The term Rio might initially bring to mind the colourful Brazilian city, or for fans of Duran Duran, a lady who dances on the sand. In mortgage terms, however, it refers to a Retirement Interest Only mortgage – a product which allows older homeowners to only pay the interest on their home loan until they … Read more
Mortgage approvals for house purchases hit their highest level since the financial crisis last year, as the stamp duty holiday and socialising restrictions kept buyers engaged with their search for a new home. There were a total of 103,400 approvals for new mortgages in December 2020, bringing the total for 2020 up to 818,500, according … Read more
Forget the eyes – nowadays, it is our internet searches that provide a window into the soul. We often turn to search engines to ask the questions that are on our minds, whether we’re just looking for a quick answer or because it’s something we are embarrassed to ask in person. Now, Britons’ most common … Read more
The difference in interest rates between two and five-year fixed mortgages is the smallest it has been since 2013, according to new figures. In 2020, the average annualised rate gap was just 0.27 per cent, according to data from comparison site Moneyfacts. Traditionally, two-year fixes have been popular with buyers because their rates were much … Read more
One in four homeowners is paying their lender’s highest mortgage rate – and some even think it helps them pay off their loan faster… Borrowers could save £4,080 per year by ditching their standard variable rate This is the ‘default’ rate when your initial term ends and it can be up to 6% Some thought … Read more
Getting your finances in order to buy a home can be tough enough at the best of times. But in the midst of a pandemic, there can be an added layer of difficulty. For example, what’s the best way of securing a good mortgage rate from a nervous lender if your income has taken a … Read more
Which is the better investment to hold, one that returned 17 per cent last year or one that returned 110 per cent? That’s a no brainer, isn’t it? Of course, you’d take the one that more than doubled your money. It’s not a theoretical question though; it’s one based on the 2020 tale of two … Read more
A new mortgage lender is planning to offer UK borrowers the ability to fix the rate of interest on their mortgage for up to 30 years. Perenna, which raised £7.3million during its latest funding round and plans to launch this summer, wants to bring ‘fixed for life’ mortgages to the UK market. UK borrowers will … Read more
Can Scottish Mortgage keep climbing? We ask Tom Slater about its 105% return in a year, Tesla, and investments for the future on the INVESTING SHOW By This Is Money Published: 16:51 GMT, 19 January 2021 | Updated: 16:51 GMT, 19 January 2021 Hugely popular investment trust Scottish Mortgage shrugged off a year like no … Read more
Santander has become the latest lender to impose harsher restrictions on self-employed borrowers, excluding them from its lower-deposit mortgage deals. The bank has said that new self-employed customers will only be offered mortgages to cover a maximum of 60 per cent of a property’s value. That means self-employed first-time buyers and most home movers will … Read more