Why use a Mortgage Broker in Liverpool

Today we live in an uncertain economic environment. Yet, in a world full of opportunities, therefore we like to be prepared, and when it comes to our finances, there is one thing we all desire: being well informed. 

Are you looking for mortgage advice in Liverpool? 

As a group of experts, we believe that there are some excellent reasons to use a mortgage broker in Liverpool, so here we will talk about both methods’ positives and negatives so that you can make the best well-informed decision. 

We know that there are many mortgages options out there, for example, you can still go directly to the lender, whether via a branch or online. However, we discovered that most people still use a mortgage broker in Liverpool due to the benefits it brings.

Using a Broker instead of a bank

You may not have much experience, but one thing is for sure: We all like to save some money. So, when we think of mortgage advice, one of the options that first comes to mind is to go directly to a Bank or Building Society, so that you won’t have to pay a broker fee. However, that option became unattractive when credit scores came in a few years ago, and people started looking for other alternatives.

Mortgage Products Offered by Lenders

Another of the mortgage products on the market are those offered by lenders that are only available directly. This strategy gets implemented to attract a fair business distribution from consumers and brokers alike. By being exclusive, they can turn on and off these products when they deem it necessary, this method often confuses the market and consumers.

However, from 2014 onwards, lenders were no longer allowed to sell mortgages without professional advice. Many consumers felt that non-advisors had been trying to push solid advice on them, and they weren’t able to benefit from some of the consumer protection. A benefit that accompanies sales conducted by professionally trained mortgage advisors is why most people still use this service.

Because of this, in late 2014, it was not unusual to have to wait more than a month just for an appointment, and it still happens today. Not the best scenario when you’ve just had your offer accepted on the house. So, many began to make their applications through mortgage agents, who assure you professionalism and a mortgage service the same day, like ourselves.

Affordability

Another important point when applying for a mortgage is affordability, no matter how good the deal is if it is not enough money. That is why we believe that a broker is a perfect option. With our mortgage advice in Liverpool.

We can assure you of the best deal and our service when you need it, in a professional and personalized way. When you call us, we try and put you through with a qualified mortgage advisor either immediately or at the very least, within the same day (unless requested otherwise).

We Can Handle Difficult Cases

Applying for a mortgage can sometimes be difficult. Each case is unique, and many reasons can complicate an application. Some examples are:

• Poor credit history.

• Self-employed income.

• Mixed source of deposit (savings/gift).

• Let to Buy (keep your current home and buy another).

• Contract workers / zero-hour contracts.

• Affordability.

In previous years, lenders could stand out from the competition by merely offering a similar deal but better than another lender. In modern times this is very different, with lending criteria being what separates one lender from another.

However, as we mentioned before, when we talk about our well-being and finances, we like to be well informed and consult with experts on the subject. Your situation is unique, and what you need is not a better loan than someone else’s, but a better one for you and one that suits your situation.

We offer a Free Mortgage Consultation

That’s why we think that seeking professional mortgage advice in Liverpool is the best alternative. When you explain your position to an experienced mortgage broker in Liverpool, there is a chance they have come across something a little similar in the past, allowing them to personalize their service and help you through.

With a little luck, professionalism, and much work, your mortgage advisor will be able to recommend the most suitable mortgage for you at the lowest possible rate.

More than that, though, it’s not just about getting the mortgage. Even if the application itself is straightforward, our clients trust our experience and knowledge for more than that. For example, we will discuss how much they will offer for the property they are buying.

Our team of mortgage brokers in Liverpool can recommend other professional services such as solicitors and explain the different types of surveys and protection available to them. 

Responsive service

Another significant advantage of using a mortgage broker is that they tend to be much more responsive than lenders might be. It’s not been unheard of for our team to work late at night, out of hours, working hard on client cases at full speed to ensure service is prompt, but also efficient. Our team is committed to offering our assistance when you need it and how you need it.

Another point that gets overlooked when looking at why clients may prefer a broker is that everyone is very busy. You may be self-employed in Liverpool, a full-time worker, a working mom and you need a mortgage but do not have time to do it, that is where your advisor can take the burden off for you.

Professional applicants especially see the benefits of these as they have clients of their own to charge for their services and appreciate the benefits of having an expert on board.

