‘Content correct at time of publishing and subject to change’
As we all know 2020 was a turbulent year for everyone, including the mortgage market. There became stricter lender criteria, withdrawals of high loan-to-value mortgage products and many customers have felt a financial struggle due to the national lockdowns across the UK with people now finding their poor credit history has led them to need a bad credit mortgage which is notoriously harder to come by. Now the mortgage market has started to level out, customers should take the time to review their finances rather than resign themselves to remaining on their lenders Standard Variable Rate. If you haven’t reviewed your finances and mortgage options you could be missing out on potential savings!
Covid-19 concerns
According to the recent research from Legal & General, 32% of UK borrowers were considering reverting to their lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) when their current two/five-year fixed-rate mortgage deal expired.
Many people have not been exploring their remortgage options, meaning they have been missing out on potential savings. This is due to the financial impact of Covid-19 that may have left them ineligible for new deals. It’s said that 52% of borrowers in the UK have seen a decline in their income and are concerned that lenders will scrutinise their finances deeper than they had before the pandemic. Not only this 67% are said they are worried it would be harder to remortgage their property when or if they are furloughed.
Those who have experienced financial loss as a result of Covid-19 are feeling unconfident in their ability to remortgage and are falsely believing that the lender's SVR is the only option they can go for. This research suggests that over 700,000 borrowers could be impacted by these assumptions. Meaning they could be increasing their annual mortgage repayments by more than £2,500. When they can remortgage and could even save money without these concerns.
SVR
If you choose not to remortgage, whether due to the concerns around Covid-19 or because you now need to remortgage with bad credit, then a Standard Variable Rate mortgage is what you will be moved over to when your current fixed deal comes to an end. This will mean that you will be charged a default interest rate that is set by your lender which in many cases can be higher than the rates of many other types of mortgages.
Whatever your situation, it is vital that customers nearing the end of their initial fixed-rate mortgage take the time to review the remortgage options to avoid overpaying on their current lenders SVR. Here at Twin Pine, we can help you look at a wide range of options when it comes to remortgaging your options. It’s also important to remember that low rates are not the only thing to consider when searching for the cheapest deals. You need to look at the overall cost of the mortgage product, additional fees, the lender’s criteria and also the length of the mortgage you would like to borrow for.
If you need help remortgaging or looking at your options after the financial hit, get in touch with us today. To read more blogs like this click here.