The current lack of speculation on base rate movement will now open up the market further to allow lenders to compete, not only on key products, but also on special offers on booking and valuation fees, as well as cashbacks to help with legal fees.

GETTING THE RIGHT ADVICE

Matching the right product to the right borrower is now much more difficult than in the past and it is for this reason that this year a growing number of borrowers will turn to a mortgage professional to help them through the minefield of paperwork and underwriting requirements that have become the new norm.

NO DEPOSIT? - DON'T WORRY!

We can raise up to a 100% mortgage if you don’t have a deposit. This is made possible by using a Guarantor who has to be a property owner in Jersey or Guernsey and who is a close relative. The interest rate is higher, but at least it’s getting you on the property ladder, with the rate being reviewable at the end of the first three or five years.

25 YEAR FIXED RATE TRAP

What has emerged as a result of the huge reductions in interest rates over the past few years, is the ever increasing divide between the sub 2% “rate-surfers” and the large numbers of mature borrowers, who prudently locked into 25 year fixed rates back in 2007 and 2008 at a time when these options were regarded as being the best thing since sliced bread.  These products were offered in the range from 4.95% up to 6% and, with a 3% early repayment penalty, has meant that many of these borrowers have found themselves trapped in a product that is costing them far too much to service and uncompetitive in the current market.

HELP IS AT HAND

Help is at hand, however, as our team at The Mortgage Shop has in recent months been able to release an increasing number of borrowers from these fixed rates, so allowing them to enjoy the freedom of choosing tracker or fixed rate products that are half the cost of what they had previously been paying.

Most borrowers will add the costs of switching to their mortgage and this is perfectly acceptable to lenders, who will also consider an increase in the mortgage required if funds are needed for home improvements, or to cover the cost perhaps, of university education.

In a recent exercise, we looked at the savings that could be made in a range of mortgages between £200,000 and £500,000 and, using the lowest rate current available at 1.39%, achieved reductions of between £374 and £1016 per month.

Such impressive savings cannot be achieved with every remortgage that we are asked to organise, although once a borrower has completed the ‘’pay back’’ of the costs, the real savings will then become apparent, and should continue to be effective into the future, due to the low interest rate projections for the next decade and beyond.

For further information or to make an appointment please call The Mortgage Shop on 789830 or email: info@mortgageshop.je