9 First Time Buyer Money Saving Tips

Buying your first home is an exciting time, but it can take a while to build up enough savings so that you can put down a deposit. We’ve compiled a list of 9 money saving tips you can use to work towards saving for your first-time buyer mortgage.

  1. Make a shopping list

Plan your week’s meals at the start of each week. Buy what you need at the shops. Remove the need to go to the shops everyday & the temptation of buying expensive takeaway food.

  1. Sell clutter online

No point in packing for your new home with items you don’t need/use anymore. Sites like eBay, Gumtree and even Facebook make it a whole lot easier to get rid of those unnecessary items and make a bit of money.

  1. Cheaper brands

Can you really taste the difference in supermarket own brands? Do you need the most expensive toilet cleaner? Savings may be small to begin with, but can mount up month to month.

  1. Pay off debt

Not a straight savings tip, but you’ll be saving on interest payments. Try clearing as much of your debt before committing to a mortgage worth thousands of pounds.

  1. Skip alcohol

Could you do a couple of weekends off the beer & wine? Cut out “a few drinks after work”. Try one month with no alcohol. You’d be surprised how much you save.

  1. Discount websites

You still want to have some sort of life while saving for your first home. Sites like Groupon and Wowcher have great daily deals & offers for dining out and a variety of other activities.

  1. Make lunch for work

Buying a premade sandwich, pasta, going to a local deli – £5 a day, £2.50 on coffee, £1 on snacks = £8.50 a day = £2,000 a year. Make something the night before or even get out your bed that few minutes earlier.

  1. Shop during the sales

If you really need to go clothes shopping while saving, there are mid-season sales always happening. If gift shopping, be organised and take advantage while the sales are on. Spend wisely.

  1. Extra work

Is there any overtime going at your work to take full advantage of? Could you work a couple of evenings a week in a new part-time job? The money could be added straight into your savings.

If you’re looking for advice for a first-time buyer mortgage, contact Aberdeen Mortgage Company on 01224 316 200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

Are there any money saving tips you would suggest? Tweet @AberdeenMortgCo with what ideas you have.

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YOUR PROPERTY MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.

Lifetime Finance Group Limited trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of Buy to Let.

Critical Illness Cover: How it Helps You & Your Child

Critical Illness Cover is designed to financially support you in case the worst happens, and you are diagnosed with a critical condition that is specified in your policy. Most people don’t realise that children are actually one of the most common reasons for people needing to claim.

Critical Illness Cover from AIG automatically covers any child that you have now or in the future as standard. Their enhanced children’s critical illness cover allows a parent to claim up to 50% of the value of their policy (up to a maximum of £35,000) if their child is diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses they cover.

Their protection covers a child from day one. If a child is in intensive care (eg. severe case of premature child) for 7 days then AIG will pay out full benefit.

AIG Children’s Critical Illness Cover overview:

  • A payment of up to £35,000 for major conditions that can affect children including cancer and heart failure;
  • Ten additional child-specific conditions such as Craniosynostosis, Down’s syndrome, Hydrocephalus, Patau syndrome and a benefit payable should the child require a stay in intensive care;
  • A double payment of up to £70,000 if the child’s treatment is only available overseas;
  • Cover on congenital conditions if the parents were unaware their child had it when they took out the cover;
  • Cover up to the age of 22 regardless of whether or not they are in full-time education;
  • Cover for any children your client has now or in the future;
  • Child life cover of £10,000 payable if a child dies during the term of the cover. This benefit is provided in addition to any claim made under children’s critical illness.

In addition, AIG will pay a pregnancy cover benefit of £5,000 if the person covered suffers from a defined complication during pregnancy.

Our expert protection advisers can arrange the correct life & critical illness insurance policy for you whether with AIG or another provider. Call 01224 316200 or fill in our enquiry form.

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Sources: AIG, Discover our all new Critical Illness with Term Assurance – Sales aid, 2018

Lifetime Finance Group Ltd trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products.

Lifetime Finance Group Limited. Registered office 1st floor, 207 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ.

Serious Illness Cover Vs Critical Illness Cover

Critical illness can strike at any time.

