| How is Coronavirus Affecting The Mortgage Market To say the mortgage market is volatile at the moment is an understatement. The market is basically changing every hour as the Country starts to feel the real impact of Covid- 19. Certain lenders pulled all their products from the mortgage market last week, with some re-introducing certain options this week whilst others are still not in the market for business. Furthermore, interest rates are at 0.1% the lowest in history and banks and building societies have also offered lenders a 3- month payment holiday. The industry is seeing levels of activity and change like never before. Obviously, with all these changes happening in such a short space of time the market does seem to lack a lot of transparency, furthermore with the government implementing the strict guidelines in place leaves the whole situation with so many unanswered questions. If you do have any questions we are here to listen and hopefully point you in the right direction. This article will hopefully answer the most common questions we have been asked. However, if we don’t answer yours, we can only apologise but please call us on 03333 232 199 and we will point you in the right direction. I have exchanged contracts, but the government says we can’t move what should I do? Although the government have made it quite clear in all their correspondence you shouldn’t complete a house sale. However, if you have exchanged contracts I would suggest speaking to your solicitor as this could be classed as an exceptional circumstance. If you breach the contract and don’t complete there maybe huge financial consequences. Therefore, completion may still be possible as planned but moving into your new home still might not happen until rules are relaxed. Will I qualify for a payment holiday? The government has asked all lenders to offer customers a 3 month payment holiday. Payment breaks apply to all types of borrowers i.e. homeowners, landlords and anyone else. There is one exception where a payment holiday may not apply, that is if your mortgage is already in arrears. If you are in arrears it still maybe possible for the holiday to be granted. How do I apply for a payment holiday? Firstly, one thing to consider is lenders are under extreme pressure at the moment due to the amount of people applying for payment holidays. Furthermore, they may have furloughed some of the staff, making things even harder for the lenders. A large percentage of the banks/building societies have the option to apply for payment holidays through their website. For the ones that don’t I would advise to call them as soon as they open in a morning. Check their website for their opening hours. My mortgage term is coming to an end should I look to Re-mortgage? As mentioned earlier in this article some lenders have pulled out of the market completely whilst others only have products on offer with a low loan to value. However, there are still a large number of banks/building societies offering deals with a LTV of 90% for example and with interest rates at 0.1% now might be the time to at least speak to someone about a re-mortgage. You also have to consider that the mortgage market will probably ger harder before it gets better over the coming months, making a discussion now even more important. We are here to help I hope we have answered the majority of your questions. However, if you have any further questions or would like to speak to someone about a Re-mortgage please call us on 03333 232 199 and we will point you in the right direction. |
