Supersize mortgages: Worth the risk? by Finance News Bulletin

Published: 12/09/07

First-time buyers with amount overdue and no deposits are being urged to think firm before signing up to a new generation of supersize mortgagesPOLL: How high will tax have to go before you create having to think hard about your mortgage repaymentsThis is Money has been named Financial Website of the Year in recognition of its campaigning reporting >> ReadIn April, Alliance & Leicester became the newest big-name lender to offer a '100advantage' deal

Borrowers can apply for up to 125% of the cost of their propertyThe excess can be used to disburse stamp duty, cover the cost of immediate home improvements or clear other amount overdueBirmingham Midshires, now part of Halifax, already offers 100%-plus deals, next to the likes of Bradford & Bingley, Coventry, Mortgage state, Northern Rock and Scottish WidowsMeanwhile, more than 30 lenders, including Bristol & West, helpful Bank, HSBC, NatWest and Portman, will lend some unparalleled buyers 100 per cent of their purchase price, removing the need to put aside for a deposit

The number of borrowers captivating out 100% deals has more than doubled over the past 12 months, according to brokers, with the number of 100%-plus deals increasing almost as fastHelen Adams, creator of Firstrungnowcom, a website offering advice for first-time buyers, says the growth is no shock 'High rents and new outgoings such as student loans create it firm for prospective first-time buyers to save up for a deposit,' she says

'The longer this takes, the further behind the market people get That's why 100% and 100advantage loans look so attractive But nobody should wait for these deals to offer an entirely easy ride'Lenders charge premium tax for mortgages of 100% and above

If you can afford to put down a 5% deposit with Portman, for instance, you can get a two-year fix put as low as 549% Borrowers who do not have a deposit and need 100% loans will have to accept a two-year fix at 635%

tax on A&L's 125% loans depend on the application charge you pay but two-year fixes vary between 564% and 674% Again, anyone with a five per cent put will pay far less

A&L has two-year deals for these borrowers set at 539% and lower tax are available for those with bigger deposits'The gap between the rates will create a real difference to your initial monthly repayments,' says Paul Hearnden, manager of Surrey-based broker My Mortgage Direct'That's why it pays to try to rub together some kind of deposit

Parents often help once they see what a big dissimilarity even a small deposit can make'If home prices take just a marginal dip, borrowers with 100% loans can quickly end up in negative evenhandedness Borrow more than 100% and you are in negative equity from day one, with a property automatically value much less than your borrowingsThis shouldn't substance as long as you are happy in your home and prices in the end pick up

But having small or no equity from the start can make it harder to climb the housing steps in the futureIn a real economic disaster, it is worth remembering that homeowners in negative evenhandedness cannot simply return their keys to their lender and walk away If the possessions is sold for less than the value of the mortgage, the borrower is still liable for the differenceSoaring prices denote first-time buyers who took out 100 or 100%-plus mortgages several years ago should have abundance of equity in their homes today

It means that when their initial set or discount rates come to an end, they can shop around with any lender for a best-buy remortgageHearnden says a customer who had a 100% deal in 2004 discovered her loan was value just 70% of her home price when she remortgaged this spring 'She got the choose of the deals and her payments fell, even though interest rates are higher now than they were three years before,' he saysToday's no-deposit borrowers may not be so lucky

If house prices don't go up much in the next few existence, owners may have no choice but to remortgage within the smaller 100% marketplace when their initial deals end'You may still get a good deal but you need to be ready to keep paying a premium rate just in case you can't,' says Hearndenchoose a loan term 12 months (1 year) 24 months (2 existence 36 months (3 existence 48 months (4 existence 60 months (5 existence 72 months (6 existence 84 months (7 existence 96 months (8 existence 108 months (9 years) 120 months (10 years)Please choose a type of insurance Life insurance Home and inside Car Breakdown services Health - medical Health - dental Travel Pet - afflict Pet - cat GOThinking about investing in possessions This is Money has the most excellent information and advice on buy-to-let

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