Is it possible to get a 5.5X income mortgage? That is a very common question that I am hearing more and more. Mainly because borrowing money is becoming more difficult. When I first started working in mortgages and property, there were plenty of purchase schemes...
HSBC mortgage rates have truly smashed their competition to smithereens by introducing a product with an interest rate as low as 3.81%. Although not currently the absolute lowest rate on the market, HSBC has beaten many other high street banks so far in the rate war...
In what is quickly becoming something like a UK mortgage rates price battle, lenders are firing rate reductions left, right, and centre. Paving the way for some very favourable mortgage opportunities for the remaining four months of 2024, leading into 2025. I have to...
In a period that is quickly becoming known as the 2023 lender bidding wars, mortgage lenders are competing with each other on a daily basis to try and secure mortgage business, after a slump at the end of 2022. Lenders are competing with each other by dropping...
The people of 2023 are a considerate bunch. I don't mean to sound insincere with that statement if it sounds that way! Global warming, climate change, energy efficiency and the like is a very hot topic in 2023 and people are becoming more and more conscious about...
New data released by mortgage lender Halifax claims to show that a massive 63% of first time buyer mortgages taken out in 2022/23 are in joint names rather than a sole purchase. That means that just 37% of first time buyers are taken out by a single person on their...
This blog comes from Oportfolio Mortgage's Senior Mortgage and Protection Advisor Jade Pinkerton. I had an appointment yesterday with some clients and it was an interesting conversation to say the least. We discussed many things, but one thing in particular was quite...
In an email sent out to brokers this morning, insurance advisor LV= have announced that their research has revealed that 5 million UK adults can't afford bills and other day-to-day expenses. In LV='s newly released report, they revealed several statistics that really...
2023 is already shaping up to be a very interesting, and hopefully positive year for mortgages and the property market. Well, let's face it, anything is better than the disaster of the end of 2022. We all know that mortgage rates increased significantly in September...
In part two of our 'Meet the property professional' series, Oportfolio Mortgages spoke to chartered surveyor James Brook FRICS, co-founder of Novello Surveyors. Novello is a RICS chartered surveying firm covering locations across London, the home counties, and...
Although a generally generous mortgage lender and a big name player in the UK mortgage market, Santander has come under criticism in the past for their attitude towards credit commitments when assessing mortgage affordability. However, Santander have recently...
When looking at getting a mortgage as a self-employed person, it can be difficult to get your head round exactly what you need to provide and what the mortgage lenders will need to see. For things like product transfers, chances are that the lender is unlikely to ask...
Official figures released by the Bank of England this month shows that UK inflation has dropped for the second month in a row in December 2022. Figures show that inflation was at 10.7% in November and had dropped to 10.5% in December. Not a huge drop but much better...
One of the most important elements of the property purchase or property finance journey, but perhaps the most overlooked. Property surveying is an essential part of the home finance narrative arch, but unfortunately a lot of people are completely in the dark about...
The entire property news industry and admittedly ourselves too, reported at the end of 2022 that the average UK house price would more than likely tank in 2023 as an increased cost of living and a subsequent reduction in the amount of people interested in purchasing...
If you have any questions about UK mortgage news or anything you’ve read then please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.
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