Personalized service

Technology is taking over, and the future of the mortgage market is no different. Perhaps in the future, we will see lenders who want to compete with the broker’s business. If this happens, they are unlikely to staff-up their branch networks.

Technology is excellent, and it is a service particular for customers who are happy to do business that way, especially for straightforward cases. However, for most people, there is an element of “reality,” a “human touch,” that you can’t get anywhere other than talking to a mortgage counsellor yourself.

The mortgage broker becomes your ally and can provide you with a satisfying experience, a complete service with all the benefits that the client requires and attention that technology cannot offer.

Having said all this, the reasons for hiring a mortgage broker in Liverpool are vast and if you want to ask any questions related to mortgages. Seek or obtain this service from the hand of a professional team adapted to your needs, get in touch, and we’ll put you through with a mortgage advisor in Liverpool as soon as possible.

Help to Buy Mortgage Schemes Available in Liverpool

The Basics of a Help to Buy Mortgage 

Help to Buy Mortgage Schemes Available in Liverpool
In a bid to kick-start the property market, the Government launched various Help to Buy schemes. In any case, this started after the credit crunch of the mid-2000s.

Most of the schemes undertaken were under the banner of “Help to Buy”. They got designed to get people onto the property ladder. Putting these schemes under the title of Help to Buy did cause some confusion, so below well explain how they work.

Forces Help to Buy

From 1 January 2023, The Forces Help to Buy Scheme became an enduring policy, ensuring its availability to all service personnel now and in the future. The scheme was first introduced to help regular armed forces personnel get onto the property ladder. If you fit within the scheme’s criteria, it could be a great mortgage option for you to consider.

For more Help to Buy Mortgage Advice in Liverpool, get in touch with your Help to Buy Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool today. Receive a free Help to Buy mortgage consultation in Liverpool today.

Here’s an insight from Malcolm, who is an experienced Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool and the actual “moneyman” himself:

Mortgage Advice in Liverpool 

Opportunity For Tenants Buying From Landlords In Liverpool

Open & Honest Mortgage Advice in Liverpool

We regularly receive questions from private tenants buying from landlords, often due to some landlords offering first refusal (the opportunity to buy before it hits the open market) to existing tenants. Even if you don’t have this privilege, it might still be an option and it is always worth asking your landlord if they would be willing to offer this to you in the event of a sale.

The government decided to crack down on tax relief previously available on Buy to Let Mortgages. The changes were brought in over a 4-year period and it is only now this has taken effect that they are starting to see the impact of these changes as they receive their tax bills.

Property has been a solid means of income and a worthy investment for landlords over the years. Some landlords opted to ride out the tax changes because they are in it for the long haul, with a lengthy career as a landlord in mind.

However, some landlords were tempted to sell up and move on. There are lots of advantages on their part to selling you the property you currently reside in, which is why many of them took that route. Here are some of those:

Advantages to tenants buying from landlords in Liverpool

• Avoiding estate agents fees – the national average estate agents fee is 1.8% + vat so just by that factor alone, they’re saving a lot of money.
• Loss of rent – it’s actually quite difficult to sell a house with a tenant already living inside. This is because tenants won’t typically put themselves out to do viewings on behalf of their landlord. Because of this, there is a chance that they will just move out, creating a “rental void” where no income is being received. Selling to the tenant guarantees rent will keep coming in right up until completion.
• No refurb costs – if the tenant moves out then the chances are the house will need at least a lick of paint, if not more significant refurbishment to get it ready to put up on the open market. Selling to a tenant means no extra work needs to go into it, as they know the tenant already likes it that way.

There are also advantages for the sitting tenants buying from Landlords in these kind of circumstances. Some are these are:

• You are already very familiar with the property as it is your home, and you are aware of any possible improvements that need work.
• There is no property chain involved, so the sale is less likely to fall through.
• The landlord may offer you a slight discount from the open market value because of the costs they are avoiding.

Experienced Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool

How To Make An Offer On A Property in Liverpool?

How to make an offer on a property?

When you are at the point of being ready to make an offer on a property, it’s important that you put your circumstances across to the seller or estate agent in such a way that gives you the best chance of having your offer accepted. Whether you are a First Time Buyer or Moving Home in Liverpool, it’s always key that you know how to make an offer on a property.

