How The January 2021 Lockdown Will Affect The Property & Mortgage Market

Lockdown Mortgage Advice in Nottingham

From Tuesday 5^th January, it was confirmed that you’ll still be able to buy or sell a home during the January 2021 lockdown, as well as move home if you need to.

During the recent Government announcement on 4th January 2021, Boris Johnson confirmed that the UK would enter another nationwide lockdown. The changes that were stated during the update would come into immediate effect on the following day 5th January.

This lockdown has affected many sectors differently, some have been treated more generously than others and still have the permission to continue as normal. This lockdown is functioning parallel to the November lockdown, the only difference is that this lockdown is going to be extended for a minimum of 8 weeks.

In terms of the property market, it’s still standing comfortably on its feet and everything is going to carry on as normal through this lockdown. This means that you’ll still be able to take up house viewings and progress with your property purchase or sale.

It’s important to know that there still could be a slight delay with some business. Solicitors and Surveyors are working to the current restrictions which has unfortunately slowed down their speed of service. Also, the end of the Stamp Duty Cut is just beyond the horizon, so as you would expect, there is an influx of mortgage applications within the market as it is anyway. Just because things are taking a little longer doesn’t mean that you should put off pursuing your dream home and a getting mortgage deal, both these things can still be achieved this lockdown.

Mortgage Market Advice in Nottingham

Safety measures for home movers

As you’ve heard all year round, Stay Safe.

We urge applicants that are thinking of Moving Home in Nottingham to strictly follow the guidelines that have been put in place by the Government. These latest government guidelines for home movers are important as they keep you safe and everybody else safe.

It’s mostly little things, for example, you must sanitise and wear your mask when taking up house viewings etc.

90% mortgages are still available to buyers

90% mortgages took their time to return back to the market, however, now that they are here, there is a lot more hope for applicants trying to secure a competitive deal. Although, things are still catching up to speed and not every lender may be offering 90% mortgages. This may be down to their trust in the market; but don’t worry, in due time we are hoping for things to slowly return to “normal”.

There is still demand within the market and your Mortgage Broker in Nottingham knows that. We have seen the demand first hand as we are hearing from customers regularly who are looking for deals with a 5-10% deposit required.

There is also an opportunity to access a 90% mortgage through the likes of the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme or the Help to Buy Shared Ownership scheme. A Help to Buy Mortgage Advisor in Nottingham like us, will explain how these methods could help you obtain a mortgage with only a 5-10% deposit.

An extension on Mortgage Payment Holidays

Mortgage Payment Holidays were offered to homeowners during the first lockdown as a way to postpone mortgage payments for a short period of time. You could only access the scheme for a maximum of 6 months and the ending date was 31st October 2020. In good news, the government have announced that the Mortgage Payment Holiday scheme will be extended to 31st March 2021.

If you are yet to take advantage of a Mortgage Payment Holiday, you’ll be able to request a break of up to 6 months. If you’ve already taken a Mortgage Payment Holiday of less than 6 months, you will be able to extend your existing holiday up until the 6 month mark.

Still here, still open

In Nottingham, our Mortgage Advice service is still available and we’re here to help in every way that we can. Our brilliant team of Mortgage Advisors in Nottingham are here throughout lockdown working 7 days a week. So, if you have any questions, don’t think twice about getting in touch.

All customers will still benefit from a free initial mortgage consultation, no matter the situation.

For a brief rundown of the current status of the property and mortgage market, please see our video from company director Malcolm Davidson, recorded the following day.