Most people with a mortgage will have always had it in mind that they wanted it paid off by the time they retire.  There is, however, a type of mortgage that you can have for the rest of your life and not pay one penny back for as long as you live.  In my opinion it’s one of the most under-used financial products available and it could benefit thousands of over 55’s.  The main reason that we don’t have so many people taking out these types of mortgage is simply because they do not know about them.

Some types of equity release mortgages allow you to receive a lump sum, to which you make no monthly repayments.  Instead the interest on the mortgage rolls up, and the entire amount is repaid when you die from the proceeds of the sale of your property.  There are provisions in place with most equity release schemes which mean that the amount on which you owe can never exceed the value of your home, meaning that even if you ended up owing a lot more than what you home was worth, you wouldn’t need to pay it all back.

With recent falls in interest rates, those elderly savers that have relied on the interest from their bank accounts to live on for many years may be finding it hard to cope with the drop in income.  Why not use some of the equity they have in their homes to live more comfortably and enjoy themselves?  Many people don’t want to reduce the value of their estate so that they can pass something on to their family, but I know that I’d rather my Gran had enough money to put her heating on over Christmas than be sat in the cold trying to save the pennies, so that she can pass something on to everyone.

In another scenario, perhaps someone has always wanted to buy a new home to live in during retirement, but couldn’t afford to upsize.  Maybe they could sell their house for say £150,000, and buy a new one for £200,000, without the need to affect their outgoings each month.  They’d borrow £50,000 at the outset, on which interest would build up for the rest of their life, but their daily finances would not be affected.  Even if someone was happy in their home, they could get some money to build an extension, do up the kitchen, or set up a new toy room for the grandkids.

Then there are those who own a home and do not have anybody that they wish to leave money to.  I would say that a lot of these people should consider unlocking the equity they have in their home and enjoy their wealth if they have a lifestyle shortfall.  There’s no point in letting all the money you’ve worked for go to waste, when you could of used it to send yourself off on holidays in the sun and buying yourself consumer goods that you wouldn’t have been able to afford otherwise.  I know that when I’m older I’d like to spend my golden years seeing the world and spending my money.

Even if people have it in mind that they don’t want to spend money on themselves and want to give a helping hand to the younger generation, they could use an equity release scheme to do so.  By passing wealth down the generations in this way, you can make sure you can assist children or grandchildren when they need it, instead of when they are older and maybe wouldn’t have such a requirement for it.  Plus, it would be nice to be able to see them move into a new home and start a new life.

This area of equity release is complex, therefore it is essential to seek independent financial advice.  Kieron Bassett Financial Services have two Independent Financial Advisers.  Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms.

Jason Hinde CertPFS

7^th December 2009

This week the Supreme Court ruled that millions of bank customers hoping to reclaim billions of pounds in bank charges could not do so.  The court overturned previous rulings that would have triggered the claims for refunds.

Obviously this is good news for banks, but bad news for account holders who on a regular basis breach their overdraft limit.  This ruling was a surprise, but I would argue that the amount a customer pays for a bounced cheque, that is typically £35.00, pales into insignificance when compared to the fees that a borrower has to pay when setting up a mortgage.

Banks dominate when it comes to high charges in the mortgage market.  They appear to extract the highest arrangement fees that I have witnessed.  For example the Abbey are charging an arrangement fee of £2,499 for one of their five year fixed rates.  It was only a few years ago that the arrangement fee for this type of loan was £195 to buy into a competitively priced fixed rate.  We have experienced little inflation since then, so why the massive hike in arrangement fees?

In addition, lenders charge survey fees that are very variable.  For example, the Furness Building Society charges £186 for a survey on a £200,000 property, whilst the Halifax charges £255 for the same survey.  Again, why such a significant difference?  Then to make matters worse they add to the cost by adding a survey administration fee of £100 whatever that is.  Also, as you are taking out your mortgage some lenders are still charging you if you do not take out buildings and contents and some do not.  Finally, even when you are closing your mortgage account some lenders such as the Nationwide Building Society charge only £90 , whereas Alliance & Leicester charge £295.

