Monty’s Mortgage Blog

Why Should A Borrower Choose To Use A Mortgage Broker?

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 18.05.12

There still seems to be a general misconception of what a mortgage broker actually does.

Any broker can tell you in seconds what the cheapest rate in the market is and, at various times, this will vary between a direct to lender product or a broker only deal, but this misses the point. Can this product actually be attained and is it the best to fit your personal circumstances?

Every day there are tales of woe from all areas of the consumer market about people who bought the cheapest products which turned out to have a sting in the tail and cost a lot more in the long run.

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Posted in Best Mortgage Rates, Coreco, First Time Buyers, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, London, Mortgage Advice, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Broker, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Finance, Professional Mortgage Brokers, Remortgage, mortgage products | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Property Prices & Other Short Stories

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 23.04.12

Last week saw an interesting report from Rightmove which claimed that asking prices for properties are now at an all time high, above even the peak of the last boom.

According to the report, “Average asking prices rose 2.9 per cent between March and April … £1,327 more than the last peak in May 2008 when the average was £242,410.” It went on to say that “the average is being skewed by London’s irrepressible housing market.”

Meanwhile, London apart, the usual House Price Indices, (whatever they are worth), suggest prices may actually be falling, albeit slightly. Therefore the gap between realistic actual prices and what a vendor wants for their property seems to be growing once more!

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Posted in Best Mortgage Rates, Building Societies, Coreco, House Prices, Independent Mortgage Advice, Large Mortgage Loans, London, London Property Market, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Lenders, Property Prices, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Stamp Duty Jumps For High Net Worth Buyers

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 21.03.12

After being faced with probably the most leaked budget in the history of budgets, Mr Osbourne nonetheless delivered with a certain amount of verve and confidence.

Whilst much was all as expected things did seem to get rather interesting from a property perspective when the subject of stamp duty was broached, where the real surprise was lurking.

The 7% on properties above £2m was widely expected, but the tax on those purchasing via a company was the big surprise, at a whopping 15% with the promise of further “measures”.

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Posted in Budget, Capital Gains Tax, Coreco, Economic Recovery, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Politics, Property Market, Stamp Duty, The Budget, The Chancellor, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Budget Circus

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 19.03.12

It is that time of year when the Budget circus hits town and most of the press is full of the standard “will he or won’t he” stories with lot’s of the usual specially prepared “leaks” doing the rounds.

As usual by the time the actual speech comes round, most of the measures to be announced are already in the public domain, save the one big “surprise” measure that is saved for dramatic effect.

This budget on the face of it could be a dull affair as, let’s be honest, the Chancellor has no money to really play with, but for me that is exactly why it will be more interesting than usual.

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Posted in Budget, Large Loan Mortgages, Mortgage Brokers in London, Politics, Property Market, The Budget, The Chancellor, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Rates, They Are A Changing

By Andrew Montlake | Published: 06.03.12

Apologies to the great Mr Dylan, but a while ago we cautioned that we might soon see a situation where although Bank Base Rate stayed the same lenders would start increasing their variable rates.

This is exactly what has now happened, with first NatWest increasing their rates for certain customers and then the UK’s biggest lender Halifax, grabbing all the headlines as they increase their Standard Variable Rate, (SVR) from 3.5% to 3.99%, affecting some 850,000 customers from 1st May 2012.

This change means an increase of around £40.80 per month per £100,000 on an interest only basis or £26.38 per £100,000 on a 25 year repayment.

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Posted in Bank Base Rate, Best Fixed Rates, Coreco, Halifax Rate Change, House Prices, Independent Mortgage Advice, LIBOR Rates, Large Mortgage Loans, Mortgage Blog, Mortgage Brokers in London, Mortgage Funding, Mortgage Lenders, Mortgage Market, Remortgage, The Economy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment