Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio
What Do Mortgage Brokers Actually Do?
When buying a home or remortgaging, you will be told to "speak with a mortgage broker", but what do they do and how can they help? At Oportfolio, our work as mortgage brokers is to take a complex process and make it simple and give you the best chance of mortgage...
TSB Increases Maximum Loan-to-Income Ratio for Self-Employed
TSB Bank has announced a significant change to its mortgage lending criteria, increasing the maximum loan-to-income (LTI) multiple for self-employed applicants. From today, self-employed individuals seeking a mortgage may be eligible to borrow up to 5.5 times their...
Best London Neighbourhoods for First-Time Buyers in 2025
Buying your first home in London can be an exhilarating but daunting process. With house prices varying so wildly across the capital, it's important to find a location that balances affordability, transport links, facilities, and growth potential just right. Day in,...
Rate Rises – The Latest From HSBC, Santander and TSB
Mortgage lenders HSBC, TSB and Santander have all increased their mortgage rates this week, alongside a lot of other lenders in what seems to be a bout of mass hysteria from the banks. Since the Bank of England pushed the base rate up to 1.25% the other month, lenders...
Mortgages For Low Credit Scores Boosted By Chorley BS
Chorley building society have announced that they will be making changes to their products which offer mortgages for low credit scores. Chorely building society currently offers a range of products called the ‘credit renew range’ which are designed specifically for...
Energy Efficient Home Mortgages From BM Solutions
Specialist buy-to-let mortgage lender Birmingham Midshires (BM Solutions), part of the Lloyds Banking Group, have today sent out word to registered mortgage brokers that they will be introducing new products for energy efficient home mortgages. In a conscious...
Bank Of Ireland Mortgage Rates Rise
In suit with a lot of other mortgage lenders, Bank Of Ireland have today announced that they are withdrawing rates on residential products and replacing them with new higher rates. This increase of Bank Of Ireland mortgage rates follows a long line of mortgage lenders...
Mortgage Rates Reduced By Accord Mortgages
Accord Mortgages have announced that they will be reducing their residential mortgage rates on selected products. A welcome change from other lenders hiking their rates up. The intermediary only lender said the following in a message to all registered brokers: We’re...
Lenders Strict On Debts Being Paid – Case Study
Key facts: Client looking to sell current property that they have owned for several years to purchase a larger family home Clients had a good amount of equity in their property so would have some spare cash left over once it was sold The clients had a few credit cards...
Housing Market Highlights From Rightmove
Over the last few days, UK property advertisement portal Rightmove have released figures and information that are a result of careful analysis of the property market this year. Some of the highlights they have commented on so far are house prices hitting a 6-month...
Santander Avoids Raising Mortgage Rates
Santander for intermediaries have sent out emails to all registered mortgage intermediaries today announcing that they will be freezing their current mortgage product rates and they will avoid raising mortgage rates for at least one month. In comparison, Nationwide...
Halifax Mortgage Rate Rise On The Way
Halifax have announced that as of the 18th of July (this coming Monday) they will be raising interest rates...again…on selected 2-year and 10-year products. They have said that the rises could be as much as 0.32%. Here are the details we know about the new Halifax...
Dare To Hope – Wildlife Photographer Harry Skeggs
Harry Skeggs - Award Winning Wildlife Photographer When it comes to wildlife photography, Harry Skeggs is the absolute authority. Putney based photographer and friend to Oportfolio Harry is world renowned for his unbelievable snaps of the worlds rarest and most...
Purchasing A Property From Family – Case Study
Key facts: Our client was a first time buyer looking to find a property in his budget and wouldn't use up his entire life savings. He had been looking around for a property but wasn't having much luck Coincidentally, his parents were also looking to sell a rental...
Oportfolio’s Take Care Campaign
In 2020, the entire world was caught completely off guard by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unprecedented nature of the pandemic left millions of people scared for their health, worried about the impact of the pandemic on their income, apprehensive about engaging with others, and most of all in the dark about what was going to happen next.
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If you have any questions about UK mortgage news or anything you’ve read then please get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.