Divorce & Separation Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
It may be complicated when you want to divorce or separate and have a joint mortgage, you are both tied into a huge financial commitment. The divorce and separation process is one thing that nobody would wish to undergo, for it is very daunting. Your mortgage commitments may end up being very complicated with your ex-partner.
Our mortgage experts in Scunthorpe are here to ensure you do not struggle to manage everything alone. They have handled so many specialist cases for longer periods of working within the mortgage industry. Some of the cases they have handled involve assisting customers to do away with their doubts about mortgage by divorcing or separating and assist them in removing their ex-partners or their names off their mortgage.
As a Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe, when people contact us, they will always ask these questions regarding a divorce or separation and their mortgage: how to remove their ex-husband or wife from the mortgage, ways of removing their name from an ex-partner’s mortgage, and whether or not you can possess two mortgages.
What are the ways of excluding your wife or husband’s name from the mortgage?
It is not that easy to make some changes to your mortgage after a divorce or separation as both your names are included on the mortgage. You cannot just go ahead and write off one of the names. This may be more difficult when children are involved too. In most cases, mothers are usually the ones to remain with the children, but it can be different sometimes. So as long as your partner’s name is in the mortgage together with yours, it will never matter if you were paying for it alone without his or her help.
How do I remove a name?
Dealing with this involves two ways; first, you can head directly to your lender to question about removing a name on your own, or secondly, you may get some assistance from an expert Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe. Nevertheless, they have to be sure that the applicant left on the mortgage will be in a position to afford a mortgage independently in the coming days.
This can be carefully confirmed through an affordability assessment. This assessment is mandatory even if you have always been maintaining your mortgage payments or not. Sometimes, there is a replacement to step in for your ex-partner at this point, who can be a member of the family or a different partner.
You should have it in mind that all lenders usually have their own ways of assessing your affordability, and therefore, you should not be worried or surprised if you get declined as there is still chance to get accepted elsewhere. This is where a Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe will be of great help to you.
How remove your name from your ex-partner’s mortgage
The basic rules used in removing your name and removing a different person’s name is equally the same. Both names are included in the mortgage in that when you decide to leave the family home; you remain answerable for any joint financial commitment you performed with your ex-partner.
A Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe will play a big role in helping you remove your name. Once your name is removed, the payment of your mortgage will be considered in the future if you are planning to purchase a new property. Therefore, it is very key to consider this before making an offer.
This is the point where a professional Mortgage Advisor from Scunthorpe is highly recommended. You should always have in mind that your current property’s mortgage payment will be considered before making an offer in the future. This is why it is very important to get Specialist Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe. Sometimes, you may encounter lenders that are very strict compared to others, having a helping hand could benefit you greatly.
Can you have two mortgages?
It is possible to have two and in some cases more mortgages. After the lenders and their credit scoring tools have considered various factors during your application for your second mortgage, they ill choose whether to let you have another one or not.
One of the main things that will contribute to the lender’s decision is your current financial commitments. In a case where you have other ongoing credit commitments, and you fail the lender’s affordability assessment, this may end up damaging your credit score. So be wary of your other commitments before rushing into it and applying.
You can always consult the Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe like us before you take the step of applying directly with a lender for your safety. Scunthorpemoneyman can search for you without interfering with your credit score to confirm if you will be in a position to afford a mortgage or not.
We can calculate your maximum borrowing capacity and can give you a rough estimation on your budget. The total cost of your monthly mortgage payment will be added to your current financial commitments.
Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
To conclude, it is very important to always have an expert Mortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe by you in every process when you have separated or divorced, and you have a mortgage together with your ex-partner.
Our Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe offers you a free mortgage consultation. A divorce or a separation is very stressful, and hard to tell what will happen to your finances; you do not have to be stressed anymore about how you will split the mortgage you built together with your ex-partner. Contact us today, our Specialist Mortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe have got you covered.
Sales Tactics of Estate Agents & Builders
Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
Whether you are a First Time Buyer actively viewing properties or a home mover with your house on the market, you may have noticed that some of the larger estate agents and builders are very keen for you to use their in-house mortgage advisor and conveyancing services.
