Articles
Government Rent a Room Scheme
Many people now rent out spare rooms in their homes to lodgers. The government rent a room scheme is open to those who do so. If you think you are eligible, you can apply to the Inland Revenue for tax relief under the rent a room scheme.
You can apply through your tax return and it is for anyone who is letting out furnished accommodation in their home. If you share your home with a partner or somebody else then the benefit is halved.
Cashback Mortgages
‘Cashback’ is certainly a word that jumps out of a page at you and may sound appealing at first glance, however, it is important to understand what this really means when you are taking out a mortgage.
In essence, it is an offer to pay you back money (often via your solicitor) upon the start of a mortgage, following completion; given to you by cheque – or more commonly now via BACS.
Affordability Calculators
Historically, you could get a good gauge of what someone could borrow on a mortgage based on a multiple of their sole or joint salaries; whilst this could vary from lender to lender it wasn’t by much.
Why online mortgage comparisons can be so vastly different
The brief answer is that they all use different ways to make their calculations; in a bid to attract your business, information is sometimes presented in such a way that it makes a product seem the most affordable option when, in reality, not all the necessary data is there to enable you to make an informed choice.
Cheaper rates versus cheaper fees
As a mortgage broker, it’s important that we make sure our clients get the best value mortgage option that is available to them.
This where a broker really comes into their own. A thorough understanding of the market is a very helpful commodity as the answer is not clear-cut; there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
Mortgage lenders will target various markets via low or no fees, good headline rates and potentially better rates for borrowers who are looking for higher sums of money.
