The process of buying a home or arranging a remortgage can feel stressful enough, but it’s being made more challenging by recent data that reveals the average shelf-life of a mortgage product has dropped from 28 days down to just 15 days1, making it more important than ever to act fast to help secure a deal that’s suitable for you.
Why don’t mortgage deals hang around?
Put simply, mortgage lenders are seeking to shield themselves against any interest rate risks involved with lending money on fixed rate mortgages.
Whilst inflation and interest base rates have been more settled as 2024 has progressed, the market forecasts and predictions remain changeable, and this impacts upon mortgage lender’s confidence in keeping their existing mortgage deals available for too long.
Lenders could also alter their mortgage products range depending upon their service levels, for instance they could switch off a product for which they have had a sudden spike in demand because of it being favourably priced for the customers.
What does this mean for you?
If you’ve got a new home purchase in mind this year or coming up to a remortgage period, it’ll be more challenging to provide an upfront forecast of the exact deals and opportunities available, because there is no guarantee that they’ll still be available after a short while, especially with notice periods from mortgage lenders sometimes just being a few hours ahead of the intended changes.
We’re here to help you navigate
It’s important not to panic – speak to us and we’ll be here to help find you the deals that are most relevant to yourself, having talked through your circumstances and located a deal that matches your own situation.
We keep an eye on the fast-moving marketplace and with eyes across a wide variety of lenders, mortgage deals and some exclusive not-on-the-high-street, we are best placed to guide you on the mortgage product that meets you bespoke needs.
Stay ahead of the game
As you may have guessed – speed is of the essence when putting in your mortgage application. With the fast-moving nature of the market, we’ll put our expertise to good use in aiming to find the most suitable deal for you. Here are a few tips to help secure a mortgage application:
- Plan ahead – try to prepare a good six months in advance of your intended home move/remortgage date, and get in touch with us to help.
- Get your Deposit in order – if you are putting a deposit down on a property, it’s helpful to have this clearly set aside and available to view, to help allow a mortgage application to process smoothly. In general, the larger amount of deposit you have available, the increased chances of finding a suitable deal at a favourable rate.
- Create a clear paperwork trail – A big part of the process is checking your documents and passing to the mortgage lender for them to review and approve your application. By having key documents to hand, such as the last 3 month’s pay slips, identity documents, bills with proof of address and more, this can all help for a speedy application to be made. Take time to check that your identity documents are all up to date – featuring your latest address and if you’ve got married recently – the name on the documents too.
- Know your Credit Score – if you’ve got time on your side, it’s an ideal opportunity to build up your credit score. Find out what your credit score is, and if necessary look at ways to improve this ahead of a mortgage application. Little things like using certain credit builder credit cards can make a difference, as can paying off unsecured debts and closing unused credit card accounts.
Here to help you
It’s likely you’ll see a lot of information in the media and online about mortgages and, but we’re always here to help answer any questions you may have and work with you to advise on the most suitable options to fit your exact circumstances, for now and the future ahead.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other debt secured on it.
Sources
- BBC News (2024) New mortgage deals being pulled within days. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68574065 [Accessed 18 Mar 2024]
All the information in this article is correct as of the publish date 28th March 2024. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. The information provided in this article, including text, graphics and images does not, and is not intended to, substitute advice; instead, all information, content and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Information in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information.