Doncastermoneyman Spring Budget Update 2021
Rishi Sunak’s second Budget as Chancellor brought two pieces of welcome news for the property sector as the Government attempts to transform “Generation Rent” into “Generation Buy” to help stimulate the UK economy, namely the new 95% Mortgage Guarantee and an extension of the Stamp Duty Holiday.
95% Mortgage Guarantee
The name of this scheme is misleading as not everyone that applies is guaranteed to be offered a mortgage, it is still subject to affordability and credit score. The “guarantee” itself is that the Government will ensure Lenders don’t stand a loss if they grant a 95% mortgage to a customer who then subsequently falls into arrears and is repossessed leaving behind negative equity.
This scheme should in theory give Lenders more confidence to lend even though the applicant only has a smaller deposit to put down. Of course, Lenders never want to repossess someone’s home unless it is the last resort, but if that happens then the new scheme would cover any shortfall.
Lenders have been worried about the prospect of home values decreasing so this measure should alleviate that concern although of course, the chances of negative equity occurring will naturally reduce should property prices increase as a result of these announcements!
The scheme is available to both 1st Time Buyers and Home Movers, it’s available on any property (not just new build) and will run until December 2022. Some major High Street Banks have already signed up to the scheme and it’s likely more will follow later on. It’s still a big challenge for Lenders to cope with the demand they are getting for mortgages due to the difficulties training and supervising staff working from home but they will want to offer as many of these mortgages as they can.
Stamp Duty Holiday Extension
When the Stamp Duty Holiday was launched last year we all hoped life would be very much back to normal by the cut-off date of 31st March 2021 but things didn’t pan out that way as we know. Solicitors are struggling to keep up with the workload and if lots of chains had collapsed then it would have partly defeated the object of the exercise.
Therefore it was good to hear the scheme has been extended to 30th June for purchases up to £500,000 and 30th September for purchases up to £250,000.
The Government certainly sees the property sector as an area that can play a big part in our economic recovery and if you are looking to buy a home or remortgage this year please reach out and we will be happy to advise you.
Mortgage Protection Insurance Advice in Doncaster
Mortgage Protection Insurance?
Mortgage Protection Insurance is a term used to encompass various types of cover designed to protect borrowers from events which could severely impact their ability to maintain mortgage payments.
There are different variations but when connected to a mortgage they are all there to provide peace of mind and usually fall into the following categories:
- Life Cover
- Critical Illness Insurance
- Income Protection
- Family Income Benefit
Life Cover
As a rule, if the policyholder dies within the term, then the sum assured should be enough to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance and ensure the borrower’s dependants aren’t left with a debt they might not otherwise be able to manage.
Our advisors can run through all the different types of life cover and recommend the most suitable plan for you.
Critical Illness Insurance
Critical Illness Insurance works in a similar way to Life Assurance, in that it is usually taken for a specific term of years and can have the different options such as level/increasing etc. It is designed to pay out a lump sum and, like Life cover, for borrowers it is typically taken on a decreasing term basis in line with the reduction of your mortgage balance.
The key is that the benefit is paid if you fall victim to one of a number of specified critical illnesses and pays out whatever the long-term prognosis of that illness. The type of illnesses covered vary from company to company, that’s why this type of insurance cannot be solely price-driven and advice is recommended.
In practice many companies will offer Life and Critical Illness Critical cover as a combined policy and would usually pay out on the “first event” i.e. whatever happens first – either death or serious illness – the pay-out is made. They can also be written on a single or joint life basis
Income Protection
Whereas Life and Critical Illness cover pay out a lump sum, Income Protection pays out a monthly sum designed to replace your wages in the event of you being unfit to work. Unlike Critical Illness cover, there are no restrictions on the illnesses or injuries covered, the only factor being whether they make you unfit to work. There are however restrictions on how much you can cover and how quickly benefits would start to be paid.
Like Life and Critical Illness cover, these policies are underwritten based on your health and lifestyle at the time you apply. All income protection policies are written on a single life basis.
Family Income Benefit
Probably the least common of the mortgage protection type policies but can often be valuable – particularly for those with young families. These plans can be taken to cover Life and/or Critical Illness and are underwritten on the application in the same way as mentioned above.
However, unlike the traditional forms of policy, rather than pay out a lump sum, the cover would pay an annual or monthly income for the remainder of the term of the plan. Thus, it can replace the income of the main breadwinner for a number of years, dependent upon a particular client’s circumstances and, because of this would usually be written on a level or basis, or an index-linked basis designed to keep up with inflation.
Summary
There’s an adage that says you can never have too much insurance. Certainly, many people have one or more of the different types of policy and it would be wrong to think of Mortgage Protection Insurance as just an “either/or” choice. However, in the real world, affordability plays a massive part, so whilst it would be fantastic to cover yourself for every potential opportunity, a good advisor will sit down with you and tailor the type of cover to be the most suitable combination to your family’s priority and budget.
Please give us a call or fill out our enquiry form to speak with one of our Dedicated Protection Specialists.