Overall it appears the Banks lead the way with having higher fees when setting up and exiting mortgages than the Building Societies.  Unfortunately I cannot see this changing for the foreseeable future, as I wonder whether the decision made with regard to bank charges was made with one eye on the state the banks are in at the moment.  If this decision went against them, they acknowledge they would have had to contend with a deluge of litigation that would have weakened them further.  They are at present embarking on expensive advertising campaigns that, in my opinion, are designed to engender feelings of goodwill towards the Banks.  For example, the Lloyds Group are using straplines such as for the journey, and accounts being built around you.  Whilst Natwest are using their own staff to show how approachable and helpful they are.  Personally, I think that most of us are not taken in by this spin, and we recognise that the charges they make on mortgages and current accounts indicate they are profit maximisers.  There is nothing wrong with this in theory, as it could be argued that their number one priority should be their long suffering shareholders.  However, before you sign on the dotted line to take out a bank mortgage it is worthwhile taking alternative advice to see if this mortgage is right for the journey you wish to take.

Before taking out a mortgage it is worth contacting an Independent Financial Adviser who specialises in mortgages to help you obtain the mortgage that is most suited to your needs.  Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers.  Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms.

Kieron Bassett CertPFS

30^th November 2009

Even though decorations have been up around Morecambe and Lancaster since late October, now is about the time of year when the rest of us will be looking forward to Christmas.  Like most people I do enjoy the atmosphere around Christmas; putting up the tree, buying everybody gifts and going on festive nights out, but it always leaves a big hole in my wallet.  This year, on average we are expected to spend around an extra £400 each on presents and food than we would in other months, which seems a lot just for one day.  Maybe we should all look at how to use our money more wisely and spend it on something that will benefit us all year round.

Lots of us spend more on Christmas than we do on protecting our family finances should our income stop due to accident, sickness or death.  Taking out income protection or life cover can sometimes feel like a bit of a depressing task, because we don’t want to think about bad things happening, but how would we feel if the worst happened and we discovered we weren’t properly covered?  Money is the last thing that I would want to be worrying if I wasn’t able to work because I was sick.

We usually find the money to buy everyone presents for Christmas Day, yet don’t always feel we can find the money to ensure our income is fully protected for the whole year, at what could be a similar cost.  I’m hardly about to go and spend the money I have for my girlfriend’s Christmas presents on buying myself life cover and income protection policies.  I don’t think a few policy documents under our tree would look very festive, nor do I think that saying ‘Santa Clause must be feeling the effects of the credit crunch too’ will pass as a valid excuse.  I do however believe that we should prioritise when budgeting and make sure that we can earmark some of our money to give ourselves and our family what they really need instead of what they want.  We buy people presents to make them happy, but surely the best present you can give to someone is security should we not be able to provide for them anymore.

A couple of years ago we may have thought that we had a good safety net should we be off work sick or die, having gained equity in our homes during the boom days of property prices.  Now that property prices have fallen, that safety net has been taken away from us.  Even when we did feel safe, I don’t think many people would have been very happy at the prospect of downsizing because they were unable to keep up with mortgage repayments.  We don’t know if, or when something bad might happen and how we will be able to cope financially with the change in income.  It’s a big gamble that we’re taking if we decide that we’d prefer to spend excessively on material things, rather than making sure that our finances will be ok should we not be able to work.

Taking out long term protection is very important. Although we may have a false sense of security, not many of us are ever well off enough to take the risk.  If you would like to review your protection needs you should consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).  Kieron Bassett Financial Services are an Independent Financial Advisers and we are open six days a week.  Contact the office on (01524) 832057 or via e-mail info@kieronbassett.com to arrange an appointment.

