Guide to making a mortgage application

No matter what sort of mortgage you are looking for (whether you are a first time buyer; someone who already has a mortgage; or someone looking to remortgage), how you go about your mortgage application is very important. Some people may want to do their homework first and go direct to a lender, while others may want to use a mortgage broker.

So what is the difference?
Going direct will typically save you mortgage brokers’ fees, but unless you are 100% confident that your circumstances meet your potential mortgage provider’s lending criteria, then you may wish to bite the bullet and use a mortgage broker.

Mortgage brokers
Each bank / lending institution typically has its own criteria for approving a mortgage. As an example:

• some will be happy to lend to a self employed person while others may only want to lend to someone who is not self employed and who is full time employment with someone else;
• some lenders are sympathetic to those who may have a less than perfect credit history (this is your financial record that details all your financial goings on for the last six years including whether you have missed any payments) while others will only accept those people with an credit history;
• Young, first time buyers who may not have built up a credit history may also find that some lenders will not approve them for a mortgage.

A good, experienced and reputable mortgage broker may typically know which lender would be most likely to accept you for a mortgage. They may also sometimes have access to online deals not available on the High Street.

You may think: “So what? I’ll keep submitting a mortgage application to different lenders until I am accepted”.
The problem with this is that each time you apply for a mortgage, a credit history check is done and is recorded on your file. If you have several checks done by different organisations in a short period of time (which would typically happen if you applied to one lender after another), a potential lender may look at your file and think:”Why has this person been declined a mortgage by the X Bank? If they have declined them, what is wrong with them?” Plus, multiple or a quick succession of mortgage applications can often smack of financial desperation – again, another potential turn off for lenders.

Going with a broker may mean you can utilise their experience and that you may have a better chance of being accepted for a mortgage. A broker will also do all the chasing of the lender on your behalf, meaning a little less stress at a difficult time.

Of course, whether you decide to submit your own mortgage application yourself or via a broker is up to you. But if you go down the latter route, ask around among friends and family as to whether they can recommend a good mortgage broker. And before you sign up with a broker, check out what any broker fees may be in connection with your mortgage application.

Choosing credit cards — how to pick the right one for you

A lot of people are surprised at how many credit cards there are to choose from. These products aren’t just given out by financial institutions now and you can get credit cards from supermarkets, department stores and even from your favourite football club or charity! Having a lot of choice is always a good thing but this choice may come with some problems — choosing the right card for your needs may be harder than you think.

There is one vital thing to remember before you start your selection process. Unless you pay off what you spend on any credit card when your next statement comes in then you will be charged interest. The money you are spending here is a loan and, like any other loan, it can cost you money. So, you may want to take some time to research your options. The lower the interest rates you are charged, the less money you’ll have to pay in interest.

But, choosing the right card isn’t always just a question of looking for the lowest interest rates. There are many different kinds of card deals that you might want to take advantage of that may have an influence on your decision. Let’s take a look at some of the options on offer at the moment.

• Balance Transfers: Some credit cards may offer you the chance to get a balance transfer deal when you apply. Here, you transfer the money that you owe on a different card (or cards) to your new one. Many people will do this because the balance transfer deal comes with preferential interest rates or even 0% interest. You may find that the term of the deal will vary here — some cards, for example, might offer you a lifetime balance transfer rate whilst others will have a deal for a set period only.
• Purchasing Discounts: Some card suppliers will offer new customers a period of time where they are given 0% or discounted interest rates on new spending. This may be given as part of a balance transfer deal or as a stand-alone offer.
• Discounted Interest Rates: In some cases you might prefer to take out a card that comes with lower interest rates than the norm. These deals may be set to last for a few months or may be offered as a lifetime deal.
• Cashback/Rewards: You may be offered special cashback or rewards schemes with a card. A cashback scheme will simply give you a specific amount of cash back usually based on a percentage of your spending. Rewards cards work in much the same way but here you may well be given loyalty points for schemes such as AirMiles or store loyalty programs as a percentage of your spending.
• Charity/Affinity: Some cards are branded with a charity or with another institution such as a football club. Here the company will give a percentage of your spending to your chosen charity/affiliate company.

