Our client recently faced the complex and emotionally charged task of separating finances and property ownership after splitting from his partner. The couple had a joint mortgage on their residential property, a buy-to-let (BTL) property with a mortgage, and a second...
Putney, a picturesque suburb of South West London, has long been a sought-after location for homebuyers. Conveniently located next to the River Thames, this charming area boasts a vibrant community, excellent amenities, and superb transport links. Whether you're...
From the 2nd of July 2024, NatWest is implementing a series of rate reductions across its mortgage product range, providing potential savings for both new and existing customers. This strategic move comes as the UK property market experiences a notable upswing, with...
A regular client of Oportfolio and experienced landlord came back to us to look at remortgaging some of her rental properties to avoid going on to the standard variable rate and also to release some needed equity. We carried out a decision in principle which should have passed no problem however this unexpectedly declined. We then approached another lender but this decision in principle also declined unexpectedly.
Our clients were purchasing a new residential property and needed quite a large mortgage loan. They had been to some mortgage lenders on their own but were struggling to find a lender who would be willing to lend enough to purchase the new property. Their residency status was also causing issues as they were non-UK nationals without settled status.
Our client’s mother had breast cancer in the past and she wanted to make sure that she was covered in case she too developed cancer. A straight forward life insurance application turned out to be quite difficult as the majority of insurance companies excluded cancer meaning that they would not cover a potential future cancer diagnosis for the clients.
If recent events have taught us anything it is that jobs, income, and cashflow aren’t always as straight forward and secure as we might think. Sometimes, no amount of planning can prepare you for unexpected events and now more than ever, it is difficult to know how to make sure that you are financially secure when the economy is so uncertain.
Since 2013 the government in conjunction with house builders has offered the Help to Buy scheme which was developed with the intention of helping struggling prospective home buyers to fund the purchase of a new build property. Initially the scheme was set to run until 2020 but was slightly restructured and extended until 2023. The scheme was an instant hit and people flocked in their thousands to make the most of a really incredible helping hand.
For many years, shared ownership was a rather specialist and quite uncommon means of purchase as most people understandably want to purchase an entire property rather than part of a property! However, as house prices have increased by 4.3% on average every year since 2011, it is becoming more and more difficult for people to both save enough deposit to buy a property and earn enough money to meet the mortgage lending required to purchase a whole property.
Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk around deposits or, more specifically, the struggles that new buyers go through to save a deposit. With banks and building societies restricting lending and becoming seemingly more demanding when it comes to customer cash contributions, new buyers have become disillusioned with the whole idea and feel penalised by banks, building societies and home sellers in favour of older, more experienced purchasers.
Official figures release by the bank of England shows that both gross and net borrowing figures dropped across the board in December 2021. With January 2022 figures still to come, what can we say about this?
The UK government has pledged to try and build 300,000 new homes every year by the mid-2020s. In this blog we will go through some of the most common questions people have when they first start looking at new build homes.
Our clients were looking to buy a property together and had put in an offer which had been accepted. Thinking it would probably be the easiest option, they went direct to their own bank to seek a new mortgage however our clients had some financial difficulty in the past and as a result they had defaults and missed payments on their credit files. When their bank ran a credit check on the clients it failed due to the adverse credit in the background and their bank was unable to offer them a mortgage.
Our client and her partner found an ideal property through a large house builder on a shared ownership basis and was looking forward to the prospect of owning her first real home. However, despite the excitement they both felt, they were also extremely nervous as she had been told plenty of conflicting information about the best way of getting a mortgage by the builder, her friends, and her own internet research.
Deposit. Probably the most common word you hear during the house buying process and, perhaps the one that makes people the most apprehensive. With any property purchase, unless you are lucky enough to buy in cash, you will need some form of property finance loan such as a mortgage. And, with any kind of mortgage, you will normally need to contribute some of your own funds towards the purchase.
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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