Jason Hinde CertPFS

23^rd November 2009

The concept of equity release is now firmly established. It allows people over 55 to turn their equity into accessible cash, or buy an income without having to sell up or pay anything back during their lifetime. Interest is rolled up and the loan is repaid when you die, or go into care with the house being sold. The market continues to be innovative even with the testing conditions we find ourselves in, with lenders allowing equity release for holiday homes whether let or not and buy to lets. These schemes could prove attractive to many buy to let investors and second home owners who have bought their houses some years ago. They are probably sitting on substantial profits and may want to release their gains. Unfortunately, if they do sell they will have significant capital gains tax to pay. Therefore it could make sense for them to consider equity release as a means of extracting capital without having to sell and pay the capital gains tax. They can raise anything from 16% to 52% of the value of their properties depending on age. For example a 64 year old could raise 25% of the value of their buy to let property. Interest is then rolled up and although not actually paid, I believe this can be offset against their rental income with no capital gains to be paid on death. If inheritance tax is due on death, the mortgage that has accrued can be set against the estate and reduce the tax to be paid making the whole process very tax efficient. These equity release schemes are not only suitable for people with existing properties that want to access capital, but could be used for people who want to purchase a buy to let or holiday home. For example, if you are seventy five and want to buy your holiday home of your dreams for £150,000 but only have £100,000 available with no appetite to make mortgage payments, then this scheme could help you achieve your goal. Another example of this scheme in action could involve a seventy one year old with £60,000 in savings attracting very little interest and thinking of purchasing a buy to let property. However, the basic buy to let property in the area costs £90,000 so there is a shortfall of £30,000. Fortunately, this scheme would allow this money to be raised with perhaps an income of £5,200 per annum based upon average rents in our area. In addition, less tax would be payable due to the mortgage being tax deductible. Based upon the £60,000 invested, gross income could be 8.66% if the property is fully let and before expenses, with also the possibility of capital growth on the investment. However, as always there are no free lunches, and although these schemes offer a no negative equity guarantee, and allow purchasing or remortgaging properties in a tax efficient manner there are drawbacks. Firstly, it is costly to borrow when compared with ordinary mortgages with rates charged at 7.25%, and secondly the interest charged will eat into your estate reducing the amount to be inherited. This area of equity release is complex, therefore it is essential to seek independent financial advice. Kieron Bassett Financial Services have two Independent Financial Advisers. Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms. Kieron Bassett CertPFS 16th November 2009

At the end of each month, if we’re lucky, some of us will have had more money go into our bank account than has gone out.  It’s good to have extra cash in case of an emergency, but once we get more than we know what to do with we’ll sometimes blow it on things we don’t really want or need.

If your mortgage allows, it might be worth considering paying more than your normal instalment each month.  We don’t usually consider a mortgage to be a savings product, but by paying it off quicker it has a similar effect to your overall financial position as saving at an interest rate equal to that of your mortgage.  There are another two bonuses that come from making overpayments.  The first is that on average you should end up remortgaging fewer times in your life, which means you won’t have to fork out for as many arrangement, valuation and solicitors fees.  It also means that you’ll be applying for a lower loan to value mortgage each time, possibly making you eligible for the better deals as the equity in your property rises.  Having too little equity in your home has been a real problem in the last year with the recent fall in property values.

A variation of this idea is the offset mortgage, whereby your bank account is linked to your mortgage account and interest is calculated on the difference between the two balances.  The product we’ve all probably heard of is ‘the mortgage shrinker’ from the One Account, and while it is not quite as magical as the man off the television makes it look, it could he an attractive option for some people.  The offset mortgage however, requires a lot of self-discipline and would not be suitable for many.

With the recent fall in interest rates, some people may have seen their repayments fall dramatically and are enjoying the extra money they have in their pocket.  However maybe this is the time when they should take advantage of being able to reduce the outstanding balance.  Interest rates won’t stay low forever and people may be kicking themselves when they do rise because they never took advantage of the opportunity to get their outstanding balance down.  It may not seem like the most exciting thing to do with your extra cash, but at least it means you wouldn’t feel the pain as much if interest rates were to go back to the levels they were at a few years ago – or even worse if they rose to double figures like they were at during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.

Before you start increasing your mortgage payments you should look at all your debts, credit cards and overdraft facilities and pay them off in order, starting with the one with the highest rate of interest attached to it.  Some people, without thinking about it, will have a debt of say £1,000 on a credit card and have £1,000 sat in a savings account.  By leaving it like this, they are basically throwing money down the drain.

