A mortgage is a loan you take out to buy a property. Mortgages are provided both by banks and building societies, and by specialist mortgage lenders.

Taking out a mortgage is one of the largest financial commitments you’ll ever make. However, it needn’t be a terrifying one. We have mortgage information guides, mortgage glossary, tools and news updates to help you find the right mortgage.

Our mortgage advice sections also cover commercial and business mortgages and inheritance tax.

Below we also analyse what sort of buyer you are; how interest is charged; the way you pay; how to apply for a loan and provide a calculator for you to find out how much you'll be paying each month.

There are numerous types of mortgages available in the UK, and various different ways you can repay them. The deal that’s right for you will depend on the kind of buyer you are and your individual financial circumstances.

For example, are you a first time buyer or are you re-mortgaging an existing property? Maybe you need to know about shared ownership schemes that help you buy your home

Perhaps you are looking to move home and need a bigger mortgage to buy a more expensive house or you're trading down to a smaller property once your family have left home.

Or if you want a mortgage for a property you’re planning to rent out you need a buy to let mortgage.

Various types of mortgages charge interest in different ways. Fixed rate mortgage deals, for instance, have rates that are set for typically two to five years though they can be longer. They tend to be the most popular option.

Alternatively, variable or tracker mortgage deals have interest rates usually related to the Bank of England base rate.

The rate can be capped so that it never goes above a certain rate agreed at the outset. Or it can have a collar meaning it can't drop below a certain level, but these are rarer.

Discount variable rate mortgages typically offer a discount on the lender's standard variable rate.

There are two main options when it comes to paying off your mortgage: a repayment mortgage or an interest-only arrangement.

With a repayment mortgage your monthly payments will go towards clearing both a proportion of the interest and the amount you borrowed.

But with an interest-only mortgage your monthly repayments are only covering the interest charged on your borrowing. You will have to make other arrangements to pay off the original loan. In the past, you used to have to prove to your lender how you would clear the debt. The City watchdog, the Financial Services Authority, has turned the spotlight on these home loans because it is concerned that lenders and homeowners are not ensuring they have a way of paying off the capital.

Offset mortgages combine both methods while also letting you use your savings and current account credit balance to offset some of your mortgage.

There are two ways you can apply for a mortgage: you can approach a mortgage lender directly or you can go to a broker. Our mortgage brokers’ directory has a list.

A good mortgage broker who will check the whole of the market for you should have the knowledge and experience to help you find the best deal. They can't always search all mortgage deals as some are only available directly from the lender. And do be aware that some mortgage brokers charge fees.

For an international mortgage or overseas mortgage for investment properties or holiday homes in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Caribbean, Cyprus, Florida, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and the USA.

For the majority of people, buying their first home is the most important financial landmark in their life. However, with properties costing tens of thousands or more than the typical annual income, extra help is needed to get onto the property ladder.

Typically, first-time buyers go for properties costing less than £125,000, but the Land Registry of England and Wales shows the average house price in the UK in the last three months of 2010 was £232,628. Similar figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders covering the second half of the same year show first-time buyers typically had to raise a deposit of £31,500 to buy a property.

Virtually anyone who can raise a deposit and has a stable income can get a mortgage and there's a huge range to choose from. While the large quantity of choice can be a good thing, it can also result in a stressful and confusing situation.

A buy to let mortgage is for landlords who are buying a property to let out to tenants. A buy to let property is bought as an investment in the hope that the property's value goes up while the rent covers the mortgage and is often also known as an investment mortgage.

The amount that you receive in rent as a buy to let landlord should be more that the monthly mortgage payments and leave you enough left over to help with other costs such as agency fees and maintenance.

The best investments are those where you make a profit on the rent after all the costs. Noticeably, in some cases, the rent isn't enough to cover all your outgoings and you have to subsidise the property. When this happens you hope the rent will go up, mortgage bills will come down and the property will increase in value over time so that it's still a good long-term investment.

Investing in buy to let property has become more and more popular with amateur landlords looking at alternatives to saving for their retirement or to boost their overall income.

Whether you are a first time buyer or looking to re-mortgage, it is important that you get a realistic indication of your maximum borrowing limit and your likely repayments. As interest rates can vary, you must be aware that your payments can go up and down over the term of the mortgage.

The cost of your mortgage will also be dependent on certain other factors such as the mortgage term, life insurance and income protection insurance. Also bear in mind different mortgage lenders will calculate repayments in different ways, for example daily, monthly or yearly. However for an accurate calculation the APR figure must be used.

Borrowers don't need to be reminded that they should look out for the best mortgage deal available before committing to a mortgage. The cost of your mortgage makes up nearly 40% of your total household costs according to recent research.

Getting the right mortgage, whether you are a first-time buyer or a homeowner looking for a re-mortgage, is vital to keep repayments low and not pay over the odds for your mortgage.

When you re-mortgage, you are switching your home loan to another mortgage deal and often to a new lender. Or you may be re-mortgaging in order to take out a bigger mortgage to cover home improvements or another large bill.

It's usually a way to pay off debts with a far higher interest, but do take care that you don't end up repeatedly using the value of your home to cover short-term spending such as credit card bills. Also, those who've paid off most of their mortgage, sometime re-mortgage to make a major purchase.

If your current deal is nearing expiration scour the market to see if there is another attractive deal out there for you. Remember to start looking early - you can normally reserve a rate between three and six months in advance.

Re-mortgaging is something that almost all mortgage borrowers have to do, apart from those with enough money to pay off the entire loan, or borrowers who choose long-term fixed-rate mortgages.

The process is relatively straight forward, and many borrowers re-mortgage once every couple of years to get the best rates. Typical examples include a two-year fixed-rate mortgage or a three-year tracker mortgage.

Those who re-mortgage frequently to the cheapest deals are likely to spend less on interest over the life of their home loans compared to those who allow their mortgage to revert to standard variable rates (SVR) – usually considerably higher than special deals. An odd quirk of the credit crunch has been that some SVR's have been good deals, but once the base rate starts rising off its historically low level of 0.5% this will change.

A buy to let mortgage is for landlords who are buying a property to let out to tenants. A buy to let property is bought as an investment in the hope that the property's value goes up while the rent covers the mortgage and is often also known as an investment mortgage.

The amount that you receive in rent as a buy to let landlord should be more that the monthly mortgage payments and leave you enough left over to help with other costs such as agency fees and maintenance.

The best investments are those where you make a profit on the rent after all the costs. Obviously, in some cases, the rent isn't enough to cover all your outgoings and you have to subsidise the property. When this happens you hope the rent will go up, mortgage bills will come down and the property will increase in value over time so that it's still a good long-term investment.

Investing in buy to let property has become increasingly popular with amateur landlords looking at alternatives to saving for their retirement or to boost their overall income.

Tracker mortgages are one type of mortgage available to homeowners. Tracker mortgages along with fixed-rate mortgages are the most popular types of home loans.

A tracker mortgage is a variable rate loan that basically follows the Bank of England base rate moving as it changes up or down.

Typically, tracker mortgages are set higher than the Bank of England base rate but lower than lender standard variable rates. For example, it might be set at 1 percentage point above base rate. But in the past, when base rates have been high, some tracker mortgages were a fraction of a percentage point below the base rate.

All tracker mortgages are anchored to a prevailing rate. While it's commonly the base rate, it can be linked to the lender's standard variable rate or more rarely other variable indices such as Libor – the rate at which banks lend to each other – or money market rates.

The majority of UK homeowners now choose a fixed rate mortgage when they move or re-mortgage.

A fixed rate means you know exactly how much you'll pay every month for however long your fixed period lasts - whatever happens to the Bank of England base rate and the standard variable rate offered by your mortgage lender.

There is a huge variety of fixed rate mortgages on the market. The most popular fixed rates last for between two and five years. However, ten and even 25-year deals are sometimes offered.

When a mortgage borrower reaches the end of a fixed rate term, the interest rate on their mortgage reverts to the standard variable rate offered by the lender. This is normally a lot higher than the fixed rate deal offered.

If you want to get out of your fixed rate deal early, you'll usually pay an early repayment penalty.

Some of the best fixed rate deals on the market may even charge an early repayment fee beyond the fixed rate period. This is known as a 'tie-in period'.

Remember, if you move house you should be able to take your existing fixed rate deal with you if you want to.

An early repayment penalty can be sizeable - normally, it's worked out as a percentage of the amount you borrow and could be several thousand pounds on a typical loan.

However, if you are trapped on an extremely high fixed interest rate, it could be worthwhile paying the penalty to get out.

They provide security and peace of mind: The terms mean you'll be protected against any increases in the base rate, and consequent adjustments to lender SVR. This allows borrowers to budget for payments.

In addition, many fixed rate deals are flexible and allow you to overpay within certain limits each year. This is a wise plan as it will reduce the length of time you have to pay your mortgage and cut the total interest bill.

As well as high penalties for getting out early - or even, on some loans, after your fixed rate period has expired - the problem with fixed rates comes down to interest rates.

If you go for a fixed rate and then variable interest rates start to fall, you'll be paying more than you need to.

However, remember that rates do go up as well as down, and the security offered by a fixed rate can be worth it, even if the rate you're paying isn't always the cheapest.

Ultimately, remember that you'll have to pay an arrangement fee which could easily reach four figures.

A commercial mortgage is possibly the best way to finance the purchase of buildings and land for business purposes, as it provides the most flexible and affordable finance solution.

Commercial mortgages are specialised because the lender has a legal claim over the property until the loan has been repaid in full.

This sort of mortgage can be used for purchasing any commercial property used for business purposes, including shops, factories, offices and warehouses.

Commercial mortgages can also be used for taking over existing businesses, purchasing brand new buildings or buying land.

Although they often come with higher interest rates and more variables than residential mortgages, commercial mortgages are more flexible and can carry extra incentives for borrowers.

It's a type of loan which homeowners can take out to solve temporary cash problems.

For example, if you aim to move but its necessary to complete on your purchase before your sale has gone through, you can take a loan to cover you to bridge the gap.

A bridging loan is a loan usually taken out as an immediate source of a large sum of money, often to cover the costs of purchasing a property.

Bridging loans are usually repaid within half a year of being taken out, though it is often less.

