Jargon free mortgage advice

What is a mortgage?

A mortgage is a loan that helps you purchase a property. You will be required to put down a deposit for the property; the more deposit you contribute the lower the value of the loan and your monthly payments. You borrow the money from the lender for a number of years until either you sell the property and pay back the loan or the loan is repaid in full. Mortgages are often perceived as simple products that are easy to do yourself. Many people often choose the cheapest interest rate but the cheapest is not always the best option. There are other factors that should be considered when buying a house, such as your unique circumstances and overall financial objectives.

On top of that, there are hundreds of mortgage brokers and lenders, each with their own options available. Instead of having to walk into local high street banks, Unividual’s financial advisers will be able to research the open market for you and bring together what you need.  Our mortgage advisers have access to the whole of the market for mortgages and remortgaging. Once you contact us, we start with a free first meeting. Ideally, this is done face-to-face at a location and time convenient to you. There are times when clients need to move quickly and our mortgage brokers can also conduct the mortgage advice meeting at short notice over a video call.

How we charge for mortgage advice

Mortgage brokers earn commission from lenders after arranging a mortgage. This covers some of the costs of setting up and managing your mortgage. Most mortgage brokers also charge a fee of some sort, which can vary and have different parameters. Unividual clearly outlines these costs upfront in the first meeting when we find out what kind of support you need and how we can help. Due to our association with Quilter Financial Planning we are able to collectively pool our resources with other advisory firms too. This gives our mortgage advisers access to the open market whilst obtaining mortgage rates, deals and service levels that are not available to the general public. For more information on how we charge for our services, you can view our Unividual fee’s page.

For some, property forms part of our dreams

Christine and her husband had a recommendation to meet Simon, a Bristol Mortgage Adviser at Unividual. Christine will be the first to admit she was “rather sceptical to begin with”. At the age of 60 she and her husband had managed their finances well,  builing up some savings in various products, as well as having some buy-to-let properties. Whilst, she wasn’t sure about relinquishing any control of the “purse strings” she had some specific goals that she wanted to seek professional advice on.

“From the start, Simon listened carefully to our values and aspirations. We confided in Simon that we have always dreamt of being able to find a property suitable for multigenerational living, where we could live comfortably with our children and grandchildren. He encouraged us to look for that dream home and managed to secure us a mortgage on it. Simon has taken one of our ideals and has shown us how it can become a reality. He did this thoughtfully, patiently, with great respect and with astonishing attention to detail. Whatever hurdles he encountered he had a plan A, B and C. He is super-responsive whenever we contact him, and he is incredibly intelligent.”

On top of mortgage advice, Christine was also keen for Simon to then advise her on other areas of the family’s personal finances.

“We were advised to take out life insurance along with some changes to pensions and ISAs. So many things have happened in the last two years, the COVID pandemic was so frightening and I took much comfort from that life insurance. Although our investments dropped in value as the markets have dipped, Simon spread our funds differently because I had a lower tolerance of risk than my husband. This meant I could see clearly how my own savings were protected from a sharp fall and quickly recovered. My husband’s made a wider fluctuation, but one that suited him well. Simon is so knowledgeable about financial planning that he inspires confidence. I cannot thank Unividual enough for employing Simon, he has just changed the lives of three generations of our family, and we would never have achieved this without him.”

OTHER AREAS OF ADVICE

Some Buy to Let Mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.