Mortgage lenders have reduced rates and there are signs that competition is returning to the market.
It's definitely not 'business as usual', but mortgage lenders are introducing more competitive mortgage deals.
Unless you’re the kind of woman who scours the mortgage best buy tables daily, you might not have noticed that mortgage lenders have been cutting their interest rates lately. Both fixed rate and tracker deals have been falling, but they’ve not been coming down across the board. The way mortgage lenders work in the current market means you have to be quick to move if you spot a good deal, and work a bit harder to find the best rates.
Many lenders offer mortgages branded as 'flexible', but some are more flexible than others.
When interest rates are low, you might be tempted to pay off your mortgage as quickly as you can. But make sure you read the small print if you have a flexible deal.
If you’re on a low rate mortgage deal, it probably makes sense to pay as much as you can afford every month to reduce your mortgage debt. Interest rates on savings are so low that your money is earning very little and, if you’ve got a flexible mortgage, you can always borrow back the money you’ve overpaid if you need to. Or can you? Some deals are fairly flexible, but others aren’t. It’s definitely worth checking how easy it is to borrow money back or take payment holidays (where you don’t pay your mortgage for a set period) before you make extra payments.
Planned tougher rules on mortgage borrowing could make it harder for some divorcees to get a loan.
The FSA is planning to ban self-certification mortgages and make lenders responsible for checking borrowers can repay mortgages. Good or bad news for borrowers?
So, goodbye self-certification mortgages, if the FSA has its way. On the surface, it sounds like no bad thing. If you can’t prove your income, how can a lender work out how much it should let you borrow? But some people who may be able to afford a mortgage could be caught out by the FSA’s clampdown; such as those who’ve recently started their own business and – possibly – women (and men) whose marriage or relationship has broken down and who rely on maintenance as part of their income.