Not quite. Because of the extra risks, bridging loans will be more expensive - usually around 1% a month at least.

Only ever take out a bridging loan if you know you won't need the money for long - otherwise the expense will be ridiculously high.

There are specialist bridging loan providers - and just as with ordinary mortgages, they will need to be convinced you're not overstretching yourself.

Bridging loans are the last resort: Don't take one out unless you really can't avoid it. If you are in a property chain which you don't want to break then they can work - but do get legal advice first.

For instance, they could work if there are a few days' delay between completion on your purchase and on your sale. However, they must not be used to prop up a chain which has no certainty of being completed.

If you default on a bridging loan, you may be in trouble on both your properties as the bridging loan lender may take both as security.

You can get a 'closed' or 'open' bridge. A closed bridge is for homebuyers who have already exchanged on the sale of their existing property.

Only a tiny number of sales fall through after exchange, so lenders are happy to offer closed-bridge financing.

An 'open' bridge is for buyers who have found a home to buy but haven't sold their home and are thus more risky. Lenders will usually put a 12 month limit on bridging loans of this type.

If you can't sell but are determined to move, why not let your current home instead? Rental payments should be sufficient to cover the mortgage.

Remember you have to tell your lender if you're letting a property - and also that you'll need to insure the home and get decent tenants.

Being a self-builder means designing and building your own home. Here's how to make your dream a reality.

You may have a visual plan of what your ideal home would look like. But to turn that dream into a reality, you need an adequate plot of land and an architect.

He or she will provide you with an preliminary sketch and if you decide to go ahead, they will provide detailed plans. You then show these to builders, who will give an estimate of how much the construction work will cost, and how long it will take.

You will also need to obtain planning permission from the local authority.

Don't underestimate the cost: As well as fees to solicitors, you've got to pay an architect, builders, plumbers and many others.

You might also want to take insurance against long delays or overspending. Always have a contingency fund of around 10% of the total cost.

You'll also pay stamp duty on the land purchase if it costs more than £125,000, but not on the property.

Building plots are hard to find. Quality sites sell quickly, because developers are always on the look-out for opportunities.

Take into account your new home's magnitude, car parking space, space for a garden, the area you want to live in, children's schooling and any other local amenities that are important to you.

Now you've found a plot of land, does it have planning permission and what do the different types of permission mean?

Outline Planning Permission (OPP) means agreement in principle from the local planning department that you can renovate or convert an existing building or construct a new house.

Detailed Planning Permission (DPP) means that a house can be built in terms of plans that have already been submitted and agreed by the local planning department.

Plots are often sold with planning permission already in place for a particular size of building. You must inquire about details of the planning permission, as there will always be conditions attached.

Be aware that sometimes sites will be advertised for sale when in fact they may be a field or part of a garden that the owner hopes will obtain planning permission at some future date.

Sometimes permission has lapsed. This means that permission was granted previously, it does not guarantee that permission will be renewed or that a new permission will be granted.

Legal issues which your solicitor will need to discuss with you, prior to exchange of contracts, will include planning and any restrictions, building conditions, rights of access, conditions of title and environmental issues.

Up to 75% of self-builders have to sell their current property in order to finance their new home.

With a self-build mortgage, the money is released in instalments as the development progresses - with an initial payment to cover the land purchase.

You're unlikely to get a loan for more than 75% of the land costs, or 60% of build costs.

Even at these rates, these tend to be higher-risk niche mortgages: As a result, you'll pay a higher interest rate if you manage to get a loan.

It will be especially difficult to convince a lender to lend you money if you plan to do the building yourself.

Buying a property in the UK as a non-resident or expat is certainly possible, but buyers need to be aware of both tax and currency.

The UK property market has traditionally been one of the strongest in the world and despite house price falls during the most recent recession, property investment in the UK remains active.

Buying into the UK by non-domiciled or non-resident individuals is fairly common, but it is important to keep in mind numerous vital factors, which are detailed below in this guide to expat mortgages.

In this case, an expat mortgage refers to any mortgage loan taken out by a non-resident or non-domiciled individual.

Equity release is a way for mature homeowners to release cash from the value of their home without having to move.

Schemes are available to homeowners aged 55 and over; and the older you are, the more you'll generally get.

There are two main ways of releasing equity: Lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans.

Lifetime mortgages are by far the most popular. Homebuyers release cash by mortgaging their homes, which they can then spend on whatever they want (for example, boosting income or paying for home improvements).

Unlike a traditional mortgage, a lifetime mortgage is not repaid during the homeowner's lifetime.

Instead, the loan rolls up with interest and the equity release company is repaid from the homeowner's estate when the house is sold after their death.

Reversion schemes raise cash in a different way: You sell a percentage of your home to the company, which is repaid after your death.

The amount you can raise on a lifetime mortgage or reversion scheme will be limited: You won't get anything like its market value.

Equity release is a big undertaking and you must take legal advice. There are also charges to set up a plan, and once you've taken it out, they are hard to reverse.

Interest rates used for lifetime mortgages also tend to be more expensive than on standard mortgages.

However, you won't be forced to move even if house prices fall, and most plans come with a negative equity guarantee which means the debt rolling up cannot exceed the value of your home.

A right to buy mortgage may be an option for council house tenants who have been living in their property for two or more years.

In a number of cases, the monthly mortgage repayments are cheaper than the monthly rent, therefore a right to buy mortgage could potentially free up capital to cover home improvements or for debt consolidation.

According to right to buy legislation, the property is purchased at a discounted rate rather than at the open market value making it a favourable option for council house tenants.

A right to buy mortgage is a mortgage taken out when a person (often the occupant) buys their house from the council. Often this is at a discounted rate, proportional to the length of occupancy.

In addition to this the legislation states that if the property is sold within a three year time frame, the seller may be liable to pay back a proportion if not all of the discount they received.

In order to establish the exact discount that a council house tenant is entitled to they must get in touch with the local authority they are currently renting from.

The right to buy mortgage is a government scheme set out to give long standing council house tenants the opportunity to purchase the council house they reside at a discounted rate. Council house tenants must have been living in the property for a minimum of two years, with any discount being proportional to the length of residence in the property.

To establish if a property eligible for the scheme and the exact discount a tenant can receive they must contact their local authority.

In the vast majority of right to buy cases, the tenants will receive a discount and will therefore not need to borrow the full market value of the property. Some lenders however will sell you a mortgage for the market value rather than the right to buy value therefore freeing up capital which may be used for debt consolidation or home improvements.

In other cases, for example those not entitled to a discount, standard borrowing amount terms will be valid, which usually means the home owner can borrow anything from 95% of the property’s value, this will be slightly different depending on the lender.

Many right to buy mortgages will lend up to 95% or 100% of the right to buy price as the loan is calculated on the open market valuation of the property for example this means if a tenant was to purchase a council house with an open market value of 100,000 pounds and are entitled to a 25% discount the right to buy price would be £75,000 pounds therefore the mortgage provider would look upon your purchase as being on a 75% loan to value.

It is against Islamic law to pay or receive interest; this has been a huge problem for Muslims living in Britain.

When it came to home buying it was only the very rich who could afford to buy a home outright.

Fortunately however many banks and building societies are starting to recognise this as a issue and are offering an alternative, as well as other forms of Islamic finance.

Halal mortgages come in two forms - Murabaha and Ijara.

Before you complete the form below, please ensure you can satisfy the following criteria:

• You are aged 21 years or over
• You are a resident of the UK or have indefinite leave to remain in the UK
• The property to be financed is in England or Wales and will be your main residence
• You are in full time employment or if self employed have 2 years accounts
• You have never been declared bankrupt or had a CCJ
• Minimum property value of £100,000 and a minimum finance value of £70,000
• You must have a deposit of 20% or more

There are two options available to you that correspond with Muslim law:

This is only really an option for individuals/families that have a substantial amount of funding behind them, because it is a condition of this Mortgage package that you are expected to pay (circa.) 20% of your home’s value, on the day of purchase. However from that day the house will be registered as your own. You may pay off any debt that is outstanding on your home at any point. This package offers a fixed repayment period that is agreed between you and your lender, any a monthly repayment amount that is fixed for the term of your mortgage.

So how does the Murabaha Mortgage work?; When you find the house that you wish to buy, you arrange a sale price with the vendor as normal, however the bank pays the purchase price, then immediately sells the house to you at a higher price (the higher price is determined by the original price of the property, and the repayment period that you will have agreed with the lender), minus the percentage you pay as deposit.

This is an increasingly popular choice of mortgage, as you do not need a large amount of capital behind you to set up this mortgage; it is also slightly more flexible than its counterpart. An additional advantage to this type of mortgage is that it can even be taken out to replace an existing interest mortgage. The amount you pay each month is usually fixed yearly. The outstanding balance can be paid off at any time (usually) without incurring any penalties.

As with the Murabaha mortgage, you find a property that you wish to buy, and agree a purchase price with the vendor, the variation is that; your lender will then purchase, and gain ownership of the property. You will enter into a lease agreement with the lender. Each month you will be expected to pay rent to your lender and a contribution towards the purchase of your property.

In a climate of rising house prices and cheap mortgage loans, debt is manageable and the number of people getting into trouble with their loans remains low.

However, in times of economic hardship, when house prices fall and mortgage lending becomes more expensive, a range of mortgage issues can crop up.

Inevitably, these types of serious financial troubles cause stress and confusion.

The following section details the different problems faced by mortgage borrowers, how to deal with debt, and what debt really means for the consumer.

Mis-sold mortgages are mortgages sold to homeowners through a mortgage lender or broker who either gave incorrect advice or mis-sold a mortgage.

Typically, mis-sold mortgages were taken out with sub prime or specialist mortgage lenders.

During the 1990s the mortgage industry saw enormous change. Homeowners who had adverse credit ratings were not able to receive traditional lending from banks or building societies. Hence, new 'specialist' lenders entered the market to capitalise on the demand.

Sub-prime mortgage lenders formed - such as Kensington Mortgage Company and Mortgages PLC. These lenders were keen to distribute their products through mortgage packagers so broker commission for mortgage completions became very generous.

With the creation of similar lenders, the specialist lenders sector became more defined. Mortgage brokers were actively encouraged to introduce mortgage applications to such lenders, which saw an increase in mortgage packagers. Companies such as Private Label (who later became GMAC RFC). In 2007, 21 specialist lenders contributed to the £362 billion gross mortgage lending.

