07-02-2014

Mortgages For Applicants Over 75 Years Of Age

Market Update – Mortgages for Armed Forces & Pensioners

Well what do you know, it’s February!

Looking out of FD HQ onto Temple Meads it looks much the same as January, the rain continues to fall, umbrellas are inside out and inside the office we are as busy as January, no change.

First time Buyer numbers are up…

The number of enquiries we are getting from First Time Buyers is very noticeably up on last year. The market is finally being fed from the ground upwards, this is good. With Help to Buy now allowing more lenders to offer 95% loan to value mortgages buying a home for many First Time Buyers can now become a reality although in London it must be frustrating to try and keep your 5% deposit in line with property prices which seem to show no sign of slowing down. I must say that most of the First Time Buyers we have dealt with have not used the Help to Buy scheme as they have in excess of the 5% deposit required. Interestingly we have taken advantage of Help to Buy rates at lower loan to values, Virgin Money, for example, will lend at 85% loan to value on a Help to Buy rate!

Mortgages for OAP’s please…

We had an interesting chat to a lender over lunch in the week and found ourselves discussing the lack of support for clients over the age of 75. Most lenders will lend up to a maximum age of 69 at application and age 75 at the end of the term, lenders such as Santander adhere to this criteria. With the imminent Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in April we will likely see those lenders who are still lending to those in their 70’s and 80’s brought in line with the rest of the market. This is a huge shame as we can’t help but feel that some clients are hard done by……They are fit as a fiddle at 70 and are on a good pension but find borrowing difficult on a standard mortgage basis. A pension is more secure than some self-employed or employed clients. Contract workers are better catered for than OAP’s!

Mortgages for Armed Forces…

New guidance for British Servicemen requiring mortgage finance was issued by the MOD recently. The Council of Mortgage Lenders guidance states ‘Those who serve with the Armed forces should not be disadvantaged because of their occupation’. Well said CML, and they are not, we can secure mortgages for the Armed forces and the terms are competitive and in line with those offered to civvies!

Market Watch………..

Finally we look at the market as of Feb 2014. The sexy sub 3% 5 year fixed rates are still there but several lenders have moved above 3% now including NatWest and Santander, get in there whilst you can, we say!

With rental values still strong and property prices increasing it is no surprise to see that the Buy to Let market is still red hot. There are some nice rates from Mortgage Trust some of which have no Early Repayment Charge’s and free valuations, it is nice to see terms with no ERC’s on offer.

Interbay have increased loan to value to 85% and at fair rates too, plus nice rental to loan calculations. They will lend on the freehold of properties with multiple flats in them, tidy!

House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) finance remains with the specialised lenders and a few small building societies. The yield on these properties can be around 10 – 20% compared to 4 – 6% on standard Buy to Let so we get why so many of our landlords are buying property in student areas and converting into HMO compliant property. We can finance HMO’s from many sources.

Well, let us hope that the weather improves soon. We look forward to the rest of a busy month. With Pharrel Williams song in mind when we say ‘Happy’ Friday everyone!

To discuss your mortgage requirements do contact us on Bristol 01179 897950 or London 0203 287 8806 or email your enquiry through to enquiry@foxdavidson.co.uk