As impartial mortgage advisers we provide individuals and businesses with advice on practical and relevant solutions to help them to meet their financial objectives. Some of the key areas we advise on are listed below. Of course, we’ll be happy to discuss your own personal situation and goals with you.

FIRST TIME BUYER

Buying a house is one of the most important purchases you will make, and buying a home for the first time will be an even more daunting prospect. Add to this the vast array of mortgage products available, not all of which will be available to you because of a number of circumstances and you could be left with a high-stress, confusing decision. This is why you need a broker and hopefully Money Sage to help you. We are able to consider your individual circumstances and match those circumstances to the lender or lenders that we believe will grant you the mortgage. Can you imagine trawling the high street from lender to lender only to be told no or even if they say maybe is it enough on which to put an offer on your new home.

TO HELP YOU WITH MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION WE HAVE PUT TOGETHER 10 TOP TIPS FOR YOU:

1. Ensure that you are realistic when working out exactly how much you can afford to spend on your new house. You should ensure the intended mortgage is affordable by doing a budget calculation. We can guide you through this if help is required. Even a newly built house will require some sort of furnishings, whereas older properties may require extensive work, such as re-flooring, tiling or renewing the wiring. Make sure that you factor in all these likely expenses, in addition to the purchase price, and other fees such as conveyancing and stamp duty.
2. It is wise to seek a Decision in Principle Certificate (available through Money Sage), so that you know how much you can offer once you have found a suitable property.
3. When buying for the first time, there may be a number of details in the houses you are looking at, which you may not pick up. Always take an experienced home buyer, such as one of your parents, or a home-owning friend, when looking at property. If this is difficult to arrange, then make sure you at least get some assistance once you have selected a property you like and are arranging a second viewing.
4. Ask about the construction of the property as mortgages are not always given on every type of house of flat. We can advise you if the property may be problematical.
5. If you are thinking of buying a flat; check details such as lease trem left or if share of freehold, service charges and ground rent.
6. If you have been used to living at home with your parents, remember to budget for expenses such as council tax, gas and electricity bills, boiler servicing, and other home repairs. Make sure you know what the likely council tax charge will be in your new property. The selling agent should be able to tell you what tax band the house you are interested in buying is in, and how the charges are levied by your local authority.
7. Even if you do not have children, remember that property in the catchment area of good local schools will always be much easier to sell on. However, this may also be reflected in a higher purchase price. Always consider how your transport arrangements will change in your new house. If you have a car, your insurance premium may increase dramatically if you move from a town with relatively low crime into a city centre with higher crime rates or if you move from your parents’ house with a locked garage to a smaller terraced house with on-street parking.
8. Consider the availability of public transport services, making sure you find out local bus routes, the frequency of train services from your nearest station, and, if you are moving a long distance, the range of flights available from your local airport. Even if you drive everywhere, this information will be useful for anyone coming to visit you who does not drive.
9. Write down a list of local amenities which are important to you. This may include shops, restaurants, pubs, sports centres, parks, and cinemas. If you enjoy activities such as walking, or cycling, the neighbourhood you plan to move in to may be very different to the one your parents are living in, and may not have the same access to parks and other recreational facilities. Before making any final decision about where to move to, take a stroll or bike ride around the local area, and note down where the key facilities are.
10. Try, where possible, to find somewhere to live that is close to your main place of work. Commuting can be one of the biggest household expenses, and as you are likely to be spending much more time on domestic chores and/or DIY, living somewhere which minimises your commuting distance will be very important. If property is more expensive nearer to your place of work, make sure you weigh up this additional expense, when compared to the costs and time of commuting. You may wish to ask colleagues in your workplace to see if there are possibilities to lift share with anyone from the area.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

BUY TO LET

Becoming a private landlord should not be seen as an easy way of making money. It can be riskier and more complicated. It can also be very time consuming, more than most forms of investment, and there is no guarantee that house prices will rise. That said, having a second property to let to tenants could reap considerable financial rewards over time.

THERE ARE 3 MAIN DIFFERENCES IN BUY TO LET MORTGAGES:

Rent Potential – the decision as to whether or not a mortgage will be offered is usually based on the rent you will earn as well as your income. In some cases your income is not ever considered.


Interest Rate – buy to let mortgages have slightly higher interest rates.


Larger Deposit – typically a minimum of 20% or 25% of the property’s value is required as a deposit.

When buying a second property to let, you will need to decide whether your primary objective is income or capital growth. In other words, are you looking to make a profit month on month or are you looking to make a profit through increased equity from the second property if it increases in value over time? The decision may affect the type of property you purchase, and the location.

When you manage a property there are many costs involved in addition to the monthly mortgage repayments. As a guide, you should be aiming to achieve a gross rent of about 135% of the rental property’s interest only mortgage repayments in order to cover your costs should anything go wrong.