In 2000, the Financial Services and Markets Act was imposed upon the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which included an obligation to provide an effective regulatory regime which would provide confidence and help the public understand all aspects of financial services. On October 31, 2004 regulation was extended to the mortgage industry - M-Day. The Mortgage Conduct of Business Rules (MCOB) forms part of the Business Standards in the FSA handbook.

MCOB applies to all firms which carry out regulated mortgage business. This is broken down into sectors such as business loans secured on a residential property or equity release schemes. The lender and broker market were made to prepare for M-Day and were required to provide comprehensive documentation relating to the mortgage sale and advice given; this included the production of a Key Facts Illustration (KFI).

MCOB requires mortgage lenders and mortgage brokers alike to treat customers fairly (TCF).

Any breach of these rules may be deemed as having mis-sold a mortgage.

When gaining advice from a mortgage broker or lender you should have been asked to provide information on your personal financial circumstances then provided with information and products based upon this.

You may have been mis-sold a mortgage for many reasons, in particular, if you had not been treated fairly.

The full disclosure of the terms of business contained in the Initial Disclosure Document (IDD) must show clearly information about the mortgage introducer including any fees they charge and what products they have access to, for example “whole of market”.

A variety of products that you qualified for after providing your personal information should have been shown to you unless it was clearly stated that only one was offered. This personal information should have been recorded in a “fact find” document. All documentation relating to your transaction should have been retained by the mortgage broker. If this is not the case it is a clear breach of MCOB. Companies have been fined over £1m for such a failure and ordered to pay compensation.

• Read the FSA publication about Kensington.
• Read about the Mortgage regulations from the CML

Common areas of a mis-sold mortgage are when a self certification of income was accepted, in particular if you were employed. These are known as self cert mortgages and these are no longer available having been banned by the FSA.

Other areas of mis-sold mortgages include being offered an interest only mortgage beyond your retirement age with no consideration for how you were able to make repayments.

The affordability of a mortgage should always be taken into account by a lender, if this was not it may also mean you were mis-sold your mortgage as some lenders ignored other financial commitments such as unsecured borrowing, credit cards and other loans, these may have been sold with payment protection insurances (PPI) - another area you may be able to claim for compensation.

If you can answer yes to any of the criteria below, you may have been mis-sold a mortgage. If that is the case, complete our free, no-obligation mortgage claim enquiry to speak to a mortgage claims specialist about whether you have a case.

Were you:

• Not provided with the correct documentation by your mortgage broker - for example the Key Facts document
• Sold a self cert mortgage when you were employed
• Not informed about all the fees and charged correctly
• Exploited and sold a mortgage you could not afford
• Completed on a sub-prime mortgage when you qualified for a lower rate
• Encouraged to borrow more than you originally wanted to
• Advised to terminate a mortgage and charged fees for redemption
• Asked to take out a new mortgage with any conditional insurance such as Accident Sickness and Unemployment
• Encouraged to have a loan term beyond runs past your retirement
• Experiencing a large increase in repayments - payment shock

Mortgage rescue schemes, also called ‘sale and leaseback schemes’ and ‘buy and rent back schemes’, need careful consideration by the homeowner before any decisions are taken.

In some instances, mortgage rescue schemes could help homeowners to remain in their homes, but in the medium to long-term they could also create a number of problems.

There are a number of alternatives for homeowners who are only facing temporary financial difficulties, and debt advice services indicate that communication with the mortgage lender is the most appropriate step at this point.

A lot of mortgage lenders will negotiate in this situation, particularly with government pressure to help homeowners, and may provide reduced payments or payment holidays.

Mortgage rescue schemes vary considerably. Whilst some are run altruistically by not-for-profit agencies, others are run by private companies who aim to make a profit by encouraging homeowners to sign up.

Non-profit agencies that run mortgage rescue schemes may include councils. Companies offering mortgage rescue schemes may also include mortgage lenders.

For those mortgage rescue schemes run by local councils or housing associations, eligibility can come down to a number of factors.

For example, associations may be prepared to help those that are facing a large reduction in income or who have just fallen into arrears, or need to stay in an area for a particular reason. Eligibility for mortgage rescue schemes will depend on the provider.

House prices and the state of the property market have a close relationship with mortgage lending. Between the late 1990s and the mid 2000s, house prices soared in the UK, increasing dramatically both in property hotspots such as London and in many areas around the country.

This boom in the property market was accompanied by a period of cheap credit, lower interest rates and relaxed lending criteria.

Niche mortgage sectors such as adverse credit lending and buy to let also boomed in this period. However, this period of prosperity slowed when the global economic downturn and the credit crunch hit. The financial crisis was initially sparked by problems in the American sub-prime mortgage lending market.

During 2008, a tighter mortgage market appeared in which lending was more restricted. Poor economic performance coupled with soaring unemployment meant housing transactions fell as would-be homeowners were not willing to commit, leading to a fall in house prices.

In the year to April 2011, Halifax said house prices were down 3.7%. However, low interest rates mean mortgages are affordable and there are signs that house prices are stabilising.

In our House Prices guide, we look at:

• Negative Equity What negative equity is, how it affects your mortgage and finances, and how to avoid falling into negative equity.
• Dealing with Negative Equity Some experts have predicted that one in four borrowers may find themselves in negative equity.

If you're content where you are and have a small - or no - mortgage, then it doesn't really matter what price your house would command. But if you want to move, it does. And if you've got a large mortgage, then if the value of your house is less than the mortgage is for you'll find it very difficult to remortgage.

If you have a mortgage that's bigger than the value of the property is secured on then you are in negative equity. This means you have no equity - cash - in your home and actually, you owe your lender more than its value, as explained in the negative equity section.

Negative equity could eventually result in repossession. If you fall into negative equity and can no longer afford your mortgage repayments (for example, if you've lost your job or come to the end of a fixed rate deal and repayments have shot up) then you may end up in arrears. If the housing market is slow, you may not be able to sell your home and that could mean the lender repossesses it.

There is no better time to be seeking suitable mortgage advice from a Regulated mortgage advisor.

Submit your details today for an obligation-free chat and a regulated mortgage advisor will call you back to help you find the mortgage that best fits your needs.

If you have fallen into arrears with your monthly mortgage repayments, there is a real risk of repossession.

Repossession occurs when a mortgage lender reclaims a house and sells it to make back the money lent.

Borrowers face having their house repossessed if they miss mortgage repayments and cannot make up arrears.

In times of economic slowdown, vulnerable borrowers such as first-time buyers or sub-prime borrowers face a greater risk of repossession.

Repossession is a last resort for mortgage lenders, and the majority of mortgage arrears do not end up in repossession.

The lender typically reaches an agreement with the borrower to pay off money owing.

John Stepek of MoneyWeek speaking to BBC News 24 on February 8, 2008 about the rise of repossessions in 2007 and the sell-to-rent-back market.

Since then, it seems things may have gotten worse with the UK deep in recession.

Typically, repossession is carried out by the Bank or Building Society that offered the mortgage loan. When the loan falls more than two months into arrears, the lender has the right to seek repossession. However, usually at this point lenders pass the borrower to their debt recovery service. This agency will liaise with the borrower and agree a plan of action with the aim of avoiding court and repossession.

Usually, six months of arrears will result in a lender issuing a court action, but this varies between lenders. At this point, a summons is issued with a hearing date about a month ahead. At the hearing the lender puts forward a claim for possession. The borrower can still demonstrate ability to pay monthly instalments, and the court will usually issue a suspended possession order.

This is known as a Repayment Order, and although the lender has possession the borrower cannot be evicted whilst he or she meets repayments and arrears.

If an Order of Possession is made, or the borrower defaults on a suspended order, the lender will apply for the bailiff to attend and evict. The lender has to issue a Possession Warrant, which often takes 2-3 weeks.

The borrower has a final recourse of appeal, for if they are selling the house the Possession warrant can be suspended.

Mortgage arrears occur when a borrower cannot afford to meet mortgage repayments every month. Being in arrears is a tricky situation, because each month repayments are required and financial problems can swiftly arise.

As with any financial difficulty, communication between the mortgage lender and the borrower is essential. Consumers that contact their lender in advance of falling into arrears have the ability to jointly plan how to avoid payment difficulties before they occur. Mortgage lenders are interested in helping borrowers out of repayment difficulty, and are legally bound to consider your case and treat you fairly.

When a borrower is worried that they will fall into arrears and contacts their mortgage lender a plan of action should be agreed on. This type of payment arrangement will be designed to get the borrower out of payment difficulty, whilst ensuring the lender still receives payment. Each arrears case will be reviewed on an individual basis, with payment history and gravity of problem considered, and the lender may suggest one of the following solutions. All of these have financial implications.

• Lowering repayment levels for a certain period of time
• Switching your mortgage to interest only
• Providing a ‘payment holiday’
• Increasing mortgage term to spread out repayments over a longer period.

For those borrowers that are already in arrear, your mortgage lender should suggest a repayment plan to pay off the arrears alongside usual repayments. In some cases, if the borrower cannot manage this, the lender will allow a delay on these extra payments. This will depend on payment record.

A general rule of thumb when it comes to mortgage arrears is to pay as much as possible each month and keep up regular payments. A mortgage loan should be considered a priority, as failing to get out of arrears could lead to repossession of your home.

Mortgage protection insurance can help borrowers who fall into arrears because of sickness or unemployment, but the nature of the help will depend on the policy and the borrower. Some borrowers could be entitled to tax credits to aid their income.

For those in mortgage arrears, free and independent advice is provided on several fronts. These include the Citizens Advice Bureau, the National Debtline, the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) and community legal advice.

Freehold usually trumps leasehold for one major reason: control. As the owner, you can mostly do what you wish with your home provided you keep within local planning rules.

It is important to understand the difference between a freehold and leasehold property, and what rights and responsibilities owning a freehold property gives the buyer.

The freeholder owns the building and land outright, and has control over its maintenance and day-to-day running.

Freehold property means that the owner has complete and total ownership of the land, and all buildings that stand on the land.

A leaseholder on the other hand only purchases the right to live in the property for a set time –typically between 90 and 125 years. Leaseholders usually have to pay ground rent annually which is normally quite cheap and yearly service charges that can add up to thousands of pounds a year.

