It's another busy month ahead, with a new team member, Julian’s Diabetes UK Challenge, EURO2024 in full swing, and the small matter of a General Election. We’re also seeing lots of positive movement in the housing market, with new and existing homeowners getting ready to move in for the summer.
Welcome Sangeetha
A big welcome to the team to Sangeetha Madaksira! We're excited to strengthen and grow our team with mortgage veteran Sangeetha, who has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Northampton-based, our newest mortgage & protection adviser's roots are firmly in Indian culture, and she's fluent in English, Hindi, Kannada, and Telugu.
Julian takes on one million steps challenge
👣 Julian is taking part in the One Million Step Challenge to raise much needed funds for Diabetes UK Can you support him?
Between 1st July and 30th September, he's set himself a challenge to walk one million steps—that's over 10,000 steps per day, every day!
Julian is stepping up for Diabetes UK this summer to support the 5 million people in the UK who live with diabetes, day in and day out. Many of you will know, this is a cause close to our hearts, as Julian's youngest daughter Betsy has had Type 1 Diabetes since 2015 and received amazing support from Diabetes UK. This is our way to give back to a fabulous charity and raise funds to help research and an eventual cure.
Here is Julian's donation page. Any support you can give is very gratefully received 🫶
⚽️ Thank you to everyone who entered our EURO2024 Sweepstake competition. We’re avidly watching the tournament and can’t wait to see who wins the final on Sunday 14th July! See our Facebook page for details.
mortgage NEWS & UPDATES
House prices climb 5.4% in year following elections
House prices have climbed by an average of 5.4% in the year that followed a general election since the 1980s, eXp UK reveals.
With this data, the platform for personal estate agents suggests that July’s election is unlikely to slow the positive property market momentum that has been building in recent months.
House prices have increased in the year following every general election since 1983 with the exception of 1992 and 2010.
The highest rate of inflation adjusted house price growth followed the general election of 1987, when Margaret Thatcher won her third term as prime minister.
Meanwhile, the lowest rate of positive house price growth following an election came after Theresa May’s election in June 2017.
eXp UK’s latest data shows that whichever party takes power this time around, the market is likely to stand firm.
SOURCE: MORTGAGE STRATEGY
If you’re over 50 you may consider a Retirement Interest Only (RIO) mortgage if:
You want to release equity, maybe for home improvements, to enhance your lifestyle, or perhaps to help family
Your current Interest-Only mortgage is coming to an end, and you’re unable to repay the capital balance
You aren’t ready to downsize or move into retirement accommodation
50+ and Retirement Interest Only (RIO) mortgages help mature borrowers who want the security of a mortgage with no end date and who can keep up with the interest payments each month. Contact us to find out more and arrange a flexible appointment to discuss your options.
Waiting to fix is a ‘risky strategy’ for borrowers
Holding off for lower rates instead of fixing a deal is a “risky strategy”, as L&C Mortgages warns mortgage borrowers they could fall foul of potential further fluctuations in interest rates.
Mortgage rates fell back in the early part of this year before climbing again and recent reductions have failed to reverse those increases.
The average top ten lender two-year fixed remortgage rates dropped from 5.40% in November 2023 to 4.46% at the beginning of February 2024 before rising again to 4.94% now.
L&C says as a result, a £200k mortgage at the average of the top ten lender rates for a two-year fixed rate remortgage would cost £55 per month more now than at the beginning of February.
In the first four months of the year, borrowers using L&C’s Rate Check service have saved a total of £18.3 million over their deal period by moving to a better deal when rates were falling.
The average saving from hopping to a lower rate was £125 per month, cutting annual payments by £1,500.
SOURCE MORTGAGE STRATEGY
200+ 5-Star Google Reviews
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200+ 5-Star Google Reviews ⭐️
We have over 200 5-star Google Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave us a review. As a local small business, we really appreciate your support.
Capital raising with an unencumbered mortgage
Unencumbered mortgages are an overlooked and under-served area of the mortgage market. Yet for equity-rich, cash-poor borrowers, taking out an unencumbered mortgage can prove to be an important and useful borrowing tool in situations where a client may be looking to raise capital.
This is particularly true for those homeowners locked out of other borrowing methods due to past credit problems, as despite experiencing financial difficulty or a blip in their credit rating, they are still in a good position because they own a property outright and have accessible equity in their home.
In addition, they have often also either previously paid a mortgage off in full or purchased a property outright, demonstrating clear financial commitment, which means they could qualify for an unencumbered mortgage to satisfy their capital raising needs.
Rising number of unencumbered homes - According to figures from comparison site Confused.com, the number of people with an unencumbered property is on the rise, with figures from 2023 showing that 34.8% of households were outright owners, compared to 29.5% who were paying off a mortgage.
These figures are not only surprising, but they also show that there is a real opportunity for brokers to explore this area of the market and help asset-rich, cash-poor clients address their capital-raising needs.
Obviously, an unencumbered mortgage may not be the most suitable option for every borrower, but for those homeowners who own their home outright, they offer the chance to tap into equity built up in their home and use the money to finance other goals.
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