Moving Home Advice

The first person to contact when you are thinking of buying your new home is your mortgage adviser. They will let you know how much you can borrow and whether it is affordable for you. It will not cost you anything to have a chat to see what your options are. Get in touch with us now to find out more.

This depends on your current circumstances. All mortgages could be available to you, but it is best to get in touch with one of our expert advisers to see what is available for you.

There are many costs when moving and below is a list of some of the costs you may have to pay when moving or buying your first home 1. Arrangement/application fee – a fee charged by the mortgage company to arrange your mortgage 2. Booking fee – a fee charged by the mortgage lender to book your interest rate 3. Valuation fee – a fee charged by the mortgage lender to do a mortgage valuation on the property you are purchasing. Some lenders offer this for free (subject to the value of the property you are purchasing). There are 2 other forms of vaulat4ion you can have which are slightly more in depth than this. These are Homebuyers report or Full Structural Surveys. It is always recommended if you can afford a more in-depth report then please get one done. 4. Solicitors fees and disbursements – These do vary dramatically so please get a quote from a few different solicitors to find out your fees before you start your house moving or re-mortgaging process. If you are re-mortgaging, most high street lenders offer you free legal fees, so they will pay them for you, but, they are not offered in all cases. If you are purchasing or selling a property, then you will normally pay fees to the solicitors to buy and to sell. 5. Stamp Duty – This is payable to the solicitors just prior to exchange of contracts. First Time Buyers do not pay this if purchasing a property of up to £300,000 or for all people buying a property of less than £125,000 (unless it’s a second property i.e. a buy to let property). The more the property value then the more you will pay. Please see our Stamp Duty section to find out how much you could pay 6. Estate agents fees – only payable when you sell a property. Normally these are no sale no fees payable and these are negotiable so please haggle with the agent before signing their agreement 7. Broker fees – some brokers charge fees for their professional services to give you advice and process your mortgage for you. Their fees do differ so please ask your adviser for how much they charge.

This depends on several factors, like how much deposit you have and how much you earn, how many children you have, what debts you already have outstanding. How much a lender is willing to lend is based upon a full affordability assessment where they will look to understand your income, any loan or credit card commitments and regular essential household expenditure. In addition, they also perform a credit check to make sure your credit rating is suitable for mortgage purposes. To get a more accurate idea of how much you can borrow, get a decision in principle before you apply for a mortgage in full. Please arrange an appointment with one of our qualified mortgage experts today. We can at least give you an idea without doing any credit checks at the initial stage.

When you buy a house you legally need to have buildings insurance in place. Other things you should consider protecting when you purchase a property. Insurances like Life insurance, Critical Illness cover, Contents insurance. How about protecting your income? After all, if you cannot pay your mortgage payments then you or your family could be homeless. There is a great deal of insurances you can have, and they are described and listed under our insurances so why not check it out. Our specialist advisers will recommend what you should have then you can choose what is important to you to protect.

Valuation When you apply for a mortgage, the lender will arrange for a valuation (sometimes called a valuation survey but it’s more of a report) on the property you want to buy. That’s so they know it’s worth what you’re paying for it, and that we’re lending you the right amount. The valuation will usually mention any obvious defects. But other than that, it won’t tell you anything about the condition of the property. It’s just there to put a value on the property for the lender. You’ll have to pay for the valuation. How much depends on the size and value of the property. Your adviser will tell you the cost and it will be in your mortgage illustration. Some mortgages come with free valuations, so it can save you a little bit extra. A Standard Valuation is the only type of survey that all lenders will instruct. There are other types of survey available. If you’re unsure which type of survey you’d like, speak to your Mortgage Adviser who will be able to provide you with details. The two main additional surveys are: Homebuyer’s report This is a more detailed report which provides an overview of the structure and condition of the property, including all the accessible parts. It mentions all major defects and includes a roof inspection where possible. But it doesn’t go into detail or give information about what repairs you need to do to put things right. Building survey (or full structural survey) This is generally the most detailed and therefore most expensive survey you can have done. Like the homebuyer’s report, it covers all aspects of the property. But it gives more comprehensive information on the structure and condition – for example if there’s damp or subsidence. It will also include details of what repairs you’ll need to do to put any defects right, and how to maintain them. However, it does not include a valuation of the property.

The bigger your deposit, the lower your loan to value and therefore the lower your mortgage interest rate may be. You’ll need at least 5% of your loan as a deposit. Lenders offer a maximum of 95% loan to value.