You may have read that Northern Rock is returning to the mortgage market. What a fantastic move by the government. Also in the news it was reported that there was a huge surge in mortgage applications in January suggesting many buyers want to take advantage of the lower property prices now.
This move by the government will hopefully ensure these buyers can get an affordable deal through the nationalised bank. Apparently deals of up to ninety per cent loan to value will be available to borrowers, there will be no reckless 100 per cent or 125 per cent mortgages and unlikely to be ever again, financial institutions have learnt from there mistakes of ridiculous lending.
So great news for all, if the bank offers competitive rates it can help first time buyers get on the property ladder and will hopefully encourage other lenders to offer more competitive rates and kick start a revival of the mortgage and property market.
At the moment the products on the market vary greatly in rates. With the Bank of England base rate dropping from over five per cent to one per cent in a matter of months the mortgage market has seen a considerable change in rates and products offered.
It is therefore difficult to find the best deal and as offers change regularly it can be hard to grab the deal you want by the time you have finished searching the market.
The solution; use a mortgage broker. There are many mortgage brokers to choose from in the UK. With the current state of the mortgage/property market they are in need of your business to survive. Search around to find a mortgage broker you are comfortable working with.
A couple of things you should check before you decide on which mortgage broker to go with. Ensure they will offer whole of market advice. This will ensure they search every deal on the market so you can then compare the offers and the best deal for you. Secondly be aware many charge a fee for providing advice, you can find mortgage brokers whose service is just as good but offer their advice for free.