If you are in the process of comparing credit cards then you may well find it useful to consider these options. You may still want to give special thought to the interest rates you’ll be charged — higher interest rates may not be a big deal to someone who pays their card off every month but they may be more important to those who regularly carry over a balance.

Car insurance for the over 50’s

When you shop around for car insurance for the over 50’s, you will most likely find that there can be positives and negatives to buying car insurance in that category. There are some positives: statistically speaking, you are among a group of people that is proven to make less car insurance claims against their car insurance than other age groups. Fortunately, this fact alone often gives you the benefit of lower premiums. Most insurance companies consider over 50’s to be more careful drivers than those in younger age groups. Over 50’s people tend to get into fewer accidents it seems and therefore they make less claims against their insurance. They are a low risk category in the eyes of insurance companies.

There are several insurance companies that have been put together especially to cater to and offer car insurance for the over 50’s customer. These companies can potentially offer you some of the best rates in car insurance for the over 50’s. You can probably find most of the over 50’s insurance companies by doing a search online. The more companies that you are aware of, the more options you will have and the probably the more likely you will be to find a policy that suits you well.

Buying car insurance is not usually a complicated process. Most insurance companies will ask you to sign up for a 12 month policy. You should start out by comparing the various insurance policies that seem to meet your needs as an over 50’s driver. As a consumer, it is always a good idea to look for the policy that best meets your requirements. Once you find an insurance company that you want to work with they will most likely ask you to pay the full premium up front or to pay a deposit along with regular payments on the remaining balance of the premium. There are some insurance companies that offer you a cheaper price if you make a full payment upfront rather than make payments in installments. You could ask your insurance company if that is the case in your situation.

Buying car Insurance over 50’s

• Shop around for insurance
• Compare policies
• Sign up online if possible
• Pay in full for a lower premium when available

Signing up for car insurance for the over 50’s should not be any more complicated than buying insurance was when you were under 50. You should not necessarily have to fill out any additional paperwork to get the benefits that come from being an over 50’s driver. Your insurance company will most likely detect automatically from your application your age group and apply any age-based discounts to your policy.

Getting the best deals on your insurance

We all need some form of insurance at some point in our lives. Insurance can provide some form of financial reassurance when we hit the hot spots in life. There are many types of popular insurance such as home insurance, car insurance, unemployment insurance and many, many more, some of which are compulsory, such as car insurance. Getting the best deals on your insurance has become a lot easier in recent years especially due to widespread use of the Internet.

There are many online resources available for people looking for the more popular types of insurance. You can usually find an insurance comparison web site that will compare some of the main, basic features of insurance policies for you. Even if these web sties do not give you all of the information you will finally need to make a decision, they can serve as a good launching pad for your insurance policy search. These web sites will give you a clear idea of current rates and the standard features you can expect on most insurance policies of that type. They offer a place to begin your search.

Once you have gathered some foundational information on a few insurance policies you can begin to investigate deeper and gather more information on a few of the policies that appealed to you. If there is specific coverage that you need that does not necessarily fall under the norm, it is in the more details policy descriptions that you will find the information you are looking for. By comparing policies first for their basic features and then drilling down deeper you will have more chances of getting the best deals on your insurance.

Buying insurance through the Internet is probably the least expensive way to purchase insurance. It can be a good way of getting the best deals on your insurance. The minimal manpower and cost of running an Internet web site usually gets passed on to you the customer. Even if you are a person that does not use the Internet very often, it is worth the savings to find a way to use the Internet at least for insurance purchases.

Getting great insurance deals
• Shop around to compare policies
• Visit an insurance comparison web site
• Find a few policies that have the basic features you want
• Investigate selected polices further to see if they fully meet your needs
• Sign up with the right policy for you

You can find all types of insurance policies online sold by all different types of insurance companies. The benefit of this is that you have a myriad of options and policies to choose from. If you have special insurance needs or things that potentially place you in a unique insurance category, your best changes of finding the exact policy that you are looking for is online.

Actually buying insurance online is fairly easy and it is an excellent way of getting the best deals on your insurance. You will in most cases need a major credit card. Sometimes a debit card will do. The important thing, as with buying from any web site, is to ensure that the page where you enter your credit card number is secure. This prevents interception and theft of your personal details.