Choosing a mortgage is probably the biggest financial decision you will make. However with thousands of mortgages to choose from it can seem like an impossible maze to find your way through. So make sure you get quality mortgage advice.
What is a mortgage?
A mortgage is a sum of money borrowed from a bank or building society in order to purchase a property. The money is then paid back to the Lender over a fixed period of time together with accrued interest. There are many different types of mortgages and there will be one out there that best suits your requirements. If you’re going to make the most of your mortgage, you need to minimise the amount of interest that you pay.
There are basically two major types of mortgage repayment methods available in today’s market:
- repayment – a repayment mortgage is structured so that the monthly mortgage payments, comprising partly of capital and partly of interest, pay off the original amount borrowed as well as the interest that would be accrued over the mortgage term, by the end of the term.
- interest only – so called due to the fact that you only pay interest to the lender each month. The original loan amount remains the same for the term of the loan. Therefore a suitable investment is required to run in conjunction with the mortgage in order to repay the loan balance at the end of the term. The most common investments used for this purpose include Pension, Endowment and ISA.
Saving for a mortgage deposit?
When saving for your property, the deposit pays off a portion of the property upfront. You’ll get a mortgage to pay for the rest. This will need to paid off every month. So putting up a bigger mortgage deposit upfront means you’ll have paid off more at the start, and could potentially mean lower monthly repayments.
The Lifetime ISA is designed for 18-39 year olds to save for a home or retirement, and could help save for a deposit quicker, through the addition of a government bonus.
