Types of Mortgage Rates:
- Fixed: Simple! The rate stays the same for the fixed period only, no matter what.
- Discount: You pay a set amount off the variable for a certain number of months/years. This means that the rate can go up and down.
- Capped: The rate can fall but never rise above the capped rate.
- Flexible: You can alter the payments by over or underpaying according to your needs.
- Current Account: Like Flexible but also linked to your current account thereby offsetting any positive balances against your mortgage, saving you interest.
- Tracker: Basically a variable rate that closely follows the Bank of England Base Rate. May also have a discount in the first year or more.
Some Types of Repayment Methods:
- Endowments: You may already have one and from all the horror stories you are concerned. Contact us for help and we will outline the options.
- ISA: Similar to endowment but more flexible but does not include life cover.
- Repayment: Most popular method at the moment, simple with no risk of not repaying the loan.
Jargon:
- MIG or MIGP: Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee Premium: A fee payable by the borrower to cover an insurance the lender takes if the borrower defaults on the loan. Often not charged if deposit/equity is greater than 10%. Some lenders never charge it.
- ERP: Early Repayment Penalty. This is a fee payable if the mortgage is repaid early, important to check and we will make you aware of this up front.
- Self Cert: Stands for Self Certification. These are no longer available
- ASU: Insurance to cover mortgage and related payments in the event of Accident, Sickness & Unemployment.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- What’s the advantage to me in using a broker like JK Associates when I can go direct to the High Street myself?
Many advantages, when you step into your local branch of Halifax (for example) guess which mortgages they will try and sell you? Halifax ones. While they may be good for some people, they may not be the best for your particular circumstances. If they are then we will place you with them. Also the time spent cont all these lenders is unnecessary when we have all the lenders products downloaded to our systems every day. - What happens when my discount/fixed rate finishes?
We will have this scheduled and get in contact with you so that if appropriate we can let you know of another rate/product you would benefit from. In theory there is no need to ever pay the full variable rate! - How long does a mortgage take to complete?
This varies but we will give you an approximate time schedule once the lender has been selected.