General Comments

We have recently been looking at ways that we can pay off our mortgage more quickly as we want to be debt free as soon as possible, this would then open up opportunities to either make changes to our lives or to look at other investment opportunities like buying a rental property with another mortgage. Fortunately the most sensible thing that we did was eighteen months ago when we remortgaged our property switching the loan to a different provider and opting for a tracker mortgage, although we had some fees to pay at the time this has meant that as the interest rates have been reduced each month almost by the Bank of England we have seen our mortgage paymments ...  Read the complete review

If a person using an ISA to repay their Mortgage was to become Unemployed or off work due to Sickness or Accident they would NOT be entitled to Means Tested State Benefits if the value of the ISA was over £16,000. The reason for this is the DWP treat the ISA as Accessible Savings. The FSA being the Governments financial watchdog listed Endowments, ISAs and Pensions as suitable methods of repaying an interest only mortgage but made no mention of the DWP rules regarding ISAs. Most Endowments and Pensions used for Mortgage repayment are unaffected as they are not deemed to be accessible Savings. There could be in excess of 500.000 ISA Mortgages in ...  Read the complete review

*** PLEASE NOTE: Nothing in this opinion constitutes financial advice. You should always seek advice from a qualified financial advisor who will take into account your individual circumstances.*** A mortgage is probably the single largest financial commitment that any of us are likely to make. Yet, surprisingly, it is one which many enter without giving it the serious thought that it requires. For many, the decision to purchase a property is the part of the process that takes the most time and given the most thought. The mortgage is almost an after-thought which starts and ends with “how much will the bank let me borrow?” How much the bank ...  Read the complete review

Hi all, I kind of am writing this piece after some serious thinking on whether I should buy my first property or not. What I am going to say may not be true for everyone but it definately requires some thought. With the current house prices / interest rate structure it is too difficult for first time buyers to get on the property ladder. Nothing new huh? Yeah, but why do we still all try and save up for a measly 10-15% deposit? Buying a house/flat etc is not a joke, I personally feel the following are things one needs to consider before taking the plunge. 1. Stamp duty on the property - depending on what the price is , it can be ...  Read the complete review

If you're looking to put in an offer on a house, then you'll need a mortgage. You arrange a mortgage with a provider. The Estate Agent can help you with this (they get commission for it, so they're very keen on helping!), or you can do some research (through magazines such as Which Mortgage? or on the net) to find out what mortgage suits you best, then talk directly to the bank/building society offering it to see if they'll approve you. Different banks and building societies will each have slightly different mortgage products. They will have different interest rates, will be willing to lend different amounts to the same person (e.g. one bank ...  Read the complete review