Mortgages
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Mortgages
What is a mortgage?
A mortgage is simply a loan to enable you to buy your home.
Residential mortgages come in all shapes and sizes these days, ensuring we can find the right one to suit your needs. Below are some examples of what’s available.
Expert advice is essential to ensure you make the right choice in what is the biggest investment that most people make in their lives.
Fixed rate mortgages
A mortgage charged at a fixed rate of interest for a set period. They usually involve an early repayment charge if the loan is paid off in this time.
Flexible mortgages
These are less easily to generalise about and each lender will offer something slightly different. Most offer some or all of the following features: daily or monthly capital recalculations; overpayment options without penalty charges; payment holidays and underpayment options.
Interest only mortgages
As might be expected, with this form of mortgage the capital never lowers and the monthly payments only cover the interest on the loan. The are often tied to other financial products such as ISAs or endowment policies which enable the loan to be paid off.
Offset mortgages
A form of flexible mortgage where the borrower’s other finance is taken into account for interest calculation purposes. For example, the balance from a current and/or deposit account is pooled with the outstanding loan, and the interest is calculated according to this sum.
Tracker mortgage
A variable mortgage with the interest rate set either above or below the Bank of England's Base Rate by a fixed percentage for a fixed period.
