House Moving Made Easy

House moving can be overwhelming. Here are different types of mortgage options for you to try out.

Portable Mortgage – You can move your current mortgage to your new property using a portable mortgage. You probably have to fill out a request to switch and you may have to increase the size of your mortgage if the new home has a higher property value than the old home. Watch out for a higher interest rate in the new loan. Remortgage with current lender – This method can help the home mover find better rates, but there are other costs associated with this loan that make up for this. Depending on how deep you are into your current mortgage, the fee for remortgaging with the current lender is usually a cost between 1-5% of the previous mortgage. Exit, arrangement, and valuation fees may also apply. Remortgage with a new lender – This mortgage helps because it pays off your existing mortgage. You may also be able to sell off your old home. If the property value in your area has risen, …

Read More →

The 8 Types of Mortgages

Mortgages can be scary for first time buyers. It may help to understand the different types of mortgages when you apply for a mortgage. Here are the 8 most common types of mortgages:

Repayment Mortgage – This is the most typical mortgage. You pay back the principle you borrowed along with the interest applied in fixed (typically monthly) installments. Fixed Rate Mortgage – This means the interest rate that the bank gives you is fixed for a specified period of time. It is a safe mortgage because the monthly payments do not change over time. Standard Variable Rate (SVR) Mortgage – The rate is changed by the banks typically to reflect how the economy is doing. This rate typically follows the LIBOR or Federal Funds Rate set by the central banks. Interest-Only Mortgage – This mortgage pays off the interest before principle. After the interest is paid off, the borrower starts to pay off the principle amount he or she borrowed. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Loan – These loans protect people who may not be able to pay back their …

Read More →

Mortgage rates take Irish lendee cash

Ireland has been known to have one of the highest interest rates on mortgages out of all of the countries in the European Union. High interest rates are not uncommon, due to differentiation of financial records of possible lendees, but a high average rate surely is. According to a survey done by Goodbody stockbrokers, a mortgage rate in Ireland is 1.7 times more than the Eurozone average. 

Although this is extremely high, when you take out many of the benefits and cash back opportunities that the Irish banks provide the rate ends up lowering to around 1.25 times more. This rate is still high, leaving some people who have taken out a loan with significant extra costs as the years of their loan repayment diminish. 

A recent study by the Central Bank has proven this point, showing that a family who has a loan of €300,000 could pay up to €60,000 extra in a scenario where the loan lasted for 25 years. This is a very large sum of money, all of which is owed to the bank simply for …

Read More →

Mortgage cuts are nearing

The anticipation of cuts in mortgage rates has been increased. Ulster Bank recently stunned the mortgage market with the first cut in its variable rate in more than a year. This recent decrease in its variable rates will increase savings for first time buyers. According to the Independent the typical first time buyer will be saving around €50 a month.

Tracker and fixed mortgage rates are also supposed to fall. There are increasing expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) will also cut key rates. Cutting key rates will allow banks to reprice their mortgage books. Mortgage rates are being cut in response to weak growth within the Eurozone and inflation declining.

As of yesterday, the European Commission lowered its forecast for growth again. The lowering of growth forecasts contributes to greater pressure on the ECB to cut interest rates it charges banks.

Ulster bank is dropping one of its key variable rates by .4%. The new key variable rate is defined as 3.9% for those whose loan is less than 90% of the properties value. This has a huge impact …

Read More →

The Slowing Growth of Property Prices

The cost of property throughout Ireland has skyrocketed over the last 20 years. With the uncertainty in regard to Brexit, prices of homes are said to increase by less than recent years. Slower growth in price of homes may appear to be beneficial for the Irish housing market, but in reality costs of property are still trending to increase in price. Prices rose by 3.9 per cent compared to 4.3 per cent one month earlier. The increase is about four times less than the average percent growth increase of past years in Ireland.

So how will Brexit effect the housing market in Ireland? Some individuals believe that if the deal goes through, Ireland could play a more significant role in Europe. This trend is becoming prominent in Dublin. Massive companies like Facebook, Google, Paypal. eBay and Microsoft have moved their headquarters to Ireland. This change over the last few years means that there will be an increase in jobs and thus an influx of people. The more people means demand for housing will only further increase. If there is …

Read More →

The Mortgage Rate War

Good news is underway for those looking to enter the housing market, but find borrowing rates to be making it too expensive.

