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MORTGAGE SOLUTIONS - what are borrowers asking about the most?

Journalist: Sarah Davidson, Freelance

ended 19. January 2023

Knowledge Bank's top search criteria seems to show max age at end of term and there's some indication that missed or late payments is being searched more regularly. 

What are your clients asking about the most? Are they wanting extended terms to counter affordability challenges? 

How big a shift has there been? 

Have you seen an uptick in borrowers worried about missing repayments? 

Comments asap please as will publish this morning.

Thanks!

7 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Imran Hussain
Director at Harmony Financial Services
The most significant shift has been borrowers are now more open to longer mortgage terms than ever before due to rising costs since the failed experiment that was Trussonomics. Those borrowers who can take out longer term mortgages are jumping at the opportunity as it allows them to keep their monthly payments as low as possible whilst we navigate this cost of living crisis. I have had a few clients simply take the longest term possible as it will allow them to have enough spare cash to save some money and also possibly take a holiday within the next 18 months.
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Justin Moy
Managing Director at EHF Mortgages
Most conversations we have had so far this year have been about the monthly cost, rather than the term of the mortgage. Working more strictly to a budget, checking affordability, looking at almost every outgoing to free up funds, and more debt consolidation where applicable. If we can stretch a term to 35yrs, even for a relatively short term, that will help cushion the increases. Lenders that allow for up to age 75 will also see more enquiries. I have not seen too many issues with credit just yet, as that may take time to feed through because the vast majority of borrowers are still on the cheap legacy deals from before the mini-Budget.
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Kylie-Ann Gatecliffe
Director at KAG Financial
Missed payments and other credit issues are much more common now than I have seen in my whole career. It’s not just those on low incomes either, those with even substantial incomes have struggled to cope with a sharp rise in outgoings. So we are now seeing more applications with some form of adverse credit and clients need our support more than ever with these. Affordability is still a huge factor for many and those that are looking to buy are wanting to make it as budget friendly as possible, whether this by looking at a longer term or even interest-only options. For many, though, they realise storms won’t last forever and as inflation hopefully comes down and the mini-Budget becomes a long lost memory, reassessing mortgages with lower rates in the future they will be able to reduce their mortgage term and so on.
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Natalie Hines
Founder at Premier One Mortgages
Without doubt more and more of our clients are looking to extend mortgage terms to make their monthly repayments more affordable. A good mortgage broker will always try and keep the term within the client's budget and before their preferred retirement age, but currently that budget is getting squeezed tighter and tighter, meaning mortgage terms are getting longer.
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Jamie Lennox
Director at Dimora Mortgages
With the rising costs of mortgages, more clients than ever are asking about the impact of extending their mortgage term or looking to explore if interest-only is a possibility. The reality is that, for a whole generation of homeowners, they have only ever known low rates so the current level of pricing has come as a huge financial shock to many households. They are now exploring all avenues to keep their payments down as much as possible.
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Hannah Bashford
Director at Model Financial Solutions
Clients are currently understandably worried about what there payments will be on increased interest rates. The first thing people are asking when I’m looking at reviewing their mortgage is how much is it going to cost and then, what about if we increase the term or pay off some capital? I’ve not had any clients asking about the maximum age but then again when they are asking what we can do to bring down their payments as their adviser that is something that I would consider. As I know lenders' criteria I can guide them on those points.
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Amit Patel
Adviser at Trinity Finance
Borrowers are now contemplating longer-term fixes to help with monthly budgeting due to the cost of living crisis and affordability. This will lower the monthly mortgage payment but overall work out more costly over the term. Borrowers are concerned about missed payments due to the economic climate. Kwasi and Truss are to blame for all of this.