Mortgages
For most of us, buying a house is the biggest financial commitment we will ever make. This is especially true at the moment given the huge rise in house prices of recent years. Deposits are bigger, mortgage loans are bigger and sometime set to be repaid over a much longer period.
So what is a mortgage?
It's just like any other kind of loan - you borrow money, and you pay it back with interest added. This is normally over a number of years (25+ is quite common). The BIG difference is that the loan is secured against your home. So if for any reason you can't repay it, the lender can sell your home to recover their money.
With this in mind, we cannot stress enough how important it is to get the right advice, and choose the right mortgage from the start. The wrong mortgage can be costly not only in terms of what you have to pay each month, but for example if you need to sell the house during the early years, there may be a big penalty to pay in early redemption fees.
Unfortunately, REB Estates are not authorized to offer advice with regards mortgages, but we "know a man who can" so to speak! There is also plenty of freely available information to help you through the mortgage maze.
Online advice pages, Financial Services Authority (FSA), banks, building societies and mortgage companies offer advise and often publish guides to help you get up to speed with the different types of mortgages and common terminology. Don't forget, many banks and lenders only offer their own products, and do not give advice on other products available.
Meeting with an independent mortgage broker or financial adviser who knows the market inside out (and can offer mortgages from across the whole market) can be a real help. Sometimes they charge a fee for the service or take a commission from setting up the loan (or both!). Make sure you understand how they work, and are comfortable dealing with them.
For those of you who know exactly what they need, there are plenty of companies who offer very attractive rates with discounts or special rates for booking online.
