Keeping doctors and dentists informed with the latest mortgage news and rates.
This month the UK mortgage and property news has really been absorbed with the announcement in the Autumn Statement to increase SDLT on second homes and buy-to-lets. The less publicised news though include the probability that Fixed Rates will rise in the very near future, and there is still speculation regarding the Bank of England Base Rate – although 2017 is now a possibility. Read more, including this month’s BEST RATES here.
This does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it.
Your property may be at risk should you be unable to maintain any agreed mortgage payments over the term agreed.
Mortgages for doctors and dentists
View sample rates below – ACT NOW
- 2 Year @ 1.45%
- 3 Year @ 1.94%
- 5 Year @ 2.29%
- 10 Year @ 3.04%
Offset Products
- 2 Year Fixed @ 1.64%
Smaller Deposit – Purchase/Remortgage
- 90% 2 Year @ 2.24%
- 85% 2 Year @ 1.75%
Buy-to-let arrangements for Purchase/Remortgage
- 75% 2 Year fixed @ 2.19%
The average lender’s Standard Variable Rate is now 4.54% (BOE November 2015)
The above does not constitute advice and advice should be sought in all instances before acting on it
Efforts to deter buy-to-let investors
As the buy-to-let market has escalated exponentially in 2015, the government and authorities including the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) all have stepped in with measures to prevent buy-to-let investment spiralling out of control. Tax cuts for landlords, stricter mortgage conditions and now the extra Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) – could this be enough to make investors consider other options?
Nevertheless, other investors are seeing it as an opportunity and will be looking to snap up buy-to-let properties between now and April 2016, to avoid the SDLT, and then looking at various ways to structure their rental business to maximise their tax relief. Where there is a will there is a way…perhaps.
Read more – Is it goodbye for buy-to-let investment opportunities?
Help for first time buyers
The Help-to-Buy ISA launched on 1 December, which is the offer of free cash for first-time-buyers to contribute to their deposit. Up to £3,000 per first time buyer is available and couples can save separately
Read more – The launch of the Help to Buy ISA
Are fixed rate mortgages about to rise?
After many false alarms, mortgage industry experts, including Nicole Blackmore at The Telegraph, are expecting a rise in Fixed Rate mortgages in the very near future.
This is because the rate that banks lend money to each other – known as the “swap rate” – increased in November after falling in October, and then took a sharp jump last week.
A 2 year swap rate rose by 10% to 1% and for a 5 year swap rate the rise was from 1.36% to 1.5%.
Many lenders are therefore forced to raise their own rates to cover the additional cost of their own borrowing. However, others also make efforts to absorb the costs so they can continue to be competitive.
Either way, some fixed rate mortgages have been gradually notching up a few percent in recent months, so this could path the way for further hikes in the new year.
Bank of England Base Rate – did you say 2017?
The general impression given by Mark Carney, Bank of England, throughout 2015 was that early 2016 we are likely to see a rise in the base rate from it’s historical low of 0.5%. However, he also mentioned in October, that if the market conditions were not right to raise rates, then they would hold off.
The market forecast now, taken from Bloomberg statistics, suggests a rise in April 2017, but, this comes with the usual warning that predictions change often, so there are no guarantees.
Mortgage calculators
To calculate your potential mortgage borrowing or your monthly mortgage payments why not try one of our online mortgage calculators?
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Read more of Chris’s monthly mortgage updates: