Last post: Oct 28, 2011
At the start of this year the most you could borrow was 90% LTV however there are now an increasing number of Lenders braving the 95% threshold.
At the start of this year the most you could borrow was 90% LTV however there are now an increasing number of Lenders braving the 95% threshold. Among them are:
- Ulster Bank offering a 5 year discounted rate (0.21% discount from SVR, current rate at 3.79% after discount) up to a max of £500,000
- Newbury Building also offering a 5year discounted rate Offset (0.5% discount from SVR, current rate at 3.95 after discount) up to a max of £300,000
- Skipton BS 2yr fixed rate (5.99%) mortgage up to a max of £300,000
And there are many other examples of 95% mortgages where a deposit and/or a charge on a separate property is offered by a family member (e.g. Lloyds Bank's so called "Lend A Hand" mortgage range or Market Harborough's "Family Deposit" scheme) so while we're not strictly counting these, it's good to see the option exists. Now, all these mortgages are for first time buyers (sorry no best remortgage deals here), are of limited availability and do required that you have an immaculate credit record; so it's not quite "the good old days" of credit but it's a step in the right direction. For balance too though we must point out that not everyone is heading in this direction: only last week NatWest (yes, that's the bank that we, the taxpayer, own 83% of though our holding in the Royal Bank of Scotland Group) withdrew its 90% mortgages! There's some good news in the resurgent Buy to Let UK market too. Not only is this sector hotting up with rental yields rising but Lenders are taking more interest too. Barclays recently said they wanted to quadruple their amount of Buy to Let business in the UK next year and the long-held 75% max LTV threshold for Buy to Lets has also recently been breached. TBMC (The Mortgage Business Company) have launched an 85% LTV Buy to Let mortgage fixed at 5.99% for 2 years with a £130 booking fee and 1% arrangement charge (APR 6.99%) - cheap it may not be but with some of the yields being seen on HMOs at the moment, it will make sense to many. So the signs are a little more encouraging than before and if this blog hasn't jinxed it, we're hoping the general trend will continue into 2012.
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