What’s Been Going On?

The summer holidays may already feel like a distant memory, and with the kids going back to school in the hot sunshine it’s throwing our rhythms out of sync. Most of the girls in the office have had some time off over the summer to spend with their families, so we are really looking forward to having the whole team back in September. 

We want to say a really big grateful thank you and shout out to all of the family, friends and carers who have helped with childcare throughout the holidays to enable our girls to keep on working. Thank you! We couldn’t do our jobs without you.

With Charlotte’s permission we recently shared a social post about a condition Charlotte has called dyspraxia to help try and raise some awareness. Charlotte wasn’t diagnosed until she was 20, however when she was younger there were indicators that something wasn’t right; she would often forget things, and her clumsiness was a running joke.

Charlotte has said it was a relief when she was diagnosed, and helped make sense of the barriers she had faced when she was younger, and why she had to work so much harder than other people to achieve her goals.

If you would like to learn more about dyspraxia you can do here https://dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk

We haven’t had any official training this month, but we have welcomed in our Business Development Managers from Principality, Santander, Skipton and Paragon. Thank you to these providers for taking the time to pop in and see us and keep us updated on the ever-changing mortgage landscape.

Kate also enjoyed an afternoon out with our business manager from Halifax Steph, who we have a very close relationship with and who has supported us for many years. Halifax is the biggest mortgage lender in the UK, so it’s really important that we maintain the excellent relations we have always had with them, and all of our lenders!

 

In The News

We have seen a “mini price war” between lenders which has meant a rate reduction for some of our clients. Will we be back to the under 2% rates this year? Honestly, I am not sure if we will ever get back to those but, the market has been calmer and steadier since we last blogged, and this does feel like a step in the right direction.

One of the major lenders has extended their maximum mortgage term to 40 years. This is already offered by many lenders, but the first time for HSBC.

It has been welcomed as a positive move to help customers who need this length in term to be able to afford the monthly payments in the current market, whether that be first time buyers or re-mortgage clients. This is a strategy that can help lower monthly payments as it will spread your mortgage loan out over a longer length of time. Extending the term can cost more in the long run though, so please make sure you speak to us, and we can advise you on the best options available and the pros and cons.

What’s coming up?

Keep an eye out for our social posts coming up for National Savings Week 18-24 September, and answers to some of our frequently asked questions. We have put together some informative posts on how these can tie into your mortgage plans.

Re-mortgage due before March 2024

Are you one of our many clients who have a mortgage product due to expire before March? We try to contact all of our clients to remind them of this and to book an appointment to review their options. Lisa manages our re-mortgage diary and will be in touch and looks forward to speaking and booking you in!

Don’t wait for our call though, please call us if you have less than 6 months remaining. Don’t be put off by the volatile rates and whether they will come down after you have had an appointment. We will keep an eye on the rates for you, and if they reduce before your new one is due to start, then we can review this. Then if they go up? If your application was submitted, then you are winning as you already have a lower rate. It’s a win win for you to have a review as soon as the 6 months hits.

 

Employee of the month

Kate has dedicated employee of the month for August to Nicola who is our Protection Specialist. There is a good chance you may have spoken to Nicola if you have had a protection appointment recently as her diary has been full! We have been extremely busy with protection and Nicola has been working round the clock in the evening and on a Saturday in addition to her full-time working week to ensure all of our clients have been seen, and that they and their families are safeguarded if the worst was to happen to them. Well done Nicola!

Kate’s case of the month

This month it was one of Kate’s own clients. Kate recently had an appointment with a couple who are in their 60s, who have an interest only mortgage on their home and the term was ending over the next 3 months.  With an interest only mortgage, your monthly payment is for the interest only on the mortgage loan, not any of the capital borrowed. This means that your monthly payments will normally be less than a repayment mortgage, however at the end of the term, you still owe the original amount borrowed, so you need to have a plan in place for how you will pay this off.

Kate’s clients were equity rich and in the future plan to sell and pay off the mortgage with equity, and then downsize to a property and be mortgage free. They had been with their current lender for a long time and were hoping to contact them and it be a very straightforward process to arrange a new mortgage and lengthen the term. However, this was not the case.

The couple were becoming stressed and started to panic as it was proving difficult to find a way forward with the existing lender, and they were finding that there was a lack of communication, and it was really hard to get in touch with them. The couple are both self-employed, which was also adding extra complexities, and with their current mortgage product due to expire at the end of October, progress needed to be made urgently for them to hit this deadline. If this deadline wasn’t hit, then potentially the couple could be asked to repay the whole original capital to the lender.

Kate has removed the stress away and managed the process with a different lender, who have taken all of the complexities and urgency onboard and offered the couple a product they are happy with, meaning they can continue to live at their home until they downsize in the near future.  They are delighted with what has been done, and the way Kate has calmly and reassuringly arranged this for them.

If you are in a similar situation, maybe you are a borrower and over 55 with interest only, or in fact any mortgage type due to come to an end, and you are panicking about what to do next, please call us.  If you have already spoken to your existing lender and would like further advice and options, we can talk this through and help take the stress away. We have a wide panel of lenders and many that specialise in later-life borrowing, and a team of experienced advisers who will know the best lenders to approach for your case.

Protection

We never want to hear news that something has happened to a client which has meant they have needed to claim on a policy we have arranged for them. However, that is why they are there, to safeguard our client(s) and their families for the worst news.

One of our clients contacted us recently to tell us of such news, that their teenage daughter had been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, And they had made a claim on their critical illness policy recommended by us which included children’s cover, and the claim had been accepted and a substantial lump sum paid out to help the family. 

We know we have done our job correctly when we hear feedback like this, as the lump sum will make such a difference to the parents to help towards things like lost income when they are taking their child to appointments and any additional medical care needed which isn’t funded by the NHS.

Autumn came, then it was summer again for a week, then autumn is here again, we think.  A bit all over the place like our current market but heading in the right direction maybe?

Either way, the kids are back at school, you can see my little one Joseph enjoying his end of summer trip to Stratford. Or maybe you have older children getting ready to leave for university. Whatever the weather, September feels like a fresh start again.

My message this month is it’s not too late to sort out any of the things that were on your list for 2023. One last push to get any plans in motion.

Whether it be a straightforward re-mortgage, or if you want to take extra money out for an extension, you want to move house before the year ends, you have a buy-to-let currently on a standard variable rate that needs reviewing, the full life insurance and protection review you keep putting off booking. Call us and book an appointment.

There is still time this year to achieve your goals. Don’t write 2023 off. Don’t wait until January 2024.

There are just under 4 months left which is enough time if you get organised now!

As you have probably read in the last couple of blogs and in our social posts, I am enjoying advising full time again. One of the biggest changes I think I have noticed from when my diary was this full before, is the amount we talk to clients now is a lot more frequently, and applications and decisions aren’t just made over one or two appointments.

The best example is probably with my re-mortgage clients. I might submit an application six months before the current product is due to expire, however over the 6 months continue to touch base with the client, have appointments closer to the due date and then if a lower rate becomes available, and the client’s is eligible for it, apply and change to a more competitive product.

Some of the time there isn’t a lot I can advise on that has changed from previous conversations, but I am finding that clients want more guidance and reassurance, which is fine with us. It helps me know I have done my job properly and people are listening and coming back and asking questions about the products I have recommended.