Freehold property is therefore generally more expensive than leasehold property – but if you buy leasehold, you have the right to buy the freehold further down the line.

The law gives a leaseholder two separate rights.

The first is the right to buy the freehold of a building, either individually if you own a leasehold house, or collectively in the case of a block of flats.

A group of leaseholders will need to meet certain requirements to purchase the freehold together.

The process is typically known as collective enfranchisement. Using this route, the group of leaseholders may form a company to purchase the property as a nominee.

Rules regarding the purchase of a leasehold property are subject to the terms of a law called The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act, 1993.

This act stipulates that a minimum of half of qualifying leaseholders have to participate in the scheme. Leaseholders usually qualify if they have owned their lease for two years and above.

Therefore, if you live in a building with two leasehold flats, both leaseholders need to participate in purchasing the freehold in order to apply.

If a leaseholder wants to buy the freehold of his house or simply to extend the lease, they need to have owned the property for at least two years at the date of making the claim. However, in an interesting quirk to the legislation, there is no such ownership requirement in the case of a collective enfranchisement claim.

When considering a new property you need to check whether the ones you are considering are leasehold or freehold. Many home buyers don’t understand what a leasehold is, how it works, the rights it gives and the responsibilities that it entails.

For those people who are buying, or looking at buying, a leasehold flat or house it is essential to know what owning a leasehold home entails. Flats are more often sold on a leasehold than houses.

Apart from the cost of buying your home, leaseholders will have to pay ground rent and service charges which includes building insurance.

Leasehold flats may be in purpose-built blocks, converted houses or part of commercial or retail premises. Leasehold houses are much rarer but are often in a street or development of houses which all come under the same freeholder. In the case of houses, many owners have since bought the freehold.

Leasehold ownership of a flat fundamentally means a long tenancy - the right to own, occupy and use a flat for a long period known as the 'term' of the lease.

This can be up to 999 years but can be just a few short years in some cases. Within that period, the flat can be bought and sold. From the outset of the lease, the term is fixed, and decreases every year. At the end of the lease, the flat is returned to the owner of the building. Look out for the terms 'long' lease and 'short' lease on the property details which refer to the number of years left on the lease.

Even though a leaseholder owns the property on a lease, the owner of the freehold retains ownership of the external and structural walls, as well as any common parts of the structure. The owner of the building is also responsible for the maintenance and repair of the building.

Leasehold properties may be owned by either individuals or companies, and sometimes by housing associations or local authorities.

Often, leaseholders get together to purchase the freehold of the building in which they live by creating a residents’ management company. At least half the leaseholders have to agree for you to be able to go ahead but if there are only two flats in the property – which is normally the case with a converted house – then both owners have to agree.

On the other hand, you can buy an extension to your lease which is often necessary once it falls beneath about 80 years. Whether buying the freehold or extending the lease, you will have to negotiate to agree a price.

In the eyes of the law, a lease refers to a specific contract that exists between the owner of a property and a leaseholder that provides the latter with conditional ownership for a fixed period of time.

Leases are extremely important documents, and both parties should keep a copy of the agreement and make sure that it is understood. Leases are usually worded in legal jargon so it's advisable to consult a lawyer or solicitor before going ahead with your purchase as they can sometimes contain unusual clauses.

Leases lay out the contractual obligations of both parties: the leaseholder and the freeholder. The lease sets out the leaseholder’s obligations as well as any restrictions and conditions regarding the property. Usually, the landlord is required to maintain and manage the structure of the property, as well the outside and any common areas.

Leaseholders may not be totally free to do what they wish with the leasehold property. The restrictions can be major or minor. For example, you may need permission from the freeholder before knocking down internal walls or having a pet. The conditions of the lease are intended to protect the rights of all those with an interest in the building.

When a flat is sold, the seller passes all the rights and responsibilities of the lease to the purchaser, including all future service charges.

The mortgage market changes all the time - interest rates fluctuate and mortgage lenders adjust their prices.

To avoid paying higher rates, many borrowers switch their mortgage, a relatively simple and cheap process that involves transferring from one mortgage loan to another.

If you are on a high interest rate, then it makes sense to at least look at re-mortgaging. Just remember to take into account any early redemption fees, possible legal expenses and arrangement and valuation fees that may apply.

Re-mortgaging is a legal process. Effectively, your lender owns your house with you. This means if you are swapping lenders, solicitors will need to be involved as the names on the deeds will change.

However, it should be a relatively simple process and shouldn't take more than a few weeks to complete.

With low interest rates, it makes sense to pay as little as possible on your mortgage.

If you're on a standard variable rate (SVR), then a fixed rate deal could cut your costs and give you the advantage of knowing how much you'll pay during that period.

Don't switch if the costs of doing so will outweigh the advantages of being on a lower rate.

Even if your would-be new lender is paying your valuation and legal fees, if you're going onto anything other than a standard variable rate then it's likely that you're going to pay an arrangement fee.

And if it's a fixed or special deal mortgage you're planning to escape from, you're likely to have to pay hefty early redemption charges which could easily mean a four-figure bill.

There's no point in doing that unless you'll quickly get those fees back from paying a lower rate. And that's only likely if you have a large mortgage and there's a big difference between the rate you're on and the one you want to move to.

If your current mortgage is for more than your home's value (in other words, you're in negative equity) you're going to find it hard to re-mortgage. If you're behind with your payments, then it not be feasible.

If you've changed jobs recently and gone self-employed, you might find it hard to switch until you've got established accounts.

And if you've got structural problems with your house (such as subsidence) it will be hard to switch lenders.

Here are guides to the options open to you:

Fixed rate mortgage: Switching to a fixed rate mortgage means fixed monthly repayments for an agreed period.

Tracker mortgage: Switching to a tracker mortgage means that the mortgage rate is aligned to a set benchmark rate, such as the Bank of England base rate. This means that repayments can go up or down.

Variable rate mortgage: Switching to a variable rate mortgage means that the rate can move up or down in line with the Lender’s standard variable rate.

Discounted rate mortgage: Switching to a discounted variable rate mortgage means that the borrower pays a discounted rate for a certain period of time.

The difference between the most competitive mortgage deal and the average mortgage lender standard variable rate could be hundreds of pounds each month.

Thousands of mortgage borrowers throughout the UK let their deal expire and pay over the odds for no reason.

That's why we created the Mortgage Renewal Reminder Service. We believe all people should be treated fairly - so we're helping to ensure our users aren't stung by huge costs once their mortgage deal expires. This is a completely free service.

For example, a borrower on a two-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.5% could find themselves paying a lender SVR of 7% or more if they let their deal expire without looking for a re-mortgage. Similarly, a borrower on a tracker mortgage that has followed rate cuts could be faced with an uncompetitive mortgage when their deal ends.

With a repayment mortgage, you pay back both the amount you originally borrowed and the interest.

With an interest-only mortgage, you just pay interest. And because you are only paying back interest, the monthly payments are lower than on repayment mortgages.

However, if you've got an interest-only loan, remember that once the mortgage matures you'll still have to pay back the original amount you borrowed.

It's a good idea to have a plan as to how you'll do this when you take out the mortgage: Consider monthly payments into an ISA, which - if invested sensibly - should grow by enough over the term of the mortgage to repay it.

However, there are no guarantees this will happen. Whereas with a repayment mortgage, you know that as long as you keep up payments, your mortgage will be paid off at the end of the term.

Millions of homeowners have them, and many do not have any repayment vehicles in place to repay the principle.

This is worrying regulators and lenders, and many now are demanding borrowers show they have a repayment plan before they will advance interest-only loans.

Interest-only may be more expensive in the short-term, but unless you are in a financial fix, have substantial savings or have a good repayment plan in place, the repayment route is preferable.

The majority of homeowners and tenants think that home insurance is an unnecessary luxury, and it is estimated that 25 per cent of households in the UK are actually not protected by any type of household insurance. However, home insurance should be viewed as an essential, in order to protect against unhappiness and financial loss related to buildings and contents.

Homeowners should insure all of their buildings and their contents, and tenants should be looking for a contents-only policy (responsibility for the structure usually lies with the landlord.) Landlords should perhaps consider specialist landlord policies, and should certainly insure their properties.

Life insurance, for all the complex types of cover and policies, may simply be defined as a written contract between an individual or individuals and an insurance company, whereby the insurance company pays out (in return for premiums) in the event of a death or deaths.

Life insurance, or assurance, is a policy provided by an insurer that will pay the beneficiaries of the policy a lump sum or a series of instalments in the event of your death. Having a comprehensive life assurance policy gives you the knowledge that should you meet an untimely end your family will at least receive some kind of financial compensation. When it comes to different life insurance policies, there is a huge variety on offer in the UK, and getting a life insurance quote online has never been easier.

Some policies will guarantee to payout, whereas other policies may expire at a agreed upon time. You should choose cover to suit your requirements, and carefully inspect the wording of the policy to make sure that you choose the right one before getting a life insurance quote.

Formally, the Government introduced HIPS (Home Information Packs) to improve the process of buying and selling a property. The start date was 1st August 2007 for properties with four bedrooms or more.

The new measures should have come into affect on the 1st June 2007, by which time all people wishing to sell a property would need a home information pack before putting their house up for sale.

However, the Government postponed the phasing in of Home Information Packs (including Energy Performance Certificates) until 1st August 2007.

From 14th December 2007, all homes for sale on the UK market, regardless of how big or small, must have a Home Information Pack. Home Information Packs collect all relevant information that enables the house buying process to be safer, easier, and faster. HIPS bring together evidence of title, and energy performance certificate, local searches and a sale statement. Home buyers have the right to see a pack, and home sellers are obligated to provide one.

A Home Information Pack more or less provides a homebuyer with the information he or she needs, right from the start, in a clear and digestible format.

Ruth Kelly, speaking on the issue, said that: “Home Information Packs will bring together all the information people need to buy and sell a home, to help them make informed decisions about what is probably the most expensive purchase of their lives. The Packs will especially help first time buyers as they receive the packs for free.

Now you have your mortgage straightened out and have bought your house, you really need to create a will due to your recent increase in assets. Here are 4 reasons why you should write a will.