Being part of a stand-alone mortgage business we receive lots of feedback as to what sales tactics can be used, examples of this are:
- Refusing to put your offer forward to the vendor if you have not taken in-house mortgage advice or favouring another offer over yours because you already have your mortgage sorted. Please note these situations are illegal.
- Quoting extortionate conveyancing fees, I recently had a client who was quoted more than £1,500 for a straight forward purchase with an estate agent. They got this down to £750 with our help by using another conveyancer local to them.
- From the big well known colourful online agents, within minutes of making your offer they may call you wanting the name of your conveyancer, not just the company, the actual individual acting for you! At the same time pushing their extortionately overpriced quotations, and refuse to take the property off the market without this. Don’t worry, we can help you be ready for this.
Don’t be fooled, popular Estate Agent & Builder sales quotes include:
“Keeping everything under one roof is easier with one point of contact”
“If you use our services it will give the vendor peace of mind that everything will go through smoothly”
“You need to come in and see our mortgage advisor for your offer to be qualified”
“Your offer is more likely to be accepted if you use our mortgage advisor”
“We get better deals than most brokers”
“Everything is likely to go through quicker if you use us”
“We will do all of the chasing of the solicitors for you and they’ll be more responsive to us due to the amount of work we send them”
“We’ll give you a free carpet/washing machine if you use our (extortionately priced) recommended conveyancing service”
Remember, when negotiating a purchase price, do you really want the seller of your property having access to your personal financial situation and potentially knowing your maximum borrowing?
Here at Scunthorpemoneyman, we work solely for you! We are genuinely open and honest and only have your best interests at heart, we’re here to save both your time and money.
Critical Illness Insurance Advice in Scunthorpe
Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe
Critical Illness Insurance pays out a lump sum if you are diagnosed with one of the conditions on the policy such as Cancer, Heart Attack or Stroke. Sometimes Insurers receive criticism for declining claims when someone is very ill but with an illness not covered on their policy but most major providers actually pay out over 90% of claims.
If claims are denied it can also be because the claimant did not disclose an underlying medical condition they have when they took the policy out.
In the event of a claim the lump sum is paid out irrespective of whether the claimant returns to work or not, the key thing is whether the illness they had matched the definition on their policy.
The claimant can use the lump sum they receive for any purpose they wish. Be this to repay their mortgage, pay for medical care or make modifications to their home.
Different insurers cover different illnesses on their policies and it’s wise to take advice prior to selecting a policy. This will ensure that you end up with one that is suitable for your needs. Critical Illness Insurance is much more expensive than life cover because the chances of you making a claim are far higher.
Your chances of surviving the types of conditions covered are far higher than they were 30 years ago. However, if you are unfortunate enough to contract one of them then there are often financial consequences. Hence the popularity of the cover, especially for applicants who have mortgages or children to think about
Our Critical Illness Insurance Advice Service
It’s very important to us that all of our customers are given an equal opportunity to take insurance our through ourselves. We wouldn’t be doing our job right if we didn’t mention it!
We offer all of our customers a free, no-obligation protection review where we’ll have a look at any existing policies you have in place and assess their suitability. We’ll then recommend which products, including critical illness and income protection that meet your needs. If required, we’ll then tailor the plan to match your available monthly budget.
Product Transfer V Remortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
What is a product transfer?
When your introductory mortgage deal comes to an end your mortgage lender may offer you a new deal to stay with them, this is known as a product transfer.
Are you rewarded for being loyal?
Unfortunately, lenders do not always reward your loyalty and the offer they make you may not be competitive with deals you could get elsewhere. Even more annoyingly, these product transfer rates are not as good as the deal they offer new customers either!
Tempted by an online switch?
Whilst swapping to a new deal with your current Lender may well be fairly easy online, it is always in your interest to see what other deals you may be eligible for. Lenders will also tempt you to effect a new deal online without taking advice.
This can be really dangerous because if you do this without advice you are waving goodbye to all the valuable consumer protection you would otherwise have benefitted from.
