95% Mortgages Explained: Everything You Need To Know

 

Since March 2020, low deposit deals have virtually disappeared from the mortgage market, hitting first-time buyers hard, as well as those with low levels of equity in their property.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, lenders saw these deals as high-risk and withdrew most of their offerings.

The Government has announced that it will be backing a new mortgage guarantee scheme to combat this.

During the 2021 Budget on 3 March 2021, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that new 95% mortgages will be introduced in order to allow first-time buyers to get on the property ladder with as little as a 5% deposit.

In his speech, Sunak said: “This policy gives people who can’t afford a big deposit the chance to buy their own home.”

This new Government scheme will enable mortgage lenders to offer loans of up to 95% of the value of the property, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson declaring he wants to 'turn Generation Rent into Generation Buy’.

The scheme will solely be available to buyers of properties up to £600,000. According to Rightmove, this accounts for 86% of all homes currently up for sale in the UK. The mortgages will become available from April 2021, until December 31 2022.

95% mortgages explained

A 95% mortgage covers 95% of a property’s value, leaving the buyer to cover the remaining 5% in the form of a deposit. This can also be referred to as a 95% LTV (loan-to-value) mortgage.

Until now, most mortgage lenders were offering up to 85% mortgages, which means buyers can now save up to a third of what they would have had to pay prior to this announcement.

Buyers will also be able to fix their initial rate for up to five years. While it's similar to the Help to Buy scheme, it's not restricted to first-time buyers or new build properties.

Is a 95% mortgage right for me?

If you are able to afford a larger deposit on your new home, you may find you have more choice when it comes to finding a mortgage with lower interest rates. However, if you are a first-time buyer or struggling to fund a larger deposit, then this is a great solution for you.

Are buyers with a small deposit guaranteed to get one of these deals?

Buyers will still be subject to affordability checks, so it's not a guarantee that they'll be offered one even if they have the 5% deposit. Lenders could be concerned about the potential for buyers to fall into negative equity due to the small deposit amount and uncertain financial outlook.

Why will lenders offer these mortgage deals if they had previously removed them?

They are backed by the Government, so this means the risk is reduced for the lenders.

If you’re a first-time buyer with a small deposit, or have limited equity in your home but are looking to move, these new deals could offer the helping hand you need with your property purchase.

I'm here to help sellers, buyers, landlords, and tenants.

Call me or drop me a message if you think I might be able to help you.

geraldbowers@thegoodea.co.uk

The Good Estate Agent – North Nottinghamshire
Tel: 01777 237310 or 07981 744003

https://www.facebook.com/thegoodestateagentnorthnottinghamshire

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES - Is your solicitor up to date?

 

Is your conveyancing solicitor using electronic signatures?

Nine months ago HM Land Registry decided to accept electronic signatures to allow for transfers of ownership of property, leases and mortgages and other property dealings.

The next time you talk to your conveyancing solicitor maybe you should check and ask them if they are using modern technical systems to sign documents making it simpler and faster for you and the other party in the transaction to move home.

Systems like DocuSign are already being used widely by estate agents for short term leases and other agreements.

https://go.docusign.com/trial/productshot-uk/

We are all aware of the long drawn out drama of the dreaded conveyancing process when we are involved in buying or selling a property.

No longer is there an excuse for your conveyancer or solicitor to be stuck with the old outdated paper and ink method.

OK, there might be some of you who don't trust modern technology and not in a hurry to do anything, but I suspect you are in the minority today.

If your solicitor is still using snail mail for sending paper contracts through the postal system they are contributing to the delay.

The electronic signing of documents could take another week or two off the already lengthy conveyancing process.

See further details in the link here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hm-land-registry-to-accept-electronic-signatures

I'm here to help sellers, buyers, landlords, and tenants.

Call me or drop me a message if you think I might be able to help you.

geraldbowers@thegoodea.co.uk

The Good Estate Agent – North Nottinghamshire
Tel: 01777 237310 or 07981 744003

https://www.facebook.com/thegoodestateagentnorthnottinghamshire

GOOD NEWS for the RETFORD PROPERTY MARKET

Property Stamp Duty Holiday Deadline extended to 30th June

As expected the government announced yesterday that the temporary stamp duty holiday will be extended until the end of June.

The news will hopefully come as a relief to those buyers and sellers in the Retford area who have been trying to get their sale completed in time to meet the previous deadline of 31st March.

What is the temporary stamp duty holiday? 

The temporary stamp duty holiday, first announced by the government on 8th July last year, means that if you are buying a home up to the value of £500,000 you will not pay any stamp duty.

The extension means you now have until 30th June to complete on the purchase to make the stamp duty saving.

Then, to smooth the transition back to normal, the nil rate band will be £250,000, double its standard level, until the end of September 2021

It will return to the usual threshold of £125,000 on 1st October 2021

How the new mortgage guarantee scheme will help buyers with 5% deposits

For anyone who’s found it challenging to save for a 10%, 15% or 20% deposit over the past year or so, this is good news.

The government also announced yesterday a new mortgage guarantee scheme to help first-time buyers AND existing homeowners.

Under the new scheme, which will launch in April, first-time buyers and existing homeowners will be able to purchase homes worth up to £600,000 with a deposit of just 5%.

The way the scheme works is that the government pledges to repay lenders some of their losses if you as the buyer default on your mortgage repayments for any reason.

In return for this guarantee, lenders have to sell mortgages worth up to 95% of a home’s price – so that you as the borrower can proceed with a deposit of 5%.

It’s a potential game-changer for many first-time buyers as lots of 95% mortgages were made unavailable during the past year.

Thanks or reading

I'm here to help sellers, buyers, landlords, and tenants.

Call me or drop me a message if you think I might be able to help you.

geraldbowers@thegoodea.co.uk

The Good Estate Agent – North Nottinghamshire
Tel: 01777 237310 or 07981 744003

https://www.facebook.com/thegoodestateagentnorthnottinghamshire