Energy bills have gone up. The price of fuel has increased. The weekly food shop is more expensive. And then, of course, there’s the mortgage.
Over the past couple of years, rates have shot up from their previous record lows meaning that a lot of people have seen their monthly mortgage payments double or even triple.
You might not have noticed the impact of these increases yet, but if your fixed rate is finishing soon then you could be in for a nasty shock. And if you’ve already come to the end of your previous deal, then you might now be struggling with your new higher monthly payments.
A lot of people believe the only solution is to cut back on other things. So they’re cancelling holidays, skipping nights out, or leaving the heating turned off.
But there is another solution that means you can keep your monthly outgoings at a manageable level without having to make those sacrifices – and that’s to switch to an interest-only mortgage.
However, when you do have extra money – for example, if you receive an annual bonus – then you’ve still got the option to make overpayments whenever you like.
The beauty of this approach is that you can chip away at your mortgage balance in the months where you can afford to pay a bit more, but you’re not forced to pay more than just the interest if you have a month where money is a bit tight.
As long as you manage things correctly, this kind of flexibility can let you keep or buy the home you want without having to give up all of life’s pleasures. In fact, you could even end up paying off your mortgage sooner than if you stuck to a traditional repayment mortgage.
Not all banks offer interest-only mortgages and those that do have strict rules around who they will offer them to. So, before you waste time or impact your credit score by applying to a lender who won’t accept you, it makes sense to take expert mortgage advice.
And that’s where we come in. We’ve got access to over 70 lenders, including ones you won’t find on the High Street – which means if you apply through us you’re more likely to get approved and we’ll be able to find you the lowest cost option for your specific circumstances.
Switching to an interest-only mortgage means your monthly payments will be much lower than with a traditional repayment mortgage. This can be really useful if you’re finding it hard to make ends meet at the moment or if you’ve had a temporary drop in your income.
Of course, you’ll need to make sure that you have a way to repay your mortgage at the end of the term and one of the things we’ll do is help you work out the best way to do that. We’ll also give you impartial advice to help you decide if interest-only really is in your best interests.
If it is, we’ll then present your application to the lender in a way that maximises the chance of them approving you for an interest-only mortgage.
Choosing an interest-only mortgage can significantly reduce those daunting monthly payments. But the real beauty lies in how adaptable and flexible these mortgages are.
in months when you have spare money, perhaps after an annual bonus or in those two months of the year when there’s no council tax to pay, you have the freedom to overpay on your mortgage and reduce the capital. But you’re never forced to do this. It’s always your choice and so long as you pay the minimum interest amount each month then the lender will be happy.
This flexibility not only gives you more control over your own finances, but also offers the potential for you to clear your mortgage earlier than originally planned.
No-one wants to pay more than they should for longer than they need to when their existing mortgage deal comes to an end. And nobody wants to miss out on getting their dream home because they can’t prove they’ve got the funds available to buy it
That’s why we’ve developed systems that allow us to get you a mortgage decision in record time. Our efficient processes and in-depth knowledge of the mortgage market mean that over 80% of our clients get a decision in principle from a lender within 24 hours.
We have access to over 70 different mortgage lenders offering a choice of thousands of different products. So if we can’t find you an interest-only mortgage then you can be pretty sure no-one can.
We’ve invested in state-of-the-art software with advanced algorithms to allow us to quickly find the lenders who offer the right mortgage deals for your particular situation – even if you’ve got credit problems or have an income that fluctuates throughout the year.
Mortgage Broker Services is a trading name of Thomas Oliver UK LLP which is an appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, a trading style of Openwork Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
The information on this website is for use of residents of the United Kingdom only. No representations are made as to whether the information is applicable or available in any other country which may have access to it
Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
Some buy to let mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority