Sean Graham - Mortgage & Protection Broker

22/11/2024

On the way to the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce Business Star Awards 2024!
Malleny Mortgage Solutions has been honoured with a shortlisted nomination for our very own Shiralee Martin as Employee of the Year! In our minds, she's already won.
Absolutely buzzing!
Congratulations to all nominees from across Perthshire.
May all involved have a wonderful evening.
Many thanks to our hosts, Perthshire Chamber of Commerce for organising and arranging, as well as the team at the stunning Crieff Hydro as the venue for this fabulous event.
Best of luck to Shiralee Martin at Malleny Mortgage Solutions and all awards nominees.
Special thanks to Graham Hygiene Services and Possible Estate Agents too for assisting in the leadup to this fabulous event.

21/01/2022

🏡↪Remortgaging offers homeowners the opportunity to switch their existing mortgage to a new lender.
🏡It can enable homeowners to save money on a cheaper rate, reduce the mortgage term, or even free up extra money for home improvement.
🏡For most people, their mortgage is their biggest financial commitment. And it follows that streamlining the largest debt can produce the largest saving – sometimes £1,000s each year. If you're the kind of person who shops around to get the cheapest television or mobile phone contract, then you're missing a trick by not using the same skills to save money on your mortgage.
🏡There are however reasons why it might not be a good idea to remortgage.
💬So if you'd like advice get in touch today and we'll talk over your options.

20/01/2022

The gas price crisis has driven up cost of living for many households. These
higher bills could potentially affect their ability to pay a mortgage📈🏡

The lender is said to be considering a change in the way it calculates the size of mortgage a household can borrow, in light of skyrocketing cost of living.

20/01/2022

Buzzing and delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for NatWest's Local Hero Mortgage Awards!!!
The lender is recognising brokers in the industry who have gone beyond everyday expectations to put the customer and their local community at the heart of their firm.
Well done to the team! You all absolutely deserve this recognition.

20/01/2022

Homeowners who are coming to the end of a mortgage deal are being urged to protect their finances by locking into a new fixed-rate loan.
A tsunami of higher energy and food bills, plus inflation heading towards four per cent, means key household bills are on the increase.
Borrowers with less than six months remaining on their existing loan deal should be acting now to secure a new one.
Two-year fixed-rate deals for borrowers with a loan representing less than 60 per cent of their home's value, are available. Yet, most homeowners are opting for five-year fixed rate loans. They offer longer term payment stability.
This benefit does come at a small price, however, with the best five-year loans more expensive than their shorter counterparts.
Many lenders now offer borrowers the opportunity to fix their mortgage rate for the next ten years.
Such loans have most appeal among homeowners who have no plans to move home in the foreseeable future.
This is because onerous early repayment charges will be levied if a homeowner needs to break the deal – maybe because they want to move home.
Such early repayment charges can often amount to thousands of pounds.

17/01/2022

**Landlords – Are You Aware Of The New EPC Regulations?**

Did you know that by 2025, all newly rented properties in Scotland must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of at least ‘D’. If a property doesn’t meet a “D” rating then it cannot be let it out after that.

The government is seeking to improve the energy efficiency rating of the UK housing stock to assist them in meeting the ambitious net-carbon zero targets. Being energy efficient and reducing our carbon footprint is a good thing but landlords seem not to be fully aware of the implications.
Most current rented properties will need to be upgraded to meet the new standard, especially the older properties. Yet, in a recent report, 25% of landlords said they have ‘little to no’ awareness of the changes. And a significant number of landlords – 15% – report having no knowledge of the energy efficiency rule changes coming in the next few years.
Landlords need to take action now to protect the commercial viability of their portfolio. They should consider what properties they can upgrade to this standard and then start investing and arranging the works otherwise they are at risk of properties becoming unlettable and long voids.
Mortgage lenders are happy to lend more to landlords who want to invest and upgrade their properties but some have started to restrict lending to properties on higher EPC ratings. This trend will continue.
If landlords cannot or chose not to invest in the properties then they may consider selling. Research by Nationwide’s buy to let brand - The Mortgage Works – found that more than half of landlords are considering selling. But then sellers of these properties may find that other landlords are less likely to buy a property if it cannot be upgraded to a “D” rating. This may mean that these properties are more difficult to sell.
As well as landlords being unable to rent their properties or choosing to sell them, the other risk is that there are fewer properties available for rent, and this may in turn drive up rents.