It’s good to review your financial arrangements regularly to ensure you make the most of your money and it may be worthwhile contacting an Independent Financial Adviser who specialises in mortgages to help you obtain the mortgage that is most suited to your needs.  Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers.  Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms.

Jason Hinde CertPFS

9^th November 2009

When buying anything from a car to a kitchen we tend to find that we have to pay extra for a certain trim or finish.  It can be annoying to find that what you would have regarded as standard is classified as an extra.  So often we find ourselves having been attracted to a product because of its price, having to pay so much in extras that a previously more expensive product that incorporates the extras now appears to represent good value.  Unfortunately by the time we have discovered this we may have already committed to the product with all the extra costs.  So we end up perhaps not getting such a good deal after all.

Obtaining a mortgage can be a similar experience in terms of coping with extra costs and charges that are added to the loan.  Therefore it is important that as much groundwork is done as possible before committing to a loan to help avoid making expensive mistakes.  To assist you it could be worthwhile using an Independent Financial Adviser to help you obtain a number of quotes so that you can examine all the pros and cons of each deal.   

Things to look out for having already selected whether you are opting for a fixed or variable rate are booking fees.  These are fees lenders charge to buy into the mortgage and costs can vary from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand pounds.  So it is imperative that you weigh up these figures.  It may make sense to select a mortgage deal that has a much higher interest rate than the best headline rate because the higher rate is offset by a much smaller arrangement fee.  Also when paying your booking /arrangement fee it is worth considering whether you want the fee added to your loan or subtracted from it.  Most lenders tend to add it to the loan, and in fairness most borrowers prefer this as it increases cash flow.  However if you have spare capital available it is worthwhile considering having the fee deducted from the loan, as you can make savings on interest charges during the term of the loan.  

Other additional charges to consider include the cost of valuations and charges levied for insuring your property elsewhere.  Some lenders will grant you a free survey and others will charge you hundreds for a survey.  I believe that many lenders deduct a large administration fee from the survey, and that this is the reason why survey fees are so high with many lenders.  With regard to buildings cover some lenders are happy for you to make your arrangements and charge no fee whilst others will make you pay for not insuring with them.  Even when you come to pay your mortgage off you are not free of fees with some lenders charging over £200 more than others for closing down the mortgage.

Finally it is important to know the basic terms of the loan as to whether it is portable or not.  I am getting the feeling that some old practises are resurfacing with a few lenders not allowing portability of your loan.  This means that you will have to pay a penalty on your existing mortgage if you are in a deal, and then take out a new one with the extra setup costs.  So before committing to any mortgage product it is worthwhile working out all the underlying costs of the mortgage.  This will ensure that the market leading rate that attracts you does not have any nasty surprises.  To help you achieve this you should consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA).  Kieron Bassett Financial Services are an Independent Financial Advisers and we are open six days a week.  Contact the office on (01524) 832057 or via e-mail info@kieronbassett.com to arrange an appointment.

Kieron Bassett CertPFS

2^nd November 2009

Would you lend money to somebody who had a bad reputation for not paying people back?  Or somebody who would really struggle to pay you back because their income is too low?  Not many of us would.  In the past the mortgage market has been very different, sometimes less questions were asked than we would ask ourselves if it were our own money. 

In recent days the FSA have published a mortgage market review with the aim of restricting how money is lent to homebuyers.  Included in the report are proposals to ban self-certification mortgages, where borrowers do not have to prove their income.  Those who have not had to prove their income when applying for a mortgage make up a much higher proportion of borrowers that go into arrears or are repossessed than they should.  It doesn’t seem fair to refuse mortgages to those who can’t prove their income, but in hindsight it seems pretty obvious that if somebody doesn’t have to prove their income, they are more likely to stretch the truth a little.

The FSA has also discussed reducing the maximum amounts lent to borrowers based on both their income levels and what they can afford month to month. 

