With so many things to consider when buying a house – including booking viewings, dealing with solicitors, securing a mortgage, not to mention the actual move – the whole experience can become stressful and confusing.
But with help from the founder of Gloucestershire-based mortgage brokers, The Mortgage Brain, SoGlos has rounded up some top tips to help house hunters choose the right mortgage.
About the expert — Enzo Mora, founder and managing director of The Mortgage Brain
Enzo founded Gloucestershire-based The Mortgage Brain in 2001 after a long career within the financial services industry. He’s hands on at driving the business forward alongside the hard work of his trusted team.
Enzo’s other passion is tennis which he has been playing since he was a child and recently received the honour of becoming the chair of Gloucestershire Lawn Tennis Association.
Tell us about The Mortgage Brain
The Mortgage Brain is one of the UK’s largest mortgage brokers with the head office in Gloucester. Since I started the business over 30 years ago, The Mortgage Brain has arranged thousands of mortgages across the UK for a range of customers including first-time buyers, second steppers and investors and even have a specialist team that helps customers to get a mortgage for a brand new home.
The team can also help with many different types of insurance from building and contents to income protection so it’s a one-stop shop on the financial front. I am absolutely delighted with the positive customer reviews The Mortgage Brain gets and it retains many of its customers each time they need a mortgage so we must be getting something right!
What should people consider when looking for a mortgage?
Your income and the level of deposit you have saved are the main factors when you start looking for a mortgage. Lenders vary a little on the amount they will lend you either on your own or if you are buying a property jointly with someone else. You will usually find that they will lend you 4.5 times your salary.
The more deposit you have been able to save the more likely you will qualify for a mortgage and access to the best rates. There are a couple of government schemes designed to get people onto the ladder called Help to Buy and the Mortgage Guarantee Scheme and our advisers know all the details. It’s also important to consider the other costs involved in buying a property such as stamp duty, mortgage arrangement and valuation fees, survey costs, buildings insurance and solicitors fees. Your credit history will also be checked. The Mortgage Brain is here to explain the whole process simply to customers.
Tell us about the different types of mortgages
Borrowers can choose a repayment mortgage or an interest only mortgage. For buyers who want certainty that their mortgage will be paid for at the end of the mortgage term, repayment mortgages repay some of the interest and some of the capital you’ve borrowed each month, so at the end of the mortgage term, you will have paid back everything borrowed and you’ll own your home outright.
An interest only mortgage means you pay only the interest each month and repay the capital at the end of the mortgage term from savings or investments. Lenders will want to know how you intend to repay the loan. You then can decide whether you want a variable interest rate that can be changed by the lender at any time, or an interest rate fixed for a set number of years usually between two and five.
What does a mortgage broker do?
A mortgage broker saves you time and money, so rather than going to each high street lender to find out if they will lend you the money and at what rate, a broker has an overall view of the lending market and will be able to advise you who will lend you what according to your income and circumstances.
How can Mortgage Brain help those looking to get a mortgage?
To start the process The Mortgage Brain has a set of handy mortgage calculators which will show you the best mortgage rates for you based on your individual requirements in seconds.
The dedicated team of fully qualified mortgage advisers can then take you through the best options, many of which are deals exclusively available to The Mortgage Brain. The friendly team is here to help whatever type of mortgage you are looking for.
What happens once you’ve picked a mortgage?
You couldn’t be in better hands! You will have your very own administrator who will be with you every step of the mortgage application process to make it as stress-free as possible.
You’ll be asked for proof of identify and income so that The Mortgage Brain can start the ball rolling. We advise most homebuyers to get a mortgage in principle before starting to search for a home, that way you will be taken seriously when you make an offer and will be in a very good position to complete the sale quickly especially in the current market where there is so much competition from buyers.