When your making a Will, you choose who and how your estate is shared, not the government. You can also avoid paying as much inheritance tax.

If you do not make a Will, depending on your worth, your partner could end up sharing your estate with your children or your parents!

When you make a Will, your children under 18 will be looked after by guardians you have chosen, not someone chosen by the courts.

Without a Will, an unmarried partner would otherwise get nothing and it could all go to the state.

We recommend that you have someone come to your home and discuss all the options available to you. They will be able to explain to you about;

• Making a will
• Why you should make a will
• Property Inheritance Tax
• Lifetime Beneficiary Protection
• Estate Preservation Programme

Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance (MPPI) is a product designed to cover the risk represented by a mortgage loan.

Mortgages, although a fact of everyday life for the vast majority of people, do constitute a major debt. Consumers who have a mortgage will not always have the resources to cover their loan repayments in the event of an interruption to their income for any reason.

The reasons for needing mortgage payment protection insurance include redundancy, accident or illness. The balance between covering all expenses and not being able to afford your mortgage could be caused by a simple stroke of bad luck. Not having an insurance policy in place to cover your mortgage could result in your home being repossessed. Mortgage payment protection insurance protects against this eventuality.

A mortgage payment protection insurance policy can be taken out in order to cover the outgoings of a borrower for an extended period – usually up to 12 months – in the event of them being unable to work due to health reasons or being made redundant. In theory, this makes MPPI a straightforward and vital product that every borrower needs.

However, the cost of this type of insurance varied enormously between specialist mortgage payment protection insurance companies and major banks and building societies. Many borrowers have simply taken the first MPPI product offered, unaware that they are paying over the odds for their policy.

If you're buying a home, you'll need a survey - but what type?

If you need a mortgage, your lender will expect you to have at least a basic valuation survey. Here's what the different types of survey consist of: Mortgage valuation survey

A valuation survey will be demanded by your mortgage lender so it can find out how much the property on which they are lending money is worth.

Such a survey will typically cost the homebuyer £100-£200; and some mortgage deals come with free valuation surveys.

A valuation survey does not go into detail about the structural condition of the property, or its state.

Structural problems may go totally overlooked, and a mortgage valuation alone, although relied on by many borrowers, is often insufficient to establish the state of a property. Homebuyer’s survey

This is the next level up and it will cost a lot more: Typically £300-£500.

A homebuyer’s survey does not cover wiring, drainage or gas fittings, and is normally most suitable for those properties that are under 150 years old and are already in a reasonable condition.

You can often arrange for the surveyor that carries out the valuation survey to do a homebuyer's report at the same time, saving you money. Comprehensive building survey

Also known as a structural survey, this is the top of the range survey and will cost perhaps double that of a homebuyer's survey.

It will look closely at the structure, and is a good idea for older properties and those that require complete renovation (or that have already been subject to complete renovation).

Some building surveys come with mortgage valuation surveys included in the price

Moving house is both thrilling and frightening. But if you plan your move in advance, you'll cut back on the stress involved.

We’ve divided moving times up into when you find a home and your offer is accepted, and then the weeks and days instantaneously preceding your move.

• As soon as your offer for a property is accepted - and, if you're selling, once you've accepted an offer - you need to get a solicitor to do your conveyancing.
• You're then likely to have two to three months before you actually move in: The legal searches take a while, the money has to be forwarded by the mortgage lenders involved, and everyone in the chain has to be ready to complete on the same day.
• Once you've exchanged contracts, then completion could take place within a couple of days and certainly within a couple of weeks.
• Make an appointment with the estate agent responsible for the property you're buying.
• You'll want to visit your soon-to-be new home to work out where you're going to put your possessions, so take a measuring tape and pen and paper so you can make floor plans.
• Also double check what's being left by the vendors, such as curtains and appliances.

What to do three weeks before moving house?

• Start inquiring about removal options. Get quotes from a wide range of companies and don't necessarily pick the cheapest.
• You'll pay more if you want the removal men to pack your stuff, but it's often worth it if you have a lot of possessions.
• If you're doing your own removal, arrange a van hire and get packaging materials together.
• You'll need to transfer your phone, broadband and utilities to your new home. If you're not moving around the corner, you might have to find the new supplier: The details supplied by the vendors should tell you who their suppliers are.
• Remember that with water and sewerage, you have to go with the company or companies supplying the area your new home is in: There's no shopping around here.
• Contact your council and tell them your moving date. And contact your new council too: You've got to pay them council tax.
• If you have children who will be swapping schools, tell their current school they are moving and make sure their new school knows when to expect them.

What to do two weeks before moving house?

• Exchange of contracts should be about to happen: So you know you're finally moving!
• Once contracts have been exchanged, if you back out you'll have to pay your vendor 10%: As a result, very few deals fail after exchange and indeed, only a few collapse on the days leading up to exchange.
• As you've now got a moving date, tell your removal company.
• Arrange mail re-direction, so your post will arrive at your new home.
• However, do also try to tell companies before you go. Write a normal letter and just fill in the company details and any customer number you have.
• You can then tell all your banks, TV licensing, HM Revenue & Customs, DVLA, credit card companies and others of your new home.
• Many will demand you put this in writing, but some will accept an email detailing your new address.
• Also register your change of address to allow you to vote.
• You'll need to insure your new home and stop the insurance on your current home. Contact your insurer now - and look around for a good deal on cover for your new home.
• Double check the final moving date. Remember completion days can slip a few days, but by the time exchange of contracts is imminent - which it should be by now - you should have a set date.

What to do one week before moving house?

• Make final checks: Have you told everyone you need to talk to about the move?
• Remind the removal company about the removal date. You will usually have to have paid them by now.
• Check with your estate agents what will happen about collecting keys for your new home and handing over the keys on your old home.

What to do the day before you move house?

• Defrost your fridge if you’re taking it with you.
• Pack a box of essential items for the move: Overnight clothes, toys for the children, identification documents and so on. Remember to put the kettle, mugs and pint of milk in there in the morning!

What to do on the day you move?

• Read your gas, electricity and water meters and phone readings into your suppliers.
• Once your removal men have cleared the house, check nothing has been forgotten, then lock the house up and do whatever's been arranged with the key.
• You now need to wait for your solicitor to tell you that your sale has gone through - and that the money for your purchase has been forwarded to your vendor's solicitor.
• That's called completion and once that's happened, you can pick up the keys for your new home.
• When you are in your new home, ring through meter readings to your new water, gas and electricity suppliers.

Numerous people who take out mortgages are unaware of the myriad of fees and costs involved, whether buying or re-mortgaging.

This guide outlines the key fees and costs attached to a mortgage loan.

Stamp duty is the cost most mortgage borrowers are aware of.

These are the fees levied on mortgage deals. On some fixed rate deals, arrangement fees can be £1,000 or even more.

Some lenders offer what seem like very low interest rates - but then load the deal with high arrangement fees.

Typically speaking, if you have a large mortgage then it may be worth paying a high fee to get a low interest rate.

Borrowers who use mortgage brokers to find the most suitable mortgage loan on the market may face a broker fee.

The stage at which this repayment is due depends on the mortgage broker. For example, some brokers charge a fee whether a mortgage is secured or not.

Many brokers get commission from mortgage lenders, known as procuration fees. This can offset the fee for broker services.

Brokers are required by law to disclose all fees. You may need a broker if you have special needs - such as a poor credit record - or just need help getting the best deal.

Sometimes brokers can get deals which aren't on the open market, while some deals are only available directly from lenders (not through brokers).

Mortgage indemnity insurance is also known as a mortgage indemnity guarantee, or a higher lending charge.

It aims to protect the mortgage lender in the event of a borrower missing a mortgage payment or falling into arrears. It does NOT cover the homebuyer, even though he or she is the one paying for it.

In more recent years, few lenders implement these charges - although if you borrow a high loan to value (LTV) you might have to pay one. Not only are high LTV mortgages not readily available, but lenders charge higher interest rates than on low LTV mortgages.

A mortgage lender will want to know the property they are providing a mortgage for is worth the money it is putting up. It will find this out by demanding a homebuyer has a mortgage valuation survey done.

This will usually cost £100-£200, though some lenders will pay for the survey as part of the mortgage deal.

Most mortgage lenders have now moved to reduce or completely remove exit fees from the mortgage loan process.

This follows Financial Services Authority (FSA) scrutiny and recommendation, and the refunding of millions of pounds worth of unfair exit fees to borrowers in recent years.

Some lenders were charging over £300 simply to wind up their mortgage. The FSA ruled that this was unfair, particularly if nothing was mentioned about it in the original mortgage contract.

In response to scrapping exit fees, many mortgage lenders are raising their arrangement fees.

Some lenders charge completion fees, although these are less common than arrangement fees.

Completion fees are usually charged on the day that the borrower moves into their new home, and are generally £200-£400.

It is rare that a lender will charge both arrangement and completion fees, but it does happen.

There are a variety of other hidden fees and charges that some lenders levy against mortgage borrowers. Some lenders roll a lot of these charges up into administration and arrangement fees.

The list below is by no means complete, but could help borrowers understand what to look out for in the small print.

• Certificate of interest paid
• Consent to change of borrower priority
• Consent to second charge
• Data Protection Act
• Deeds access
• Deeds safe scheme - property insurance
• Direct debit reject/returned cheque/rejected debit card payment charge
• Duplicate statements
• Extend/reduce mortgage term
• Information request from title deeds
• Legal document approval charge
• Lender’s reference charge
• Mortgage account illustration fee
• Mortgage discharge fee
• Mortgage product transfer fee
• Notification of a lapsed/unpaid life policy
• Photocopies of deeds/documents
• Property insurance substitution charge
• Property self-insurance administration charge
• Property self-insurance contingency insurance charge
• Questionnaire charge
• Repayment basis charge
• Revaluation charge
• Sale of part security
• Special clearance of a cheque
• Substitution of a life policy
• Surrender/release of a life policy
• Tenancy consent
• Title conversion freehold/commonhold/leasehold
• Transfer of equity charge
• Unpaid ground rent/management fees/maintenance charges
• Arrears administration charge
• Arrears administration charge (monthly)

Mortgage interest rates are closely associated with decisions made in the wider economy - specifically, decisions taken by the Bank of England.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee sets the base rate every month which is the bench mark for lenders and other financial institutions when setting their interest rates.