A cash buyer will always have the advantage, though if you have a mortgage agreement in principle in place you will definitely be in a better position than other potential buyers who have yet to get in touch with a Mortgage Broker in Liverpool and get this sorted.

Buying a property is a negotiation process, and so if the seller rejects your initial offer you will be asked whether you want to increase your offer. So don’t be afraid to offer less in the first instance than you are willing to pay for the property you’re interested in.

If your increased offer is also rejected sometimes it just boils down to whether you are willing to pay the asking price, especially if the property in question has just been placed on the market, or whether you are prepared to walk away and find another property to live in.

As part of our dedicated mortgage advice service, we offer you a free initial mortgage consultation. So, please feel free to give us a call if you want to speak to an expert Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool. They will try their best to attend to all of your mortgage needs.

Mortgage Advice in Liverpool

Agreements in Principle: Hard & Soft Credit Searches

An Agreement in Principle (also referred to as an AIP), is a piece of documentation you are given once you pass the lenders credit score. You will need one of these if you wish to qualify for a mortgage. Having an Agreement in Principle allows you to make an offer on a property you are interested in, as well as assisting when you want to negotiate on price, as it shows the seller you’re serious about your offer as a First Time Buyer in Liverpool.

What effect does an AIP have on your credit score?

The effects of an Agreement in Principle on your credit score, completely depend on whether the lender takes a hard credit search or a soft credit search. What are the differences between these? Below we’ll answer this.

Hard credit searches:

Hard searches are more in-depth than soft searches. The main difference between hard and soft searches is that hard searches leave a footprint, which can negatively affect your credit score if you fail it too many times. If you have a good credit score however, you shouldn’t need to worry going into this as a First Time Buyer in Liverpool.

Soft credit searches:

The option you’re more likely to come across these days is that a lenders soft search. These are to hard searches, what a lite phone model is to the main release, usually requiring less information and in the majority cases leaving your credit score unaffected, even in the event of not passing.

Does an AIP guarantee me a mortgage in Liverpool?

Although an Agreement in Principle can be a massive help, it doesn’t always guarantee that you will successfully obtain a mortgage. The lender will still need you to provide them with documents in order for the underwriter to make their final decision.

You can usually find small print included on Agreements in Principle that may easily be missed. We find in some cases, when customers reach out for help about their Agreement in Principle, they’ve been turned away at full mortgage application stage.

The documents you will be required to provide can include; personal ID, payslips, bank statements and things of that ilk. As your dedicated Mortgage Broker in Liverpool, we take pride in helping our customers, whether Moving Home in Liverpool or Self Employed in Liverpool, get prepared for a mortgage.

Is my AIP a necessity when making an offer?

You may be able to get away with this, however, most credible estate agents will want evidence that you are able to proceed with the purchase in question.

How long will my AIP last For?

Your Agreement in Principle will usually need renewing after around 30-90 days, though this isn’t something you should worry about. The main reason we recommend getting one so early is to avoid being told the property you’re interested in is no longer available for purchase.

Getting your Agreement in Principle sorted also means you don’t just need to jump in and buy the first house you see. It’s a fairly easy process, so if it expires, we can quite easily help you get another one.

Mortgage Broker in Liverpool

How to get a Mortgage Agreement in Principle in Liverpool

What is a mortgage agreement in principle?

The purpose of a mortgage agreement in principle (AIP) document is to prove that you do have a mortgage in place. To the estate agent, it proves you have good enough credit to proceed, as you have passed the lenders credit scoring system. That being said, getting a mortgage can never be guaranteed, as a full application will still require further background checks.

The value of a mortgage agreement in principle

Now you have your mortgage agreement in principle, what do you do with it? Well, having your mortgage agreed at the outset can help you negotiate on asking price with the owner of the property. It is relatively easy to obtain and is something we can arrange for all of our clients. Almost all lenders offer an Agreement in Principle.

To proceed further with a mortgage application, you will require further background checks to cover things like evidence of income, as well as a satisfactory valuation of the property itself.

Getting one in advance can really put you in a better position for negotiating, can help you avoid disappointment and allows you to figure out your limits.

