Coronavirus & the Mortgage Market | Mortgage Advice in Grimsby

Coronavirus impact on the mortgage market

During this past week, the coronavirus has impacted the mortgage market quite heavily. It can all seem quite complicated, so we are here to try and slow things down and explain what has happened and what could happen to the mortgage market. Here is a short video from the Moneyman, Malcolm Davidson:

Mortgage Surveyors

Every property will need a valuation before the lender can accept their borrower’s application. However, property surveyors and mortgage valuers can’t go out and visit properties meaning that lenders can’t accept their borrower’s applications. Essentially, everything has been put on hold for a couple of months.

Sometimes, lenders use AVM’s (Automated Valuation Model) for valuations on a property. This means that the property doesn’t need a physical valuation from a surveyor or a mortgage valuer, they use their AVM. An AVM can only be used on restricted mortgages and on lower loan-to-values.

As of March 28th, some lenders have decided to restrict their maximum loan-to-value down to 60%. So, they are continuing to process these applications but not necessarily ones at higher loan-to-values.

From a lender’s viewpoint

Every lender’s viewpoint is different. So far, we haven’t seen any mortgage offers that have been withdrawn by a lender. We think that they are all just waiting before accepting any more deals as they don’t know what could happen in the coming days, weeks, months, it’s hard to tell.

On the other hand, we have seen that some lenders have extended the periods of their mortgage offers from six months up to nine. They are giving the economy and the mortgage market a chance to get back on track.

Mortgage payment holidays

We talked about Mortgage Payment Holidays in a recent article but we just want to repeat that you shouldn’t rush into taking one. First of all, don’t panic! Do your research, speak to a Mortgage Advisor in Grimsby first to find out whether you will need to take one before you go directly to your lender.

It is more than likely that they will just increase the period of your mortgage so it could be better to just wait. If you feel like you will not be able to meet your monthly mortgage payments, you should contact your lender to see what your options are. Lenders will prefer for you to contact them online due to the sheer amount of calls they are receiving daily.

If you are going to take out a mortgage payment holiday, you must check with your lender that it won’t damage your credit rating or mark any arrears against your account. Also, remember to not cancel your direct debit and that you will need to seek permission from your lender to take a mortgage payment holiday.

Speak to a Mortgage Advisor in Grimsby

It’s going to be a tough couple of months but we are here to help you get through them! In time, this will all blow over, someone will press play again and the mortgage market will resume to how it was a couple of months ago.

We are here available to help you 7 days a week with anything mortgage-related. Speak to a Mortgage Advisor in Grimsby today at Grimsbymoneyman and receive a Free Mortgage Consultation. We can check in whether you will need to take out a mortgage payment holiday or give you advice on anything mortgage that you are worried about! We can’t wait to hear from you!

This article was originally published on 30/03/2020 and as of 20/05/2020 the property market has now resumed and this information has become outdated. Everything was 100% accurate at the date that this article was published.

Mortgage Broker in Grimsby