Expert Knowledge & Professional Service

£370,000 debt consolation mortgage for client with credit cards and personal loans

Key features:

• £370,000 debt consolidation mortgage over 32-year term
• Repaid credit cards and loans and dramatically reduced monthly repayments
• 80% loan-to-value and 1.80% two-year fix

Our client:

Our client was a sales manager working for a large firm and he lived and worked in Surrey.

What was he looking for?

He was looking for a lender to offer him a competitively priced fixed-rate remortgage deal and raise funds to consolidate around £60,000 of credit cards and loans. He built up the debt to fund refurbishment work on his home.  

Why was it difficult?

Many of the lenders have tightened their acceptance criteria and there are limits on the amount of debt clients can refinance. He also needed a lender to provide him with a five times income multiple and use his bonus income.

How did we help? 

Trinity’s broker applied to a lender with one of the best policies for debt consolidation. He managed to remortgage the client onto a better-fixed rate, repay all the debt and raise slightly more cash to finish his property.

The new mortgage repayments were marginally more expensive than the old mortgage payment even though all the debt was repaid. The term was kept at 32 years.

What was the rate?

The 1.80% rate was fixed until 31/03/2022, and it had a £495 arrangement fee. After the fixed-rate period, the mortgage reverts to the lender's standard variable rate, which is currently 4.99%. The overall cost for comparison is 4.4% APRC.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a debt consolidation mortgage

Banks and building societies still processing purchase and remortgage applications 

It is still possible to secure some great fixed and tracker rate mortgages even though many of the lenders have scaled back their staff and reduced the number of products they are offering.  

More lenders have made changes to their products and acceptance criteria over the last week. NatWest capped all mortgage lending at 80% loan-to-value and Nationwide Building Societe paused lending over 75% loan-to-value. Halifax reintroduced fixed rates up to 80% loan-to-value while Skipton Building Society reinstated residential and buy-to-let mortgage up to 75% loan-to-value. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “HSBC and Barclays still have a wide range of mortgages and Bank of Ireland can agree on purchase applications up to 85% loan-to-value. Santander made one of the biggest changes and capped all mortgage lending at £350,000. 

“Barclays for Intermediaries is still offering a sub-1% two-year tracker mortgage and Leeds Building Society and Halifax has some particularly low fixed rates.” 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage

Which lenders have the cheapest fixed rate mortgages?

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or send an enquiry

Precise launches specialist 0.49% bridging loan rate to boost market

Specialist buy-to-let and bridging lender Precise Mortgages has launched automated property valuation products for bridging finance applications while physical property inspections remain unavailable. 

The new products are available for regulated and non-regulated bridging standard bridging although the lender is not accepting properties in need of refurbishment. It is available up to 50% loan-to-value including the retained interest for properties in England, Wales and Scotland and limited company applications are accepted. 

Precise's rate for bridging loans greater than £200,000 is 0.49% rising to 0.54% for bridging loans less than £200,000 and there is a 2% arrangement fee. The maximum loan size is £375,000 and the maximum property value is £750,000.  

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “If you are struggling to get a mortgage agreed in time to secure a property purchase then a bridging loan may be a good solution for you.

"At the moment the lenders are likely to accept the more straightforward transactions where the property is in good condition. Our brokers have access to bringing lenders like UTB offering 55% loan-to-value bridges on £1 million properties."

Unacceptable properties or transaction types 

Precise has a long list of property types that are not acceptable for bridging loans while physical valuations are unavailable.

They include new build properties or properties converted within the last 24 months. Properties that have never been occupied HMOs (including student lets). Multi-units, freehold blocks, flats, holiday lets and properties with more than 2 acres.  

Also, the lender cannot accept listed buildings or properties made from modern methods of construction and homes with short leases with less than 85 years remaining. or commercial and semi-commercial properties, properties adjacent to or above commercial premises, properties subject to renovation or refurbishment. Development exits, further advances, retentions or stage releases cross collateral charges.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a bridging loan

Banks and building societies still offering sub-1.25% fixed rate mortgages

Mortgage lenders are still providing great rates for many borrowers purchasing a property or remortgaging.

A selection of lenders offer sub-1.25% two-year fixes for property purchase and remortgages, while at least seven lenders have sub-1.5% five-year fixes.  