This is slightly over simplified, as banks have a rate they use when lending to each other known as Libor and the money markets have rates they fix for longer-term lending known as swap rates, which effect fixed-rate mortgages.

The Bank of England changes the base rate in order to try to control inflation within the UK economy.

When the base rate drops, there are a variety of knock-on effects on consumers. For example:

• A reduction in interest rates makes borrowing more attractive, and stimulates the population to spend more.
• It is also likely to reduce monthly mortgage repayments (see below).
• On the downside, a drop in interest rates is likely to reduce people's income from savings.

Changes in the base rate will have a knock-on effect on your mortgage interest rate - either immediately or in the future. Each type of mortgage deal will be affected by base rate changes in a different way.

Fixed rate mortgage deals have rates that are set for between two to five years typically, though they can be longer.

This means that you are locked into that rate for that length of time so it won’t change immediately when the base rate is altered. The benefits of this is that it gives you certainty for the time of your fix but you could miss out if base rates drop during that time.

Of course, any base rate change does affect the interest rates offered on new fixed rate deals.

In contrast, tracker mortgage rates aren't fixed, but usually have interest rates directly related to the Bank of England base rate.

(Tracker rates can be capped so that they never go above a certain rate agreed at the outset. Alternatively, it can have a collar meaning it can't drop below a certain level, but these are rarer).

This means that if you have a tracker deal and the base rate goes up, the interest rate on your mortgage is also likely to go up immediately.

And in contrast, if interest rates are falling, it can make financial sense to opt for a tracker rather than a fixed deal.

Every mortgage lender has a Standard Variable Rate (SVR) for its mortgages - which it sets itself.

The majority of a lender's mortgage deals will be linked to the SVR in some way. For instance, a discount variable rate mortgage is usually a lender's SVR minus or plus a pre-set percentage.

When a particular mortgage deal comes to an end, the chances are that you will end up on your lender's SVR, unless you actively switch to a new deal.

In practice, a lender's SVR is usually the base rate plus an extra percentage (added to ensure the lender makes a profit). That means if the base rate rises, SVRs will typically follow suit quite soon afterwards.

An offset mortgage allows you to use your savings and current account credit balances to offset some of your mortgage.

For instance, if you owe £150,000 on your mortgage and have £30,000 in savings, offsetting will allow you to effectively reduce your mortgage balance to £120,000. But you won’t earn any interest on the savings used to offset your home loan.

The main advantage of offsetting relates to the amount of interest you pay: In a nutshell, you won't have to pay any interest on the offset portion (in the example above, £30,000).

And by paying less interest in this way, you should be able to pay off your mortgage more quickly.

This interest rate guide explains how interest rates work, how your loan will be affected when interest rates go up and down, and what you should do about it.

Home Ownership Plans are a small but emerging niche in the mortgage market.

In a climate of increasing affordability problems, particularly for first-time buyers, home ownership plans are a shared equity solution that could enable the borrower to genuinely afford more.

Home Ownership Plans are similar to shared ownership mortgages in that they provide assistance to buyers who might otherwise not be able to get onto the property ladder.

Shared ownership allows a first-time buyer to purchase a property with between 25-75 per cent mortgage. The remaining equity in the property is rented from a housing association.

Where Home Ownership Plans differ is that the borrower buys 100 per cent of the property.

Home ownership plans (HOPS) have two components. The first is a standardized mortgage loan charged at a competitive interest rate. The second is a Residential Ownership Loan. The levels of each depend on the salary and deposit that the buyer has, but a usual split is 65 per cent mortgages, 35 per cent ROL. Residential Ownership Loans are charged at a very low rate of interest, and on a fixed rate.

Although the borrower has to take out a separate loan to afford the Residential Ownership Loan, this provides a massively increased buying power. For instance, borrowers with a home ownership plan can afford significantly more than their money would otherwise allow them. This could make all the difference between a one and two bedroom flat. As well as allowing the borrower to possibly live in a much nicer house, a home ownership plan may also cut down on the need to move, saving the borrower lots of money and time.

Home Ownership Plans (HOP) are a completely new form of mortgage solution that allows the borrower to buy property above the value that they could afford with a standard mortgage, particularly in a climate of high interest rates.

Many people are eligible for a home ownership plan, and anyone can apply. The amount of loan that can be offered will depend on how credit-worthy the applicant is and how affordable repayments are. Home Ownership Plans are available for first-time buyers and existing home owners who wish to move. HOPs are available for both single and joint applicants. Any adverse credit will affect home loans, and the affordability assessment takes into account any other loans outstanding.

The residential ownership loan (ROL) is designed to fund a percentage of the purchase price of the property. This loan is repaid with the same percentage of the sale proceeds when the property is sold on. The ROL attracts an extremely low rate of interest. The maximum ROL is 35 per cent of the value of the property, normally repaid at 2.99 per cent. The ROL can be repaid at any time.

Currently, a maximum of 97 per cent of property value can be borrowed. This means that borrowers needs to find a 3 per cent deposit, as well as funds to cover stamp duty, application fees and solicitors fees.

Generally, the maximum amount that can be borrowed will be equal to around 6 times applicants gross annual income, or combined income if there is more than one applicant.

Home Ownership Plans are a very flexible mortgage loan product, giving borrowers the possibility of partial redemption, portability to another property within normal lending criteria, and potential further advances.

Mortgages are generally fixed-rate and competitive, with a fixed deal lasting for the first three years. Standard loans are possible between 15-35 years, with 25 years the standard dependant on age and circumstance.

No, HOP is available to borrowers as their main residence only.

HOPs have a limited amount of restrictions on the type of property that can be bought.

HomeBuy programmes are government schemes run by authorised agents. They're designed to make it financially easier for certain people to buy homes. In London, HomeBuy is known as First Steps.

Under several of these schemes, people working in certain public sector professions - known as key workers - may be eligible for assistance.

Under the current system, the following categories of people are classified as key workers (at least one member of your household needs to be working in one of these roles):

• Clinical NHS staff (excluding doctors and dentists);
• Teachers and nursery nurses, either in schools, sixth form colleges or further education;
• Police officers, community support officers and some civilian staff;
• Prison officers and some other prison staff;
• Probation Service staff;
• Local authority planners;
• Firefighters and certain other staff in Fire and Rescue Services;
• Connexions personal advisors if employed by a local authority or a Connexions partnership;
• Armed Forces personnel, Ministry of Defence clinical staff, Ministry of Defence police officers and uniformed staff in the Fire and Defence Service;
• Qualified environmental health officers/practitioners working in a local authority, government agency, the NHS or other public sector agencies;
• Highways Agency staff in certain safety roles in the traffic officer service;
• Social workers, nursery nurses, educational psychologists and therapists employed by local authorities, the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service or the NHS.

To be suitable for help from a HomeBuy scheme, key workers also need to fit at least one of the following criteria:

• Have a household income no greater than £60,000 a year;
• Be a first-time buyer;
• Be unable to otherwise afford a property that meets your household's needs;
• Be a homeowner who needs to buy a bigger property to meet your household's needs, but cannot otherwise afford to.

There are also a wide range of initiatives to give financial help to non-key workers buying homes.

New build
There are two types of HomeBuy schemes available to people wanting to buy newly-built homes:

• Equity loan: Through this system, you can apply for a loan towards the price of a home, and this loan will have no charges attached for five years.
• Shared ownership: This is when you buy a percentage of a home (and take out an appropriate mortgage) and pay rent on the remaining proportion.

You can then pay more money when you can afford it, to work your way towards gaining full ownership of your home.

There's also a HomeBuy scheme explicitly aimed at older people: Shared Ownership for the Elderly.

Essentially, this works like a regular shared ownership scheme, but is only open to people aged 55 or over - and you can only buy up to 75% of your home.

Once you own that percentage, you don't have to pay any rent on the remaining share.

Home Ownership for People with Long Term Disabilities (HOLD) is a scheme that allows disabled people to buy any home that is for sale on a shared ownership basis.

You can only apply to own a property via HOLD if no other HomeBuy schemes meet your specific needs.

Finally, there are three specific HomeBuy schemes for council and housing association tenants:

• Right to Buy: This gives certain council tenants the right to buy the homes they rent.
• Right to Acquire: This gives certain housing association tenants the right to buy the homes they rent.
• Social HomeBuy: This gives certain tenants in both of the above categories the opportunity to buy a share in their homes.

All three schemes are run by either councils or housing associations.

When you re-mortgage, you are switching your home loan to another mortgage deal and often to a new lender. Or you may be re-mortgaging in order to take out a bigger mortgage to cover home improvements or another large bill.

It's often a way to settle debts with a far higher interest, but do take care that you don't end up continually using the value of your home to cover short-term spending such as credit card bills. Also, those who've paid off most of their mortgage, sometime re-mortgage to make a major purchase.

If your current deal is reaching expiration, search the market to see if there is another attractive deal out there for you. Remember to start looking early - you can generally reserve a rate between three and six months in advance.

Re-mortgaging is something that almost all mortgage borrowers have to do, apart from those with enough money to pay off the entire loan, or borrowers who choose long-term fixed-rate mortgages.

The process ispretty straighforward, and many borrowers re-mortgage once every couple of years to get the best rates. Typical examples include a two-year fixed-rate mortgage or a three-year tracker mortgage.

Those who re-mortgage regularly to the cheapest deals are likely to spend less on interest over the life of their home loans compared to those who allow their mortgage to revert to standard variable rates (SVR) – usually considerably higher than special deals. An odd quirk of the credit crunch has been that some SVR's have been good deals, but once the base rate starts rising off its historically low level of 0.5% this will change.

Mortgages for people with poor credit ratings are known as sub-prime mortgages.

These were a huge cause of the credit crunch, which began in the US in 2007.

When mortgage holders with poor credit stopped being able to keep up with their mortgage payments, many lenders specialising in sub-prime mortgages collapsed.

In the UK, mortgage providers have generally stopped providing this sort of mortgage.

In fact, numerous have tightened up their lending criteria to such an extent that it's now difficult for potential home buyers to get mortgages without decent credit ratings and large deposits.