You’ll be opting out of advice
We have seen numerous examples of customers effecting these “follow-on” deals and locking themselves in to an inappropriate deal. Because they opted out of advice then they have waived a lot of their rights in terms of making a complaint.
We did have a recent case where a customer who was pregnant did this and was declined for a small further advance to fund some necessary home improvements a few months later. She then had to pay a hefty early repayment charge to swap to a new lender who would grant her the additional funds.
Always, always, always get mortgage advice
If we think a product transfer is the most suitable deal for you we will recommend that as a course of action for you and if we arrange the mortgage for you as a mortgage broker then all the regulation and consumer protection will apply.
In short, even if your requirement seems straightforward we recommend you always take advice – a second opinion costs nothing and making a mistake when taking a new product can be costly.
The remortgage market is highly competitive and savings can generally be made by searching the market for a new deal. This is why approaching a Remortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe might be within your interests.
Get in touch for a free mortgage consultation today.,
Life Insurance Advice in Scunthorpe
Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe
Life insurance is designed to pay out, usually in a lump sum, in the event of death. With regards to your mortgage, the sum assured should be enough to pay off your outstanding balance.
Here is some information about the most popular types:
- Whole of Life Insurance
- Term Assurance
- Family Income Benefit
- Joint Life Insurance
- Death in Service
Whole of Life Insurance
Whole of life insurance does not have an end date, therefore, providing premiums are being met the policy will pay out. Generally speaking, this type of insurance is used for family protection and also as part of inheritance tax planning.
Term Assurance
Term assurance is the most popular type of family insurance used to cover a mortgage.
Our Advisors will recommend the sum assured and term of the policy, usually to run in line with your new mortgage. The providing that all premiums are maintained, the sum assured will be paid out if you were to die during the term.
There are various types of Term Assurance available, such as decreasing and increasing cover. As part of our personal protection review, the most suitable policy for your needs will be recommended.
Family Income Benefit
This is another version of Term Assurance, where instead of the sum assured being paid as a lump sum on death, it’s paid as an agreed monthly payment. This is very good for families looking to insure an income.
A good advisor, will usually recommend a mixture of insurance types tailor made to match your personal and family requirements.
Joint Life Insurance
If you are part of a couple, you could consider taking out a single life policy that will pay out in the event of one of you dying.
This can be cheaper than paying the premiums on two separate policies, but bear in mind that joint policies only pay out on the first death, after that the cover ends.
If you had two separate policies, the second policy would remain in force even after a claim had been made on the first.
Death in Service
Many companies offer their employees family a lump sum payment if the staff member dies while they are employed by the firm.
Although this doesn’t mean the death has to be at the workplace or in any way related to the job done.
This cover will most likely end as soon as you leave the company.
Our Insurance Advice Service
It’s very important to us that all of our customers are given an equal opportunity to take insurance our through ourselves. We wouldn’t be doing our job right if we didn’t mention it!
We offer all of our customers a free, no-obligation protection review where we’ll have a look at any existing policies you have in place and assess their suitability. We’ll then recommend which products, including critical illness and income protection that meet your needs. If required, we’ll then tailor the plan to match your available monthly budget.
Mortgage Protection Insurance Explained
Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe
Mortgage Protection Insurance is a term used to encompass various types of cover designed to protect borrowers from events which could severely impact their ability to maintain mortgage payments.
There are different variations but when connected to a mortgage they are all there to provide peace of mind and usually fall into the following categories:
- Life Cover
- Critical Illness Insurance
- Income Protection
- Family Income Benefit
Life Cover
As a rule, if the policyholder dies within the term, then the sum assured should be enough to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance and ensure the borrower’s dependants aren’t left with a debt they might not otherwise be able to manage.
Our advisors can run through all the different types of life cover and recommend the most suitable plan for you.
Critical Illness Insurance
Critical Illness Insurance works in a similar way to Life Assurance, in that it is usually taken for a specific term of years and can have the different options such as level/increasing etc. It is designed to pay out a lump sum and, like Life cover, for borrowers it is typically taken on a decreasing term basis in line with the reduction of your mortgage balance.
