Cyborg Finance

08/10/2026

Can you rent out your Help to Buy home?

If you bought your home using Help to Buy: Equity Loan in England, you cannot normally rent out the entire property while the equity loan remains outstanding.

Temporary letting may be permitted by Homes England for reasons such as ill health, work relocation, financial difficulties or unsafe cladding. You'll need permission from Homes England, your mortgage lender and insurer. Permission lasts 12 months and costs £50 to apply.

Having a lodger is allowed without Homes England's permission, provided you live in the property too and don't grant them a formal tenancy. Check your lender's and insurer's terms.

Permanent letting requires you to repay the equity loan in full before switching to a buy-to-let mortgage. Partial repayment isn't enough.

If you've already rented out your home without permission, contact Homes England. Retrospective approval may be possible but isn't guaranteed.

Full guide: https://cyborg.finance/home-owner/remortgage/guides/can-you-rent-out-your-help-to-buy-home

06/10/2026

UK residential construction starts fell 33% by value compared with a year earlier, Glenigan reports. Its latest index covers the three months to September 2026.

Residential starts also fell 8% compared with the preceding three months.

That measures the value of projects starting on-site, not the number of homes. The index tracks underlying projects worth under £100 million.

Private housing offered one brighter sign. Starts rose 4% against the preceding three months, but remained 32% below last year. Private housing improved slightly, while the wider residential market continued shrinking.

Social housing weakened further. Starts fell 33% against the preceding three months and 35% year-on-year.

Across construction, underlying starts fell 18% year-on-year. Civil engineering moved the other way, rising 43%, partly offsetting weaker building activity.

Are you seeing fewer enquiries, delayed starts, or accepted quotes that never become jobs? And is new-build work behaving differently from extensions and renovations locally?

https://cyborg.finance/development-finance/self-build/news/2026-10-resi-starts-down

06/10/2026

Fleet Mortgages reports average LANDLORD rental yields of 7.9% across England and Wales in Q3 2026. That compares with 7.5% a year earlier: an increase of 0.4 percentage points.

Its borrowers also held larger portfolios, averaging 18 investment properties. That’s up from 16 last quarter and 12 a year earlier.

Note: This is internal fleet data, so it's like a self-selecting questionnaire of specialist landlords. These are not your vanilla BM or TMW landlords. Insightful and interesting, but overall market averages will differ.

Only the North West and Wales recorded annual falls. Their yields dropped to 8.3% and 7.5%, respectively.

Larger landlords accounted for a substantial share of Fleet’s applications. Those owning at least four properties submitted 66% of applications. Those owning 15 or more submitted 30%, versus 23% a year earlier.

However, purchases represented 34% of Fleet’s business, down from 36% last quarter. Larger average portfolios therefore don’t necessarily mean faster buying across the market.

The headline yield also isn’t enough to judge what landlords actually keep. Mortgage interest, repairs, insurance, agent fees and empty periods all affect returns.

Fleet’s figures show stronger yields alongside a shift towards larger borrowers. Whether that translates into better cash flow is another question.

https://cyborg.finance/buy-to-let/news/2026-10-average-portfolio-reaches-18-properties

06/10/2026

Mortgage Research Platform recorded 860,951 residential remortgage searches in September 2026, up 40% from August. Searches also rose 44% compared with September last year.

860,951 residential remortgage searches

+40% versus August 2026

+44% versus September 2025

That’s a sharp increase after the quieter summer.

The wider mortgage market picked up too. Total searches rose 23% month-on-month, reaching 1.91 million.

Homebuying searches grew more slowly. Residential purchase searches increased 8% from August, but just 1% year-on-year.

For homeowners, check when your current deal ends. The search figures alone don’t tell us where mortgage rates will go next.

If your fixed deal ends within six months, start comparing your options. Looking early doesn’t mean you need to leave your current deal early.

Compare a remortgage with a product transfer: a new deal from your existing lender. Look at the overall cost, including product fees, legal costs and early repayment charges.

If you’re still within your fixed-rate period, rising market rates don’t change your agreed rate. The bigger question is what your replacement deal could cost.

Calculate potential payments using your outstanding balance and remaining mortgage term. That gives you something useful to budget around, rather than relying on headline rates.

https://cyborg.finance/home-owner/remortgage/news/2026-10-surge-in-remortgage-enquiries

05/10/2026

Average five-year fixed mortgage rates have hit 6%. How to lower your payments?

Start comparing options now. Our guide explains rate bookings, affordability and the risks of waiting.

The average UK five-year fixed mortgage rate reached 6% on 5 October 2026. Moneyfacts puts the average two-year fix at 5.98%.

29/09/2026

A 2% deposit mortgage for first-time buyers & how does it compare to the Government Scheme?

The Cambridge has launched a five-year First Step mortgage and relaunched its two-year option. See the rates checked on 29 September 2026, eligibility and how it differs from Your First Home.

26/09/2026

New First-Time Buyer Scheme

Your First Home is the government's announced equity-loan scheme for eligible first-time buyers in England purchasing a new-build home.

The government expects it to support a 2.5% buyer deposit alongside a 20% government-backed equity loan.

This differs from simply borrowing 97.5% of the price as a mortgage. The low rate the Government intends to charge on their element of the 20% loan opens doors to affordability.

Number 10 says pre-registration will open by the end of 2026.

This is an announcement, not an operational launch: you cannot apply yet. However, you can get ready and start talking to your mortgage adviser.

https://yourfirsthome.mortgage/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-first-time-buyer-scheme-to-be-confirmed-at-budget

30/07/2026

Bank Base Rate is unchanged at 3.75%, but the pressure on mortgages has not gone away.

Catherine Mann joins Megan Greene & Huw Pill to make it 3 (up from 2), calling for a 0.25 percentage-point increase, taking the Bank Rate from 3.75% to 4%.

Inflation is 2.6%, above the 2% target, and the Bank still expects it to rise later this year.

Six-to-three vote to hold at 3.75%

20/07/2026

If your buy-to-let's initial rate ends within the next six months, contact your mortgage adviser today. Mortgage offers can last up to six months. Securing one now locks in today's rate as insurance against upward movements.

Iran and US forces exchanged missile and drone strikes in the Gulf again; blockades are back on. So oil prices climbed. Markets had expected Bank of England rate cuts this year. They now price in possible rate hikes.

Or, if you're a political sceptic. Andy Burnham is unknown and brings uncertainty over his plans or competence.

Gilt yields have surged in response. SONIA swap rates set the benchmark for fixed mortgage pricing. The latest figures show the pressure clearly:

- 2-year SONIA swap: 4.18% (4.04% a month ago, 3.49% a year ago)
- 5-year SONIA swap: 4.31% (4.14% a month ago, 3.75% a year ago)

Lenders reprice within days when swaps move. Several have already withdrawn products or raised rates this year.

The practical move is straightforward. Most lenders let you secure a new deal up to six months before your current one ends. The offer remains valid while your existing rate is in effect. If rates fall before completion, you can often reapply. If rates rise, you are protected. No early repayment charge applies.

About 1.8 million UK mortgage holders face renewal in 2026.

Do not wait until your deal ends and you slip onto your lender's standard variable rate. SVRs typically sit two to three percentage points above the cheapest fixed deals.

Contact your mortgage adviser today.

09/07/2026

First-Time Buyers - Stuck saving a deposit?

The First Step Mortgage lets you borrow up to 98% of a property's value. As such, a £200,000 home needs just a £4,000 deposit.

First Step stands out for what it allows. It accepts gifted deposits, lends on new-build houses, and considers self-employed applicants.