In order to get a suitable first time buyer mortgage, you need to explore different mortgage options. But before that, you will need to know about how lenders review your application and decide whether or not to approve your request for a mortgage.
Before considering your application, the lenders will evaluate your ability to pay back a mortgage. This is done on the basis of your total monthly income and total monthly debt. In general, a monthly income to debt ratio of 36 to 40% is generally considered acceptable. You can also expect them to check your willingness to pay by checking your credit rating. It goes without saying that if your credit score is low or the higher your income to debt ratio, your chances of getting approved for a conventional mortgage is less. In such cases, if you are grated a loan the interest rates will be higher with less attractive terms and conditions to cover the higher risk perceived by the lender.
However, if the lender is satisfied with your financial credentials, you can confidently expect to get loan with various benefits such as lower rate of interest, smaller monthly installments, smaller monthly outgoings, longer repayment duration, flexible repayment options, lower fees and penalties, among others. In case of an adverse credit record you neednt worry much because there are many creditors who provide mortgage to bad credit borrowers. Bad credit mortgages are especially designed to help people having a poor credit record.
There are a number of popular first time buyer mortgage options available in the market. The first among them is fixed rate mortgage which has a fixed interest rate for a specific period of time for a period of up to one to five years and after this period the interest returns to the lenders standard rate. Fixed rate mortgages allow you to successfully plan your finances, as you know the mortgage repayment won't increase for the defined fixed rate period. However, when interest rates fall you do not benefit from reduced payments.
Another option is variable interest rate that goes up or down as per market flexibility in the rates. So, first time home buyers may prefer to keep away from this option because if they cannot adjust with an increase in rates they may end up having trouble making payments. Other common options are tracker mortgage, discounted mortgage, and capped rate mortgage. The tracker mortgage follows the interest base rates. In most cases your mortgage interest rates is set at a certain percentage above the base rates. The main advantage is that when the base rate falls then so do your repayments. And the reverse will also happen when the base rates rise.
Discounted mortgages work in a similar way to tracker mortgages in that they are variable loans. Unlike a tracker, a discounted mortgage doesn't follow the base rate. Instead, there is a reduction in the lender's standard variable rate for an agreed length of time. Your repayments will fall when the interest rate falls and they tend to be some of the cheapest first time mortgages available. Capped Rate Mortgage is guaranteed not to raise the interest rate above a certain percentage, normally for one to two years, after which the interest rate returns to a fixed or variable rate.
Other versions are repayment mortgage and interest only mortgages. In the former, you will see each monthly payment go towards paying off the underlying debt, as well as the interest on the loan. At the end of the term, the mortgage is cleared. The latter, on the other hand, expect you to pay off the loan's interest, not the loan itself. At the end of the mortgage term, however, you are expected to repay the capital.
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