Negotiating power with a mortgage agreement in principle

When you reach the point of being ready to make a formal offer on a new home, the majority of estate agents will undertake due diligence and ask you to prove that you can in fact afford to complete the purchase. Sufficient evidence of this include bank statements and also an agreement in principle certificate, which our team can provide for you. Once you have provided them with all this documentation, the estate agent will usually cease marketing the property and put a “sold” or “sale agreed” board up to let people know a deal is currently being processed.

If you already have a mortgage agreed before you make an offer, you are instantly more appealing to a seller as this proves you are not making this choice lightly and you’ve thought about how you’re going to afford the purchase. This might persuade a seller to accept an offer you put forward on their property that may be underneath their initial asking price.

Avoid disappointment with a mortgage agreement in principle

When it comes to buying a house some customers go full steam ahead and make an offer on a property without first checking that they have the means to proceed with the purchase. This can understandably leave people feeling very disappointed if this doesn’t quite work out how they’d hoped.

By that point they may have already got their heart set on their new potential family home. By getting in touch with us early on, this disappointment can be avoided. Sometimes there are things that are causing a mortgage to decline that can be overcome over time.

For example, there may be a small issue on your credit report that is proving to be a nuisance, perhaps a disputed mobile phone bill which can be easily fixed. Maybe you thought you were on the voters roll and you’re not, something that over time can be solved. In any case, it’s better than you know ahead of time, rather than mess people about. Our team will be able to tell you what you need to do to improve your credit score for the future.

Knowing your limits with a mortgage agreement in principle

Ok, so you know you’ve got a good credit rating because you’ve never been turned down for credit, you’re registered on the voters roll and you’ve always made your credit card payments on time – so what can go wrong?

Well, you could approach 10 different lenders these days and get 10 different maximum mortgage amounts! They all calculate affordability in their own unique ways. If you’re self-employed it really is a minefield: some lenders take your net profit, others your salary and divided. Some use your latest year, others an average over 3 years.

Knowing your borrowing limits is important as then you know for sure what your price range is. We’ll be able to advise you of the maximum mortgage available to you. Also, more importantly, together we’ll work out how much you can afford to pay back each month.

Mortgage Advice in Liverpool

Gifted Deposits FAQ’s | Mortgage Advice in Liverpool

Through our extensive experience as a trusted mortgage broker in Liverpool, our team understand that a big hurdle in getting onto the property ladder for a first time buyer in Liverpool is to build up enough savings for a deposit.

In many cases, parents, grandparents and sometimes friends will want to help you towards achieving your goal of buying your first home. This will be done by providing either a percentage or the full amount of a deposit to put forward on a property. A situation like this is referred to as a gifted deposit. Find out more information on this below.

What is a gifted deposit?

A gifted deposit is a lump sum of money provided by parents, grandparents or friends to a homebuyer and would make up the full or partial amount of the homebuyer’s required deposit. This can be a beneficial option for those struggling to save for a deposit.

Keep in mind that the money isn’t a loan and providing a gifted deposit is giving to the homebuyers with an understanding that the money doesn’t need to be repaid.

How can gifted deposits help?

As mentioned, gifted deposit can be a helpful option for first time buyers in Liverpool especially those who are financially stable to cover mortgage repayments but are not able to save up for the initial deposit.

When providing open and honest mortgage advice in Liverpool, we find this is a regular instance. This could be because the customer has larger outgoings like rental payments, home energy bills and essentials resulting in having no remaining amount to put into savings for a deposit.

Through receiving a gifted deposit, you will have opened yourself up to better rates of interest when you are in the mortgage process, in particular, for those with a gift that is above the minimum 5-10% deposit requirement.

Who can gift The deposit?

Normally, it’s parents (birth and adopted) and carers who are able to gift you the deposit. This case is usually known in the mortgage world as the “bank of mum & dad”. It is possible for other family members to gift you the deposit, however, this is down to the lender and would require care when selecting the most appropriate mortgage lender for this.

In the case where the gifter is over the of 55, they may be able to provide you with the deposit through Equity Release in Liverpool & a Lifetime Mortgage.

Do your parents know you need help?

The general consensus we find around this topic is that many customers aren’t aware that their parents can help with their mortgage or may not feel comfortable asking them for help. Normally, parents are willing and ready to help out their children by helping them on the road to homeownership.

