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| Self Cert Mortgages (Self Certification Mortgages) |
| A Self Certification Mortgage is a mortgage where you declare (certify) your income level. You do not have to provide the usual documentation so you don't have to provide payslips or accountants' statements to prove your income. |
| They are designed for people who have difficulty meeting the standard income proof requirements of traditional mortgage lenders. For example: self employed, seasonal workers, company owners, high commission earners, short term contract workers and people with multiple incomes. |
| See our Self Certification Mortgage FAQ for more information |
| Adverse Credit Mortgages |
| An adverse credit mortgage is one where the borrower has a recent history of bad credit and may be known by any of the following: Non status mortgage, bad credit mortgage, sub prime mortgage, poor credit mortgage, credit impaired mortgage. |
| Adverse credit may be due to a number of things: |
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County Court Judgements (CCJ's) |
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Mortgage arrears, defaults or rent arrears |
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Decrees (Scotland) |
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Past bankruptcy |
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I.V.A |
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| Fixed Rate Mortgages |
| The amount you repay the lender each month can be at a fixed interest rate for a certain period of time, regardless of the interest rate in the market place. It is common for lenders to offer rates fixed for a period of 2 to 5 years, but shorter and longer periods can be found in the market. At the end of the fixed rate (or 'benefit') period the rate will normally convert to the lenders Standard Variable Rate (SVR). |
| Capped Rate Mortgages |
| A capped rate mortgage is very similar to a fixed except that if the variable rate drops below the capped rate, the borrower will make payments based on the lower variable rate. However should rates increase the payments will be 'capped' and will not rise over the capped rate. So as a rough 'rule of thumb' a capped rate is better to have than a fixed if all other factors are equal. |
| Discounted Rate Mortgages |
| The Lender offers a discount on the Standard Variable Rate (SVR) for a specific period of time. For example, the variable rate may be 5% with a discount of 1.5%. The initial pay rate would therefore be 3.5%. If the variable rate rose to say, 6%, then the rate payable would rise to 4.5%. As the discount is linked to the standard variable rate, the borrowers payments will increase, if rates rise - so there is no certainty in budgeting. However should rates decrease the borrower will benefit from lower payments. |
| Variable Rate Mortgages |
| Borrowers paying the Standard Variable Rate will have their payments increase or decrease as the lender adjusts the rate in accordance with market conditions. |
| Mortgage Protection |
| If you become unemployed, or an accident or sickness prevents you from working, this mortgage protection insurance cover ensures that your mortgage payments are continued for you. You can usually extend your cover to include other regular expenses such as endowment premiums and utility bills. |
| If you're self employed, you won't be able to claim unless you've actually stopped trading. And workers on short-term contracts may not be able to claim until they have been in the same job for a year with the contract renewed within this period. |
