Life Insurance & Finance

As a property owner, you may opt to review your financial plans on a regular basis for the purpose of releasing enough equity with Buy To Let Remortgage. Various reasons will motivate you to think of such options including the need to sort out emergencies due to sudden changes in the market, to increase your portfolio in order to take advantage of existing property deals and save some good money on your mortgage costs. By taking considerable equity from your current residential property or any other property you may own; you can easily invest further to maximize your returns, minimize risks and build your portfolio to higher levels.

Illustration: We assume that at some time in the past, you acquired your buy to let property at £200,000 and had also taken a buy to let mortgage at £175,000. Now imagine that the property and the rent have both increased by 50 percent over time such that your property is now worth £250,000 and you still have £175,000 in owe to your interest only mortgage. Yow will have three options open to you as follows:

Keep the property and continue enjoying the profits you are currently gaining on your rent Sell the property: Which will give you £175,000 less in costs. By selling the property you will get a capital gain which will attract a flat rate of 18 percent (if you are not eligible for tax relief) You can remortgage the property: Considering that the property and rent have all risen, you can increase the mortgage by the same rate to release the equivalent equity and let the rent continue to pay for the additional mortgage.

The advantage here is that you have not realized any capital gain, meaning you will not be exposed to any tax. Remember you still own the property since you have not sold it, thus letting you keep it long enough to cash on it once more.
At the moment (as of June 2010), there has been a witnessed fall in Buy to Let Remortgages. In fact, for the first quarter of 2010, the Buy To Let remortgages represented 28 percent which was a slow down from the 30 percent figure in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The explanation for the decrease could be the lack of attraction for landlords to move from the standard variable rates of their banks given the low base rate. In addition, the amount of buy to let products has gone down to approximately 300 from a high of 3500, implying very limited options to choose from. A positive change in the base rate will ultimately get things moving and landlords can still expect the platform to get off the ground.

More than a million buy to let mortgage opportunities are available in the UK right now because of the growth of the market in the last five years. More and more people believe that the investment of purchasing more property will secure their futures. Since people are getting discouraged with pension plans, buy to let mortgages give people confidence in their investments.

Purchasing property as an investment is becoming more popular because it is a tangible investment, unlike the stock market, and the value of the property you purchase can grow and diminish just like any other investment.

Controlling Your Property

Whereas investing in the stock market means having someone else in charge of your investment, buy to let mortgages allow you to choose between managing the property on your own or hiring someone else to do it for you, including dealing with repairs and handling tenants. There are mortgage brokers for hire to assist you in choosing the right mortgage that will fit into your lifestyle.

How Much?

As with all other investment types, there are certain costs involved in buy to let mortgages that are different from residential mortgages, such as budgeting for times when you have no tenants and when you may need to pay for various repairs or maintenance to the property.

Benefits to Investing

Purchasing a property for investment purchases can allow you to earn money monthly by renting the property out; make sure that the rental amount covers the mortgage amount, as well as any taxes that may need to be paid on the property, and anything left over is simply profit for you.

Taking advantage of capital appreciation, where the price of the property you purchased raises over time, will allow you to make long term income from your property in addition to the monthly income you will be making.

The best way to get the most profit out of your property is to sell once values have gone up, but before they go down, otherwise you will lose all of the money you have invested in the property.

If you are a successful property investor and choose to purchase even more property, remortgaging your investment property is a good way to do this.

While most people throughout the years have seen buy to let as a serious money maker, with the current economy and lowering of property values,we can see that this can also be a good way to lose money. If you pay attention and follow the math, this can be a great money making investment opportunity for you now and in the future.

As you near the end of your contract with your current mortgage lender, what do you usually do? Did you know that it is beneficial for you as a homeowner to actually review your contract and consider switching to another type of mortgage loan for lower costs?

Things to Keep in Mind when the End of Your Mortgage Contract is Nearing

If you’re a homeowner and you become complacent with not reviewing your lender’s contract come renewal time, you are actually passing up on the opportunity to get better rates. Remember that the trends in the real estate industry changes from time to time according to the state of the market, so you can actually shop for better rates or even switch from one mortgage type to another.

Another benefit that you can get as you switch from one mortgage type to another is the loan term can be reduced. Flexibility is your ultimate goal when switching from one mortgage type to another, so it definitely pays to check on the pros and cons of each kind before deciding which one to choose.

Types of Mortgage Loans that You Can Switch To

Now, here are the types of mortgage loans that you can switch over to:

1. Discounted Mortgage Loan
As the name implies, a discounted mortgage loan offers a discounted rate. The competition between lenders is stiff enough for you to be able to make a comparison of the rates offered by one mortgage company to another – so it definitely pays to do your homework.

2. Fixed Mortgage Loan
If you currently have a variable-interest mortgage loan, you may want to consider switching over to a fixed mortgage loan. For this, the interest rate will remain the same for a previously agreed upon period, which usually lasts from one to five years.

3. Variable-Interest Mortgage Loan
The opposite of a fixed mortgage loan is one which has a variable interest rate. If you are considering switching over to this type of a mortgage loan, remember that the percentage will depend upon current market trends.

4. Tracker Mortgage
If a variable-interest mortgage loan is dependent on the trends in the real estate market, a tracker mortgage will be dependent on a factor called benchmark rate.

A Final Word about Switching to Mortgage Rate

As with Mortgage Life Insurance it is important to weigh the pros and cons of each type of mortgage loan so that you would have an idea which one will give you the best set of advantages. Make a deal with your present lender to gauge whether they can offer you a better deal – especially if you have stuck to your mortgage loan and not delayed on any payments for the past years.

Review the payments that you made over the years, the interest rate, the remaining balance of your mortgage, the number of years left on the loan term and the cost of fully paying off the mortgage.

At the end of the day, there is absolutely no need for you to make the mortgage switching process any harder than it has to. By learning as much information as you can regarding the different mortgage loans that you can apply for, you will have a better idea as to which one will best suit your needs as a homeowner.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have confirmed the number of homebuyer mortgages approved rose by 12% in February which has also resulted in a rise in people buying Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance but reports from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Departments of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) provide less positive figures.

A total of 35,000 mortgages with a combined worth of £5 billion were taken out over the month as opposed to 32,000 in January. Compared to February 2009 this is a 49 per cent increase and a staggering 67 per cent increase in the overall value of the loans combined. According to the CML this rise signifies only a slight recovery on the extremely poor January figures which were put down to the ‘big freeze’ and the end of the holiday on stamp duty for properties between £125 and £175 thousand.
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