The key is that the benefit is paid if you fall victim to one of a number of specified critical illnesses and pays out whatever the long-term prognosis of that illness. The type of illnesses covered vary from company to company, that’s why this type of insurance cannot be solely price driven and advice is recommended.
In practice many companies will offer Life and Critical Illness Critical cover as a combined policy and would usually pay out on the “first event” i.e. whatever happens first – either death or serious illness – the pay-out is made. They can also be written on a single or joint life basis
Income Protection
Whereas Life and Critical Illness cover pay out a lump sum, Income Protection pays out a monthly sum designed to replace your wages in the event of you being unfit to work. Unlike Critical Illness cover, there are no restrictions on the illnesses or injuries covered, the only factor being whether they make you unfit to work. There are however restrictions on how much you can cover and how quickly benefits would start to be paid.
Like Life and Critical Illness cover, these policies are underwritten based on your health and lifestyle at the time you apply. All income protection policies are written on a single life basis.
Family Income Benefit
Probably the least common of the mortgage protection type policies but can often be valuable – particularly for those with young families. These plans can be taken to cover Life and/or Critical Illness and are underwritten on application in the same way as mentioned above.
However, unlike the traditional forms of policy, rather than pay out a lump sum, the cover would pay an annual or monthly income for the remainder of the term of the plan. Thus, it can replace the income of the main breadwinner for a number of years, dependent upon a particular client’s circumstances and, because of this would usually be written on a level or basis, or an index-linked basis designed to keep up with inflation.
Summary
There’s an adage that says you can never have too much insurance. Certainly, many people have one or more of the different types of policy and it would be wrong to think of Mortgage Protection Insurance as just an “either/or” choice. However, in the real world, affordability plays a massive part, so whilst it would be fantastic to cover yourself for every potential opportunity, a good advisor will sit down with you and tailor the type of cover to be the most suitable combination to your family’s priority and budget.
Dewsbury & Dewsbury: two Generations Working Together
Welcome Joe | Mortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe
Earlier on in the week, we welcomed our newest member, Joe Dewsbury, as a Mortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe in our Scunthorpemoneyman team.
Joe was introduced to the company by his father Wayne, who is also one of our leading Advisors with 36 years of legal experience behind him – you may recognise him from one of our social media posts or have interacted with him when popping into our office.
Prior to starting with us, Joe worked at a high street bank for 3 years but has already shown in the few days he has been with us a keen interest to dive headfirst and take on the exciting challenges of the company.
After spending a vast amount of time being mentored by our very own Matt Collinson, shown the ins and outs of each department, and been told where the good coffee is – we hope you’ll have a great connection with Joe, just like our customers have had with Wayne.
Joe was introduced to the company by his father Wayne, who is also one of our leading Advisors with 36 years of legal experience behind him – you may recognise him from one of our social media posts or have interacted with him when popping into our office.
Prior to starting with us, Joe worked at a high street bank for 3 years but has already shown in the few days he has been with us a keen interest to dive headfirst and take on the exciting challenges of the company.
After spending a vast amount of time being mentored by our very own Matt Collinson, shown the ins and outs of each department, and been told where the good coffee is – we hope you’ll have a great connection with Joe, just like our customers have had with Wayne.
Which Property Survey Should I Choose?
What is a Property Survey?
Since this is one of the most common questions that we receive from First Time Buyers and Home Movers in Scunthorpe, we thought that it would be a great idea to cover “What is a property survey?” and the different types available.
When you have an offer accepted on a property your next job is to arrange a property survey. This will establish the condition of the property and ensure that it is worth what you are going to pay for it. If something is found on the survey you are then in a position by law to approach the seller to negotiate a price for the works required.
Choosing the Right Survey
Here’s a short video from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) that explains the different types available to you.
Property Survey Types
There are 3 main types of property survey available to you:
- Mortgage Valuation
- Homebuyer’s Report
- Full Structural Survey
Mortgage Valuation
A basic valuation is the cheapest option and you will be required to have one of these before you receive your mortgage offer. Please don’t confuse this with a full survey. The mortgage valuation confirms to the lender that the property is worth at least what it is lending you.
