Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio

Can I Get A New Mortgage Before My Old One Ends?
As your current mortgage deal approaches its end, you might be wondering if it’s possible to secure a new mortgage deal before your old one expires. The good news is that, yes, you can start exploring your options for a remortgage or product transfer up to six months...

Accord Buy-To-Let Mortgage Rates Are Reducing
Significant reductions to Accord buy-t-let mortgage rates have been announced today, offering a fresh opportunity for landlords to secure more competitive deals in a tough rental market. Starting from Wednesday the 19th of March 2025, Accord will reduce rates on a...

New Updates To Nationwide Interest Only and Foreign National Mortgages
In a message to mortgage advisors this morning, Nationwide Building Society has announced a series of updates to its lending criteria. These new changes directly impact Nationwide Foreign National Mortgages and Nationwide Interest Only Mortgage products. Historically...
How To Avoid Defaulting On Mortgages
2023 has turned out to be very tough year for the average UK resident. With spiralling interest rates and the general cost of living going to unprecedented levels, people are struggling to keep up with their bills and many are defaulting on mortgages, credit cards,...
Nationwide Cuts 90% and 95% Mortgage Products
Following on from our blog post yesterday about Coventry Building Society lowering 90% and 95% mortgage products for first time buyers, Nationwide building society have also announced that they will be reducing rates on their own 90% and 95% mortgage products. These...
Up To 95% Mortgages For First Time Buyers
Historically it has always been tough to buy your first property as an average first time buyer. Earning enough as a young professional to borrow a large enough mortgage, saving a large enough deposit whilst also paying rent every month, and generally getting your...
Agreed Property Sales Return To Pre-Pandemic Levels
There seems to be a lot of conflicting information on the internet at the moment, surrounding the property market and mortgages. Are rates coming up or going down? Are property prices falling or rising still? Is the property market stagnating or thriving? The simple...
How To Avoid Early Repayment Charges On Mortgages
What Is An Early Repayment Charge? Most people reading this blog will have heard of an early repayment charge or an ERC. Chances are that you have been confronted with the prospect of having to pay an ERC or have seen it written in the small print on your mortgage...
Scottish Widows Increase Mortgage Income Cap
Mortgage lender Scottish Widows have just announced that they will be introducing some changes to their mortgage income cap for affordability calculations on straight mortgages and remortgages. What does this mean exactly? It means that Scottish Widows will be...
More Rate Reductions Despite Base Rate Hike
Despite the Bank of England raising the country's base rate to 4.25% at the end of March 2023, it seems that this hasn't really deterred UK mortgage lenders from continuing with rate reductions. Mortgage rates sky-rocketed at the end of 2022 as the Bank of England...
Mortgage Product Watch – April Week 1
We are only three days into April 2023 and we are already seeing lots of lenders changing and improving their mortgage product offering. We are however also seeing a few lenders who have increased some of their rates. Why are they doing this? As we have already...
HSBC Reduces Every Single Initial Mortgage Rate
In another positive step forward for the UK mortgage market, mortgage titan HSBC have announced that as of Monday the 3rd of April they will be reducing rates on all of their initial rate products. This great move forward for the lender comes after a period of...
UK Mortgage Approvals Are On The Rise
From data produced by the Bank of England, we can confirm that UK mortgage approvals are on the upward trend after months and months of struggle. In recent months even mortgage affordability, let alone proceeding cases, has been on a decline as the cost of living...
The Cost Of Being A Landlord Up 76% In A Year
New research carried out has revealed that the overall cost of being a landlord and maintaining a buy-to-let mortgage has increased by 76% in the last 12-months alone, as mortgage interest rates have soared and the cost of living has gripped property investors. There...
Big Barclays Mortgage Rate Changes Announced
In another very welcomed communication to mortgage brokers, Barclays bank have announced some new major Barclays mortgage rate changes to their existing products. These changes come as a welcome surprise to both advisors and borrowers after the country took another...
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