Is post lock down the perfect time to arrange your Mortgage?

As we slowly start to ease back into normality, you may be wondering whether it's worth taking the leap to purchase that house or remortgage in order to bring your mortgage payment down. Many lenders had a variety of offers in terms of rates, but as soon as the UK began to retreat into lock down, so did the rates and products. Where as before lock down all you needed was a 5% deposit in order to purchase your first home,  it is now rare to see these products available on the mortgage market, albeit there is a version of these products with a family members help.. Most lenders are now asking for at least a 10% deposit (and even those products are few and far between to what they were before lockdown) It is unfortunate that not many people have this sort of money in savings to offer to put this down as a deposit. However the 90% products are available for those clients that looking to remortgage. Products that we now seeing on the market from various lenders are flexible fixed rates, which will allow customers to exit after a short period of time with no exit fees. This is perfect for those property developers that are looking to renovate a property quickly and sell on without incurring any early repayment charges.  With these great rates available, you may find they come with product or application fees, again, this is all down to the lender and their lending criteria.

The property market is on the rise post lock down. However, circumstances are still uncertain so people are worried about the future of their finances. Naturally, lenders want to reward their customers and welcome new ones, however, some lenders are tightening up on their lending criteria due to the uncertainty of the future. Therefore, for a consumer remaining with the same lender isn’t always the right option for you. It is worth investing in a broker who can shop around for you, and understands your circumstances. Experienced and knowledgeable brokers will know the depth and breadth of all lending criteria and may save you a lot of disappointment in these already uncertain times. It's an idea to invest in a Broker who works “whole of the lending market” to better match your circumstances and ensure that you get the best lender and product for you. Let me know in the comments your experiences post lock down and continue to stay safe out there!