Philip A J Smith - Mortgage & Protection Adviser

Call Directions Contact the business

Philip A J Smith - Mortgage & Protection Adviser Mortgage and protection advice in plain English. Advising clients since 1986. Find out more at http://philipajsmith.com http://www.londonwills.org

Helping homeowners, buyers, movers and families make clearer decisions about borrowing, protection and financial security. Providing UK and International clients and businesses with mortgage, property and personal financial advice since 1986.

08/10/2026

I've published a new essay: Own Nothing?

It began with a simple question:

What happens when ownership becomes increasingly important to security at precisely the point when meaningful ownership becomes harder to achieve?

The essay starts with housing, but the question is larger than housing.

It considers what ownership can provide beyond the asset itself - permanence, optionality, the ability to plan, and the possibility of changing the starting position of the generation that follows.

It also asks what happens when those forms of security become harder to reach, and whether non-ownership can offer comparable dignity, permanence and control.

The essay is free to read here:

https://philipajsmith.com/own-nothing/

The question is not how much we own.

It is how much ownership we require in order to remain free.

A remortgage decision should rarely begin when the current deal is about to end.Six months beforehand is often a much be...
20/09/2026

A remortgage decision should rarely begin when the current deal is about to end.

Six months beforehand is often a much better place to start.

Not because you must make a decision immediately.

Because you have time to understand what has changed.

Your income may be different.
Your property value may have changed.
Your priorities may have shifted.
Your mortgage balance will be different.
The market offer different options.

A six-month window gives you space to:

understand → explore → compare → decide → prepare

without being pushed into a last-minute decision.

The useful question is:

"What do I need to understand now so that I can make a good decision later?"

Begin early enough to think, rather than react.

Life Cover is not really about your life.It's about the financial consequences for other people if you are no longer her...
13/09/2026

Life Cover is not really about your life.

It's about the financial consequences for other people if you are no longer here.

That may include a mortgage, household bills, children, debts or other responsibilities.

The important question is therefore not simply:

"How much life cover should I have?"

It is:

"What financial responsibilities would remain if I died?"

Once that is clear, the conversation about whether life cover is needed - and how much - becomes much more meaningful.

Product second.

Purpose first.

Income Protection is designed around a very simple question:"What happens financially if illness or injury stops me work...
10/09/2026

Income Protection is designed around a very simple question:

"What happens financially if illness or injury stops me working?"

Depending on the policy, Income Protection may provide a regular benefit after an agreed waiting period if you are unable to work because of illness or injury.

However, policies vary.

Definitions of incapacity, deferred periods, benefit levels, exclusions and how long a benefit can be paid all matter.

So, rather than only asking:

"How much does it cost?"

A better question can be:

"If I could not work, how much of my essential monthly expenditure would still need to be covered?"

That starts with the real-life problem, not the product.

SVR is often the rate borrowers move onto when an initial mortgage deal ends.SVR stands for Standard Variable Rate.It is...
05/09/2026

SVR is often the rate borrowers move onto when an initial mortgage deal ends.

SVR stands for Standard Variable Rate.

It is set by the lender and can change over time.

That matters because remaining on the SVR may significantly alter your monthly payments compared with the deal you were previously on.

The useful question is not simply:

"What is my lender's SVR?"

It is:

"What are my options before I move on to it?"

Knowing what happens next gives you time to make a considered decision rather than a hurried one.

An Early Repayment Charge is not simply a fee to notice in the small print.It can affect whether changing your mortgage ...
03/09/2026

An Early Repayment Charge is not simply a fee to notice in the small print.

It can affect whether changing your mortgage now actually makes financial sense.

An ERC may apply if you repay, switch or make certain changes to your mortgage during a specific period.

So the useful question is not only:

"How much is the ERC?"

It's also:

"Would paying it still leave me better off overall?"

Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes it is no.

That's why the whole arrangement matters more than any other number.

LTV is one of those mortgage terms that sounds more complicated than it is.Loan To Value simply compares the amount you'...
01/09/2026

LTV is one of those mortgage terms that sounds more complicated than it is.

Loan To Value simply compares the amount you're borrowing with the value of the property.

For example, £180,000 on a property worth £200,000 gives an LTV of 90%.

Why does it matter?

Because LTV can affect both the mortgage products available to you and the rates you may be offered.

A useful question to ask as:

What difference would a lower LTV make to the mortgage options available to me?

Understanding the term is useful. Understanding what it changes is even more useful.

30/08/2026

Doing nothing is also a decision.

Not every good decision ends with action.

Sometimes after looking properly at the circumstances, the right decision is:

not yet.

Or:

leave things as they are.

That can feel uncomfortable because we tend to associate progress with doing something.

But a decision does not become better merely because it produces activity.

There's value in knowing when to proceed.

There's also value in knowing when there is not yet a good enough reason to.

The important distinction is this:

Doing nothing can be a considered decision.
Drifting into nothing is different.

27/08/2026

A decision can be right and still be uncomfortable.

It doesn't always.

A considered decision can still involve uncertainty.
Loss.
Compromise.
Uncertainty.
Or simply accepting that no option is perfect.

That discomfort does not necessarily mean that the decision is wrong.

Sometimes it means that we've understood the trade-offs correctly.

Perhaps the better test is not:

"Does this feel completely comfortable?"

but:

"Can I live with what this choice asks of me?"

Clarity does not remove every difficult feeling.

It helps us understand what we are choosing.

25/08/2026

A decision can be perfectly sensible at one point in life and completely wrong at another.

Not because the original decision was poor.

Because the circumstances change.

Income changes.
Responsibilities change.
Priorities change.
Health changes.
Families change.
What matters to us change.

Yet we sometimes judge today's changes using assumptions formed years ago.

There's value in occasionally asking:

"If I were making this decision for the first time today, would I make the same one?"

The answer may still be yes.

But it is worth knowing why.

Address

London
E143WD

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5:30pm
Friday 9am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+442071930946

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Philip A J Smith - Mortgage & Protection Adviser posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Philip A J Smith - Mortgage & Protection Adviser:

Shortcuts

Share

Category