We run a busy office here at Mortgage Light, so we’re very excited to welcome four new staff members to the Mortgage Light family, especially during a year which has caused challenges and uncertainty for many. Let’s say hello!

Jordan is our new Mortgage and Protection Consultant. He has been a qualified broker since 2016, but his role was made redundant at his previous firm as a result of the pandemic. Jordan brings a wealth of experience with him and says: “There’s never a dull day at Mortgage Light. There’s so much to do and there’s a brilliant team dynamic, which really helps!” Among many other things, Jordan is responsible for generating new client leads and sourcing the best mortgage deals for clients, dependent on their situation and needs.

Amy is our new Administration Assistant and joined us after her role with a travel company was made redundant earlier this year. Amy says: “I applied for the job at Mortgage Light as I’d been wanting a change and really liked Mortgage Light’s ethos and culture. There has been a lot to learn, but I’m really loving working here. The team are so friendly and are always on hand to help with any questions I have.” Amy supports our mortgage brokers with clients’ cases – ensuring all details are kept up to date and helps to secure Mortgage Offers in Principle.  

Nevetha has taken on the role of Administrator, having previously worked for her family’s catering business. She says: “Prior to being in catering, I’d worked in offices before but wanted to find a job which provided me with a new career opportunity – I’ve received lots of training from the team and jumped straight in. I love it at Mortgage Light – I’m part of a company which really cares about its work, staff and clients.”

Adele also joins Mortgage Light as an Administrator, having previously worked at Tesco. Adel says: “I really wanted to find something different, so applied for the job at Mortgage Light. I was instantly taken with the team and the company – it sounds like a cliché but it does feel like a family.”

Nevetha and Adele are our clients first port of contact and will ensure that all enquiries are dealt with promptly and efficiently. They are responsible for making sure all mortgage applications are moving quickly and smoothly and that progress is relayed to our clients and their lawyers regularly.

Siobhan Holbrook, owner of Mortgage Light says: “We’re thrilled to welcome four new starters to the Mortgage Light team! Everyone has settled in brilliantly and I’ve been so impressed by their commitment to getting on with the job. We are dedicated to creating a positive, productive work environment for our employers where customer service is our priority – all of our new team members have embraced this ethos wholeheartedly.”

If you’d like to speak to one of our team, or enquire about job vacancies or work experience, get in touch with our team today!

Moving house can be a really exciting time; scouring RightMove for potential new homes, heading to viewings and finding ‘the one’, and then getting your own house up on the market to sell. Amongst all of this, however, it’s really important to decide what your next move will be in terms of your mortgage. Should you find a new mortgage deal, or try to port your existing one? [Read more…]

We’re proud to have partnered with recruitment agency EAC Consulting to launch the Here to Help Job Search campaign – an initiative designed to support people looking for work in the area as the second lockdown continues.

The campaign will provide guidance, practical support and work experience opportunities in Milton Keynes.

To kick-start the campaign, Siobhan Holbrook, founder of Mortgage Light and Harry Alston, director of EAC Consulting will be hosting an online workshop for local people on 19 November at 1.30pm, where they’ll be sharing their advice for securing interviews and impressing prospective employers. The speakers will cover practical topics such as CV writing, where to find interview opportunities and what to discuss during an interview, as well as answering questions from attendees.

In addition, Mortgage Light will be offering work experience opportunities now and in the new year for people looking to gain more office administration know-how. People can register their interest here on our website.

Siobhan Holbrook, Director and Founder at Mortgage Light said: “We’ve launched Here to Help to provide practical help for people looking for a new job. This has been a tough year for many of us and as a local business we wanted to give back to our clients and the community. This initiative felt like a good way to show our support in a way that is of real use, at the time when it might be most needed. We’re looking forward to getting stuck in and meeting more people in Milton Keynes!”

To register for the webinar or find out more about the work experience opportunities available through the Here to Help campaign, visit https://bit.ly/3lc26v4. For other businesses looking to get involved and show their support, contact the Mortgage Light team on info@mortgagelight.co.uk.

When you take out a mortgage to buy your home, you typically take a deal that is to be paid off over the next 25-30 years. That doesn’t mean, however, that you have to stick with that original deal or lender for the whole of that term. In fact, it often makes sense to move your mortgage borrowing around onto different deals, or different lenders to take advantage of deals that might be available. Transferring your mortgage borrowing without moving house is known as remortgaging.

You might choose to remortgage with your existing lender if they can offer you a better deal (usually referred to as a ‘product transfer’), or you can move your borrowing and remortgage with a different lender altogether. [Read more…]

When you are self-employed, you may wonder how much you can borrow when taking out a mortgage. The nature of being self-employed often means that your income is not fixed each month/year. Without the security of a contract of employment, you may find it difficult to persuade some lenders that your income is stable enough to allow them to approve you for the mortgage that you want.

Sure, assessing the mortgage affordability for a self-employed person can be a little more difficult than for an employed person, but it’s by no means uncommon. Many lenders are well-versed in helping self-employed applicants get the right mortgage. [Read more…]

Amy Barrows (26), a recruitment consultant, has been a two-time customer of Mortgage Light in the past five years. In 2016, the team helped Amy onto the property ladder using Shared Ownership and four years later, Amy was ready to climb onto the next rung – again with Mortgage Light’s help.

Amy explains: “I had a couple of setbacks with other brokers when trying to purchase my first home.  I was introduced to Siobhan and the team at Mortgage Light who really took the time to work with me and help me understand my options. They explained the process, making it crystal clear on what the next steps were and what I needed to do in order to qualify for shared ownership. When it came to moving on to my next property, I knew exactly who I was going to call.”

Buying and selling

In October 2019, Amy planned to sell her one-bedroom maisonette and purchase a two-bedroom house in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and still using shared ownership but with a different housing provider. Amy says: “I had reserved my new property in February 2020 and was advised to exchange by the end of March – a couple of days after lockdown came into place. My mortgage offer was also due to expire at the beginning of April. I’ve never been in a position where I’ve had a home to sell while buying a new one, let alone doing so in such a strange situation with a global pandemic, so this was a little daunting.”

Above and beyond

Amy continues: “My Mortgage Light consultant Sam went above and beyond to enable me to meet the exchange date in March. Sam was great throughout the process, she always made herself available to answer any questions I had – especially as buying and selling at the same time was very new to me – she even accommodated my unusual work hours to keep me up to date.”

Sam worked with Amy to secure a 40 per cent share of her new home, quickly and smoothly. Amy said: “Sam was very supportive and calming, she wrote down figures for me so I could understand different mortgage rates and offers as well as insurance in comparison to my last property. She took the time to explain what could be the best outcome, and the reasons why we chose what we did. In the long run, it’s saved me thousands of pounds as the process was so quick. Mortgage Light reacted to the housing association’s requests with speed and precision, keeping me up-to-date the whole way through.”

Amy commented: “I think I’ll be using Mortgage Light every time I move. Three of my sisters have now used them to purchase their properties and a friend is currently using them to purchase their second home too. I’ve recommended them to everyone!”

Find out more

If you’d like to find out how shared ownership works and how Mortgage Light can help you, why not check out our blog or give the team a call on 01908 597655.