Mortgage Broker

According to a recent report by Hometrack, growth in house prices in our regional cities is continuing to outstrip that of London, with Bristol and Manchester seeing the largest increases.

Manchester is now vying for top spot with a growth of 8.9% compared to Bristol's 9.6%. For Manchester, the rate price inflation is at its highest since July 2005. But why is London falling behind in the rankings?

Hometrack suggests that demand is falling in London because of high levels of unaffordability. With an average house price in excess of £580,000, about 14 times the average salary, many citizens struggle to obtain a mortgage, and house price growth in the capital is projected to slow further over the year. Other cities outranking London in the list of house price growth include Oxford, Portsmouth, Southampton and Birmingham.

However, to suggest that this means the traditional North-South divide is lessening is inaccurate. House prices in Scotland, for instance, showed slower growth than London, which at 7.3%, is still considerably higher than Glasgow (4.9%), Edinburgh (3.7%) and Aberdeen (-3.2%).

So while the divide isn't disappearing, it is true that in Manchester, and to a lesser extent Birmingham (7.5% growth), market conditions are stronger than in the capital. But what does this mean for Mancunians? It's a double-edged sword. The supply of homes is just keeping pace with the demand, which is maintaining the upward pressure on prices. That's good news for homeowners, many of whom will have increasing equity in their homes, but not so good for first time buyers or those wishing to move up the property ladder, who will find their finances squeezed.

The promised Housing White Paper this month will demonstrate whether and how the Government will build on its pledge to provide a stock of affordable homes.

This time last year, buy-to-let landlords were snapping up properties before the April 2016 increase in stamp duty and were proving to be tough competitors in the housing market for first time buyers.

This year, however, according to Rightmove there are more smaller properties available to first-time buyers, because there are fewer landlords seeking properties compared to this time last year. Available housing stock has increased and the increase in supply means that first time buyers have more opportunity to negotiate and get a great deal on their first property.

However, it's not all plain sailing. The average price for first homes has increased by 6.4% in the last year, and with relatively stagnant wages, affordability is becoming more of an issue than ever. According to a recent report in the Telegraph, there has been a recent increase in the number of people relying on the 'Bank of Mum and Dad' with 1 in 12 purchases partly funded by a family member or friend.  

So, this year, for first time buyers, it's a mixed picture. On the one hand, there's less competition from landlords and more choice of properties, but on the other, first time buyers may struggle to pass lender affordability tests and parents may feel under pressure to assist with the costs of house buying. The picture is not the same across the UK however. In certain areas house prices have fallen slightly. Wales and the North East of England, for example, have fallen between 1 and 2%. In the East of England, in contrast, prices have risen around 6%. This increase in prices however, may now be mitigated by the stronger negotiating power of first time buyers who have less competition from landlords. And with low mortgage rates on offer, lenders are trying to attract first time buyers to get onto the property ladder.

Policy initiatives may also help first time buyers.  For example, the government is investing £1.2 billion in the Starter Homes Land Fund, and the much-anticipated Housing White Paper, due this month, is predicted to detail radical changes to improve the supply of housing.  

Amid reports today that the number of first-time buyers has risen sharply for the first time since the financial crisis, observers have noted that the size of deposits has also risen rapidly, doubling from £15,000 in 2007 to over £30,000 now. So if you're thinking of climbing onto the property ladder in Didsbury, what are the things you need to consider?

There's no doubt that South Manchester is an attractive area to live both for young people and families - there are quality schools, restaurants and nightlife and all within a few miles of Manchester City Centre. The house prices reflect this, with the average house price being £290, 000. Out of reach for a first time buyer?

With constant changes to the housing market, and the prospect of first time buyers taking on 30-35 year mortgages it is easy to feel confused about what options are available to first time buyers in a sought-after area of Manchester like Didsbury. Help to Buy schemes may be available, or shared ownership may also be an option. Since many would be first time buyers are in their 30s, a longer term mortgage would mean paying mortgage payments into your 60s and possibly 70s, but it does mean that the amount to be repaid each month is lower.

Asking your mortgage broker to look for deals with lenders that would suit your needs when buying a house or flat in Didsbury. They may be able to acquire a mortgage deal for you that might be longer term but may also allow for overpayments should your financial situation improve in the future. Regular or occasional overpayments should allow you to reduce the term of your mortgage.

There's no doubt that Didsbury is a desirable area to live, and if you're thinking about buying in this area, check out the options available to you. The average property price in the area has been steadily rising in recent years so  buying here could be a good future investment.

If you are finding it difficult to get a mortgage, you can either struggle a lot or a little. Most of us would prefer the least amount of effort and tips available on http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/boost-mortgage-chances provide some good advice on active steps you can take if you are finding it difficult to get a mortgage.

But, and there is a big but, there are other avenues open to you that sites like Money Saving Expert would prefer not to tell you about. These sites are mortgage brokers and advisors who are independent or 'whole of market' as the latest ludicrous phrase from the FCA comes into use.

Using this blog post as a case study, it can be easily demonstrated that independent mortgage brokers are far better placed to find suitable and competitive mortgages for all types of home buyer. Wythenshawe - part of Greater Manchester that includes the airport is an area of huge economic growth and has a very active housing market. If you were to approach a bank or building society to lend you the money to buy a property you would be letting yourself in for paying higher rates and getting a much worse deal than you would if you were to use one of the independent brokers.

News from Reuters reports that UK mortgage approvals are currently at the lowest they've been for 2 years (http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-lending-idUKKCN11Z0TC), why is this?