The new proposals could be a setback for potential first time buyers who have been saving, only to find lending policies are about to change.  They may have to continue living at home or renting for longer than hoped.  It will be disheartening for those who have set their minds on purchasing a property quickly, but this is only because of the trend in recent years for first time buyers to be able to buy a property with little or no deposit.  Many of the younger generation will not be aware of a time when people had to save long and hard to buy their first home.  Although this may seem like a daunting task to take on, first time buyers should be in a better position to repay what they owe and hopefully have built the discipline to manage their money more responsibly.

Although many of us think that we can keep to a budget that we make, in practice it can be more difficult and we spend a little more than we planned.  So maybe borrowing money at our very limits of affordability, isn’t the best thing to do.  If asked to make a budget, it is easy to reduce your outgoings on paper to make a mortgage repayment fit, but we may not leave any room for the simple things that we enjoy, like going to the pub on a Friday after work or treating yourself to some new clothes.

The mortgage market review could make it more difficult to obtain a mortgage in the future and it is worth contacting an Independent Financial Adviser who specialises in mortgages to help you obtain the mortgage that is most suited to your needs.  Kieron Bassett Financial Services has two Independent Financial Advisers.  Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms.

May I finish by saying thank you and farewell to Adam Elkin who has recently left us after being part of the team here at Kieron Bassett’s for 10 years and we all wish him well for the future.

Jason Hinde CertPFS

26^th October 2009

There are very positive signs that lenders are returning to the market with positivity this week. Competitive rates are available for both high and low loan to value products, but you must be squeaky clean to make the grade for these competitive deals.
There is a lot of uncertainty over whether interest rates will rise at the moment as we are all sure that rates will not fall. To this end lenders have responded by offering low interest rate tracker mortgages, which will rise when rates rise but having a different set of rules when it comes to fixing rates.
HSBC offer the lowest rates, starting at 1.99%. My response to this great headline rate is wow! However, HSBC are apparently turning down 70% of applications. I can’t be sure of the status of the 70% but I guess HSBC’s criteria to lend is strict. And, why not, they are offering the best rate in the market. Santander and Coventry Building Society have launched similarly good variable rates. The Coventry deal, in my opinion is a real winner. There are low fees, in this environment deals with fees of less than £1,000 are rare, a competitive rate of 3.4%, and, for me, most importantly, there are no fees should you wish to repay the mortgage.
If you are being charged a variable rate of interest, then the ability to switch deals with no penalty is, in my opinion, very important. Fixed rates are currently much higher than variable deals. For a lot of people it could make sense to pay the lender’s variable rate until such time as rates start or appear to start rising. Then, make the switch to a fixed deal. This system is not foolproof, but if rates stay low for more than 18 months I suggest that paying a variable, rather than a fixed rate, will prove profitable.
This is not good news for first time buyers. First time buyers invariably benefit more from a fixed rate due to their inexperience budgeting for costs. They have either moved away from parents or been paying a fixed level of rent. Variable rates are also not suitable due to first time buyers often being at the limit of their affordability. The Coventry Building Society have thought of this too. Their latest deal is a low fee five year fixed rate of 5.99%. This is the market-leading 90% loan to value deal, without a shadow of doubt. There are a couple of caveats. Parents must hold a mortgage or savings account with the Society for their siblings to be able to obtain mortgage finance.
I believe this to be prudent business from the lender who is not asking parents to be on the mortgage but certainly asking for them to have an affinity with their child’s purchase. Essentially, the lender is asking parents to be involved. This invokes a level of responsibility from the parent. A good thing in my opinion if this results in lower interest rates and more competitive deals for buyers and remortgagors.
If you want to know which mortgage is the most competitive for your needs then contact an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). Kieron Bassett Financial Services have two IFAs and are open 6 days a week.

Ring me on (01524) 832057 or contact me via e-mail, adam@kieronbassett.com.

Adam Elkin DipPFS
18th September 2009

This week I was looking at a policy that was taken out in the 1930s.  The plan’s aim was to provide a lump sum to a child’s parents if he died during childhood, and this money would have been enough to provide for his funeral.  This got me thinking that even though families in the 1930s generally had less disposable income they placed a higher value on protection than we do today.  However, it could also be argued that as they could not afford to self insure they had to buy a policy.  This may be so, but they did seem to be prepared to make significant sacrifices to protect their families, as they had less disposable income than we have today.