  • 1 in 2 people in the UK (born after 1960) will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. [1]
  • Every 7 minutes someone will have a heart attack [2]
  • Every 12 minutes someone will have a stroke [2]

Serious Illness Cover from Vitality helps protect you financially if the worst was to happen to you, and you fall ill with one of the 178 conditions that they cover. They pay out a cash lump sum based on the severity of your condition. It gives you financial stability allowing you plenty of time to recover.

Serious illness cover works differently from typical critical illness cover, in the way it pays out on less severe conditions as well as the more critical ones. So if you get ill and need to claim, Vitality will give you a percentage of your cover depending on how severe your condition is. This means that if a condition gets caught early on, a portion of your cover will be paid out. You’ll also have the rest of your cover should you need to claim in the future.

There are two types of serious illness cover offered by Vitality. Comprehensive and Primary. Comprehensive Serious Illness Cover covers you for 178 conditions and Primary Serious Illness Cover which covers you for 145 conditions.

Example, Eye to age 70.

Condition Percentage payout Primary     Comprehensive
Blindness (permanent & irreversible) Severity A – 100% (most severe)
Severity B – 75%
Significant Visual Impairment Severity C – 50%
Central Blindness Severity D – 25%
Blindness in one eye Severity E – 15%
Corneal Transplant Severity F – 10%
Severity G – 5% (least severe)

Source: How does Serious Illness Cover on the VitalityLife plan compare?, August 18

Our expert protection advisers can arrange the correct life insurance policy for you. Call 01224 316200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

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Sources: Vitality, Serious Illness Cover Frequently Asked Questions, 2018

  1. Cancer Research UK, 2018
  2. Heart UK, 2018

Lifetime Finance Group Ltd trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products.

Lifetime Planning Limited. Registered office 1st floor, 207 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ.

Could Global Treatment save your life?

Serious illnesses like cancer and heart conditions are all too common. While our country’s healthcare system is advanced, sometimes the very latest treatment options may not be available in the UK.

  • There are currently around 6,000 people on the UK Transplant Waiting List. Last year over 400 people died while waiting for a transplant [1].
  • 1 in 2 people in the UK born after 1960 will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime [2].
  • Everyday in the UK, 530 people suffer from a heart attack [3].

Global treatment from Aviva is designed to give you and your child more treatment options in case either of you are diagnosed with a serious illness. It provides you with access to medical experts around the world, an expert second opinion and overseas treatment.

What’s covered?

Global treatment covers you and your eligible children, if diagnosed with a serious illness, for the cost of medical treatment in respect of the following:

  • Cancer treatment
  • Coronary artery bypass surgery
  • Heart valve replacement or repair
  • Neurosurgery (for conditions like benign brain or spinal tumours)
  • Live-donor organ transplants
  • Bone marrow transplant

Travel and Accommodation

  • Global treatment also pays for and organises travel and 3-4-star accommodation for you and a companion. If it’s your child who is ill, Global treatment will pay the expenses for both parents (or a parent and a companion).

Cash allowance

  • There’s an upfront cash allowance of £100 per day of hospitalisation overseas for up to 60 days.

Medication

  • Global Treatment also covers ongoing medication costs up to £50,000, on return to the UK for approved medications that are not funded, or only partially funded by the NHS.

How much does Global Treatment cost?

Global Treatment is an additional option with any Aviva Protection cover. The benefit costs £4 a month per person but also covers the policyholder’s children.

Who to contact

Speak to our expert protection advisers about getting the right life insurance policy for you, call 01224 316200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

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Source: Aviva – Global Treatment provided in conjunction with Best Doctors® and BDUI®, 2018

[1] NHS https://www.nhsbt.nhs.uk/what-we-do/transplantation-services/organ-donation-and-transplantation/, August 2018
[2] Cancer Research UK, August 2018
[3] British Heart Foundation, CVD statistics – BHF UK Factsheet, August 2018

Lifetime Finance Group Limited trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products.

Lifetime Finance Group Limited. Registered office 1st floor, 207 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ.

8 out of 10 mortgage holders have no Income Protection. Are you one of them?

