Why transfer your mortgage to another person? Transferring mortgages between individuals can be complicated, and is not something you see often in the UK. However, if you’re considering adding or removing individuals on your mortgage, this is something that can be looked at. There are many reasons for doing this. For example, you may want to: Change from a single to joint mortgage Move from a joint to single mortgage Remove a borrower These things should not increase the borrowed amount, but be aware that you may have to pay a fee for the transfer. How transferring your equity to others works ..read more

Mortgage declined on affordability Debt When you apply for your mortgage, your affordability is tested. This includes looking into any current debt you might have, such as car loans etc. If you have a large amount of debt, and aren’t showing signs of paying it off, the lender might be dubious about lending to you, as a mortgage will only add to your debt. Credit score Your credit score is taken into account as part of the affordability testing. You can check what your credit score is by using online tools from companies like Equifax and Experian. If this shows that your credit score is low, yo ..read more

**Why does being on maternity leave affect my mortgage?** As a mortgage is directly linked to how much money you earn, your lender has to take into consideration things like maternity leave, when carrying out affordability checks on you. When you’re on maternity leave, your income is often reduced after a certain period of time which puts you in a different financial position. But this doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to remortgage. It really does depend on the lender as to what evidence you might have to provide, and how this might affect your mortgage application. For instance, most lende ..read more

If you’re currently thinking, ‘Help, I can’t pay my mortgage!’, you can start by reading this guide to hopefully help get you back on the straight and narrow, or at least point you in the right direction. **Speak to your mortgage lender** As soon as you realise you’re struggling, or are soon going to struggle to keep up with your monthly repayments, the first thing to do is speak to your mortgage lender. Your lender will be able to talk to you and come up with a new plan for how you can better manage your payments, whether that’s extending the mortgage term, changing how often you make a payme ..read more

Gross yield This lets you see where your investment sits against the local and national averages, in terms of the rental income it generates as a proportion of the value. Take your annual rental income figure and divide it by the current property value, e.g. Monthly rent £700 = £9,600 per annum Property value £200,000 Gross yield = 4.8% This figure should hold fairly steady, assuming rental income and the property value are both rising. If your gross yield is below the regional or national average figure, the actual monetary amount of capital growth should make up for it. This tends to be the ..read more

In England the changes this year have been: • 1st April: Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES), making it illegal to let a property with an energy rating of F or G. • 6th April: Banning orders for rogue landlords and letting agents • 6th April: New ‘MOT-style’ regulations for Gas Safety inspection and certification • 1st October: Mandatory licensing for HMOs housing five or more people, forming two or more households. In addition, the new EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law has affected how landlords and agents can take and store tenants’ personal information. And in Sco ..read more

Review your finances Your top priority should be reviewing your finances and getting everything in order. Remember to take into account the price of the new property, plus the utility bills, insurances and food. This will give you an accurate overall cost for your new property so you don’t have any nasty surprises over Christmas. Spruce it up First impressions are everything so it’s time to make your house look its best. Mow the lawns and weed the garden. Give any rooms that need brightening up a fresh lick of paint and get rid of anything you no longer use. Decluttering the house will create ..read more

Increase in the personal allowance The personal allowance has increased for this tax year by £350 - from £11,500 to £11,850 - and the earnings threshold for a zero personal allowance has increased from £123,000 to £123,700. (If you earn between £100,000 and £123,700, the personal allowance decreases by £1 for every £2 you earn and if your income is above £123,700, you don’t get any personal allowance at all.) New tax bands for Scotland The Scottish Government has introduced new bands for the coming tax year. There are now five different bands – starter, basic, intermediate, higher and top rate ..read more

We wanted to say an incredible Thank You to every who has posted a review on our Facebook page as we are now at 200 reviews! Client feedback is very important to us here and to receive such great feedback on a regular basis (check out our Testimonial Tuesday posts) is very much appreciated. If you're looking into your mortgage or protection options this weekend, please reach out and get in touch: 01592 773 772. You can also check out our Facebook page here ..read more

Little equity If you owe your lender more than the property is worth, then you’re in what they call ‘negative equity’. It can be difficult to remortgage your house when you’re in negative equity - unless you have separate funds to repay the difference. However, don’t just assume this is impossible. Everyone’s circumstances are different, just like every lender’s criteria is different, so it’s always worth speaking with a mortgage adviser to consider all your options. Finances have dropped Lenders now have to see evidence of your income against your outgoings and carry out thorough credit check ..read more