HSBC for Intermediaries has many of the most competitively priced mortgages across the market and a range of fixed and tracker rates. The bank’s lowest rate is as low as 1.19% and it is fixed until 30 September 2022. The mortgage has a £999 arrangement fee and applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify. After the fixed-rate, the mortgage reverts to the lender’s 3.54% standard variable rate and the APRC is 3.2%. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "We are getting lots of enquries from people looking to purchase new homes or investment properties, and also many homeowners planning to remortgage.

"The lenders still have a strong appetite to provide mortgages even with many of their staff working from home and we are being told that rates could get even cheaper over the coming months."

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or book a consultation

Santander increases maximum mortgage loan size to £1 million and Barclays lowering rates 

Banks and building societies are starting to increase their maximum loan sizes as part of their plans to ramp up lending. This follows the news property valuers are returning to work. 

Santander for Intermediaries announced last week that its valuers will be inspecting properties again and it has been able to raise its maximum loan size for residential mortgages up to £1 million. The lender has also increased its cap back up to £750,000 for buy-to-let mortgages. 

Applicants will need a 15% deposit to qualify for Santander's residential mortgages and a 40% deposit for its buy-to-let mortgages.

What has Barclays changed?

Barclays for Intermediaries is the latest large bank to announce that it’s property valuers are back at work. The bank is lowering the price on a selection of two, three, five- and seven-year fixed rates by up to 0.10% and the price cuts apply to mortgages between £5,000 and £2 million.  

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “If you are planning to apply for a mortgage there is a lot more choice than there was a few weeks ago. The lenders will still use automated property valuations for the more straightforward applications as it speeds up the process.

"Barclays cheapest rate is sub-1.35% for a two-year fix and below 1.65% for a five-year fix. It is still offering up to 5.5 times salary mortgages for borrowers earning over £75,000 or £100,000 jointly."

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or complete our online form

Accord Mortgages, Clydesdale Bank and Virgin Money return to 10% deposit mortgage market

As the housing market comes back to life lenders are starting to reintroduce their 10% deposit mortgage rates. 

Accord Mortgages, the broker lending arm of the Yorkshire Building Society, has returned to the 10% deposit market for property purchases and remortgages. The society has also started offering New Build products to borrowers with 15% deposits.
 
Clydesdale Bank and Virgin Money for Intermediaries are also set to return to the 10% deposit market following Government announcements last week. The banks are withdrawing the temporary limits on loan sizes and property values they had in place over recent weeks. They will also use a mixture of physical and remote valuations to inspect properties.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "The lenders have already started providing 15% deposit mortgages and some of them have increased their maximum loan sizes to offer £1 million+ rates again.

"Banks and building societies had to pull out of the low deposit market pretty quickly when we went into lockdown, but we are starting to see higher loan-to-value products coming back."

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a 10% deposit mortgage or submit an enquiry

HSBC launches 1.14% two-year fix and 1.39% five-year fix for mortgages up to £5 million

HSBC for Intermediaries has launched a selection of super-cheap two, three and five-year fixed rates available for mortgages up to £5 million.  

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak the cost of funding mortgages has dropped providing borrowers with the chance to lock into some incredibly cheap mortgages. 

HSBC has lowered the cost of its mortgages and its most competitively priced rate is 1.14% fixed until 30 September 2022. The overall cost for comparison on this rate is 3.2% APRC. 

There is not much of a premium to pay for the security of a longer-term fix with the 1.29% rate locked in until 30 September 2023 and the 1.39% fixed running until 30 September 2025. The APRC’s are 3.1% and 2.8% respectively.  

Applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify for these rates and they have £999 arrangement fees. Early repayment charges apply for the fixed-rate period and these mortgages are available on interest-only. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “Since the lockdown has eased and the property market has restarted the lenders have started to lower rates to attract borrowers again. Many of them still have huge lending targets to hit so they are keen for business. 

“If you are planning to purchase a property or remortgage to a cheaper deal, it may be worth taking an interest-only mortgage to lower your monthly costs. HSBC provides interest-only to applications earning at least £100,000 and they allow borrowers to make overpayment to reduce the outstanding balance.” 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or send an online enquiry

How long are the lenders taking to produce mortgage offers and how much deposit will you need?

Source: Trinity Financial

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a residential or buy-to-let mortgage or send an enquiry

Coventry set to re-enter 10% deposit mortgage market as other lenders temporarily pull out

Coventry for Intermediaries is likely to re-enter the 10% deposit mortgage market as many of its rival lenders temporarily withdraw some of their low deposit rates. 

