A few things have come up in the past week or so that have not necessarily helped those looking to get a mortgage.
First of all Lloyds Banking Group have followed the lead of Santander and changed their interest only criteria which means that many more buyers will have to look at a repayment mortgage. As mentioned last week however this is not the end of the world and, especially because of the low rates still available, when a repayment mortgage is compared to the cost of renting in most cases it still works out the more attractive option.
Secondly, those lenders that are doing good business with the best rates are starting to creak at the seams in terms of service. We have seen some delays from normally speedy lenders due to nothing more than having too much business to be able to effectively process quickly.
Whilst this does sound remarkable when there is still a low volume of transactions compared to the past, and especially when the press are in correctly saying that there are no mortgages around, this shows that demand is indeed there and seems to be growing each week.
With high competition for good properties and a quick valuation essential, it therefore means that applicants need to look even closer at the lenders current service levels rather than just following the cheapest rate. The lowest payment may be great, but not if the house of their dreams has already been sold to someone else.