If you are looking for a mortgage of over £250,000 there may be many problems you encounter. Most high street mortgage lenders are not used to dealing with large mortgages, and often have a mortgage limit of £250,000. For this reason we aim to cater for people who are seeking a much more subsatntial mortgage.

High-street banks often charge greater interest rates if you are wishing to borrow over £250,000, and may also encounter problems when it comes to dealing with a more complex income, for example; the average person usually has only one salary for the lender to take into consideration, we understand that wealthier individuals, may also have extra sources of incomes, by the way of various investments such as stocks and shares.

For your peace of mind the advice you will receive via this site, will take all you incoming (and outgoing) money into consideration. You will not be penalised for wishing to take out a larger mortgage, hence improving your lifestyle, as many lenders would simply because you have more capital.

A commercial mortgage is possibly the most effective way to finance the purchase of buildings and land for business purposes, as it provides the most flexible and affordable finance solution.

Commercial mortgages are specialised because the lender has a legal claim over the property until the loan has been repaid in full.

This type of mortgage can be used for purchasing any commercial property used for business purposes, including shops, factories, offices and warehouses.

Commercial mortgages can also be used for taking over existing businesses, purchasing brand new buildings or buying land.

Even though they often come with higher interest rates and more variables than residential mortgages, commercial mortgages are more flexible and can carry extra incentives for borrowers.

A mortgage is a sum of money borrowed from a bank or building society for the purchase of property. It is paid back over an agreed period of time - 25 years is the standard period.

Taking out a mortgage on an overseas property is similar in many ways to a mortgage you would take out when purchasing property in the UK.

However, there may be different taxation levels, fees or restrictions to consider when purchasing abroad.

Past financial difficulties can affect your borrowing today. If you've got a poor credit rating from missing a debt repayment in the past, it could mean it's harder for you to get a mortgage.

This can seem unfair when your current financial situation means you've no outstanding debts.

But lenders need to be cautious, especially in the current difficult economic situation, and if they see you've had problems in the past they might well consider you too high a risk to lend money to.

Some lenders may automatically decline an application from someone with a poor credit rating.

The rejection itself may then in turn be recorded as part of the credit rating - which can then make it even more difficult to secure a loan or a mortgage in the future.

If you have a black mark against you, first make sure it's accurate - get a copy of your credit record from one of the agencies to check.

Assuming it is, getting a mortgage you will probably need the help of a specialist broker.

A mortgage lender is a financial institution such as a bank or building society that lends money to people buying a property. There is a wide array of options for prospective homebuyers when it comes to choosing a lender, so here is a useful directory to help steer you towards the right deal.

We cover over 100 mortgage lenders, discussing their services, what they offer and who they offer their mortgage deals to. You can browse lender profiles and view the current mortgage deals from most of these lenders.

The mortgages today are available either on a repayment or an interest only basis or sometimes a combination of the two.

A repayment mortgage may appear to cost more than an interest only mortgage however repayments will cover both the interest on the loan and eat into the capital borrowed at the same time. A repayment mortgage does give the peace of mind that it will be fully repaid at the end of the term.

An interest only mortgage on the other hand means that repayments to the lender cover only the interest charged on the loan while a separate savings or investment scheme is set up intended to pay off the capital amount of the debt at the end of the term. The capital amount never changes during the term and it is the responsibility of the home-owner to ensure that their investment is sufficient to pay off the mortgage.

Interest only mortgages were extremely popular in the 1980s and 1990s and huge numbers of investment schemes were set up to pay off these loans. Today however, repayment mortgages being sold are beginning to outnumber interest only mortgages due to poor returns experienced by investment holders.

Interest only mortgages were very popular in the 1980s and 1990s and huge numbers of investment schemes were set up to pay off these loans. These days however, repayment mortgages being sold are beginning to outnumber interest only mortgages due to poor returns experienced by investment holders.

Interest only mortgages were sometimes linked to pension schemes or Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) but the most common investment 'vehicle' set up to cover the capital debt for interest only mortgages were endowments.

On the up side, endowments provided an investment which included an element of life cover so the debt would be covered in the event of death before the end of the term. They also appealed for their tax-free premiums (the tax incentives no longer apply) and a bonus on maturity. Their shortcoming however, lay in dependence on volatile stock markets and inflation and it is thought that as many as 5 million endowments were sold which will not be adequate to cover the related mortgage at the end of the term.

In the today’s current society, four out of ten married couples divorce. This is one of the most difficult and stressful situations a couple may face, particularly if they have children.

However difficult things may be, one of the most important priorities should be to ensure that mortgage repayments are maintained. Otherwise, this could lead to further financial problems in the future.

Contact your mortgage lender: Remember that many others have been through the same thing, and lenders will be sympathetic as long as they are kept informed of events.

A married couple usually jointly own a property as a whole - so in the event of separation or divorce, they each have the right to claim a share of the home.

If one person wants to remain in the house they bought together, they can buy their partner's share.

First, a surveyor will need to give a valuation. The buyer would then pay their former partner half the value of the deposit, plus half the increase in the value of the house. The remaining partner would then cover the mortgage on his or her own.

Always seek to gain legal advice in these conditions - and you'll probably need a mortgage broker if you want maintenance payments to be taken into account for your home loan.

Pension linked mortgages are one form of interest-only mortgage. With a pension-linked mortgage, the borrower usually pays a monthly contribution into a pension fund, and pays premiums to a life assurance scheme. When the borrower reaches retirement, the cash lump sum repays the outstanding balance on the mortgage.

Taking out a pension-linked mortgage can be tremendously tax efficient, and this is their main advantage. The pension holder is eligible for tax relief on both pension premiums and life assurance included in the pension. Any capital gains from investing the contributions are also likely to be tax-free. However, without an understanding of the pensions market or the guidance of a professional in this field, pension-linked mortgages can be complicated and hard to negotiate.

In the past, pension-linked mortgages have only been suitable for high earners on large annual wages. Pension-linked mortgages do have many disadvantages. For instance, you will gain less upon your retirement. The benefits for yourself and your dependents could be lessened if a lump sum is used to pay off the mortgage.

Pension-linked mortgages need careful monitoring to make sure that the mortgage can be repaid and ample funds for retirement remain. The charges for pensions have been high in the past, although they are decreasing. Furthermore, the high premiums and inflexibility of pension-linked mortgages may put many borrowers off.

For pension information, personal pensions, stakeholder pensions, self invested personal pensions.

A lot of UK lenders used to offer products specifically tailored for those consumers with low credit ratings. Collectively, this group of products is referred to as sub-prime mortgages, and also sometimes ‘credit repair’ or ‘non conforming’ mortgages.

However, since the credit crunch such loans have largely evapourated. Mortgages of this type are too high risk for most lenders in the current climate since they are more likely to go into arrears than others. The bundling of sub-prime loans into securities is largely to blame for the credit crunch in the USA.

If you have been declared bankrupt or have entered into an IVA (individual voluntary arrangement) because your debts are out of control, then you're not going to be able to take out a new mortgage easily, if at all. Seek the help of a free debt counselling service (don't be swayed by the fee-charging companies) and sort out your debt problems. Once you have shown that you can handle your finances for a while, you can try again to get a mortgage – by then, the financial climate may have changed enough that the sub-prime market revives.

Bankruptcy is an order made under the Insolvency Act of 1986 against an individual debtor who is unable to pay their debts. Once bankrupt, the debtor is subject to certain terms and restrictions, until they are ‘discharged from bankruptcy’ which will usually happen after 12 months provided creditors are satisfied.

Bankruptcy is rightly viewed as a major financial catastrophe for the individual involved. A person facing bankruptcy also faces serious implications. Bankrupts are barred from some jobs, need court permission for others, may lose possessions if an official receiver sells them and are essentially barred from taking out credit for six years as the bankruptcy stays on their credit file for this time.

Although there are a few lenders which will look into someone who has been bankrupt - any loans will be charged at astronomical interest rates as they are viewed as exceptionally high risk. And there may be heavy conditions and restrictions applied to any credit.

An IVA, like bankruptcy, is a formal insolvency procedure. An IVA enables the debtor to pay off the whole of their debt or a part of it over a period of time provided a majority of their creditors agree to allow them to enter into an IVA. Rather than suffering the stigma of bankruptcy, the debtor works closely with their creditors to work out an affordable repayment plan.

In the UK, homeowners working through an IVA are often in a position to keep their homes, but in many instances the creditors will impose conditions on how the equity is to be paid back. For instance, in many IVA cases, a clause will be built into the loan that stipulates that your house must be valued after a certain period of time and a percentage of the equity paid to the creditors.

When it comes to poor credit, many brokers offer specialised quotes and advice but these options have largely disappeared as the economy has worsened and property prices have fallen.

It's a type of loan which homeowners can take out to solve temporary cash problems.

For instance, if you want to move but you need to complete on your purchase before your sale has gone through, you can take a loan to cover you to bridge the gap.

A bridging loan is a loan generally taken out as an immediate source of a large sum of money, often to cover the costs of purchasing a property.

Bridging loans are usually repaid within half a year of being taken out, though it is often less.

Not quite. Because of the extra risks, bridging loans will be more expensive - typically around 1% a month at least.

Only ever take out a bridging loan if you know you won't need the money for long - otherwise the expense will be ridiculously high.

There are specialist bridging loan providers - and just as with ordinary mortgages, they will need to be convinced you're not overstretching yourself.

Bridging loans are the last resort: Don't take one out unless you really can't avoid it. If you are in a property chain which you don't want to break then they can work - but do get legal advice first.

For example, they could work if there is a few days' delay between completion on your purchase and on your sale. However, they must not be used to prop up a chain which has no certainty of being completed.

If you default on a bridging loan, you may be in trouble on both your properties as the bridging loan lender may take both as security.

You can get a 'closed' or 'open' bridge. A closed bridge is for homebuyers who have previously exchanged on the sale of their existing property.

Only a tiny number of sales fall through after exchange, so lenders are happy to offer closed-bridge financing.

An 'open' bridge is for buyers who have found a home to buy but haven't sold their home and are thus more risky. Lenders will usually put a 12 month limit on bridging loans of this type.

If you can't sell but are adamant that you want to move, why not let your current home instead? Rental payments should be sufficient to cover the mortgage.

Keep in mind that you have to tell your lender if you're letting a property - and also that you'll need to insure the home and get decent tenants.

