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

Barclays And Bank of Ireland Lead UK Mortgage Rate Reductions
In a potential sign of a bit of market stability, Barclays and Bank of Ireland have both announced significant reductions in their fixed mortgage rates, a few weeks after the UK Government unveiled its latest budget. This comes after a turbulent few months and lets be...

In Conversation With Ashley Filby From Insight Financial Associates
Welcome to our latest interview with Ashley Filby, an Independent Financial Planner at Insight Financial Associates. Insight is renowned for providing tailored financial solutions that help all kinds of clients with all kinds of financial advice needs. With a wealth...

20% Deposit Buy-To-Let Mortgage Offered By BM Solutions
Landlords and property investors have seemingly received a bit of a boost this morning as BM Solutions (Birmingham Midshires) announced an increase in their maximum loan-to-value (LTV) for buy-to-let mortgages to 80%. From tomorrow, you will be able to get a 20%...
The Best Place to Buy in London
The country’s capital has always been a desired place to live. With limitless career potential, unbeatable leisure activities, and unique experiences like no where else, London is the place to be. But living in such a desirable places often comes at a cost and...
What Is A Standard Variable Rate (SVR) Mortgage?
The standard variable rate is a nightmare. There’s no reason to pretend that it isn’t, and you should want to avoid it at all costs. For a lot of mortgage customers, well at least those who are receiving continued quality mortgage advice, the standard variable rate or...
Breaking News: Bank of England Raises Base Rate to 1%
Latest news coming out of the Bank of England says that they are raising the BoE base rate to 1% from the previous 0.75% which was only introduced in March 2022. Despite issuing warnings of a possible incoming recession and despite pressure from government officials,...
Standard Variable Rate Mortgage – Case Study
Key facts: Couple purchased their first property in the UK a few years ago but never had the standard variable rate explained to them. Their mortgage was on an interest only basis but when their product term ended, they reverted automatically to the SVR. They were...
£1 Million+ Mortgage for a London Professional
Key facts: Client found his dream property and needed a large £1 Million+ mortgage loan. As a mortgage over £1 Million is larger than your average mortgage, there were several factors that needed to be taken into account and specific criteria needed to be met. Our...
Company Director Mortgage needed for professional couple
Key facts: Clients were looking to purchase their first home together as a couple and had found the perfect starter home. With a decent sized deposit that they had worked hard to save, our clients were looking forward to starting their new life together as homeowners....
Putney Mortgage Advisor helps local buyers
Key facts: Clients had already purchased a property in Putney and were looking for a Putney Mortgage Advisor who knew the area well and had an in-depth understanding of the area to help. The property that the clients had purchased needed a lot of structural and...
How much does it cost to live NEAR London?
The office on national statistics (ONS) have recently released a report that claims that a town’s proximity to London is one of the top 3 factors that affect a property’s value. The data presented by the ONS and recorded in 2019 found that towns within 200km of London...
Natwest Announce a 40 Year Mortgage Term
Fantastic news coming out of NatWest Intermediary Solutions as they announce a significant improvement to their mortgage lending criteria – an increase to both the maximum term allowed and age allowed. What's new? Effective immediately, mortgages submitted via an...
Shared ownership mortgages are back with The West Brom
Who are The West Brom? West Midlands based building society The West Brom has announced that they are vetoing their ban on shared ownership mortgages. The 173 year old building society, which was once known as a good new build shared ownership specialist, dropped out...
Self-employed income requirements change for Santander
Mortgage lending juggernaut Santander have today announced that from the 11th of April they will be introducing new self-employed mortgage income requirements. We all know that when it comes to self-employed income, it is never a straightforward affair. Salaries,...
Loan to income caps are increasing for big lenders
Both Halifax and Scottish Widows have announced today that there will be a dramatic shake up with their loan to income rules from Wednesday the 6th of April. Both lenders will be increasing their loan to income affordability from 4.49X to 4.75X income meaning that...
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