Much has been written about the credit crunch, but getting a mortgage nowadays may not be as difficult as you might think.
Thousands of mortgage deals are still available to all kinds of borrowers.
Although they may not be as plentiful compared to a few years ago, there are mortgages for first time buyers, mortgages that allow for high loan to value (LTV) borrowing and deals for borrowers with a poor credit history.
When you're looking for the best mortgage rates you should first think about the criteria suitable deals need to fulfill.
Do you want a fixed or tracker deal, or do you need a mortgage that's suitable for buy to let properties, remortgages or first time buyers.
Other criteria you may look for in a mortgage include the length of fixed rates, the amount you can borrow, low fees or special types of mortgages such as cashback, offset or right-to-buy.
There are a whole host of options available from mortgage lenders so before carrying out a mortgage comparison, you should consider what you want from your mortgage.
You may require a fixed rate, where payments are guaranteed not to change for a specified period; or a tracker mortgage where your interest rate rises and falls in line with an industry base rate. Alternatively, you may require a deal above a certain LTV.
You may well find a number of cheap mortgages, where you are pleasantly surprised regarding the level of initial payment. But you should not automatically assume that the best mortgage deals are those with the lowest interest rates, you should also consider the fees charged.
Taking out a mortgage deal will require you to pay several different fees. These could include valuation fees, mortgage account fees, application fees, arrangement fees or transfer of funds fees, plus a ‘higher lending charge’ for a mortgage where you borrow a high proportion of the property value.
You can also expect a mortgage to have an early repayment charge – a charge should you wish to repay your mortgage during the early years of the arrangement.
Typically this charge ceases to apply once your fixed or discounted rate period has ended, however on occasions it continues after the end of this period, especially on fixed rate mortgages.
Providing you take these points into consideration when you compare mortgages you should be able to find the best mortgage deal for your circumstances with relative ease.