THESE ADDITIONAL COSTS INCLUDE:

Property upkeep – maintenance costs for the property.

Letting agent’s fees – letting agents charge around 10% of the monthly rent for finding and vetting tenants with an additional cost of around 5% if you require a full management service.


Ground rent / service charges – applicable to leasehold properties.

Legal insurance – to cover costs from evicting tenants in the event of non-payment, very important, as this can be very expensive.


Insurance – building insurance and contents insurance for the items provided as part of the rental agreement.


Furnishings – the purchase of any furniture. If the property is to be let furnished, make sure you are covered for this by your home insurance.

Gas / electrical appliances – cost of maintaining appliances and ensuring they comply with any regulations such as safety tests.


Decorating costs – the property may require work ranging from painting, to a new bathroom suite before it is suitable for letting to tenants.

When choosing a property to let, it is wise to take advice from local letting agents to determine; what types of properties are in need and which parts of the town are best or most wanted. They can tell you if there is a University in the town, and if students are looking for somewhere to live. 


Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage(s).
The Financial Services Authority does not regulate some forms of buy to let

REMORTGAGE

When you remortgage, you are switching your mortgage to another deal, and frequently, another lender.

Remortgages can be used for various reasons. However, most people simply switch mortgages because it will work out cheaper for them. For example, the introductory discounted interest rate may have finished with your current lender; therefore you could potentially get a new discount rate, or a lower APR, with another lender. Another example is when you may need to re-mortgage to consolidate debts.

It is worth noting that a remortgage is not the best option in all cases. Even if the lender you are considering switching to is offering a lower APR, you must take into consideration the facts that:

• The new lender may charge you for valuation and solicitors fees, even if you have already paid these for your mortgage with your current lender.
• If you switch mortgage remember to look at the overall repayment period. You may be able to pay less monthly, but check the final repayment date of the mortgage as well.

Why not contact us and let us make the calculation for you; using state of the art software we can make a whole of market assessment of whether its right to change rate or lender.

THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.

Securing short term debts against your home could increase the term over which they are paid and therefore increase the overall amount payable

You may have to pay an early repayment charge to your existing lender if you re-mortgage.

HOME MOVERS

Although you may have gone through the process already, each home move is different. Plus you now have additional costs for estate agents and solicitors fees for both buying and selling.

Add in the complication of a long chain and this can make for a very stressful time indeed.

Much like a first time buyer, you will need to know what your overall expenses will be, how much you can comfortably afford to borrow and repay and know that you won’t have an issue in applying for your mortgage. This is where we can help. Our advisers have helped clients many times over in the house buying process and so can help you with:

• Working out your expenses
• Running through your mortgage options
• Helping you with the choice of surveys, solicitors etc.
• Looking at your insurance requirements
• Helping you with all the paper work
• Having a dedicated adviser to help you from start to finish

• SELF EMPLOYED

  It shouldn’t make any difference whether you are employed or self-employed when applying for a mortgage. Unfortunately that is far from the realities of how the self-employed are treated by most lenders. For example, most lenders require a minimum of at least two years completed accounts, usually verified by an accountant and sometimes checked against your Inland Revenue returns.

  When it comes to your trading status, Limited Company, Partnership, Sole Trader etc., this can complicate it still further as each lender will assess your income in a different way.

  Thankfully we at Money Sage have been helping the self-employed for many years and successfully place the majority of our self-employed clients. We even have lenders that will accept income based on just one years accounts so helping those who have made the jump to work for yourself for the first time.

  If you are a contractor, especially in the building or IT trade, this can also prove to be a hindrance in trying to find a mortgage, but just like the self-employed, there are lenders out there and we can find them for you.

  Finally, most self-employed applicants use an accountant to prepare their ‘books’ but accountants  see it as part of their job to minimise your tax bill using legitimate methods to reduce your taxable income. This though is the last thing you want when applying for a mortgage. Also, many self-employed people also earn money through the PAYE system or declare dividends, which can make their business income seem lower.

  For these reasons – and given other challenges that you may face when applying for a mortgage – it’s really best to get impartial expert advice on getting the best possible mortgage deal.

• LARGE MORTGAGES

  Just because you are borrowing a bit more, why should this be a problem? Well unfortunately it is as larger mortgages carry a larger degree of risk to a lender, a risk which may not suit a lenders appetite.

  So if you are in the market for a mortgage of £500,000 or more then our bespoke large mortgage service will be just what you need. With our guaranteed no fee arrangement, we will place your mortgage free of any of the normal Money Sage administration charges.

  We have arrangements with some of the household names in lending for large mortgages and in addition have a number of private banks that you would not have access to on the high street.

  Put us to the test; contact us now to get exceptional service at no extra cost.