Granted, house prices are expensive, and there is a lot of debt around but debt hasn't traditionally been a big 'make or break' reason for people not to apply for mortgages.

People's apparent willingness to accept debt has been noteworthy of late. The British people seem to embrace debt with open arms - at least during boom times. The last boom years of 2003 - 2008 saw lots of 'free money' being given away - this 'feel good' attitude persuaded many of us to take on debt, and this study regarding the amount of uk household debt makes interesting reading.

People in the UK seem to still want to buy houses - in Europe this is very different with many more people willing to rent property. This is not necessarily a good idea on the part of Europe in my opinion, as what as house gives you (once you eventually own it) is an asset that you can use in later life. Renting a property gives you no such advantage.

With money being tight at the moment it's imperative to find a mortgage that works for you as cheaply as possible. Don't go to banks, don't go to building societies, they will only sell you their own products, use an independent mortgage broker who will find you the best deal. Doing this one thing will save you  thousands of pounds over the lifetime of your mortgage.

A common question mortgage advisers get asked is about credit scores and if a bad credit rating can prevent getting a mortgage to buy a house. Here's a typical question:

"I'm interested in seeing if I can obtain a mortgage but am worried my credit rating may be a problem.

Please could I make arrangements to speak to someone in this regard."

I've recently been working closely with Alan Dee, a mortgage broker from Wythenshawe, whose company, 'Manchester Mortgages' arrange a lot of mortgage deals for house buyers not only in Wythenshawe but also the more expensive surrounding areas of Cheadle and Gatley (see http://manchestermortgages.co.uk/wythenshawe-mortgage-broker-advisor/ for more).

In a recent Manchester Evening News article (http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/wythenshawe-the-new-didsbury-house-9419435), Wythenshawe was termed the new Didsbury - a rather posh and Bohemian area of Manchester.

I met with Alan for a coffee in Wythenshawe's busy town centre and discussed the apparent housing boom that was going on all around us.

"It's only a few years ago that nobody wanted anything to do with Wythenshawe" said Alan, "there were lot's of empty homes and the area had a very bad reputation". Recently though this has changed and I asked Alan why he thought this was. "It has a lot to do with the development of Manchester Airport, which is only a couple of miles away. This has bought a huge amount of new business to the area, and that good because house prices in Wythenshawe are still affordable, whilst many other  areas such as Cheadle and Gatley aren't. Also, there's been a lot of redevelopment of the Wythenshawe as a whole - many of the older properties that were is disrepair have been pulled down and whole areas have been redeveloped. This had attracted many new people into the area - it's a great place for first time buyers and buy to let housing."

I went on to ask Alan how difficult it was to get a mortgage in Wythenshawe? "It depends who you go to" he offered. "The high street lenders like the banks will still make you jump through hoops and then it'll take several months to even get the mortgage application process up and running. With an independent or 'whole of market' mortgage broker like Manchester Mortgages, we can give people the best deals available from all the lenders and usually get a mortgage offer out to people within a week".

Was it difficult using a mortgage advisor like Manchester Mortgages I asked Alan? "No, it's not hard at all, we do all the paperwork and fill in the application forms. Also as we have so much experience in providing mortgages we can advise people on the best type of deals and even tailor deals specifically to suit them. A big area for us is getting mortgages for people with bad credit ratings. Many banks and high street lenders won't touch people with a large amount of debt, we do, and we often find them mortgages too" said Alan.

After our coffee I took a walk around Wythenshawe a noticed that it really is an up and coming area - full of potential and promise for the future.

 Getting a meeting with a home loan bank can be exceptionally prohibitive. Home loan is and American phrase for what the English call a mortgage broker - see http://buytolet.over-blog.com/.

What is implied by that they for the most part have set times of work ie 9 – 5 Monday to Friday or every so often Saturday Mornings.

It has been evaluated that a meeting with a noteworthy high road moneylender can take upto 2 ½ hours which would typically mean utilized individuals would need to take off time of work spending occasions or an independently employed individual may need to lose ½ a days work which is then beginning to cost cash.

Another standard loan specialist who doesn't offer the office to go into a branch has as of late exhorted it is taking upto 2 weeks to acquire a phone arrangement which can then be 1 hour long or conceivably considerably more.

This can extremely baffling when you have found the house that you need to purchase or if remortgaging masterminding the money for extra getting for maybe home upgrades.

Utilizing an expert Mortgage Broker can take away all that disadvantage.

Most Mortgage Brokers will work around your working week understanding that 9-5 Monday to Friday is not generally helpful.

They may have an office which you can go to outside these hours, say in transit home from work.

They might have the capacity to offer an arrangement at your work environment or visit you at home to examine your home loan necessities.

Individuals today live bustling lives and there is alot of approach your time and managing associations who have set times of opening can be extremely troublesome.

Having the capacity to manage an association who will work around your bustling way of life can be a great deal less unpleasant.

Envision having the capacity to be sat in the solace of your home and have all the high road moneylenders and other authority loan specialists (as not everybodys circumstance is the same) come to you.

Ask you what is vital to you when organizing your home loan not let you know what is accessible from a constrained recommendation and trust your circumstances meet that specific moneylenders criteria.

This is the thing that a home loan intermediary can offer they can take a gander at what is accessible from the entire of the business sector not from a restricted reach, they can meet with you at once and spot helpful to you and take the time and push to take a gander at all alternatives accessible.