Mortgage Light’s experts shared their tips in our first virtual mortgage clinic

Last week, we held our first, live online mortgage clinic to bust some myths around mortgages, specifically for those of you buying your first home. Our biggest takeaway? The pandemic (and the economic uncertainties it has created) doesn’t seem to be deterring first-time buyers in Milton Keynes.

Our virtual guests had plenty of questions covering a range of practical topics – we’ve rounded up a few of the helpful, and perhaps surprising, conclusions from our discussions.

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With thousands and thousands of babies born each year in the UK, remortgaging whilst on maternity leave is a common concern. Remortgaging during this period can sometimes cause confusion and worry. If you’re having a baby, your life and your financial situation is likely to have changed a lot since your last application.

It doesn’t need to be a headache though. We’ll talk you through how and why being on maternity leave affects a remortgaging application and the best way to approach this to make sure you can successfully remortgage your home.

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Remortgaging allows you to make sure you always have the best mortgage product available for your current personal circumstances. Although you don’t have to remortgage, it’s always worth exploring your options when the opportunity arises to see what deals are out there. You might find a more suitable mortgage product with an alternative lender, or you may be able to simply switch to a better deal with your current lender.

Remortgaging might give you a better interest rate, more flexible mortgage terms, and/or a chance to borrow more money if you need to. When remortgaging, there could be advantages to staying with the same lender, as well as some advantages to moving to a new one. It’s important to weigh up all of the factors before making your decision. [Read more…]

A mortgage should be seen as something that you review on a regular basis, particularly at the end of any fixed or tracker term, to make sure you are getting the best deal for your circumstances – just like you would with your car insurance. This remains the same for those who have used the government Help to Buy equity loan scheme to purchase their home.

However, remortgaging with Help to Buy is not quite as straightforward or as easy as remortgaging without one. But don’t worry – we can help you navigate the market and test your eligibility. [Read more…]

Calling all first-time buyers! Are you ready for your own space but not sure on your next steps? Join Mortgage Light’s free virtual mortgage clinic for a friendly video chat with our mortgage experts.

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Here at Mortgage Light, we’ll always consider every possible route to help our clients find the best mortgage deal available to them, whatever their circumstances.

While many of our customers choose to buy a property on the private market, many others will make use of one of the schemes currently available to help more people buy their own home. One popular option is Help to Buy – a loan scheme designed, to put it simply, to make more homes financially accessible to more people.

So, what is Help to Buy and how could it help you? Take a look at our handy guide…

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Like many first-time buyers, Aimee Brown and her partner Lauren Howard didn’t consider themselves experts on purchasing a home when they started their property hunt this year. By the time they’d picked up the keys however, they felt like professionals…and their purchase couldn’t have gone more smoothly.

Aimee and Lauren were each living with their parents when they found their perfect home – a new two-bedroom, end-of-terrace house at Kingfisher Place in Aylesbury, available through shared ownership with housing association Hightown. As long-term professional partners of Hightown, the Mortgage Light team were on hand from the very beginning. [Read more…]

You might assume that you can’t remortgage until your current mortgage term is complete, but that isn’t actually true. It is possible to remortgage early, but it’s important to decide whether this is the right move for you financially.

In the same way as you’d compare your options for a car insurance deal yearly before renewing, it’s important to make sure that you have the best mortgage product available to you. Remortgaging allows you to do this by changing the mortgage you currently have to either a different deal with the same lender, or a new deal with a new lender (which is referred to as a product transfer).

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When it comes to mortgages, some people want to pay it off slow and steady over a long period of time, and some people want to get it all paid up as soon as possible. The one thing everyone has in common is wanting the best deal they can..

Remortgaging can help you with this, as it gives you the chance to review your mortgage product. You’re not locked into a mortgage forever, and you should ensure you always have the most competitive rate to suit your situation.

Does remortgaging take a long time?

The process of remortgaging doesn’t have to be long and drawn out. An experienced advisor or broker can take as little as five days to get an offer issued, and the completion of solicitor’s paperwork can take up to 4-6 weeks. If you’re involving a third party (for instance, Help to Buy or a Housing Association) then the process can take 8-12 weeks.

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People remortgage for many different reasons. It could be to secure a better interest rate, to shorten or lengthen your mortgage term, to move onto a fixed rate mortgage or to pay off a lump sum of your mortgage. You might also choose to remortgage to pay off debt.

Like many homeowners, your home is likely to have gone up in value in recent years. Remortgaging can allow you to release cash from the equity in your property. Equity is the difference between what your house is currently worth and what you owe on your mortgage. You could put this cash towards home improvements, a new car, a wedding or in this case, consolidating debt. This might seem like easy money, but will remortgaging to consolidate debt really put you back in the black?

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