Erin Ryan asked:


In times gone by, there hasn’t been a specific type of mortgage known as a ‘first time buyer mortgage’. But, as property prices have raised so much in the UK over the last five years, leaving first time buyers out of the market, mortgage lenders have had to come up with some new and creative ways of lending to help people onto the first rung of the property ladder.

Ten years ago, first time buyer mortgages were easily calculated by simply multiplying your annual salary by two and a half. Nowadays it’s a lot more complicated than that!

Now there are hundreds of lenders offering thousands of first mortgages – all vying for your first time buyer mortgage business. Along with the competitive situation there are a great number of first time buyer mortgage deals to be had!

So, how should you go about deciding on your first mortgage?

If you have time and are fairly numerate, it’s possible to research the offering in magazines and on-line. You can compare first time buyer mortgages in terms of their promotional offers, costs, interest rates, fees, pay-back terms and how much the lenders might lend.

There are an enormous number of variables to consider. For that reason, consulting a mortgage broker or advisor can offer significant financial benefits. It is important to seek appropriate first time buyer mortgage advice. Probably of all the different types of mortgages, 1st time buyer mortgages offer the most variables – as the area has become more competitive.

Mortgage brokers or mortgage advisors who are independent will have access to and knowledge of all the mortgages on the market. They will not only know the differences between the lenders – how responsive they are, how flexible, how generous, but they will be up to date with the rates and offers. They will probably also be able to sell you other relevant ancillary products like life and property insurance should you need them.

When seeking first time buyer mortgage advice, you will find that many first time buyer mortgage advisors and brokers offer a free consultation, taking their earnings from the commission they earn when they sell a mortgage. Others will charge, possibly up to £800 for a consultation. You always have the right to ask how they are being paid.

Plenty of first mortgage information is readily available and in the public domain, in magazines or on the internet. If you want your mortgage broker to advise on a particular range of products that they feel suit your circumstances you will need to actively approve this. Offering mortgage advice is governed by the Financial Services Act and has to be carried out according to very strict guidelines and rules.

The main differences between mortgages are how much they cost and how you are charged. There can be quite a difference!

The main way in which the mortgage lender charges you for the loan is through interest payments. The interest charged is based upon the interest rates set by the Bank of England.

There are two main types of first time mortgages. The difference is determined on whether you pay for the interest and also pay back the loan, or just pay the interest on the loan. It’s a big difference that really needs to be understood when you are considering your 1st mortgage.

A repayment mortgage is one where you pay off part of the loan as well as interest on that loan every month. At the end of the term of the mortgage, usually between 25 and 35 years, you will have paid off the interest on the loan and you will have paid off the loan. The property will be yours.

With an interest only mortgage, you only pay the interest each month on the loan. Thus you are paying less out each month for your mortgage. You must be aware that at the end of the term, whilst you might have paid off the interest on the mortgage, you will still owe all the money to the value of the mortgage. With an interest only mortgage you will need to find some other way (typically some sort of policy) to pay off the mortgage if you want to own your home at the end of the term.

When you add up the interest you will pay on your mortgage you may be shocked to see what an enormous sum it is. There are ways of reducing it, the main one being by shortening the mortgage term when you are able to pay more into the mortgage each month. From two or three years after you take out your first mortgage, you should look into remortgaging.

There are also many other variables like fixed, tracker, discounted, variable, capped, offset – your first time buyer mortgage advisor will be able to help you choose between all the different 1st mortgages.

With the property crisis for first time buyers, the lenders have launched a number of first time buyer mortgages designed to help out. They often mean unconventional ownership options which will become more widely used as time goes by.

We have put together a list of popular first time buyer mortgages:

Guarantor mortgages: parents guarantee to pay your mortgage payments if you can’t.

Cash-back mortgages: purchase the house and receive a lump sum from the lender to pay some costs like stamp duty and furnishings.

Mortgages based on parents’ residual borrowing capacity: borrow more because your parents can help you with the payments.

Family offset mortgages: your family’s savings interest is offset against your mortgage interest.

Graduate and professional mortgages: bigger mortgages are offered to those who are dammed to have careers where salaires are expected to rise quickly.

Shared ownership mortgages: own part of a property, pay rent to the co-owner (usually a housing association) and get a shared ownership mortgage out for the part you are buying.

Extended term mortgages: start out with a repayment term of up to 40 years. It makes the monthly payments more affordable but you would pay a lot more interest overall if you didn’t shorten the term at some point.

High Loan-to Value mortgages: lenders might lend up to 130% of the value of the property. You start with negative equity but all your costs will be covered. These mortgages are only available to the rare few.

