Mortgage & Remortgage

You're making one of the most important decisions of your life. When you come to PAR Capital Mortgages for a mortgage, we're on your side. We'll remove the confusion and give you straight forward advice. We will search the market for the most competitive products available. We even have access to exclusive deals not available on the high street. We'll find you the best deal, one that matches your needs and circumstances.

We do not charge a fee for initial mortgage advice but please understand that we do charge a broker fee which is only payable upon completion.

The first stage of the mortgage process is to choose a suitable repayment method. There are three options available:

repayment mortgage

interest-only mortgage

combined repayment/interest-only mortgage

In addition to the type or mortgage you will also need to decide on the most suitable period of repayment for the loan. Read through the different types of mortgage or contact PAR Capital Mortgages for expert advice or answers to your questions on mortgages.

Some Common Mortgage Types

Standard Variable Rate
Lenders adjust their standard variable rates as the Bank of England increases or decreases rates. This type of mortgage is often taken out in conjunction with other offers such as cashbacks.

Fixed Rate Mortgage
Irrespective of fluctuations in interest rates, your monthly repayments remain the same throughout the period of the fixed rate. However, you do not benefit from any reduction in the lender's standard variable rate.

Discounted Mortgage
With a discounted mortgage lenders offer a discount on the standard variable rate for a specified term. The savings from discounted mortgages can be considerable although you have no protection against increases in interest rates and may find that an increase takes you over your budget.

Capped Mortgage
Capped mortgages enable you to place a limit on your monthly mortgage commitment and still benefit from falls in interest rates.

Cashback Mortgages
A mortgage that provides you with an amount of cash at the outset of the mortgage. In return you usually agree to pay the variable rate charged by the bank or building society, for a specified term. Some lenders offer cashbacks in conjunction with other offers such as discounts or fixed rates.

Flexible Mortgage
The borrower pays off all or part of their mortgage without paying a penalty. Payment holidays can be taken during the year and extra funds are normally available via a drawdown facility. As with a standard variable or discounted variable mortgage the interest rate can fluctuate and is not fixed at the initial rate of interest.

Mortgage Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a mortgage different from any other loan?
A mortgage loan is secured against your property. This means the loan is less of a risk for the lender and the interest rate charged on a mortgage is lower than it is for other types of loan. The mortgage that you take out to buy your home will usually be called a first charge because when the property is sold, your lender is paid off first.

What is a capital/repayment mortgage?
Your monthly payment to the lender consists of part capital and part interest. In the early years, the larger portion is interest and in the latter years it is reversed being mainly capital. With this type of mortgage, if all payments are made on time with interest rate changes amended on time the debt will reduce to nil at the end of the term.

What is an endowment mortgage?
Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as an endowment mortgage! The mortgage is interest only throughout the term leaving the capital to be paid at the end of the term. The capital is provided by way of an investment vehicle, which is paid separately each month to an insurance company. This can take the form of an endowment, ISA, unit trust or pension. The majority of mortgages have been covered by an endowment policy and this is how the name "Endowment Mortgage" has arisen.

Are endowment mortgages bad?
In short no. Endowment mortgages do not suit everybody's circumstances and therefore professional advice should be sought. For those people who already have an endowment mortgage, it is important to monitor the performance of the policy to ensure that at the end of the term sufficient funds are there to repay the debt. Any shortfall at maturity is the responsibility of the borrower.

How do I find out the value of my endowment policy?
Your insurance company will provide you with a statement annually. To find out the value of your policy between statements you would need to write to your insurance company and request the current value.

Should I surrender my endowment?
No. Try to keep the endowment running until maturity to obtain the best value from the policy. If this is not possible then a relatively new option is selling the endowment through a financial adviser, which will obtain between 10% - 20% higher value.

What is a flexible mortgage?
This is a repayment mortgage that allows over payments, under payments, payment holidays, draw down of equity (increasing the borrowing through the existing mortgage). Interest is calculated daily or monthly instead of the traditional annual method providing instant reductions in the overall debt balance. Some of these new flexible mortgages include a current account where your salary is paid into.

Why do I need life assurance with my mortgage?
If you are single and have no dependants you do not need life assurance. Critical illness cover would be advisable. If you do have dependants or wish to leave your property in your will then it is advisable to take out some form of life cover. If the main income were to cease due to death or illness the capital debt will still need to be repaid. The lender does not wish to use its powers of repossession in order to recover its mortgage and life cover will provide this security.

What is a "buy to let" mortgage?
This is a loan on a property that is purchased for investment purposes where the owner does not occupy the property, but has tenants paying rent, which is used to pay the mortgage, and if costed properly provides additional income for the landlord. Borrowing power can be linked to the anticipated rental income and normally a 20% deposit is required. Interest rates for buy to lets can be as attractive as ordinary residential mortgages.

What is a "let to buy" mortgage?
This is when the householder needs to move, but is unable or unwilling to sell their existing property. Permission from the existing lender to let is required. The new lender can lend up to 95% of the new property utilising the anticipated rental income from the existing property.

PAR Capital Mortgages is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority No. 302240

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other loan secured on it.