Oyer

FAQ

FAQ

Mortgages:

The answer to this question will vary from lender-to-lender dependent on the business model.

Most lenders will use an algorithm particular to that lender and will take such data as; Total income available, credit record, credit cards and loans, number of children and the cost of running the house. Then that will produce a mortgage figure they are prepared to lend.

Not necessarily. There are lenders who, provided there are no credit issues, will ignore a low credit score.  Bare in mind that the products available will not be as competitive as someone with a good credit score.

There a various reasons that a low credit has been allocated. E.g. Not on voters roll, no credit card or existing credit. i.e. no track record.

Your mortgage advisor should be able to advise how to improve your score.

The average Loan to Value is 75% of the purchase price. The actual loan amount is determined by the potential rental income for that property not how much you earn separately. This potential rental income is recorded by the surveyor/valuer when they carry out an inspection.

Life Assurance:

No, you do not.

It is strongly recommended that you do have life insurance especially if there is family living in the house. Should you die and the mortgage is not paid off, there may be issues with the current lender allowing the survivor to continue living in the house if the house is in joint name and both salaries have been used in the calculation for the size of mortgage.

Having a life assurance in place makes the whole situation so much less complicated.

This is a question that can only be answered after a detailed discussion with your advisor.

No there is not on any new policies. Many yrs ago life policy premiums did attract tax relief. Any that are still in force will continue to do so.

There is a category of life assurance available to Ltd Company employees called ‘Relevant Life Assurance’. The premium is paid for by the company on behalf of the employee net of any National insurance or P.A.Y.E. This has the effect of reducing the cost of the premium to the employee by up to 40% depending on which tax bracket applies to that employee.

Life Assurance can be used to provide enough cash for the family to pay inheritance tax.

Inheritance tax is only due on 2nd death for married couples. Life assurance can be set up to pay out on second death. Other steps can be taken to help mitigate/reduce any tax liability. (See next section). For single people any Inheritance tax is calculated on death. An insurance policy can be set up to assist with the potential liability.

Obviously, the potential estate size needs to be reviewed regularly to ensure there's enough life assurance in place to cover an inheritance tax bill.

Wills/Trusts:

Unfortunately, it is a modern day situation for society to have a large number of single parents. If asked the question ‘who’s going to look after the children should you die?’ Most would respond ‘My mother’ or ‘My sister’ which fine provided the mother or sister is aware that is what you expect. Which is fine if you have made a will stating that is what you want to happen. Otherwise, there could be all kinds of upset within the family as to who will take responsibility. Without a will the children will be taken into care. There’s no guarantee they will be together. How long will it take for social services to carry out all the due diligence to establish who, in the family, is most suitable to look after the children?

A ‘simple will’ just to address Guardianship of your children would save so much emotional turmoil for family and children.

A trust is a ‘wrapper of ownership’. Generally speaking the family’s largest asset is the house. Putting a house into trust effectively changes ownership of that house form personal to the Trust. If the house is worth £1 million .  That’s  £1 million less for HMRC to use in the inheritance tax calculation. I.e. Up to £400,000 reduction in Inheritance Tax.

Trusts can also be set up to children grandchildren to ensure inheritance or gifts are ‘kept safe’.