage
With repayment mortgages you pay the interest and part of the capital off every month. At the end of the term, typically 35 years, you should manage to have paid it all off and own your home outright.
Capital Repayment mortgages can be either fixed-rate or variable rate. A fixed-rate mortgage entails the rate of interest you pay being fixed for a certain number of years, usually two, three, five or ten. Your interest rate will not change during the initial fixed period. When the fixed rate ends, you begin paying your lender’s standard variable rate.
To learn more about variable rate mortgages, please see the Tracker Mortgage tab further to the right.
With interest-only mortgages, you pay only the interest on the loan and nothing off the capital. Typically, mortgages on an ‘interest only’ basis are set up with the property being sold at a later date. They offer the potential of generating sufficient monies to fully repay the outstanding loan at the end of the term.
However the lender may require you to have a repayment strategy in place so that you have sufficient funds available to fully repay the loan at the end of the mortgage term.
Failing to maintain an adequate repayment strategy could result in you having difficulty in fully repaying the mortgage capital at the end of the term. You should review the progress of your repayment strategy on a regular basis to ensure enough capital is available when repayment becomes due. The mortgage lender will also check during the term of the mortgage that your repayment strategy remains in place and still has the potential to fully repay the capital borrowed.
Lenders often have minimum income requirements of anywhere between £50,000 – £100,000 for any mortgages involving interest-only lending, and many (but not all) will limit the amount they lend on interest only to 50% of the property’s value, making the deposit required to purchase a property with interest-only borrowing much higher. The vast majority of mortgages for first-time buyers tend to be on a full capital repayment basis as a result.
An offset mortgage functions similarly to other mortgages in most regards:
• It is a secured loan enabling you to buy a property or remortgage a property.
• It can have a term of up to 35-40 years, it can be capital and interest or interest only.• It can have a fixed-interest rate, or something else.
Where an offset mortgage is unique is with the addition of a linked savings account.
When the new mortgage starts, the borrower will designate a savings account (usually a new savings account with the same lender offering the mortgage) which will be linked to your mortgage. Any funds deposited in the linked savings account will be, as the name suggests, offset against your mortgage balance. This means you only pay interest on the difference between the two balances.
For a more in-depth look at an offset mortgage, see our article Offset Mortgage: What It Is and How it Works.
A tracker mortgage has a variable interest rate throughout the term of your mortgage.
Tracker mortgage products have a benchmark – usually the Bank of England Base Rate (BEBR) – on top of which there will be an additional interest charge. The payable rate will be whatever the benchmark is at any given time, plus the additional amount, which is set by your lender. For example, a tracker product of BEBR + 0.69% will have a current, payable rate of 3.69%. Tracker rates can therefore go up or down over time, in line with changes to the benchmark rate. The tracker will also apply for a set amount of time, such as two, three or five years, before reverting to the lender’s standard variable rate.
A Lifetime Mortgage is also called Equity Release.
Typically, a lifetime mortgage involves borrowing a lump sum – sometimes with the potential to draw down on additional funds subsequently – on a rate that is fixed for life. The term will be open ended, and there are no compulsory monthly payments. In most cases, the loan will be repaid when the borrower either dies or enters long-term care permanently, at which point the property is sold and the debt repaid.
Bigmore Mortgages are members of the Equity Release Council, the leading industry standards body, and we’re committed to the highest standards of advice.
Our team of experienced mortgage advisers will find the right product for you and guide you through the whole process. Let us ease some of the stress of moving home.
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