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UK Buy to Let Rents Increase in February

Recent research by LSL Property Services showed that rents in England and Wales rose by 0.2% in February, to an average of £684. This represents a 3.9% increase from 2010 and means that average yield on buy to let properties in UK also grew.

As such, LSL Property Services experts have determined that the increase amounted to 5% because growth of property values lagged behind the growth of rents.

The most significant and quick growth was registered in Wales - 1.9% - followed by the north-west - 1.1% - and the east Midlands - 0.8%.

The bad news UK landlords faced, however, was an increase in the number of tenants in arrears. The overall proportion of unpaid or late rents was 12.6% in February, which compares to 11% in January. In terms on money, this amounted to £296 million vs. £258 million in January.

Source: 21 Mar, 2011 by Ulyana Chernyak

Buy to let mortgages on the rise

Is now a good time to invest in a buy to let mortgage ?

In the ongoing difficult financial climate, where getting a mortgage is not an easy a task, rents are on the increase and landlords, who have had a difficult time over the last few years, are seeing a big turnaround in the situation.

According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, rents are rising at the fastest rate in three years. There are lots of people looking for accommodation who can't get a mortgage which means their only option is to rent. As a result, demand for rental properties is very high and the number of available properties for rent is nowhere near enough to satisfy the current demand.

Recent reports from the Association of Residential Letting Agents suggest that earlier this year (2010), 70% of their member offices reported having more prospective tenants than rental properties.

Other research indicates that the time that rented properties are remaining empty is reducing significantly with figures of 15% reduction being seen in the past year taking it to around 30 days. It doesn't sound so much but imagine if you have a few properties in your portfolio, this can quite quickly mount up.

If you couple this large demand with a significant undersupply, it is clear that rents are only going to head in one direction. With property prices reportedly falling again, and savings rates so low, it would seem that it could be a good time to invest in a buy to let property if you have some spare capital to invest.

Like most things, you need to do your homework carefully before diving into the buy to let market. Trying to compare buy to let mortgages is not an easy task. There are many different options available on the market, different lenders have different criteria based on the size of your portfolio, both in terms of the number of properties you have and how much that portfolio is worth so it is important to get the right advice before you make any commitments.

This is where independent brokers like AML are crucial to landlords. They can provide all the advice and guidance you need to get the right solutions for you and in many cases, they can get access to deals that you can't apply for directly.

Source: LSL Property Services, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, lovemoney.com

Equity release - unlocking money from your home

A recent article in the Financial Times reported that according to a study carried out by management consulting company, McKinsey & Co., demand for long-term care is likely to rise by 70 percent in the next 20 years and that will require "extensive sources of private funding" if big tax increases are to be avoided.

They go on to suggest that greater use of"equity release" mortgages may be an option to consider. Equity release mortgages enable homeowners to borrow against the value of their homes and use the money to supplement their incomes.

Some people have seen the value of their homes more than double since the mid 1990s. It is no surprise, therefore, that equity release has caught on. Retired people are particularly attracted to using the rising value of their homes to boost their weekly income.

There are many equity release schemes available on the market but you will need to do some homework before investing in one.

Equity release plans can be complicated products and are a major step for many people. Your house is almost certainly the most expensive asset you own; it is also your home so getting good advice is essential.

Age Concern and the Financial Services Authority, the UK's chief financial watchdog, both recommend getting independent financial advice before proceeding with any such scheme.

For more information, you can speak to one of our experienced advisors here at AML who can advise and assist in finding the best solution for you.

Source: Financial Times, BBC News, Age Concern

Advanced Mortgage Lending moves to new offices in Fareham

We are really excited this week as all the hard work we have been doing behind the scenes to get our new offices ready is complete and we officially opened our new premises in East Street in Fareham on Friday 29th October.

We originally planned to open on the 1st November but we finished early and just could not wait.

We hope you will drop in and see us if you are in Fareham and say hello, bring the kids in for a free balloon or of course you can pop in and have a chat and see how we can help you with a great mortgage deal, insurance or whatever you need. All of our services are the same and we have the same friendly staff here to help you in our lovely new offices.

Hope to see you soon !

Source: Advanced Mortgage Lending (AML)

Buy to let mortgage market improving

A report published by Moneyfacts on October 11th 2010 suggests that the UK buy to let market is improving and one indication of this is that the number of buy to let mortgage products available has increased by 20% this year.

Recent studies also indicate that U.K. residential rents climbed for an eighth month in September as a lack of mortgages and affordable housing for sale drove letting fees higher. Apparently, the average monthly rent for a home in England and Wales rose to £689 pounds from £685.70 in August.

With the current uncertainty over the direction of the economy, many buyers are choosing to remain in rented accommodation for longer which means it has turned the buy-to-let market into a landlord’s market.

Overall, this could be a good indication that getting into the buy-to-let market could be worth investigating if you have some money to invest.

Source: businessweek.com, e1buytoletmortgages.com

Remortgaging falls to lowest level in a decade

Remortgaging accounted for only 25 per cent of loans in August, the lowest proportion in over 10 years.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) claimed continuing tight credit conditions meant some borrowers were unable to access new refinancing deals.

August saw 25,000 remortgage loans, worth £3bn, advanced by lenders.

The number of loans and the value were down 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively from July and both were 19 per cent lower than a year ago.

There were 51,600 house purchase loans, worth £7.7bn, advanced in August. This was a fall of eight per cent in volume and value compared to the previous month.

