Your View of the Mortgage Market 

Over half (59%) of people who are either considering, or are in the course of applying for a mortgage believe that the obligation placed upon mortgage lenders to assess their ability to repay will slow down the application process.  

The research by Equifax revealed that 32% of those who have yet to apply also said they would find it fairly difficult to obtain evidence of all the expenditure information they believe a lender needs to assess a mortgage application. 

As figures suggest, house buying is at its busiest during the spring, 69% who responded to the survey also expressed concern that more detailed affordability checks would affect the amount they could borrow. 40% are also worried about the time it will take to complete their mortgage application. 

The responsibilities placed upon lenders, which came into effect in April 2014 as a result of the Mortgage Market Review, place even greater onus on the lender to assess an applicant’s ability to repay. The applicant’s credit history is likely to play a crucial role in that assessment, alongside other information gathered as part of the application process. 

The Solution 

It is therefore absolutely essential to speak with a mortgage advisor who deals with all lenders within the intermediary market rather than utilising a panel.  The affordability checks are now as much use for the client as well as the lender and it is so important to look at all outgoings whether you are moving house or a first time buyer.  So many other considerations need to be heeded, for example, if you are not a married couple, how would you set up the mortgage?  Joint tenants or tenants in common?  Depending on which way you do it, could you need a will?  And this is just one question that is rarely asked or explained by banks and tied advisors as they do not have this knowledge or experience to be able to advise about this correctly. 

You are also about to secure the largest debt that you will probably ever have in your life so how will you protect this?  Home insurance, life insurance, income protection?  What a minefield!  Clearly the advice required is from a financial advisor who is able to search the whole market and give the correct advice to YOU as the client and not just looking for the quickest and cheapest deal to get you in to the house.  

Why would you entrust the biggest financial commitment of your life to one bank, one building society or an estate agency advisor who may be tied to panel of lenders when you could get unbiased, truly independent advice, agreed and processed in readiness for you finding a house? 

Gravesend Office