In the majority of situations, taking out a mortgage can be a better option than renting. This is because you may end up paying less per month on your repayments over your rent. The deposit could come from inheritance, with some parents potentially gifting it earlier on in life if they currently have enough in savings or have released a specific amount of equity from their own family home.

Gifted deposit vs loans

Loans are something many lenders won’t accept as a deposit because the lender may be unsure that you’d be able to pay back both the loan and the mortgage at the same time.

Is there a maximum or minimum gifted amount?

There isn’t a set amount on the maximum you can receive as a gift, however, some lenders will want you to put in at least 5% deposit from your own personal funds.

Remember, the more you can afford to put down, maybe by combining savings and gifts, you’ll have access to better deals.

Who can benefit from a gifted deposit?

Generally, it’s first time buyers and home movers in Liverpool who will benefit the most from the gifted deposit.

Our Mortgage Advice Service in Liverpool

As an expert mortgage broker in Liverpool, our team strive in providing top-level customer service with the aim to get them through the mortgage process with the help of expert mortgage advice in Liverpool.

Whatever your mortgage situation may look like, get in touch with our team today. Through our experience in speaking to customers seeking mortgage advice in Liverpool, we have encountered a variety of cases including complex ones.

What proof is required?

The individual who is gifting you the money will need to sign a gifted deposit form stating that it is not a loan and is in fact a gift. Other proof of ID includes address and bank statements.

Offering Gifted Deposit Mortgage Advice in Liverpool

As a mortgage broker in Liverpool, we are available 7 days a week from early until late. Our mortgage advisors in Liverpool are here to answer all your questions and update you on your mortgage process.

Schedule a call with an expert mortgage advisor in Liverpool to see how we can help you towards achieving your mortgage goals!

What do Lenders Look for When Assessing my Bank Statements?

When lenders ask for your bank statements, you can expect them to look for a wide range of things. However, their main goal is to assess whether you are the kind of person who handles money responsibly and is likely to keep up to date with their mortgage payments.

In recent months one question is being asked by applicants speaking with one of our Mortgage Advisors in Liverpool: “do gambling transactions look terrible on my bank statements”.

Questions to Consider

What has it got to do with the lender whether I gamble or not?

Whether you have an annual bet on the grand national or regularly use the internet betting sites. Clearly there is nothing illegal about properly licensed gambling.

Many people can see gambling as a mainstream hobby or pastime similar to many others. Still, it shouldn’t get forgotten that even the gambling advertisers urge customers to “please gamble responsibly” and this is the key to bear in mind when applying for a mortgage.

Consequently, whilst it is not a lender’s job to tell you how to live your life, how to spend your money or indeed to moralise on the ethical rights and wrongs of gambling, they do have a duty (underscored by mortgage regulation) to lend responsibly.

Suppose lenders need to prove to the regulators that they are making sensible lending decisions. In that case, it isn’t entirely unfair of them; therefore, to expect the people to whom they lend to adopt a similar approach when it comes to their finances.

Think about it. If you were lending your own money. Would you lend it to the applicant who gambles or the one who doesn’t?

I’ve got gambling transactions on my recent bank statements?

As mentioned above, it is not illegal to gamble so just because you have the odd gambling transaction on your bank statements it doesn’t automatically mean you will get declined for a mortgage.

However, the lender will consider whether these transactions are reasonable and responsible. Thus they will mainly look at the frequency of these transactions, the size of the transactions about the person’s income, and the impact upon the account balance.

If these transactions are infrequent small amounts that make no significant impact on a regular credit bank balance, then they are not likely to be regarded as necessary.

However, if you bet most weeks or you get overdrawn the lender continuously, therefore, expected to see that as being irresponsible and decline your application.

Is there anything else lenders wouldn’t want to see on my bank statements?

As we’ve seen, essentially lenders are looking at your bank statements to show how you manage your money and to help them establish whether this gives them either the confidence that you are financially sensible or the evidence that you are not.

Remember, lenders are financial institutions that, either directly or as part of a wider group, often sell current accounts, overdraft facilities credit cards and personal loans, so understand that these things can all play a considerable role in prudent financial planning.

