Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio
How to Improve Your Credit Score Before Applying for a Mortgage
Thinking about applying for a mortgage? Before you do, there's one important number you need to check: your credit score. A strong credit score can be the difference between being approved for a competitive mortgage, or being declined altogether. The good news? Even...
What is the First Homes Scheme?
If you're trying to buy your first home in the UK, it can feel like the dream's getting further out of reach, with house prices climbing and mortgage rules getting stricter. But there's good news. The First Homes Scheme could be your affordable key to getting on the...
Fixed vs. Variable Rate Mortgages – Which One Is Right for You?
Of course, when you get a mortgage, one of the biggest choices you'll make is whether or not to use a fixed or variable rate. Both have pros and cons, and which one is best for you will depend on your personal finance, how much risk you're willing to take, and what...
Is Investing In Property In The North A Wise Move?
The North of England isn’t just synonymous with cheap pints, brit-pop and pies anymore! It seems that the North of England is capturing the attention of property investors like never before. Paragon Bank’s recent report, The Factors Driving the Buy-to-Let Market in...
UK Rental And Mortgage Payments Reach Highest Level In 13 Months
According to the recently released Barclays Property Insights report, UK rental and mortgage payments have surged to their highest level in over a year, with an increase of 6.4% in October 2024. This marks the steepest growth in housing costs since September 2023, yet...
HSBC Mortgage Rates Increase Despite Base Rate Drop: Here’s Why
HSBC has announced a huge increase in mortgage rates across nearly all of their lending categories including residential and Buy-to-Let mortgages. It is quite clear that this rate rise from HSBC (one of the UK’s big six lenders) will negatively impact a lot of...
Leeds Building Society Launches New Mortgage Products
Almost certainly in response to the recent base rate reduction by the Bank of England, Leeds Building Society has announced updates to its mortgage products. Although not one of the typical big six lenders of the UK, Leeds’s new mortgage products definitely offer some...
Using Rental Income For A Mortgage With NatWest
NatWest has announced this morning that they will be simplifying their criteria for using earned rental income for a mortgage application, for residential purposes. Most mortgage lenders will use earned income from employment and self employment as a means to...
Can Mortgages Be Transferred To Another Property
Can mortgages be transferred to another property? That is certainly a question that a lot of people who currently have a mortgage want to know. Getting a mortgage is normally quite a smooth process if you have the right kind of mortgage advice and advisor. However,...
HSBC Increases 53 Mortgage Product Rates Amid Economic Uncertainty
It has been announced today that HSBC has increased mortgage product rates on 53 of its mortgage products, impacting many different areas of residential mortgage borrowing. Some of the customers expected to be impacted by the rate increases are existing customers...
Santander Mortgage Rates Slashed While Virgin Increases Fixed Deals
Amid recent economic policy shifts, Santander and Virgin Money have made notable changes to their mortgage rates, offering contrasting options for UK homebuyers and investors. Santander is reducing rates across its fixed-rate residential and buy-to-let mortgages, with...
Metro Reduces UK Buy-To-Let Mortgage Rates As TSB Hikes Them
October has truly been the month for rate instability in my opinion. None of us wanted rates to fluctuate as much as they have over the last month or so, and I don’t think that I was the only one who thought that we might at least enjoy some stability until the end of...
Barclays Introduces New Maximum Age For Mortgage Applicants
This morning, Barclays Mortgages has announced a new set of age-related criteria for its residential mortgage offerings, hoping to simplifying the mortgage application process for older borrowers. The changes, establish new guidelines for maximum age limits,...
Energy Efficiency Report Shows Opportunities and Challenges for Buy-to-Let Investors
Today, The Mortgage Works (TMW) Nationwide Building Society’s buy-to-let lending only arm released their energy efficiency report for the private buy-to-let rental sector. The latest report from The Mortgage Works explores the energy efficiency of the UK's private...
Abi Muazu From Barclays Mortgages Shares Her Thoughts
A couple of weeks ago, our team at Oportfolio Mortgages had the pleasure of welcoming Abi Muazu, business development manager for Barclays mortgages into our Putney mortgage brokerage. As part of our ongoing commitment to building close relationships with mortgage...
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