Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio
Halifax and Clydesdale Mortgage Rates Cut
Homebuyers and homeowners looking to secure a new mortgage deal could benefit from fresh cuts to Halifax and Clydesdale mortgage rates. Both lenders have announced reductions across a range of mortgage products, making borrowing slightly more affordable in an ever...
UK Inflation Hits 3%: A Warning Sign For Mortgages?
UK inflation has surged to 3% in January 2025, its highest level since March last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This rise (unexpected or not) from December’s 2.5% reading is sending shockwaves through the economy,...
How Mortgage Is Calculated
When applying for a mortgage, one of the most crucial steps is understanding how lenders calculate how much you can borrow or how mortgage is calculated. Mortgage calculations are based on a range of factors, including income, outgoings, employment type, and deposit...
Are Rising Mortgage Costs Bringing House Prices Down?
"Rising mortgage costs mean significant house price drop is inevitable", claims economic research organisation Capital Economics in their recently released report on the state of the housing market. Is a significant reduction in house prices really on the way...
Is It Worth Paying A Penalty And Securing A New Mortgage Deal?
Your current fixed mortgage deal might not be up for renewal anytime soon, but is it worth biting the bullet and paying the lender's early redemption penalty to secure a new mortgage deal now? Last week the mortgage market fell into chaos as lenders started...
Only 29% Of Self-Employed People Have Life Insurance
This morning, The Exeter building society Head of protection distribution Jamie Page sent a message out to all mortgage and protection brokers. In the message he presented a dossier of reporting's that he and the building society have made in regard to...
What Is The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme?
The latest news coming out of number 10 today is that, in an attempt to fix the damaged and struggling mortgage market, the government is looking into different property purchase schemes and how they are being utilised. One of these schemes on the table for discussion...
Plan International – Oportfolio’s Charity Initiative
As financial advisors, we are passionate about taking care of people and making sure that we can help make people's lives better financially in any way we can. So, with this mentality at the forefront of everyone in the office's minds, we wanted to extend our...
Can The Banks Cope? A Mortgage Advisor’s Perspective.
What on Earth is going on with the mortgage market at the moment? Lots of conflicting stories on the news and people claiming banks have cancelled their mortgages and now charging them 10% interest to re-apply. In a change up to our usual blog format, one of...
3rd Of Property Offers Are Submitted Within 1 Hour Of Viewing
Intermediary only lender MPowered Mortgages have released figures this morning that surprisingly show that still, even in the face of economic uncertainty, the property market is still flourishing! They have revealed that from their research, 1/3 of property...
Self-employed people. Get your tax documents organised now!
Mortgage lenders will now be requesting new tax documents as proof of your income. Calling all self-employed people. Get your tax documents organised now to make sure you aren't caught out when applying for a mortgage. Generally, when it comes to self-employed people,...
Is Buying Property Now The Savvy Way Forward?
It seems that the only thing the newspapers are talking about right now is how bad the state of the country is economically. Every headline seems to say something about incompetent government ministers, ill-judged tax reductions, the soaring cost of living, and the...
TSB And TMW Increase Mortgage Stress Test Rates
The words generous and mortgage lenders are definitely not synonymous with each other, there's no trying to fake that. For years, lenders have favoured higher earners, repeat buyers, and borrowers with larger than life deposits. And often, first time buyers,...
Skipton Announce New Mortgage Range
Mortgage lender Skipton for intermediaries have returned to the mortgage market along with other lenders like NatWest, Halifax, Barclays and others since the government tax U-turn announced yesterday. Skipton have announced a new mortgage range, focusing on...
Buy Now And Be In Your New Home For Christmas!
Yes...we've said it. The C word. Christmas! In most circumstances, Monday the 3rd of October would be WAY to early to start talking about Christmas however when it comes to mortgages and property you can never be too early. Christmas is 83 days away or just under 12...
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