First of all, what is remortgaging? Well, it’s when someone that already owns a home with a mortgage, decides that they want to take advantage of more favourable terms, such as a lower interest rate [...]
Tips on Buying a Property with a Tenant in Occupation
There are a few reasons why you might be buying a property with a tenant still in occupation (a sitting tenant). Usually, it’s because you are buying what is known as a ‘Buy to Let’ investment. In th[...]
How does a Gifted Deposit Affect a Mortgage?
If you’re looking to buy a new home, it’s likely that you’ll need to put down a deposit. These days, the minimum deposit is usually equivalent to 5% of the value of the property. A 5% deposit will me[...]
What is a Property Chain and How Does it Work?
If you’re new to buying a home, you may hear lots of familiar phrases that you don’t fully understand. One of these phrases commonly used is ‘the property chain’. If you’re unsure what this is and wh[...]
What is a Second Charge Mortgage?
Most of us know that a mortgage is simply a secured loan, usually secured on a property such as a house or flat. If you fail to keep payments or don’t keep to the terms of the mortgage you [...]
How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient
With energy prices likely to rise in the long term, it makes sense to consider how you can make your home more efficient. Especially as, under the Government Green Homes Grant scheme, hundreds of tho[...]
Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) Explained
SMI or Support for Mortgage Interest is a loan paid by the government to your mortgage lender in order to help qualifying applicants to pay all or part of the interest accruing on their mor[...]
Documents Needed When Selling Your Property
It’s easy to assume that once you’ve agreed to sell your home, it’s just a matter of your solicitor or conveyancer ‘doing the legal stuff’ and that’s that. Unfortunately, your job is still only partl[...]
How to Speed Up Your Buy to Let Mortgage Application
Buying to let requires a specific mortgage product designed for the purpose. But in large part the process is very similar. Mortgage lenders will tend to concentrate on things like the rental income [...]
How To Get a Mortgage on a Zero Hour Contract
Many people believe that it’s impossible to obtain a mortgage if your sole income is derived from employment on a zero hours contract. Whilst this is a more precarious type of employment an[...]
Negotiating Tips When Buying a Property
Surveys have shown that the group of buyers least likely to offer less than the asking price or to enter into negotiations when buying their home are first-time buyers. This is hardly surprising give[...]
Government’s New Green Homes Grant
The government’s new Green Homes Grant is part of the Government’s £3 Billion ‘Green Investment’ package which was announced by Rishi Sunak in the 2020 summer statement. The £3 Billion inve[...]
Stamp Duty Holiday – Stamp Duty Scrapped On Houses Under £500,000
The chancellor has announced a temporary holiday on stamp duty up to £500,000 as part of a number of measures to help stimulate the economy. We have listed below the key facts following this announce[...]
Budget 2016 – Key Points For You
Insurance Premium Tax The standard rate of Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) will be increased from 9.5% to 10%. This ensures that the impact of the rate increase is spread broadly across the entire general[...]