The main things that dictate how much a person or couple can borrow is income and their current credit commitments. All lenders have different ways to calculate what someone can borrow. To find out the maximum mortgage you may be able to secure, contact Miles & Barr’s advisers for a no-obligation assessment.

You will need a minimum of 5% deposit. The greater the deposit you have, the more preferential the interest rates may be. For example, if you put in 15% deposit this will generally get you a better interest rate than a 10% deposit.

This will vary depending on the loan amount, the term of the mortgage, your credit rating, and the interest rate.

A repayment mortgage is designed to pay off your mortgage by the end of the term as long as all payments have been made. An interest-only mortgage is where your monthly payments are only covering the cost of the interest and your loan amount will remain the same. At the end of the term, you would either need to sell the property to repay the mortgage or find another source to repay the loan.

The recent actions from lenders indicate a general feeling of positivity about the future of the housing market as we move into 2022, with the expectation of seeing similar levels of transactions as the past year – which, perhaps to the surprise of some, saw the highest number of completions in 15 years!

If you’ve got 6 months left on a fixed rate, and you don’t want to pay an ERC (Early Repayment Charge) to switch to a new rate now, you can fix a deal 6 months in advance of the end of your rate with most lenders - this is possible as most mortgage offers are valid for 6 months. That way, if rates continue to decrease between now and then you can look at switching to a lower rate in that time. On the other hand, if rates continue to increase you’ll have secured your rate and won’t be affected by any impending rate increase in that time. A win-win in any outcome.

For those in a fixed rate with a year left or longer, wondering whether it’s worth paying an ERC (early repayment charge) to tie in for a new deal now - rather than reviewing in 6 - 9 months’ time when rates may have increased - you need to take into consideration the costs of this decision, the ERC percentage and other associated fees the lender may have for clearing the loan early.

It's best to speak to a broker if you’re in this situation. They’ll be able to establish whether the savings you’ll make by switching to a new deal early are worth the ERCs.

The building itself needs to be insured as a minimum. Miles & Barr would usually recommend that you also insure the contents within your home too. Other insurances we recommend are Life Insurance and Income Protection insurance.

Yes. You can “remortgage” to another lender to take advantage of their better interest rates. As part of our service we will contact you as you approach the final few months of your existing mortgage deal to provide you with details of the options available to you.

Yes, however you could have early repayment charges to pay if you have only had your mortgage product for a short amount of time.

This is a score that we all have and is based on how we have conducted our finances over the preceding six years and is used by Financial Services companies to assess our credit worthiness.

The main things that dictate how much a person or couple can borrow is income and their current credit commitments. All lenders have different ways to calculate what someone can borrow. To find out the maximum mortgage you may be able to secure, contact Miles & Barr’s advisers for a no-obligation assessment.

You will need a minimum of 5% deposit. The greater the deposit you have, the more preferential the interest rates may be. For example, if you put in 15% deposit this will generally get you a better interest rate than a 10% deposit.

This will vary depending on the loan amount, the term of the mortgage, your credit rating, and the interest rate.

A repayment mortgage is designed to pay off your mortgage by the end of the term as long as all payments have been made. An interest-only mortgage is where your monthly payments are only covering the cost of the interest and your loan amount will remain the same. At the end of the term, you would either need to sell the property to repay the mortgage or find another source to repay the loan.

The recent actions from lenders indicate a general feeling of positivity about the future of the housing market as we move into 2022, with the expectation of seeing similar levels of transactions as the past year – which, perhaps to the surprise of some, saw the highest number of completions in 15 years!

If you’ve got 6 months left on a fixed rate, and you don’t want to pay an ERC (Early Repayment Charge) to switch to a new rate now, you can fix a deal 6 months in advance of the end of your rate with most lenders - this is possible as most mortgage offers are valid for 6 months. That way, if rates continue to decrease between now and then you can look at switching to a lower rate in that time. On the other hand, if rates continue to increase you’ll have secured your rate and won’t be affected by any impending rate increase in that time. A win-win in any outcome.

For those in a fixed rate with a year left or longer, wondering whether it’s worth paying an ERC (early repayment charge) to tie in for a new deal now - rather than reviewing in 6 - 9 months’ time when rates may have increased - you need to take into consideration the costs of this decision, the ERC percentage and other associated fees the lender may have for clearing the loan early.

It's best to speak to a broker if you’re in this situation. They’ll be able to establish whether the savings you’ll make by switching to a new deal early are worth the ERCs.

The building itself needs to be insured as a minimum. Miles & Barr would usually recommend that you also insure the contents within your home too. Other insurances we recommend are Life Insurance and Income Protection insurance.

Yes. You can “remortgage” to another lender to take advantage of their better interest rates. As part of our service we will contact you as you approach the final few months of your existing mortgage deal to provide you with details of the options available to you.

Yes, however you could have early repayment charges to pay if you have only had your mortgage product for a short amount of time.

This is a score that we all have and is based on how we have conducted our finances over the preceding six years and is used by Financial Services companies to assess our credit worthiness.