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

HSBC Increases 53 Mortgage Product Rates Amid Economic Uncertainty
It has been announced today that HSBC has increased mortgage product rates on 53 of its mortgage products, impacting many different areas of residential mortgage borrowing. Some of the customers expected to be impacted by the rate increases are existing customers...

Santander Mortgage Rates Slashed While Virgin Increases Fixed Deals
Amid recent economic policy shifts, Santander and Virgin Money have made notable changes to their mortgage rates, offering contrasting options for UK homebuyers and investors. Santander is reducing rates across its fixed-rate residential and buy-to-let mortgages, with...

Metro Reduces UK Buy-To-Let Mortgage Rates As TSB Hikes Them
October has truly been the month for rate instability in my opinion. None of us wanted rates to fluctuate as much as they have over the last month or so, and I don’t think that I was the only one who thought that we might at least enjoy some stability until the end of...
Should I buy a house now?
One of the big dilemmas for people considering whether to take the plunge and buy a house or flat is whether they should do it now – and try to take advantage of the Stamp Duty (SDLT) holiday – or wait to see how the housing market settles into 2021. It’s a dilemma...
We’ve come home to Putney
The decision during the last national lockdown to suspend Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on house purchases up to £500,000 led to a spike in the housing market during last summer and early autumn. With just two months to go until that scheme is due to end on March...
Still open for business
We’re well and truly into 2021 now, but we could all be forgiven for having the very real sense that while the number might have changed, not much else has. The pre-Christmas tiered restrictions and now a second full national lockdown after a summer and autumn of...
What trends might we see in the 2021 housing market?
I’m usually reluctant to make predictions about the UK housing market – there are too many variables to make gazing into a crystal ball remotely reliable, and the proof of that is there for all to see in the past 12 months! But understandably, people are more cautious...
What’s on your Christmas list this year?
It’s been quite a year for the housing market. A three-month moratorium on all new transactions during the spring was followed in early summer with an explosion in activity as lockdown was lifted and the market reopened. It really is time to look forward to Christmas!...
Remortgaging Is Key To A Dream Property
After the year we’ve had, it’s understandable that many people don’t want to take on the additional burden of a bigger mortgage to buy their dream home. As I’ve already explained in a previous article, if you do want to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, which...
It’s time to plan for a more financially secure 2021
Almost exactly one year ago, I wrote an article which started with a question: How would you and your family cope if you suddenly found you were unable to work and earn a living? What would you do if you were no longer financially secure? Looking back, it seems almost...
Time’s running out in the race for a Stamp Duty holiday
There’s now just a little over four months to go before the Chancellor is due to slam the door shut on the Stamp Duty holiday that has saved homebuyers up to £15,000 in land tax since June this year. Recent figures from the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA)...
Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor Case Study
In 2019, Our client first came to us at Oportfolio to see how we could help him purchase his dream first home. Like many first-time buyers, our client did not know where to start and did not know what he could afford.
Can’t move? Grow the space you’re in
With the UK now formally in recession for the first time in 11 years, mortgage providers are inevitably becoming more circumspect in how they lend money for house purchases. And that means it’s becoming harder to secure the larger sums needed to move. As the Financial...
Now’s the time to take advantage of the housing market
According to some reports this week, the first signs that the post-lockdown housing boom that began when the government opened up the housing market at the beginning of June 2020 has begun to give way to greater caution. According to the online housing news portal...
The buy-to-let mistakes every landlord should avoid
Despite the uncertainty in the housing market, the prospect of buying a second property – or perhaps a third, fourth or fifth – as a landlord to rent out is still attractive to a lot of people. Recent research comparing the England and London property rental sector...
We're Here to Help
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.