Will interest cuts help local home-owners?

Local estate agents Nock Deighton report that the Bank of England’s decision to cut rates by 1.5% last week came as a surprise to everyone. “The banks and building societies were wrong footed” according to John Thirlwell, Ludlow’s local mortgage expert. “They didn’t know what to do at first – so they withdrew their products at very short notice. Lenders were pulling most of their deals, especially Trackers, and refused to pass on to existing borrowers the benefit of the rate cut”. The Government soon put pressure on the banks and by early this week many lenders had passed on most, if not all, of the benefit. “This is a major relief for people coming to the end of their 2 or 3 year deal. A few weeks ago they faced serious increases in their monthly payments when they came to remortgage but it may now be possible for many people to obtain a better deal” said John. It is now more important than ever for borrowers to take professional advice to make sure that they get the benefit of this cut in rates.

For first time buyers the cost of buying a home is lower than it has been for years. Interest rates are lower and so is the cost of property. “We are finding that there is real interest from first-time buyers” according to Helen Moss, Director of Ludlow estate agents Nock Deighton. “With lower mortgage costs more first time buyers are likely to come back into the market. This cut in rates makes buying a house much more affordable”.

Buying a property is a major decision – after all your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage – but at least there are people in Ludlow that you can turn to for professional help and advice.