The biggest lenders to pull their 10% deposit rates include Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank, Accord Mortgages and Yorkshire Building Society. HSBC for Intermediaries is still offering 10% deposit mortgages as well as Bank of Ireland Bespoke and Tipton Building Society. 

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: “Over the last week a host of banks and building societies have withdrawn the rates popular with first-time buyers leaving a small selection of lenders providing low deposit options.

“As a limited number of lenders initially re-introduced their 10% deposit mortgages following the coronavirus restrictions, they have been under pressure to sustain the high level of applications they are receiving. They also have to balance their books, so they need larger deposit mortgages to satisfy their risk requirements to avoid being more exposed if house prices fall.”

Coventry Building Society is likely to start offering 10% deposit mortgages over the coming days, and other lenders are expected to follow suit over the coming weeks.

Some of the private banks provide low deposit mortgages for wealthier borrowers looking for larger properties although they have minimum income requirements. 

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a mortgage or complete our enquiry form

Standard variable rate mortgages remain high despite base rate reductions

Many of the banks and building societies have lowered the price of their standard variable rates following successive Bank of England base rate reductions, but they are still considerably more expensive than the best-buy rates. 

Some of the smaller building societies have particularly expensive standard variable rates meaning their existing customers are paying much more than the going rate. Many borrowers will have received letters explaining that their payments have gone down with effect from 1 May 2020 but they should still consider remortgaging to get a better deal.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "If you are paying your lender's standard variable rate and you have not checked to see if you can remortgage or switch to another product, it may well be worth doing. It can be incredibly easy to complete a product transfer by calling your lender or switching online. Our brokers will also take the stress out of remortgaging to another provider especially if you want to raise additional funds or secure a best buy rate.

"The larger mortgage lenders have been offering incredibly cheap rates for some time often priced below 1.5% and they typically cover the costs of refinancing to tempt borrowers into action." 

Data from the FCA's latest mortgage statistics shows the outstanding value of all residential mortgages loans was £1,509 billion at the end of 2020 Q1, 3.9% higher than a year earlier.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to remortgage or send an enquiry

Source: Knowledge Bank and lender websites

Platform offering 10% deposit mortgages again

Platform for Intermediaries has re-entered the 10% deposit mortgage market with two five-year fixed rates.

The lender's lowest rate is priced at 3.29% and it is fixed until 31 October 2025. After the fixed period the mortgage reverts to the lenders 4.34% standard variable rate and the overall cost for comparison is 3.6% APRC.

Aaron Strutt, product director at Trinity Financial, says: "Over the last few weeks most of the mortgage lenders offering 10% deposit rates have temporarily withdrawn their products, but they are starting to come back.

"The lenders are limiting these products to five-year fixes so HSBC is the main bank offering two-year rates for those with smaller deposits. Accord Mortgages is also offering a five-year fix for first-time buyers with a 10% deposit."

Platform's 3.29% rate has a £1,499 arrangement fee and it is available for property purchases and remortgages. The maximum loan size is £500,000 and there is a free property valuation. The fee-free product is 0.2% more expensive. 

If you are planning to remortgage to Platform the lender will restrict the maximum loan to value (ltv) if you are raising additional funds. For home improvements the loan is capped 85% ltv - for capital raising its 75% ltv and for debt consolidation it will be limited 75% ltv.

The Co-operative Bank, Platform, smile and Britannia are trading names of The Co-operative Bank p.l.c.

Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790 to secure a low deposit mortgage or send an enquiry

Stamp Duty Land Tax: temporary reduced rates 

Rishi Sunak has announced stamp duty has been scrapped for all homes under £500,000 to help kickstart the housing market. 

The move was announced as part of the chancellor’s emergency mini-budget to head off a feared rise in unemployment caused by the coronavirus. 

If you purchase a residential property between 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021, you only start to pay stamp duty on the amount that you pay for the property above £500,000. These rates apply whether you are buying your first home or have owned property before.

Use this table to work out what your payment: 

Higher rates for additional properties 

The 3% higher rate for purchases of additional dwellings applies on top of revised standard rates above for the period 8 July 2020 to 31 March 2021. 

The following rates apply: 

This is a link to the stamp duty calculator on the governments website.

Source: HMRC website