Best Bank for a Mortgage

Which is the best Bank for a mortgage? 

As you might expect there is no one right answer

The best Bank for your situation may well be different to another person's

We would be very happy to help you find the best mortgage for your situation. We do not charge any fees providing your mortgage is at least £100k

Make a start now by filling in the Enquiry form

Banks will vary in how they assess certain situations

For example, professional buy to let landlords, holding property in their own name, may be disappointed to learn that Halifax will not allow their income unless the rental income is from unencumbered property. However, other lenders will consider this situation

Self Employed

Your situation may be affected by a number of issues. We have selected some common situations to see how lenders criteria differs:

Self Employed under Limited Companies 

While not technically self employed, the Directors of small Limited Companies may well hold a controlling interest in the company. This makes the applicant financially linked to the fate of the company. The income for limited companies might be sporadic depending on a few large contracts or you may be fortunate to have a regular income, which may make budgeting much easier

But if you need to borrow money to buy a home then you will need to become aware of what is often required

You are likely to find it very difficult to get a mortgage during the first year of trading for a Limited Company.

Read more about Mortgages for Directors of a limited company

Self Employed as a Sole Trader

Sole Traders are the most popular group amongst the self employed. But it will be very difficult to borrow money on a mortgage during the first year of self employment as you will not have a sufficient track record of earnings. Lenders will differ in how they view this

Read more about Mortgages for a Sole Trader

IT Contractors

IT Contractors could be employed on fixed term contracts but are very often employed on a self employed basis. Typically there will be a contract between the clients company and the Contractor

Read more about Mortgages for IT Contractors

First Time Buyers

How much can you borrow

A very common question is how much can you borrow. We look at how much each lender will normally lend and if they might lend any more in certain circumstances

Read more about Mortgages for first time buyers

Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor

If affordability is not satisfied but you are still keen to buy then one avenue that may be open is to investigate a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor mortgage. We look at whether these lenders may consider a mortgage structured in this way

Read more about Mortgages held under Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor

Mortgage Special Situations

Let to buy

At some point in your life, you may decide to move house. You could simply sell your current property and buy another but there is an alternative. You might decide to let out your current property and buy a second property as your principal home. This is known as 'let to buy'.

This arrangement has a higher risk for you and the lender. What if your are unable to let the property or your Tenant decides not to pay their rent. You will then need to maintain two mortgages on just your income. Some lenders are unhappy to lend in these circumstances.

You will still need to raise a deposit for the new home purchase. This deposit can be raised from savings or by remortgaging your current home and at the same time borrowing extra capital for you to use on your new home purchase. Please fill in our enquiry form to discuss further.

Interest Only

Most mortgages in the UK are repaid by capital and interest. You start off owing a certain amount and over time you pay off this debt until you are mortgage free. But there may be the possibility of an interest only mortgage. This type of mortgage requires that you just pay the interest back to the lender. This has the advantage of lower mortgage payments but there is a real risk that your mortgage will not be repaid by the end of the mortgage term

Expatriates

Expats live and work abroad. Uk lenders are unable to assess the applicant's credit history which will mean that most lenders will not lend to applicants based abroad. But some lenders do lend to Expats. We look at at whether these lenders will lend to Expats. 

Read more about Mortgages for Expatriates