The CML claimed purchase lending was slightly more robust than August 2009. In August 2010, mortgages for house purchase increased by three per cent in volume and 12 per cent in value compared to August 2009.

Activity in the first-time-buyers market also declined. Only 18,300 loans advanced, worth £2.3bn were for first-time purchases. This represented a decline of five per cent by volume and four per cent value from July.

Michael Coogan, director general at CML, warned the comprehensive spending review will contain austerity measures that will likely further dampen consumers' appetite to borrow.

He said: "We would expect lending to slow more significantly, year on year, as we head towards the end of the year, and it is unlikely that the uncertain environment will encourage a pick up of mortgage activity in 2011.

"With some uncertainty surrounding future house price trends, we would expect a muted market in the next few years. The problem of excess capital, that led to record lending and borrowing in 2007, has self corrected and will not return."

Source: FTAdviser

AML website gets a facelift

Just in case you haven't noticed, our website is looking a little bit different. We didn't want to change it too much but we have done a few subtle modifications, updated our logo and added a blog page.

We hope to be adding more content to our site regularly to keep you informed of news and tips etc from the market so please check back often to see what is new.

As always, if you have any questions about mortgages, insurance, loans, wills or any other related topics, please give Advanced Mortgage Lending a call and speak to one of our advisors.

Source: AML

Tracker Mortgages

A tracker mortgage is one of many types of mortgages you can find within the UK mortgage market. A tracker mortgage is normally a fraction / percentage above the Base Rate which is set by the Bank of England.

Tracker mortgages can either last for a specified period of time or for the entire term of the mortgage which are often referred to as “life time trackers”.

It’s difficult to predict the future of tracker mortgage rates; however by following the performance of the economy it will provide a good guideline. The general rule is that when the economy is strong, interest rates tend to be higher; Lower interest rates often reflect a weaker economy, such as in times of recession. This is done to encourage consumer spending.

When choosing the most appropriate mortgage type (i.e. tracker and fixed rate products), it is vital to consider your current and future personal circumstances. This is because the base rate is variable and one cannot predict how long the base rate will remain the same; in fact it could suddenly change with little notice, potentially leaving you with higher monthly mortgage payments.

Although fixed rate mortgages are usually more expensive, they provide a security that your mortgage repayments will remain stable regardless of any change to the Bank of England base rate; this can make monthly budgeting easier to maintain. At the end of the fixed rate term, most mortgages revert to a variable rate; we recommend contacting one of our Financial Consultants, who will support you in finding and applying for another suitable product that meets your existing and future requirements. It’s worth searching the mortgage market as some lenders offer very competitive rates as an incentive to re-mortgage to a new lender.

If you require more information on tracker mortgage deals or tracker mortgages best rates, then please feel free to contact us at Advanced Mortgage Lending and we’ll be happy to assist you in finding the best tracker mortgages in the UK with our whole of market knowledge and access.

Remember that your home may be repossessed if you cannot keep up your monthly mortgage payments.

Source: Advanced Mortgage Lending

First-time buyers

When asked about the chances of getting a mortgage at the start of 2010, many potential first-time buyers said they were having to get financial help from their parents to afford a deposit.

One wannabe buyer said he was applying for game shows in a bid to win the money for a deposit.

The picture has changed little for them since.The average deposit of 24% in July was much the same as the average since the start of 2009.

There was a slight dip in demands - with the average deposit at 21% in April and May this year - but later in the summer "loan criteria have now tightened a little", the CML said, "Low interest rates mean that mortgage interest payments account for a "modest" 13.2% share of average income" - the lowest since early 2004, the group's figures show.

But this has not translated to the proportion of new loans going to first-time buyers, their 34% share of the mortgage market was down from 38% in June and the smallest percentage since the middle of 2007, just before the onset of the credit crunch and the international banking crisis.

Source: BBC News (Business)

Mortgage lending 'remains tight' for first-time buyers

Past statistics from lenders indicate that demand for mortgages is usually strong in July. However, the first-time buyers share of the mortgage market fell to its lowest level for three years in July this year, according to new figures.

The proportion of new mortgages taken by first-time buyers fell to 34% of all loans granted to home buyers, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said, "although they had to put down an average deposit of 24%, low interest rates have helped affordability".

In general, lending on home loans continued to be squeezed, this was despite a small rise in new lending in July.

The number of mortgages advanced to house buyers increased to 56,000 in July, up 7% on the previous month, the CML said; this was also 6% up on the same month a year ago but the group said that although there had been a seasonal uplift, the market remained "very weak" with loan criteria having tightened.

"Lending criteria remain tight, underpinned by caution on the part of both borrowers and lenders in the light of continuing economic uncertainty," said CML economist Paul Samter.

Source: BBC News (Business)

Fixed-rate mortgage web searches soar

Recent research by web analysts Hitwise suggest that searches for fixed-rate mortgages jumped tenfold between April and June this year.

They found that searches for fixed rate mortgages and tracker mortgages have risen dramatically compared to this time last year, with some search terms increasing in frequency by a factor of 10.

According to analysts, searches for 'fixed rate mortgages 10 years' increased tenfold between April and June while searches for 'fixed rate mortgages 5 years' increased sevenfold.

Searches for 'tracker mortgages' rose by 16 per cent.

Advanced Mortgage Lending have access to "all-of-market" which allows us to remain totally independent. If you are coming up to the time of your current fixed rate mortgage ending and you have been one of those people searching for any of the above terms, we are sure we can find the right solution for you.

Source: Web User Magazine