US Mortgages International Mortgages from mortgage information in the UK. The huge range of information we provide here means that it is inevitable that not all our visitors will be from the UK..

If you require a mortgage of over £250,000 there may be a variety of problems you may encounter. Most high street mortgage lenders are not used to dealing with large mortgages, and often have a mortgage limit of £250,000. For this reason we aim to cater for people who are seeking a much larger mortgage.

Here at Mortgages.co.uk we have a specialist panel of lenders for people who are looking for a UK mortgage for over £250,000.

High-street banks often charge greater interest rates if you are wishing to borrow over £250,000, and may also encounter problems when it comes to dealing with a more complex income, for example; the typical person usually has only one salary for the lender to take into consideration, we understand that wealthier individuals, may also have extra sources of incomes, by the way of various investments such as stocks and shares.

For your peace of mind the advice you will receive via this site, will take all you incoming (and outgoing) money into consideration. You will not be penalised for wishing to take out a larger mortgage, hence improving your lifestyle, as many lenders would simply because you have more capital.

Thanks to high house prices, many first time buyers and key workers cannot afford to buy on the open market.

Shared equity mortgages are meant to help them get a toehold on the property ladder.

However, the options are limited. The latest government scheme, Firstbuy Direct, is due to start later this year and like its predecessor, HomeBuy Direct, it only aims to help those buying new-build homes.

With Firstbuy, qualifying first-time buyers (those with a joint income of less than £60,000) get a loan of up to 25% - with 10% from the government and 15% from the builder.

The buyer will have to find a 5% deposit. The deposit loans will be interest-free for five years, and then will attract a below-the-market interest rate.

The government has put £250 million aside for the scheme, which it hopes will create building industry jobs.

The previous, more generous HomeBuy Direct ran for about 18 months and helped about 10,000 buyers. Other schemes including Social HomeBuy and Rent to HomeBuy were scrapped when they didn't take off.

Separate from such schemes are shared ownership schemes, which enable you to buy a proportion of a property and buy the rest when you can afford to.

Capped mortgages are very similar to fixed-rate mortgages, in that they will not climb above a pre-set rate, known as a cap.

A lender offers a loan with a capped rate set for a certain period. During this period, the repayments of interest on the loan cannot climb above this cap. However, if the standard variable rate of the mortgage falls below this capped rate, your interest rate repayments will fall alongside it. The maximum level of your repayments is set and able to be budgeted for easily.

The majority of capped rate mortgages have a clearly set minimum rate to which they can fall. This is known as the collar, and it is important for borrowers to know what the collar on their loan is.

Tracker capped rate mortgages are a new type of loan offered by some mortgage lenders. A tracker capped rate mortgage tracks Bank of England base interest rate in the style of a normal tracker mortgage, securing to fall to a certain level alongside rates, or rise to a certain level if rates climb. The products typically change rates two weeks after an interest rate change.

Capped rate mortgages enable the borrower to gain peace of mind, because they guarantee that interest rates will not rise beyond a certain, pre-agreed limit during the course of the capped rate period.

In general, capped rate mortgages are slightly more expensive that equivalent fixed-rate mortgage loans, making them less attractive to some borrowers. Furthermore, flexibility is usually limited, and early redemption penalties can be high. Capped rate mortgages also often attract high application fees, although not in all cases.

Cash back mortgages typically pay out a cash lump sum to the mortgage loan borrower upon the completion of the mortgage. However, this is offered in different ways.

There are two principal ways in which cash back mortgages are offered by mortgage lenders. For instance, cash back mortgages may be offered at a lenders standard variable rate. The cash back offered in this case can be as high as 6 per cent of the new mortgage amount, and the borrower can choose to spend it however they please. The cash back is usually paid out between 2 and 3 weeks following completion on the mortgage.

Other forms of cash back mortgage include the product being offered alongside another type of mortgage loan. For example, a cash back mortgage that is offered alongside a fixed-rate mortgage or a discount rate mortgage is likely to be substantially smaller. Typically, this type of cashback mortgage is used to cover a mortgage valuation, or contribute to legal costs of the house purchase.

Buying a house, especially for first-time buyers, can be financially pressurised. Spare cash, when you need it most, can be an exceptionally useful benefit of cash back mortgages. However, like many loans of this nature, early repayment penalties can be expensive, and may apply for a long period. Cash back mortgages also attract higher application fees and higher interest rates.

Variable rate mortgages are based on the standard variable rate offered by mortgage lenders.

Mortgage lenders set their standard variable rate depending on the movement of the Bank of England base rate.

The level at which the standard variable rate is set varies between different lenders. With the base rate at 0.5%, Britain's biggest lenders' SVRs are currently around 3.99%.

However, don't assume lenders automatically shift their mortgage rates in line with base rate: If you want a rate that is guaranteed to move in line with the base rate, you need a tracker mortgage.

Generally, there will not be any tie-in penalties with a variable rate mortgage - so if you want the flexibility, they are ideal.

They also work well as a stop-gap - in other words, if you're not sure whether you want a fixed rate but want some breathing space to decide, a variable rate will work well.

And usually, it's easy to overpay on a variable rate deal - this is a great way to reduce the term and total interest on a loan.

Finally, even though there are no guarantees, if you've got a variable rate deal it should move down if the base rate falls. However, don't expect it to mirror the exact size of any fall.

If the base rate rises, it's likely the SVR will too, increasing your repayments. If you're a first time buyer on a tight budget, this could be disastrous: The certainty of a fixed rate is better if you would struggle if rates went up.

These allow you to get a discount off the standard variable or tracker rate for however long the discount lasts.

For example, you might be presented a one percentage point discount off the lender's standard variable rate for two or three years.

With a discounted rate, you know that if your lender's standard variable mortgage rate rises or falls, your repayments will echo those moves - minus the discount off the rate you're getting.

Like a fixed rate mortgage, if you aim to get out of the loan during the special offer period then you will be penalised. However, discount deals often don't have arrangement charges.

Discounted deals are less popular these days than they were, mainly because they've largely been superseded by tracker deals.

If you have a tracker mortgage, you know your interest rate has to move in line with base rate. With a discount mortgage, you know you'll pay a discount off the SVR but you have no promise that the SVR will move up or down with the base rate.

With discounted deals, you do need to check what the underlying SVR is. Some lenders have much higher SVRs than others, and there's no point in getting a discount off a rate that will still be too high.

For additional information about the variable rate and discount mortgages currently on offer, use our mortgage enquiry form below and get free advice from a specialist mortgage advisor.

Unlike most other sliding scale mortgages that are not fixed-rate, LIBOR mortgages track a certain type of rate. Unlike tracker mortgages, which are anchored to the Bank of England base rate, LIBOR mortgages track the London Inter Bank Rate.

LIBOR mortgages, usually offered by self-certification mortgage lenders or sub-prime mortgage lenders, track the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. This is the rate at which different banks lend money to each other in the money markets. Generally, LIBOR mortgages track the three-month LIBOR.

Unlike base rate anchored mortgages, when the rate can go up, down or be maintained once every month, LIBOR mortgages are adjusted following a review every three months. LIBOR mortgages are variable rate loans.

There is a huge selection of fixed rate mortgages on the market. The most popular fixed rates last for between two and five years. However, ten and even 25-year deals are sometimes offered.

When a mortgage borrower reaches the end of a fixed rate term, the interest rate on their mortgage reverts to the standard variable rate offered by the lender. This is typically a lot higher than the fixed rate deal offered.

An early repayment penalty can be sizeable - normally, it's worked out as a percentage of the amount you borrow and could be several thousand pounds on a typical loan.

However, if you are trapped on a very high fixed interest rate, it could be worthwhile paying the penalty to get out.

They provide stability and peace of mind: The terms mean you'll be protected against any increases in the base rate, and consequent adjustments to lender SVR. This allows borrowers to budget for payments.

In addition, a lot of fixed rate deals are flexible and allow you to overpay within certain limits each year. This is a good idea as it will reduce the length of time you have to pay your mortgage and cut the total interest bill.

As well as high penalties for getting out early - or even, on some loans, after your fixed rate period has expired - the problem with fixed rates comes down to interest rates.

If you go for a fixed rate and then variable interest rates start to fall, you'll be paying more than you need to.

However, keep in mind that rates do go up as well as down, and the security offered by a fixed rate can be worth it, even if the rate you're paying isn't always the cheapest.

Lastly, remember that you'll have to pay an arrangement fee which could easily reach four figures.

For additional information about fixed rate mortgages currently on offer, use our mortgage enquiry form below and get free advice from a specialist mortgage advisor.

Let to buy mortgages are used if you want to move but can’t sell your home.

You rent out your existing home, and take out a let to buy mortgage on it, which you use to pay towards a new home.

This sort of mortgage is useful if you have to move for work reasons, for example, but can’t sell - or if you want to hold on to your original home for investment purposes.

The let to buy lender calculates how much it is willing to lend you without taking your existing home loan into consideration - as long as the rent paid by your tenants covers the monthly repayments.

The lender on your existing mortgage has to be content that this is enough, otherwise it won’t let your mortgage be ignored when your new lender makes calculations for your Let to Buy loan.

Keep in mind that you must ask your existing lender for permission; lenders may say no if they think you are financially over-stretching yourself.

Lifetime mortgages are a type of mortgage loan that is designed for people aged 60 or over who own their own homes. Lifetime mortgages make up a relatively small segment of the mortgage market, but are incredibly useful for those older people who are asset rich and cash poor.

Lifetime mortgages help the borrower to free up part of the value of their home, much like an equity release scheme or a home reversion plan. That way, older people who have no money can release capital from the equity stored up in their homes. Lifetime Mortgages do not risk the house, and can even be accomplished without the need for any repayments to be made.

Lifetime mortgages are a specific type of mortgage loan that is secured on the property, but does not need any monthly payments. Interest is added to the amount of the loan, and is paid in full when the house is sold upon your death, or the death of the second borrower if it is a joint lifetime mortgage, or if you move out into long-term care or a sheltered home.

Depending on the type of lifetime mortgage, this is usually not a problem.

No, for some people lifetime mortgages are not suitable at all, and selling your property and moving to a less expensive one may be the more suitable options. This depends on your individual state of affairs.