Monday 16 May 2016

Nationwide increases mortgage age limit to 85


Nationwide has raised the maximum age for mortgage borrowers by 10 years to 85. From this July, the building society will grant loans of up to £150,000 to older homeowners (so long as they are existing customers) with terms that run up to their 85th birthday.

However, they will need a minimum 40% deposit or equity stake and will have to demonstrate they have sufficient retirement income to cover the repayments.

Nationwide's announcement comes hot on the heels of Halifax which confirmed last week that it would increase its upper age limit for borrowers by five years to 80.

Nationwide said it was part of a series of steps it was taking to meet a growing demand from customers to borrow in later life. This is due to:
  • Lower pension payouts prompting growing numbers of people work beyond age 65.
  • Rising property prices and high levels of student debt which can delay younger people getting on the property ladder.
  • A trend for people to take out longer mortgage terms as affordability becomes stretched.
Head of mortgages at Nationwide, Henry Jordan, said: “Access to the mainstream market has been a challenge for older customers, resulting in their needs going unfulfilled and this measure helps to address these needs in a prudent, controlled manner. These customers are often asset-rich with significant equity in their home and they wish to have the flexibility to borrow against it.”

A recent study carried out by Halifax found that a third of 20 to 45 year-olds thought they would have to work beyond the retirement age in order to repay their mortgage.

The announcement is great news for older borrowers, many of whom have found it harder to obtain a mortgage following the introduction of tougher lending criteria under the Mortgage Market Review.

But it's is also good news for younger borrowers, who may be planning to delay getting onto the property ladder until later in life.

Lenders have been coming under increasing pressure to increase the maximum age of customers.
Mortgage brokers have complained of the difficulties people past retirement age face in securing a mortgage, despite the fact they are often very low risk.

There is also a clear need for lenders to offer mortgages until later in life, with data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showing that nearly 60% of first-time buyers now opt for a mortgage term that is longer than the traditional 25 years.

A separate study carried out by the CML in 2015 found that a third of new mortgages would extend beyond borrowers’ 65th birthday.

Monday 9 May 2016

Your Agent Property Blog: Its official. YOUR AGENT are now a Rent Smart Lice...

Your Agent Property Blog: Its official. YOUR AGENT are now a Rent Smart Lice...: Its official. YOUR AGENT are now a Rent Smart Liecenced Agent. Whats more we are one of only ten licences to be issued so far under...

Landlords urged to join campaign against tax changes

Buy-to-let landlords with mortgages on small-scale portfolios are being urged to join a campaign that promises to fight back against perceived unjust tax relief changes.

From next year, existing rules that allow landlords to offset their mortgage interest against tax will be slowly phased out. By April 2020, these rules will be abolished altogether.

Changes 

The changes to the amount of tax landlords can claim on their properties were announced by Chancellor George Osborne in last summer’s Budget. It is feared that these alterations could mean purchasing a buy-to-let property and subsequently renting it out will be unachievable for many.

According to Treasury estimates, the tax alterations will raise almost £1bn a year by 2021.

In light of the upcoming changes, campaigners are hoping to raise a £300,000 fee in order to launch a judicial review against the restrictions. Anyone pledging £100 or more to the campaign is being offered a complimentary ticket to a rally against the changes, being held in London on Thursday 9th June.


Backing 

The campaign has already received some high-profile backing. Cherie Blair MBE QC has given her support to the opposition of the alterations, with her firm Omnia Strategy having sent a legal letter to HMRC in February. This letter said that the changes were in breach of a landlords’ human rights.

These challenges are also being backed by landlords Steve Bolton and Chris Cooper. Mr Bolton is the founder of Platinum Property Partners, specialising in buy-to-let, with a portfolio worth over £200m.

In a joint statement to landlords, the pair said, ‘with your continued financial backing and support, we plan to take the Government all the way to court and fight the strongest case that we can.’

‘Please spread the word far and wide amongst your community, especially fellow landlords, tenants, letting agents and others who will be adversely affected by this ludicrous legislation.

Tuesday 3 May 2016

Its official. YOUR AGENT are now a Rent Smart Licenced Agent.

Its official. YOUR AGENT are now a Rent Smart Liecenced Agent. Whats more we are one of only ten licences to be issued so far under the new licencing regulations.