According to a recent article in FT Adviser, “Homeowners in Britain are woefully under-prepared in the event of long-term sickness, accident or ill health.”1

Nobody plans to get hit by a bus but these things do happen. Should you be left unable to work do you have a plan in place to keep paying your bills and mortgage?

Royal London’s recently commissioned State of the Protection Nation research highlights that only 19% of people with a mortgage have income protection in place, which leaves 81% unprotected!2 Is this you?

While you’re probably aware of the benefits of protection, the expertise of an adviser can help steer you in the right direction to ensure you’re protected when you need it most. If you take a look at LV=’s Risk Reality Calculator it will show you the likelihood of needing to claim on income protection, critical illness cover and life cover based on their research.

But it’s not only mortgage holders that need protection in place, renters need income protection just as much as homeowners. After all, the chances of an accident or illness making you unable to work don’t go away just because you rent!

Contact us today to see how we can help you find the right income protection policy for your needs, our panel of providers can offer something for everyone.

Sources:
1: FT Adviser, 
8 out of 10 mortgage holders have no income protection, May 2018
2: Royal London, 
State of the Protection Nation, May 2018
3: LV= Risk Reality Calculator
http://riskreality.co.uk/gen

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Lifetime Finance Group Limited is a trading name of Aberdeen Mortgage Company which is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products.

Lifetime Finance Group Limited. Registered office 1st floor, 207 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ. Registered in Scotland No: SC589768.

What does the Base Rate increase mean for your mortgage?

Today, the Bank of England has increased the base rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. This is only the second time in a decade they have increased the rates and it is the highest level since March 2009.

What does an interest rate rise mean for your mortgage?

  • More than 3.5 million residential mortgages are on a variable or tracker rate.
  • The average standard variable rate mortgage is 4.72%.
  • On a £150,000 variable mortgage, a rise to 0.75% is likely to increase the annual cost by £224.

Sources: BBC, UK Finance, Moneyfacts, Nationwide Building Society, August 2018

Should I switch my mortgage?

There are a number of factors that affect whether you should switch your mortgage.

If you are currently on a standard variable rate or tracker rate, you should consider looking to switch to a fixed-rate mortgage. A fixed-rate mortgage means you know your exact monthly mortgage payment without the worry of whether the interest rate might increase.

If you are currently on a fixed-rate mortgage, we can review this mortgage up to 3 months prior to expiry. It can be with your current mortgage lender or with a new lender – depending on what best suits your personal needs.

Are you paying too much on your mortgage every month? Speak to our expert advisers.

What would you do with the money you save? You could pay your mortgage off quicker, a home improvement, or book a last-minute holiday.

With expert knowledge, we often have access to exclusive deals and lenders that are not available on the high street. We scour our panel whilst considering your personal circumstances and presenting the most suitable solution for you. Aberdeen Mortgage Company has access to a comprehensive lender panel and it is our duty to ensure that we provide a competitive deal for you.

Call 01224 316200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

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Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

This firm charges a fee of up to £395 for mortgage advice. The amount of fee will depend on your circumstances and will be discussed and agreed with you at the earliest opportunity.

Aberdeen Mortgage Company Ltd is an Appointed Representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of Buy to Let.

Life Without Insurance – Would You Run the Risk?

Could you and your family cope financially if the worst was to happen and you could not earn a living? Read on for our infographic on Critical Illness and Income Protection – Would You Run the Risk?

Click on the infographic for full-size image.

RiskReality-Insurance

What’s Your Plan B? Almost 60% of Dads have no Life Insurance

According to a new report from Scottish Widows, more than half (58%) of men with dependent children have no life insurance. That means that just over 4.5 million dads could be leaving their families with no financial protection if the worst was to happen to them.

Life insurance is designed to come to the rescue of your loved ones in the event of your death. It pays out a lump sum to those closest to you, relieving the financial worries from your family. It can help cover the cost of your mortgage, bills, general living expenses and funeral bills. Could your household survive without your income, a fifth of dad admitted that theirs wouldn’t.

If they were unable to work due to serious illness, 16% of fathers said they could only pay their household bills for a minimum of three months. 45% admitted they’d have to dip into their savings to manage financially. For the fathers that are the main breadwinners of the family, this can be extremely risky.