Many people in 2009 have higher levels of debt than previous generations and these debts remain unprotected.  In this respect we are less well insured than our grandparents.  Purchasing life cover does not appear to be a priority, but why is this the case?  I believe that the welfare state, through healthcare has helped life expectancy to improve over that last 60 years, and benefits paid to families after bereavement have helped them to feel less vulnerable.  Also, in the private and public sector, pensions have often had attached to them generous levels of life cover that have added to families feeling of wellbeing.  Unfortunately, I believe that savage cuts will be made in the public and private sector in the near future, and many benefits will be cut.  This will then perhaps lead us to become come more self-reliant like our forebears in actively buying protection products.

I think it is vital that families take time to consider how much of a short fall that they would suffer in terms of repayments of loans and living standards if the breadwinners in the house were to die.  By reviewing protection needs on a regular basis you could for example, be aware of policies that may be expiring in a couple of years time, that you may wish to review.  This may leave you to think about renewing you policies now rather than later, as your health may have deteriorated by the time the original policies ends and cover could be more difficult to obtain.

Life cover today is probably a lot cheaper than the 1930s and the market is both innovative and competitive.  For example a 30 year old non smoking male taking a level term policy out over 25 years for £100,000 would only have to pay £6.67 per month for the policy term.  Even if £10,000 of critical illness cover was added to this policy the premium would only increase by £3.04.  To sum up it is worth while consulting an independent financial adviser who can help you obtain the right level of cover to protect you during these difficult times.  Whatever level of protection you require, it pays to consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) who specialises in this area.  Kieron Bassett Financial Services have two IFAs.  Contact us on (01524) 832057, via e-mail, info@kieronbassett.com, or log onto www.kieronbassett.com/cms.

It has now been a year since Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and the rest of the financial community had a collective heart attack.  The Banks had then realised that the game was up and you could not be considered too big to go bankrupt.  Unfortunately the demise of Lehman Brothers led to other large corporations failing soon afterwards, and governments around the world had to launch rescue packages to avoid total financial meltdown.  It has been argued that if Lehman Brothers were rescued a feeling of security would have run through the Banking sector and confidence would not have drained away so quickly.  Unfortunately this did not happen and the Banking bailout is probably more expensive than it should have been as a result of the American government’s actions.

These events starting off on the other side of the Atlantic have had a shattering effect on our economy and particularly on the housing market.  House prices had just stopped rising after many years of growth in the early part of 2008, and we were hoping for a period of time were house prices would just tread water for a few years, as affordability was becoming a big issue.  All these hopes were dashed as lenders after receiving Government support hoarded money, made staff cuts and maximised profits.  The market was being starved of cash causing the market to almost seize up at the back end of 2008 and the early part of 2009.  This impacted on house prices significantly as cash became king and the few buyers around were able to squeeze vendors.

In recent months house price statistics have started to look favourable again with for example the land registry recording house prices rising 1.70% in July.  So are we entering a new phase of house price growth or are recent statistics just a false dawn.  Looking at the bigger picture the land registry has indicated house prices are down 16.7% since January ‘08 with the drop over the last year standing at 8.7%.  It could be argued that the volume of house sales is still low and recent rises are due to a lack of supply in the market.  This may be due to potential vendors delaying putting their houses on the market due to job insecurity, or maybe tight lending criteria that makes it difficult to borrow what you could a couple of years ago.  Other factors could be due to a slowdown in house building.  It is well known that builders became obsessed with building flats in the boom years, but perhaps did not construct enough family houses and they are certainly not building them in big numbers at the moment.

However, I feel that it is reasonable to buy now provided you are buying for the long term as I can see the annual house price index turning positive over one year in the near future.  This continued house market recovery will in my opinion take place so long as interest rates remain low and we do not have any major market shocks.  However I can see problems in the future when interest rates start rising after the election and the government starts to tackle public spending that will probably lead to higher unemployment and some repossessions.  Although these events will affect the market I think new lenders and a lack of supply due to a lack of new properties will help guard against the sort of drops we have experienced in the last couple of years.