Lately, my phone has been buzzing with messages from friends I haven’t heard from in a while. Indeed, the last time I felt this popular was in October.
But I’m not being asked to parties, to the pub or how life is treating me. Nope, I’m once again fielding questions from homeowning acquaintances asking for mortgage advice.
And it’s not just friends. My wife also keeps forwarding on messages from her friends, asking for my help, like I’m sort of mortgage magician that can help them navigate their home loan maze.
That’s how I knew mortgage mayhem, the unwanted sequel, was back.
Mortgage maze: Many of us are scratching our heads over home loans
Politely, I’ve told anyone who has messaged – like I did in October – to speak to their lender or broker, fiddle around with overpayment calculators and essentially, keep calm if they need to remortgage.
You can check where you stand using This is Money’s best mortgage finder calculator, which will do the sums for you based on your home’s value, loan size and the type of fix you want.
It did get me thinking, however, that it was about time This is Money does what it does best – help our readers with their real-life problems and field them to experts we know and trust.
We have Sir Steve Webb answering your deluge of pensions questions – a column he has written for us for the last seven years – Heather Rogers unpicking your tax dilemmas and Dave Fishwick tackling your entrepreneurial challenges.
And today, we have a new name for the roster.
David Hollingworth, a name you’re probably familiar with given he is one of a few ‘go-to’ mortgage brokers personal finance journalists across the country use for commentary, will now tackle your questions weekly in our new Navigate the Mortgage Maze column.
With Bank of England base rate now at 5 per cent, the last few weeks has seen lenders repricing rates and a general sense of panic re-enter the minds of Britain’s homeowners and those looking to get onto the ladder.
Man in the know: Mortgage broker and new This is Money columnist David Hollingworth
This week, data from Zoopla suggests 42 per cent of sellers are accepting lower offers (up from 15 per cent a year ago) while lenders have warned that the Government support package on mortgages are weeks away from being implemented.
David, who is a broker at L&C Mortgages, is on hand to tackle your home loan dilemmas and make sense of the frenzy that has been whipped up in the backdrop of rising interest rates, after years of ultra-low ones.
To kick-off, he answers a question about overpaying on a mortgage to take advantage of a 1.24 per cent home loan rate until 2026.
If you would like to ask him a question, email: [email protected] with the subject line: Mortgage help
Please include as many details as possible in your question in order for him to respond in-depth – and remember, he won’t be able to respond directly and answer every query sent his way.
And hopefully, it’ll help make my phone quieten down again.
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