Member Article

Be Brexit Ready With Your Mortgage

Which? Magazine has released information this week on what they think the future of the housing market will be, depending on the outcome of the current Brexit dilemma.

There is certainly a lot of unrest in the market, with people simply not knowing what to expect and too many guessing, so here Martin Graham of MG Financial Solutions advises the North East community on what he thinks is important:

“The first thing to remember is that we don’t know what kind of Brexit we will experience, or what will happen on any route we as a country end up following.

“Which? Magazine claims that the impending change is causing market jitters – in fairness, we have not experienced this at all yet. The region’s market is still moving, people are buying and selling, people are remortgaging and lenders are lending.

“Indeed, the latest ONS House Price Index shows that house prices across the UK crept up in December, meaning that the current average UK house price is £230,776.

“What is important is to make sure that you are Brexit ready with your own finances. And if you are intending to remortgage, get the ball rolling now, as it is only a matter of weeks until the end of March.

“As a team we have been recently upskilling our customer service,. In fact, over the last few months we have expanded our team so we can ensure that in times of nervousness around money matters, we can be a calm guiding hand, that is fully qualified and reassuring at the same time.

“With that in mind we are recommending people take a good term of fixed rate on a new mortgage to allow any unrest to resettle after the impact of Brexit.

“There are some amazing deals available at the moment on two year and five year fixed rates. There are also 10 year fixed rates now available, but we would only advise this after a close look at all your finances and if you are adamant there will be no changes you will need to accommodate. We will still advise to only take the mortgage over the years it is definitely needed, the sooner you can pay it off, usually the better!

“If you are looking to buy or sell pre-Brexit, you have probably missed the boat to have completed in time now. But, that doesn’t mean that you cant get good ground work done, with just final searches and legals to be done. Make sure you line yourself up with a good mortgage advisor and a good solicitor who is as keen to complete as you are under pre-Brexit terms.

“For us as advisors, the most important thing to be looking at is making sure you have the best terms on your mortgage and are not on the statuary base rate, as this could hike up, be it temporary or permanent. Also ensure that any decisions you do make you are based on independent advise focused on for your personal situation.

“Finally, one of the things we think will be key, is for people to have adequate protection.

“Salary protection will be important, for times of sickness or redundancy, which is likely when you look at what is happening in the car manufacturing industry in the UK for example. There are a whole host of policies which will give you peace of mind, so please speak with a qualified advisor soon. You will be surprised how little a month they cost at the moment, and again, come after Brexit, the premiums on these may go up if you don’t fix an agreement now.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Toms .