Mortgage News, Insights & Advice
All the latest UK mortgage news, insights and advice from the world of mortgage lending and Oportfolio
Accord Mortgages Updates Criteria: 90% LTV for Foreign Nationals
Accord Mortgages has made substantial criteria updates that will make more UK borrowers mortgage lending eligible, particularly foreign nationals without Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) and Universal Credit claimants. The changes show Accord's renowned 'common sense'...
Santander Increases Mortgage Rates for Residential, First-Time Buyers, and Buy-to-Let
Santander has announced rate changes on its residential, buy-to-let, and product transfer mortgage ranges, with most of the fixed rates increasing from tomorrow. There is one piece of positive news, however, for first-time buyers with a small reduction on 95% LTV...
How a Mortgage Broker in Wandsworth Helped Renters Buy Their First Home
Buying your first home in Wandsworth can feel out of reach, especially if you’re renting and unsure whether you’d qualify for a mortgage. That’s exactly how our clients felt when they came to Oportfolio Mortgages. They had been long-term renters in Wandsworth and...
TSB are increasing their maximum loan to value
TSB have just sent a message out to all brokers to say that they have increased their maximum Loan to Value (LTV) from 90% to 95% for self-employed and day rate contractor applicants meaning that potential new TSB clients could put down as little as 5% deposit on a new purchase.
Low Rates & Cheaper Products From Virgin Money
The mortgage arm of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group conglomerate Virgin Money, have announced that they are taking the initiative to help the ever-growing number of buyers looking at purchasing under the shared ownership scheme.
95% Mortgages The Cheapest They Have Ever Been
According to financial information company Monefacts, 5% deposit mortgages are currently cheaper than they have ever been in the history of their recording. In rates terms, the average interest rate for a 95% mortgage on both a 2 year fixed period and a 5 year fixed period are at an all-time low.
Remortgages blew it out of the water in November 2021
Incredible new data released by Twenty7Tec this month shows that November 2021 was the busiest month for mortgage searches since March 2021 with remortgages dominating at almost 50% of all mortgage searches.
How Does A Self-Build Mortgage Work?
The government has announced that this winter they will launch the all new ‘Help to Build’ scheme, available to people looking to get stuck in and build their own home.
MetroBank Boosts Buy-to-Let Mortgages
Rental growth has increased exponentially in the past year, and we believe that now is a better time than any to consider purchasing or remortgaging a buy to let. MetroBank have today announced that they will be changing their BTL loan to values to 80%, up from their previous limit of 75%.
Nationwide makes changes to its criteria for extra income
Starting from the 2nd of December, Nationwide building society have re-evaluated and revitalised their criteria for bonuses, commission, and overtime income on pay slips. The new changes to these things mean that more income will be considered when assessing a borrower’s affordability.
Home Improvements That Add Value to Your Property
Making improvements to your house or apartment can be an exciting process, especially when you finally get the chance to make your own mark on a property and it really becomes YOUR home. Making improvements can also add a great deal of value to your home. From...
The housing market, what to expect in 2022
This week Zoopla have released encouraging data that shows the housing market is booming again despite the COVID-19 elephant in the room. Incredibly in 2021, one in sixteen privately owned homes having changed hands for various reasons making it the busiest year in the housing market since 2007.
There Are Now 24 Buyers For Every Home
Is your Rightmove search page looking a bit slim? No, you haven’t accidentally put too many bedrooms in the search bar or chose the wrong property type, that is genuinely the number of homes on the market right now.
Specialist mortgage lenders aim to help professionals
Niche lenders such as The Mortgage Lender and Foundation Home Loans are trying new affordability boundaries and products designed to help professionals, self-employed people and people with more complex income sources get a mortgage.
Valuation – Advice and saving clients’ money
Our client was looking to buy his dream home. The estate agents advised that he would need to put forward a good offer to stand a chance of being considered by the seller. When the valuation came back the property was valued at £10,000 less than the agreed sale price meaning that the client would have to make up the difference himself. That’s where Oportfolio jumped in to help.
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.