There’s a mortgage rate war.

Though this term sounds less than appealing, it is a war in favor of getting lower rates to borrowers and moving more first time buyers into the housing market.

As discussed in a previous posting, Ulster bank recently announced dramatic cuts in their variable and fixed mortgage rates.

The question racking everyone’s brain after such an announcement was, will other banks fall in line to stay competitive in the market?

Ulster caused increased competition in the market and even more so, posed a threat to the other banks.

These other banks were beginning to notice that in order to stay competitive they only had one choice…

To get to Ulster Bank levels or face the result that they may lose all new entrants into the market as well as some of the old.

Shortly after the announcement of Ulster Bank to reduce their mortgage rates, followed KBC …

Read More →

An opportunity for home owners amidst rising house prices

The average house price in Ireland has risen 11.2% over the past year, and prices in at least 8 counties are currently rising faster than that immediately preceding the market crash. Rapidly rising prices, low interest rates, and insufficient supply are together representative of the current situation in Ireland’s property market. Although this situation has many market watchers worried about possible inflation, and is definitely a hindrance to buyers still seeking for a home at an affordable price, there is a perk that could result for homeowners with an existing mortgage.

 

This blog post will illustrate this hidden opportunity and give homeowners the necessary knowledge if they intend to pursue it.

 

For homeowners with a high standard variable or fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate is most often based directly on your Loan-to-Value  ratio (LTV). The loan to value ratio is ratio of your loan to the value of your property. Each lending institution may have a different way of calculating and determining your interest rate but in general, the higher your LTV, the higher your interest rate. …

Read More →

Cash back deals: are banks manipulating borrowers?

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) warned lenders last month about their use of cashback deals and loyalty discounts. The commission believes that such incentives may be detrimental to consumers and may reflect unhealthy competition in the mortgage market.

 

Cash back deals have become more and more common in the market in recent years. These deals work by giving borrowers a certain percentage of their total mortgage amount back at the start of their loan, and they mostly target first time buyers who may need the extra money on hand to furnish their homes or to tide them through a tough transitional time in life.

 

A quick look around the market reveals that major lenders, such as AIB, Ulster Bank, Bank of Ireland, EBS and KBC, all have similar cash back deals, mostly ranging from 2-3% or €1500-€2000. The catch on these loans however, is that interest rates on them are often higher than the average on traditional loans. This means that over the term of the loan, extra interest paid  may turn out to be much …

Read More →

PRA warns against 35 year mortgages in England

Traditionally, banks have offered mortgage terms of 25 years to buyers, a long enough time so that buyers can have both low monthly payments and a moderate level of total interest paid. In recent years however, there has been a trend towards mortgage loans of even longer terms, those 35 years or longer in the UK mortgage market. By extending the duration of loans, banks have reduced the amount borrowers pay as monthly instalments, thus making housing appear more affordable in the short run. Despite its apparent benefits however, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) of the Bank of England has issued warnings about these loans and their risks and consequences.

 

Earlier this week, in a speech intended to be delivered in May but pushed back due to the election, head of the PRA, Sam Woods warned lenders about offering long term mortgages. With mortgages of over 35 years, there is an increase likelihood that the later instalments would have to be paid with post retirement income. Woods and the agency believes that this dramatically increases the risk of these …

Read More →

Mortgage lending gets tougher in Canada

The Canadian housing market has been growing rapidly in the past few years. Currently, many experts fear that home in cities like Toronto and Montreal are greatly overvalued, a reflection on the general instability in the Canadian economy. While Bank of Canada has yet to announce its well anticipated interest rate hike that will curb the rapidly rising house prices, lenders have already begun tightening lending rules and raising mortgage rates.

 

Early this month, major lenders Bank of Montreal, CIBC and Royal Bank of Canada have all raised rates on various types of fixed rate mortgages. Both Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada raised mortgage rates by 0.2% and rates at CIBC raised by 0.05%. The higher rates of lending is thought to precede Bank of Canada’s anticipated rate hike, which may come as soon as tomorrow.

 

Accompanying the higher mortgage rates is a series of other lending restrictions put in place by Canada’s banking regulator, The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions …

Read More →
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. ...
  10. 12
← Older Entries