The key for a mortgage applicant is how these facilities get managed. For example, having an overdraft facility and occasionally using it, is not inherently a bad thing; regularly exceeding the overdraft limit – not so good.

Consequently, lenders will look for excess overdraft fees or returned direct debits because these would generally show that the account is not being well conducted

Other things to look out for include credit transactions from payday loan companies; “undisclosed” loan repayments (i.e. if you said on the application that you have no other loans but there appear to be regular loan payments, this could be a problem).

They would look out for any missed payments; finally, they might also consider how much of a typical month get spent overdrawn – namely if you only go into credit on payday and for the rest of the month are exaggerated, how sustainable is this mortgage?

What can I do to improve things?

The simple answer is – be sensible and, if possible, plan. Typically, a bank would ask for up to three months of your most recent bank statements.

These will show your salary credits and all your regular bill payments. Thus, if you know you’re likely to want to apply for a mortgage in the not-too-distant future. Try to make sure that you avoid any of the above pitfalls.

Take a break from gambling for a short while. Then work on presenting your bank account in the best possible light.

Your mortgage broker can help you as some lenders may ask for fewer bank statements than others. Or indeed some may not even ask for them at all.

However, even these lenders would reserve the right to request bank statements in certain circumstances. So your best bet is to be as prudent as possible in the run-up to any mortgage application.

Remember, if you do gamble, please gamble responsibly!

Specialist Mortgage Advisors in Liverpool

If you are a first-time buyer in Liverpool who doesn’t know a lot about mortgages. You should get some specialist mortgage advice from a Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool.

We can guide you through the whole mortgage process and help you with your application. To get you on track so that lenders will be impressed.

How Much Can I Borrow For My Mortgage In Liverpool?

How much can you borrow?

Are you a budding First Time Buyer in Liverpool? Maybe you haven’t thought about Moving House for quite a while? In either of these cases you are probably asking yourself one of, or both of the following questions; “Can I get a mortgage in my situation?” and “How much can I borrow?”. These are two questions we hear regularly when providing mortgage advice in Liverpool. In this article, we explain the latter, something that over the last 10 years has changed quite a bit.

How much were you used to be able to borrow?

If we look back at the ’80s and ’90s, most mortgage applications were underwritten manually. This means there was lots of “human intervention” in the mortgage application approving process. You’d make an appointment with your local building society manager, and he or she would interview you about your circumstances.

They would encourage you to save with them for a while until you prove yourself to be good enough to handle credit. The manager would then grant you what was the equivalent of today’s Agreement in Principle. Following this you would receive mortgage advice and an estimation of how much they would be able to lend you.

At face value, this sounds very much like a highly personalised process with a common-sense approach. That being said, it could often lead to inconsistent decision-making. The manager had the discretion to interpret the lending manual as they saw fit. What this means is that you could possibly approach the same Building Society in a different town or city and the result would come out different.

To make sure things like this stopped happening and more importantly, to cut costs, lenders moved to automated affordability calculations. “Caps” were applied so they would lend you more than, say, 3 or 4 times your standard household income.

As the 2000s went onwards, lenders were becoming more and more generous in the amount they would lend customers. Some lenders would even offer self-certified mortgages, meaning no background checks were taken so they were taking the applicants word on how much they were earning!

Such practices of course failed, and the market crashed. 2008-2010 were very difficult years if you were trying to get on the property ladder, as the market was in a poor state. Lenders stopped lending for the time being and created a very cautious (over-corrected) lending environment.

How much can I borrow nowadays?

The market eventually (and thankfully) recovered, and in 2014 the regulator launched the Mortgage Market Review (MMR). This was a brand new set of rules for lenders to follow. The old-style income multipliers which took little account of household expenditure were now gone.

Before 2014, two applicants earning the same could borrow roughly the same as each other, regardless of the little details and differences, including how much they spent each month. Then came brand new affordability models. These took a much more forensic view of how mortgage applicants managed their money on a monthly basis.

There is still a “cap” in place (most lenders will not go past 4.75 times your annual income) but your spending habits are also analysed more harshly. So, for example, if you have high childcare costs, lots of credit commitments and a student loan, it is likely you will be offered less than your work-colleague who doesn’t have any of these things to pay for.

