Mortgage Lending Nightmare in Northern Ireland

Hi Grace,

I will ask our broker partners for some comments on the state of the BTL market in Northern Ireland for you 🙂

"I would like to know why we have very little choice of lenders here in N.I." is probably a question for the lenders, not brokers - however here are my thoughts on the subject ...

Lenders choose their business models and where to lend based on many factors, not least including supply, demand, desirability of certain locations, risk factors, valuation volatility, experience of repossessions, legal conveyancing matters, borrower profile, BTL or resi, etc etc.

I have read that the huge drop in house prices, the historical violence, and volatility in the market have all impacted on the NI mortgage and property market.

The good news is of course that there are lenders who do still lend.

My recommendation is to to work with a NI based whole of market Broker who knows the lenders, their criteria and the route to qualifying for a mortgage to secure eligibility for you.

Howard

Reply to the comment left by "Neil Patterson" at "07/04/2015 - 08:29":

Thank you Neil much appreciated.

Regards

Grace

Reply to the comment left by "Howard Reuben" at "07/04/2015 - 10:22":

Hi Howard

The huge drop in prices and volatility of the property market , repossessions etc happened throughout the UK from 2007 for a number of years without the reference you mentioned of " historical violence" and after all banks and building societies still do business here. My point was that we deserve the same choice as we pay the same taxes to the same government.
I do know whats required when applying for a mortgage as i've bought and sold many times in the past and always in London where i had much more choice back in the day at least.
Regards
Grace

Thanks for your reply Grace.

My references were drawn from very recent commentary on the same subject, sourced from other websites. This may be an historic phenomena but the lenders are still being stung by the ongoing and inherited position they find themselves in today. Whether choice of lender is rewarded because you pay tax to a government is an interesting point.

Lenders are their own commercial ventures. Yes, some are 'rescued' and tax-payer backed, but not all. In fact, not most.

So, with each bank having their own business model and proficiencies to consider, we are all subject to the same geographical choices as the next person, and we can do but the best we can with what we have.

If you want choice anyway, I revert back to my previous comment and that you should see a local independent / whole of market broker who knows which lenders are out there.

Final point. None of us have the same choice as per 'pre credit crunch' anyway. As an independent adviser, I can tell you that pre financial crisis, I had access to over 34,000 mortgage products (all the fixed rates, trackers, discounts etc from all of the banks, building societies and specialist lenders) and today there are about 4,000. And that is up from the 1200 it actually went down to.

In summary, you have a point about choice of lender and products, but we all have only the choice that's available and as it still remains a competitive market (and always will, whether 4000 or 34000 deals), the best action is simply to work with a professional independent adviser who can provide the best value deal on the day you require it.

Hi Howard

Thank you for your clarity on the subject, i now understand the system a bit better and i guess it will continually change.

I will now talk to local brokers to keep abreast of things as you suggest.

Thank you

Grace