11/01/2022

Given everything that has happened in 2021, your New Year’s resolutions for 2022 will likely look different this time!

Sure, plenty of people will vow to lose weight - maybe more so thanks to COVID-19 stress eating.

The pandemic also will likely prompt many to be more financially prepared for the unexpected.

A great way to protect yourself, your loved ones and your finances is to have adequate Life Cover in place.

So as you look ahead to the New Year, here are some possible Life Cover resolutions;

🍾 Buy a Life Insurance policy

🍾 Make sure you have enough Life Cover

🍾 Have your Life Cover needs changed since you set up your current policy?

🍾 Evaluate your policy term

🍾 Review your benefiteries

🍾 Make sure your family knows about your policy

If you'd like a quote for a new policy or a review of your existing one, get in touch today.

It could be the best thing you do all year.

11/01/2022

Life insurance is a vital type of insurance protection that’s important for everyone to have if loved ones depend on their income or the services they provide.

For a no obligation review of your life insurance send the page a message today.

Back to to editorial 👇

My husband and I each bought life insurance when we got married years ago in order to protect each other financially in case something happened to either one of us. But, in 2022, I intend to buy more life insurance coverage than the amount I've had for a decade. Here's why I'm planning to increase the death benefit on my term life insurance policy.

There's a simple reason I'm buying more life insurance
I have made the decision to purchase more life insurance in 2022 because my husband and I will be adding a second child to our family in March.

We had our first child in 2019 and didn't buy additional coverage at the time because we felt that the death benefit on our existing policy limit was high enough that our child would still be provided for even if something happened to one of us. But now, with adding a second child to the mix, we are concerned the policy limit wouldn't be enough and it could result in some financial struggles if one of us passed.

See, not only do I work and earn income that I bring into the family, but I'm also the primary caregiver for my child because my job has more flexible hours. If I passed away, my husband would need to hire childcare help for not one but two children, and that would be a huge added cost that would take a bite out of the income he'd have remaining after I passed.

Having two children also means we'll need to shoulder the cost of two college educations, which will come at a price I shudder to think about when my kids reach college age decades from now. I don't want to leave my family struggling, so I'm going to be contacting my life insurance provider and taking steps to increase the amount of the death benefit my family would receive if something happened to me.

Life changes may involve a review of life insurance coverage
Any time a person goes through a major life change, it's a good idea to review life insurance coverage and make certain that it is still going to provide enough protection.

The change in my life happens to involve having a baby, but many other shifts in circumstances could call for the purchase of additional insurance protection. This could include marriage, assuming the responsibility of care for aging parents, adding a new dependent to the family, becoming the family's sole breadwinner, or divorcing.

It's important not to assume that just because a life insurance policy is in effect that there's no additional changes that will need to be made. By taking the time to re-evaluate current coverage needs on a regular basis, it's possible to ensure the right protection is always in place so an untimely death won't lead to financial disaster for those who are left behind.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Christy Bieber

Christy Bieber is a personal finance and legal writer with more than a decade of experience. Her work has been featured on major outlets including MSN Money, CNBC, and USA Today.

07/12/2021

🏡↪Remortgaging offers homeowners the opportunity to switch their existing mortgage to a new lender.

🏡It can enable homeowners to save money on a cheaper rate, reduce the mortgage term, or even free up extra money for home improvement.

🏡For most people, their mortgage is their biggest financial commitment. And it follows that streamlining the largest debt can produce the largest saving – sometimes £1,000s each year. If you're the kind of person who shops around to get the cheapest television or mobile phone contract, then you're missing a trick by not using the same skills to save money on your mortgage.

🏡There are however reasons why it might not be a good idea to remortgage.

💬So if you'd like advice get in touch today and we'll talk over your options.

06/12/2021

"Perfect service. Sean always responded promptly at every stage of the process, from the first i ..."