Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio
Halifax Launches New £5,000 Deposit Mortgage for First-Time Buyers
Halifax has launched a new £5,000 deposit mortgage for first-time buyers. Learn who qualifies, how the scheme works, and what buyers should consider.
UK Mortgage Market Update – 18th of May 2026
Latest UK mortgage market update covering mortgage rates, lender changes, housing market trends, remortgage news and Bank of England developments.
What Is Critical Illness Cover? Your Questions Answered
What is critical illness cover and do you need it? Learn how it works, what it covers, and how it protects your mortgage and finances in the UK.
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...
Fixed UK Mortgage Rates Will Go Down
In a confirmation of what we at Oportfolio have been saying for a while now, another mortgage expert from property website Rightmove has announced that he believes that fixed UK mortgage rates will almost certainly go down. And we could see these rate reductions...
Virgin Money Introduces Armed Forces Help To Buy
At Oportfolio, we are keen supporters of anyone who dedicates their life to protecting our country and our freedom as UK citizens. That's why we offer special perks and discounts on our mortgage advice whenever we help people serving in the armed forces. Today we...
Capital Gains Tax Increased For Landlords
A new update to capital gains tax rules coming to the UK within the next few weeks has left both professional and amateur landlords worried about a potentially crippling tax bill if and when they decide to sell a property. A new change in the law that will see the tax...
Will Base Rate Rise Impact Tracker Mortgages More?
Last week, the Bank of England, England's central bank based in Threadneedle Street London, announced that they would once again be raising the base rate for the 11th time in a row. A strategy that the bank's monetary policy committee have been deploying in an attempt...
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