What’s been happening in May?

May 2023 was a smorgasbord of Bank Holidays, meaning 27 days of appointments had to be crammed into 24, with June promising some respite and normal working hours returning. We pride ourselves as a team in stepping up to the mark – so in May we had less time, but the team worked harder than ever, and importantly had their down time at home, with trips to Thailand, Tenerife and Miami all added to the mix.

(As you can see Khloe got into holiday mode, a bit too early for Kate’s liking!)

Closer to home, we had a marvellous midweek curry just around the corner from the Kings Norton office, at Mahfil on the Green.

We didn’t get a watermelon sugar high from holidays or the curry, but Louise and Sharon were treated by Coventry Building Society to see Harry Styles!

Did you hear a familiar voice on Capital FM? They contacted us to do a piece on the headlines regarding mortgage lenders pulling their rates, and our Director Kate McTernan rose to the challenge. Well done Kate! The advice Kate gave was played throughout the morning breakfast news headlines.

In other news, our Director Gemma has moved! As with all moves these days, it has been challenging, but safe to say she is in her forever home now. It’s been a really busy time for Gemma this year passing her mortgage advising exams, and now moving. Congratulations Gemma! Gemma is another one who likes to keep busy, so we will keep you posted on her next project!

Kate also caught up with her good friends Sam from Samantha Cerrone Bespoke Estate Agents & Chris from Social For Brokers.

A meal they’d been trying to arrange for the last 12 months! (Is anyone else the same when it comes to arranging social events?!)

Professionally, we’ve had a lovely mixture of mortgage and protection training from: Guardian, Halifax, British Friendly, West Bromwich, Legal & General, The Exeter, Natwest and Met Life

What’s coming up?

June sees the 1st anniversary of our Kings Norton Office. Please keep an eye on our social media to see how we celebrate! We are so proud of both of our offices, and what we have achieved with our Birmingham office in just 12 months. We have such a loyal client base, and a big proportion of that loyalty comes from the Kings Norton area. We have been made to feel so welcome from the local community of businesses on the Green and residents in the area, and have such lovely feedback from people who pop in and see us. (Plus we have an excellent coffee machine!)

Testament to this is we’ve accrued almost 100 5-star Google reviews for this office in just 12 months – that has blown us away. Thank you to everyone who has supported our first year here.

Kate’s final thoughts

 

Amidst the mortgage market flux, I enjoyed seeing positive headlines locally and nationally about the mortgage market at the start of May.

The first-time buyer market has widened, with products such as Skipton’s 100% mortgage for renters, and Nationwide’s Green offering, allowing existing mortgage customers to borrow extra money at 0% for green home improvements.

However, later on in May has been completely the opposite and the headlines and emails have all created some uncertainty again. I think really this just sums up where we are at the moment. Every day is different and the words volatile and unpredictable have never had so much truth; we really cannot plan what’s going to happen from morning to evening let alone further ahead. We can see a client one morning and discuss a rate, and then have an email in the afternoon warning that the rate is about to be withdrawn, so we need to get the application submitted asap to secure the rate that we have offered.

What is causing the panic?

Lenders are worrying again about the uncertainty over future rate increases, which is due to inflation being higher than expected. Over the last couple of weeks in May, this resulted in lenders withdrawing rates very quickly and reducing the amounts of products they have on offer until the markets have settled.

How this affects you:

If you have seen us recently and have had an application submitted for a fixed rate, you should be unaffected by these changes. Only in rare circumstances will a lender change the rate based on market changes once a full application has been submitted. They can of course change the rate based on normal lender behaviour. E.g., if a property value changes after submission then this could mean they offer you a different rate.
If you have submitted an application for a variable rate such as a tracker, then this will have increased as the Bank of England rate has increased.

If you have seen us recently and haven’t asked us to submit your application yet or maybe have just had an Agreement In Principle to allow you to make an offer on a property, the rates that were discussed will probably have changed.

If you are due to re-mortgage before the end of the year, you can start to look at the re-mortgage process 6 months before your existing product is due to end. We can secure you a new product now to start as soon as the next one finishes and remain vigilant about the available mortgage rates. If they do decrease again before your new one is due to start, we can review the products and see if there is something more competitive before you change.

If you are moving/purchasing your first home and have an offer from a lender, they are usually valid for 6 months from when the application was submitted. If you are coming to the end of the offer period and haven’t moved yet, let’s say for example you are in a challenging chain that is taking longer than expected, there is always a risk that the offer may run out.

I can’t stress enough that this is why you need to have a good mortgage advisor and company working for you, who is constantly liaising with lenders, estate agents and solicitors to make sure your case is a priority. We have had cases recently, as previously mentioned in our blog, where due to the hard work and tenacity of our girls, people have moved in the most challenging and time critical circumstances, with competitive rates.

I really wish I had a crystal ball. Unfortunately, I was christened Kate, not Meg, and clairvoyance is not one of my skills. I want to give you reassurances though that there are options available with regards to mortgages and the current market.

The main worry people are telling us is that with the cost of living being so high, and what they hear about in the media about rates being high, they are worried about monthly mortgage payments. Whether you are buying a first home, moving house or re-mortgaging, there are things we can look at to keep these monthly payments manageable. I wanted to give you an idea of some of the recommendations we are discussing with our clients at the moment to help them keep their mortgage payments within budget:

• Extending your term e.g., from 25 to 30 years
• Reviewing other debt, you may have at the same time as the mortgage. E.g., credit cards, personal loans, store cards, overdrafts
• Discussing different repayment strategies such as interest only rather than capital and repayment
• Alternative methods of finance such as second charge loans, where we work really closely with other companies to secure these

Recommendations are different for every client as everyone’s circumstances, goals, and attitude to risk is different. There can be pros and cons to every recommendation. Ultimately it is up to you, but it is our job to provide the facts to help you decide.

Speaking to an advisor is honestly the best advice I can offer. More than ever, our expert bespoke advice to each client is essential.

No two cases are the same, every client has different circumstances and reasons for seeing us, so advice needs to be unique to everyone we see. I just think also it’s important to tell ourselves (me included!) that a mortgage is over a lifetime. Where we are now is a snippet in that timeline, and there will be ups and downs over time.

I wanted to thank all of our clients. Every case we deal with is important and we appreciate all of the business you bring to us.

Catch you all next month

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301 Pershore Road South, Kings Norton, Birmingham, B30 3EX

 

Birmingham Mortgage Advice is a trading name of McTernan Financial Ltd who are an Appointed Representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of Advance Mortgage Funding Ltd. Advance Mortgage Funding Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Registered Office: 8 Church Green East, Redditch, B98 8BP. Registered in England and Wales. Company number: 09168296.

YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE

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The guidance and/or advice contained within this website is subject to the UK regulatory regime and is therefore primarily targeted at consumers based in the UK.