How might the Coronavirus pandemic have affected my mortgage options?

With the Chancellor suspending Stamp Duty up to £500,000, maybe you are wondering about whether now is a good time to buy a house?

Or maybe you have had a reduction in income or a change in employment circumstances and are wondering about reviewing your mortgage products.

It has been a difficult few months for mortgage lenders, with many cutting lots of their deals, or tightening lending criteria.

And both new mortgage applicants and re-mortgagers might be facing uncertainty about whether they can get a good deal or afford the payments they were planning.

Some professional mortgage advice could help you work out the best actions for your current situation, whether you are moving, re-mortgaging or struggling to make payments.

Are you struggling to make payments?

Many banks have now extended their initial three-month payment holidays to six months for those who are struggling due to the Covid-19 outbreak. You can apply for this up to the 31 October.

If you can continue to pay your mortgage you should however, as you will continue to accrue interest during the holiday.

Would you like to buy move house?

Now could be a great time, if you can buy during the temporary stamp duty holiday you could save a significant sum of money.

As of 8 July, the Government increased the Stamp Duty threshold to £500,000, until 31 March 2021.

There are however fewer mortgage deals around than before the pandemic, particularly for higher loan to value ratios, so you will need at least 10% deposit.

If you had already agreed a mortgage deal, the offer should be valid for 3 – 6 months. You will need to inform them about any change in your circumstances though.

Do you need a new mortgage deal?

Interest rates are at record lows so it could be a good time to fix into a new deal.

It’s worth checking when your mortgage deal is due to end, because you will usually be automatically transferred onto your lender’s standard variable rate (SVR) which can make your monthly payments much more expensive.

You can look at getting a new deal with your current provider, but it’s worth comparing the market, and a professional mortgage adviser can help you get the best deal.

For mortgage or other financial advice Amethyst can help, so why not get in touch.