We still find ourselves regularly surprised by the large variances lender to lender in how much or little they will lend customers. Some lenders seem to penalise low-earners (they may only want one type of applicant) and some take pension contributions as a fixed outgoing, so would often lend the likes public sector worker with a big pension deduction less than a private sector.

If you need to maximise your borrowing capacity to obtain the home you need to buy then you’ll need the help of a trusted and experienced Mortgage Broker in Liverpool on your side. Our advisors are able to research the market on your behalf to see if anyone will lend you the amount you need.

Before you take out a mortgage you should sit down with a Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool and work out your finances together to ensure that the repayments are to the level you were expecting.

Mortgage Broker in Liverpool

Here at Liverpoolmoneyman, we offer a free initial mortgage consultation for all customers. Contact us and we’ll get you booked in as soon as possible.

Forces Help to Buy Scheme (FHTB) Explained in Liverpool

A scheme that was brought into the world back in 2014, following on from the successful Help to Buy Equity Loan Scheme in Liverpool, the Forces Help to Buy Scheme is a government ran scheme that has the purpose of reducing the low rate of forces home ownership across the UK.

This scheme is available for use by Tri-Service members, the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Air Force, as long as they all meet the criteria.

Additionally, the Ministry of Defence’s Defence Accommodation Strategy is also something that is factored in, as the aim of this is to ensure that all military personnel have access to a good standard of accommodation.

A big part of this, that is greatly emphasised, is the positive impact that homeownership can have with people that have mobile careers. These benefits include partner employability, stable education for your children, as well as continuity for members of the services who move out of active service.

Although it was set to end back in 2019, we have seen a small handful of extensions for the Forces Help to Buy Scheme in Liverpool, with the government eventually transforming it into an enduring policy, which means that service members both now and in the future, still have access to it.

How does the Forces Help to Buy Scheme in Liverpool work?  

The way that Forces Help to Buy in Liverpool works, is that service personnel have the ability to borrow up to 50% of their annual salary, which will have a cap at £25,000, without any interest added on. This can be used either for a first time buyer mortgage in Liverpool or for moving home in Liverpool.

This scheme is currently available to all regular personnel who have completed the required length of service, are not a reservist or member of the Military Provost Guard Service, that also have more than 6 months of time left to serve at the time of application and that meet the appropriate medical categories.

There may still be exceptions to the criteria, especially when you are looking at factors such as special medical and personal circumstances. To learn more about these exceptions and to read further on Forces Help to Buy in Liverpool, please take a look at the government guidance website.

One of the more appealing aspects of FHTB, is that you don’t necessarily require any current savings of your own, just to be able to use this scheme. The funds acquired from FHTB can be used for a deposit, solicitors fees, estate agents fees and stamp duty land tax.

The good news in terms of your deposit as well, is that virtually all mortgage lenders accept using FHTB for that purpose. Additionally, it’s typically more relaxed than other schemes, with Forces Help to Buy in Liverpool needing to be paid back over a 10 year period.

How a Mortgage Advisor in Liverpool May Be Able To Help

As a mortgage broker in Liverpool with a great deal of experience and a strong reputation, we have a lot of love and respect for those in our country who have served for our benefit. We are here to provide help and support in any way we can.

From your first point of contact, right the way until mortgage completion, your trusted mortgage advisor in Liverpool will be on hand to make sure you are well looked after and are on your way to achieving a favourable outcome.

To learn more, please feel free to get booked in for a free mortgage appointment with one of our dedicated mortgage advisors in Liverpool today, and we will see how we can get the ball rolling on your home buying journey.

Note; The Forces Help to Buy in Liverpool is not the same as the standard UK Help to Buy Scheme in Liverpool or Shared Ownership Scheme.

If you happen to be an existing service member and homeowner who is looking to use Forces Help to Buy in Liverpool to move home, aged 55+, it could be appropriate to look at equity release or retirement interest-only mortgages (RIO Mortgages), as forces pensions could prove beneficial for this.

To understand the features and risks of equity release in Liverpool and lifetime mortgages, ask for a personalised illustration.

A lifetime mortgage in Liverpool may impact the value of your estate and it could affect your entitlement to current and future means-tested benefits. The loan plus accrued interest will be repayable upon death or moving into long-term care.