Joint mortgages: you team up with a friend or family member to borrow more, share the costs but have joint mortgage payment liability.

‘Renting a room’ mortgages: if there’s a spare room in the house, the rental revenue is taken into account when deciding how much to lend to you.

Rent to Buy mortgages: the amount of monthly rent you’ve been paying is taken as the account. It demonstrates affordability.

Shared appreciation mortgages: in exchange for a mortgage and an additional cheap ‘equity loan’ with which to buy a first home, you would have to give up some of the increase in value of your property to the lender when you sell it.

There are now so many options, the best thing to do is to seek first time buyer mortgage advice.

Steve Kyles asked:


For many Texas families looking for a first mortgage, the proposed mortgage rate can often be the one determining factor in whether or not the desired home is affordable. A low mortgage rate in this day and age is no longer a desire, it is a necessity. Low mortgage rates can make it possible for families to realize the dream of home ownership. With the cost of living increasing much faster than the standard rate of pay, a low mortgage rate means financial stability.

Finding a low mortgage rate in Texas starts with the mortgage loan officer. Low mortgage rates aren’t under every mortgage loan officer’s pillow, as some are bringing rates to the table which are nearly twice as high as other mortgage loan officers. What exactly is the difference? The higher the mortgage rate and the more the process costs you, the more business a mortgage loan officer is likely to earn if they are paid strictly on commission. Bad news for you can mean good news for the mortgage loan officer. Mortgage companies that offer their loan officers a fairer determining factor in their salary or commission are more likely to bring better offers to you.

Online loan officers seem like a really good idea. They try to make it simple for you. All you need to do is enter your information and Presto! You have mortgage offers flooding your email inbox, right? Sure, and not exactly. People with perfectly spotless credit may receive mostly fair and even a few low mortgage rates by doing it this way. But for truly low mortgage rates, the personal touch is still a requirement. Even people with nearly perfect credit don’t typically have spotless credit. Something as simple as a disputed charge or a $1 charge from a credit card company that you never knew about can ruin your chances of a low mortgage rate from an online source. Yet when dealing with credit scores, mortgage rates, and financial obligations, there is not real black and white formula which can spit out exactly what is available to you. Being able to talk face to face with mortgage loan officers makes a huge difference. For those who knowingly do not have perfect credit, which is most of us, there really is no other alternative than a real live in the flesh mortgage loan officer.

If your mortgage loan officer is truly searching for the lowest mortgage rate possible, they will gladly explain the process, how they came up with the low interest rate they are offering you, and why they can’t go any lower. Mortgage rates fluctuate nationally, and there are various low mortgage rate options available. Some people want to opt for fixed rates while others are looking for balloon payments. These things can not be adequately discussed with an online mortgage loan officer. Perhaps you believe you know exactly what you are looking for and why. A good and ethical mortgage loan officer can not only bring you a low mortgage rate, but they can help guide you in the process of deciding which type of mortgage is right for you. Often the mortgage loan officers have information that you don’t. Mortgage loan officers can often guide you in the best direction to save you money beyond a low mortgage rate.

Low mortgage rates are an imperative requirement for young families. While online mortgage loan officers find young families a high risk category, not all mortgage loan officers will. Some mortgage loan officers can find deals that simply blow the internet mortgage loan officers clear out of the water. This is exciting stuff when you think about it. Despite the fact that young families are not well established, they can still be an excellent risk for a low mortgage rate. Established families are typically a good risk as well, although some mortgage companies do not give them the credit, so to speak, which they deserve since they were renting properties for the first twenty years or so of marriage. These factors do help determine whether or not you will receive a low mortgage rate. It’s not necessarily fair, but it’s true.

When seeking low mortgage rates and the best mortgage package available for your personal circumstances with an online mortgage loan officer, there is no consideration given to your personal goals and desires for your future. Online mortgage loan officers can only determine a given set of information based on a predetermined formula, and none of it has anything to do with flexibility, probability, dreams, goals, wants, needs, or hopes. The right personal mortgage loan officer is able to sit down with individuals, couple, and families, and look at a larger picture and hear what the clients are hoping to attain for themselves and their families before making recommendations. There is more to a low mortgage rate than just a low mortgage rate.

All of the variable and all of the factors which go into finding the right mortgage package can only be well put together by finding the right mortgage loan officer. The right mortgage loan officer means different things to different people, but low mortgage rate always falls somewhere into the description. Knowing whether or not you are receiving a low mortgage rate depends on your circumstances, your credit rating, your income, your stability, and of course, the present market. You should walk into a mortgage loan officer’s office understanding what you think would be a low mortgage rate, and why. You should also remember that you may not have all of the information available to you to really determine what a low mortgage rate will mean for you.