The purchase market is currently buzzing. In a throw-back to some of the heady days of old, we’re hearing stories of bidding wars and properties being snapped up before they even come onto the market. It’s clear that whilst the raising of the stamp duty threshold has certainly worked to accelerate activity across the housing […]
Category: Blog Posts
This is a great time for First Time Buyers to take the leap
Recent changes to the stamp duty threshold have attracted a growing number of enquiries from First Time Buyers (FTB) looking to take advantage of this short-term tax break in order to get their foot onto the property ladder. This is a great time for FTBs to take the leap but as we continue to operate […]
Being self-employed should not stop you getting a mortgage
There are many concerns in the current climate relating to job security and especially how lenders look at the self-employed following lockdown with regards to consistency of ongoing income and customer base. The growth of self-employment, contracting and the gig economy has continued to challenge and change the make-up of the UK workforce over the […]
Impact Specialist Finance ‘highly commended’ in the 2020 What Mortgage Awards
Impact Specialist Finance has been highly commended in the Best Specialist Mortgage Broker category at the 2020 What Mortgage Awards, for the second year running. Now in its 27th year, the What Mortgage Awards recognises and rewards the very best businesses in the UK’s mortgage and associated personal finance markets. Due to social distancing restrictions, […]
Lenders attitudes to risk and operational capacity affect higher LTVs
Loan-to-value (LTV) has always played a huge role in the mortgage market, although borrowers can often be unaware of the activity swings going on behind the lending scenes and the reasons for these. Getting back to basics for a moment, LTV is essentially the size of mortgage that a lender is prepared to offer borrowers […]
Even on Furlough, lenders may consider you for a mortgage
Just because you’re on the Furlough Scheme (or have been on it), does not necessarily mean you cannot get a mortgage. Several lenders have issued guidelines to accommodate those on Furlough and will offer mortgage products to them. Especially clients looking to stay with the same lender and do what is called a ‘product transfer’. […]
Physical valuations are back, but with conditions
‘Back in Business’, ‘Business as Usual’, ‘When we come out of this’ – all terms I’m sure you’ve heard a lot recently. I think it is now very clear to say that any form of ‘normality’ will be a different experience from what we have been used to. Every day includes new learnings and new […]
This should be a time used wisely, not only to review life goals, but also financial situations
Due to the current unfortunate circumstances, we are now becoming very used to the Coronavirus lockdown. However, perhaps this should be a time used wisely, not only to review life goals but also financial situations. Do you have a Will? Statistics show that only one in three people currently have a will in place, with […]
You’d use a local shop over a supermarket. It should be the same with your mortgage broker.
Through this unprecedented time, I can’t stress enough that you should be using a mortgage broker to review your requirements and help arrange your re-mortgage to cut down your costs. Yes, you can sometimes go direct to the lender, but is it right for you? Is there a better rate elsewhere? Have you read all […]
Important Government update on purchase applications
Message from one of our lender partners and we anticipate others will also issue similar notes shortly: UK Finance has been seeking urgent clarification from the government about whether home purchases should continue at the current time, particularly as physical property valuations are no longer possible. The government has now stated that: Home buyers and […]