Mortgage rates down, house prices up
As a Maidenhead mortgage broker, we LOVE good news about mortgages, especially when they’ve been few and far between of late. It’s a bit like a prolonged bout of sunshine after a largely wet bank holiday weekend (sound familiar?) – a huge relief! So, when news came in this week that estate agent Savills has predicted that […]
10 top tips on getting mortgage fit and remortgage ready – part 2
As we covered in part 1 of this two-part series, over 1.5 million people need to remortgage this year*. That’s a significant number of people who are likely to be switching from a UK mortgage deal of years gone by, when borrowing was much cheaper and monthly repayments were much smaller. For instance, the average 2-year fixed mortgage deal last month (March) was 5.76 per […]
10 top tips on getting mortgage fit and remortgage ready – part 1
As the weather begins to finally warm up and summer creeps closer, many of us will be thinking about getting our bodies beach ready in time for the holiday season. However, with over 1.5 million people needing to remortgage in 2024*, getting beach body fit shouldn’t be the only priority over the next couple of […]
How critical is critical illness insurance?
As an insurance broker in Maidenhead, we have a ‘top 10’ list of most frequently asked insurance questions – and this particular question is always on it. Sadly, it’s a question we can never answer. After all, how can anyone know when or if another person is going to get ill? Illness is generally something that people react […]
What’s next for the UK mortgage market?
It was all looking so good at the start of the year. The positive outcome of the much-touted mortgage wars that opened 2024 wasn’t just the fact that cheap UK mortgage deals seemed to be getting cheaper on a daily basis, but also the fact that consumer confidence began to increase. The UK’s housing market was moving again, the best mortgage deals that […]
Mortgage rates are rising (here’s what you can do to get ahead of the game)
As we covered in our last article, there has been a degree of mixed messages over recent weeks when it comes to UK mortgage rates. Some lenders have been putting them up, whilst others have been cutting them down – but it looks like rates may now be on an upwards trend after Santander and HSBC announced […]
Mortgage market mixed messages
If you’re not using a mortgage broker right now, then getting a mortgage must be a minefield. It’s certainly a lot more erratic than it was 15 months ago. Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen products being pulled, rates changing daily and, more recently, rates dropping to more competitive (if not wholly palatable) levels. But wait, things […]
The benefits of equity release (and two alternatives to consider)
Equity release mortgages – or lifetime mortgages, as we’ll be referring to them here – are big at the moment. In fact, data released by the Equity Release Council (the industry voice for equity release in the UK) highlights that over £700m in equity was converted into cash via this type of mortgage in Q3 of 2023 alone. So, what […]
Full steam ahead for first-time buyers?
It’s been tough for first-time buyers of late. And it often is in general, if we’re being honest. After all, a first-time buyer – by their very nature – typically has no property wealth in the form of accrued equity, and they’re often trying to enter the property market with a deposit that just about qualifies them […]
2024 mortgage rate predictions
We’re heading towards the end of 2023 – and what a year it has been. It’s certainly kept our team of Maidenhead mortgage brokers on their toes. And now it’s approaching its end, our clients are starting to ask what’s in store for 2024. So, here’s our take. The going rate Having weathered a few economic storms […]
It’s not just the leaves that are falling – mortgage rates are, too
After a few turbulent months, in which mortgage rates have seemingly been rising in line with the Bank of England’s (BoE) base rate, the scales seem to be tipping as mortgage rates begin to fall. A number of fixed rate mortgage rates have now dropped below the five per cent mark for the first time in two months – […]