Critical illness cover comes to the rescue in the event you are diagnosed with a serious illness such as a cancer or stroke. It can help ease your recovery by paying out the money you need for your care and treatment, recuperation, help pay off your mortgage or make up for lost income.

You may not think of insurance as a necessity, but the value of protection is to provide long-term peace of mind about having financial security in place for your dependents.

Speak to our expert protection team about arranging the most suitable protection policy, call 01224 316200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

Please note for these insurance products, terms and conditions apply. This information is a summary only. You will receive a full policy document upon application. This policy will set out the terms, conditions and limitations of cover provided under the plan.

Source: 4.5 million UK dads have no life insurance – Scottish Widows – Cover, 2018, https://www.covermagazine.co.uk/cover/news/3034066/four-and-a-half-million-dads-have-no-life-insurance-scottish-widows

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Lifetime Finance Group Limited trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of Buy to Let. Lifetime Finance Group Limited.

Critical Illness Cover – Do you need it?

Critical Illness Cover – Do you need it?

Could you and your family cope financially if the worst was to happen and you were to become seriously ill and could not earn a living?

Click on the image for a larger version of the infographic

CIC-DoYouNeedIt2

11 Mortgage Words You Should Learn When Buying a House

Arranging your mortgage and buying a new build property is an exciting time. However, the jargon that is used throughout the process can be confusing. We’ve put together a jargon buster to help you along the way during your house buying process.

Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

If you’re considering buying a new-build property and want advice on the best mortgage options for you, request a callback from our expert mortgage advisers.

 

  1. Agreement in Principle

This is the agreement provided by the mortgage lender which states the amount they are prepared to lend to you subject to a full mortgage application with supporting documentation and their enquiries during underwriting being satisfied. It’s useful if you haven’t found a property to buy but would like to know how much you could potentially borrow.

  1. Conclude Missives

The contract is normally formed by missives of sale between the solicitors on behalf of each the seller and purchaser. Missives are letters of body of which contain proposed sale contracts and negotiate terms. Once all the contractual terms are agreed, the missives are said to be concluded, and these serve as a binding contract for the sale of the property.

  1. Conveyancing

The process of transferring the legal title of property from the seller to you.

  1. Disbursements

This is money that your solicitors have had to pay to third parties during the conveyancing process, and which they will claim back from you. Disbursements will include things like search fees and land registry fees. Check that disbursements are included in your quote (most are known in advance) otherwise your bill could be a lot higher than you expect.

  1. Land & Buildings Transaction Tax

This is the tax charged by the Scottish Government for buying a property/land. The amount varies depending on the value of the property.

  1. Land Registry Records

These records state who owns what land/property. When a property changes hands your solicitor will make sure this transfer is recorded at the Land Registry.

  1. Local Authority Search

A search that asks the local authority about things that may affect the property, such as : whether the road the property stands on is maintained by the council, planning applications that may affect  the property, possible planning restrictions, and rights of way.

  1. Mortgage

This is the loan used to buy a property. Because it is secured on the property being bought the property cannot be sold until the mortgage is paid off (either at the end of its term or, if you are selling, by using proceeds from the sale to pay off the balance).

  1. Mortgage Deed

The legal charge that gives the mortgage lender rights over the property until the mortgage has been repaid.

  1. Mortgage Valuation

This is the valuation survey carried out by your bank or building society before they will lend on a property. This will help determine how much a lender is willing to lend.

  1. Title Deeds

The documents that prove ownership of a property and which set out any rights or obligations affecting the property. If the property is mortgaged then the deeds may be held by the mortgage lender.

For any queries speak to our expert mortgage advisers at Aberdeen Mortgage Company, call 01224 316200 or fill in our online enquiry form.

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This firm charges a fee of up to £395 for mortgage advice. The amount of fee will depend on your circumstances and will be discussed and agreed with you at the earliest opportunity.

Lifetime Finance Group Limited trading as Aberdeen Mortgage Company is an appointed representative of PRIMIS Mortgage Network, a trading name of First Complete Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for mortgages, protection insurance and general insurance products. The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate some forms of Buy to Let. Lifetime Finance Group Limited.