Your mortgage lender may even offer you a free basic valuation as part of your deal.
A Mortgage Valuation will not highlight any repairs that are needed. However, it may point out any obvious defects and recommend that you investigate further.
Homebuyer’s Report
A Homebuyer’s report will cover structural safety and highlights problems, including damp, as well as anything that doesn’t meet current building regulations. This kind of report will give you an independent report of your property by an expert.
To ensure you are not paying for two surveys it is advisable to ask the mortgage companies surveyor to carry out this report for you – it will usually take a couple of hours to complete.
Full Structural Survey
A Full Structural Survey is advisable for older properties and those of a non-standard construction.
Depending on the property size and type – a full structural survey can take as long as a day to complete.
A full structural survey provides a detailed report on the condition of the property and highlights issues that should be investigated further before going ahead with the purchase, providing you with peace of mind about the condition of your property.
You can find a surveyor to carry out a Homebuyer’s report or building survey through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe for Newly Qualified Teachers
Mortgage Advice in Scunthorpe
Many schools now only offer Newly Qualified Teachers (NQT’s) a 12-month initial contract as standard.
This can prove a problem for many teachers if they want to buy a property because most of the High Street Mortgage Lenders will class them as a “Contract Worker” and as such will require you to have 12 months in the role.
Fortunately, some smaller lenders are more sympathetic to this situation and will consider an application without the 12-month history.
If you are a newly qualified teacher and would like to discuss your mortgage options then please don’t hesitate to contact us. Sometimes, things can get complicated and it may be best to get the help from a Specialist Mortgage Advisor in Scunthorpe to take some stress off your back.
Mortgage Broker in Scunthorpe
Looking Deeper Into Incomes
Looking deeper into income: Lender’s perceptions.
Some employees’ incomes are made up of various different elements. There is almost always a basic income on a payslip but there can also be other items such as overtime, bonuses and shift allowances.
Not all of these additional strands are guaranteed so as we discover in this case study, lenders view this in different ways.
Income elements can branch into complex issues
Ian, a First Time Buyer in Scunthorpe, worked for the NHS, and his payslips were incredibly complicated. In addition to his basic income, he was paid different hourly rates for the various shifts he worked.
There was overtime too at the time and a half and holiday pay; in fact, one payslip had six different elements of payment on it!
His Bank would not lend him and his family enough to buy the home they had made an offer on, and he approached us for a second opinion.
Lenders seek justification as much as the client.
The reason lenders can have an issue with multiple elements of pay on payslips is that these additional strands are rarely guaranteed.
Therefore, in the event of a repossession taking place, they might struggle to justify to a Regulator why they granted the mortgage in the first place based on income, which they knew was variable.
As a result, lenders often take an arbitrary view; for example, they might take 60% of overtime if it’s on every payslip. Others take bonus into account if it’s payable monthly or paid annually, things can get very complicated!
A different approach can mean a different perception
We managed to help Ian; in fact, we found two lenders who would lend him the amount he and his family needed. lender one had a policy of taking 100% of the shift allowance and overtime into account as long as it could be evidenced on every payslip.
They applied an average of the last six months’ payslips to give them confidence that the income was smoothed out and sustainable.
Lender two would also lend more than enough but assessed the income differently. Instead of evaluating all the various elements individually, they simply asked that we provide Ian’ last two years’ P60’s and took an average of those.
This method also works well for employed applicants who work in sales roles with low basic salary but high commission and bonus.
A sustainable customer is a happy customer.
Ian was delighted he contacted us for our mortgage advice, he knew the mortgage was easily affordable, and he knew that his income was sustainable, it was just a case of finding a lender who took a different approach.
Whatever your situation, whether you are moving home in Scunthorpe, buying for the first time, or looking to Remortgage. If your income is made up from several different sources, I would recommend you make contact with us well in advance of making an offer so you can be sure of your maximum borrowing capacity upfront to avoid potential disappointment.
