Kathryn Haycock - Mortgages

09/12/2025

What Is a GREEN Deal? 🌿💚

A Green Deal is a special type of mortgage that rewards you for buying or owning an energy-efficient home. That means you could benefit from better rates, cashback, or extra borrowing simply because your home is greener and cheaper to run.

With energy prices still a big concern, these deals are becoming more popular & they can save you money in the long run 💚

Basic Criteria for Most Green Mortgage Deals:
* Usually an EPC rating of A or B (varies by lender)
* Energy-Efficient Improvements – Some lenders allow you to qualify by adding upgrades like insulation, solar panels, heat pumps, or efficient windows.
* Proof of Efficiency – You may need to provide an EPC, quotes, or plans for improvements.
* Standard Affordability Checks Apply
* New Builds & Existing Homes – Both can qualify as long as they meet efficiency standards.

Some lenders also offer 0% interest on further borrowing if the money is being used to increase the energy efficiency of your home!! 💚💚

14/10/2025

STAMP DUTY! - Tell them what value house they’d need to pay stamp duty on! So here you go 😆

If you are a first time buyer you are exempt from stamp duty up to £300,000

If you are a next time buyer you don’t pay stamp duty up to £125,000

The following rates then apply :

2% from £125,000 - £250,000

5% from £250,001 - £925,000

If you are purchasing an ADDITIONAL property - buy to let / not replacing your main residence you will pay 5% of the whole purchase price- on top of the above rates.

The 5% is refunded if you sell your main residence within 3 years.

Shall I ask him again next week? 😆😆

14/08/2025

Happy Financial Awareness Day! ✨
Today’s all about getting clued up on your finances! If you're thinking about buying your first home, moving up the ladder, or just want to be mortgage ready one day… now is a great time to get your ducks in a row! 🦆🏡

As your friendly local mortgage adviser, I help make sense of:

✅ How much you could borrow
✅ What your real monthly payments might look like
✅ How to protect what matters with life insurance, critical illness cover & income protection
✅ & most importantly, how to make it all feel less overwhelming and a bit more exciting!!
If this sounds like something you need, pop me a message or comment below to schedule a call with me. No pressure, no jargon just honest friendly advice! 💌💖

📱 07469702568
📧 [email protected]
www.appletreefinance.com

Appletree Financial Solutions Limited is an appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, a trading style of Openwork Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Approved by The Openwork Partnership 14/08/2025

13/08/2025

FUN FACT 🤣✍️

I am leftie✍️ it felt right to share this with you all on national left handers day!! Yep, who knew we had our own day !!🤣🤣

Did you know - only 10% of the world are left handed.. 😁
&.. We tend to use the right side of our brain more for tasks like art & music which is why we often get called 'creative' 🎨

11/08/2025

Happy international sons & daughters day! 👧💖

I am incredibly grateful every day that this little hunny bunny is mine!

This was from her 2nd birthday & I can't believe in just 5 days time, she will be 4! 😭

Hattie - Mae, you make the world a brighter place 💖 enjoying every moment of watching you grow, I just wish it didn't go so fast 🥺 bringing so much joy into our lives, so innocently & so so precious 🥰

I asked the universe every day for a girl, and I truly believe she was a gift send to me from heaven 👼 she's even been blessed with my dad's eyes 💙

Some may say it's cheesy.... but you have to believe to receive right?! 😉

01/08/2025

Ah 1st Aug - a big month in our house 🌸 our baby girl turns 4! My little brother gets married! And the last summer I’ll have childcare for 10 years 🤣🤣 ..
July was an incredibly busy month, in fact my busiest TO DATE 🥹🤞🏽 so so grateful!
I have decided to work less and spend more time with Hattie this August but that doesn’t mean I’m not around 🙋🏽‍♀️
Some cases I’ve been working on this month :

5 x new build buy to let purchases - multi property application submitted ✅
2 x house of multiple occupancy(HMO) let to a housing association applications submitted ✅
Agreement in principle for lady who is looking to buy ex parter out ✅
Remortgage with additional borrowing for home improvements ✅
Agreement in principle accepted for a single mum leaving the family home ✅
First time buyer purchase with 5% deposit ✅
A few FTB’s this month love to see it 🥰another had come to me 2 years ago and we managed to re-mortgage them this time away from the higher rate and save them over £300 a month 🥳
Further advice with existing lender to clear 2nd charge and for home improvements ✅
Next time buyer purchase submitted for couple with Mr having a couple of late payments, one as recent as in the last 3 months with a 10% deposit ✅
A few product switches, income protection & life insurance policies & home insurance thrown in for good measure 😆

If you made it this far 🫡 thank you 🤣

& now off for a weekend of fun with family in the lakes 🥰
Have a great weekend!!

30/07/2025

Beautiful home for sale❤️

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165129944?fbclid=IwQ0xDSwL3FS5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjEMaED575it__uWGnEkd_rQAMzkGSGg36w9hoZ3yMjgB4CWNjRZ8R9AfFzJ_aem_dSxs36axJe2JqylRLSeByw #/?channel=RES_BUY

4 bedroom detached house for sale in 6 Candlewood Avenue, FY4 for £430,000. Marketed by Elliott Booth, Blackpool

30/07/2025

TRUE STORY! This one makes me well up every time!
I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely new client. She was mortgage free due to her husband dying suddenly 13 years ago, early 40s 💔
Luckily, they had life insurance.
We all think 'it will never happen to us' but what got me was when she said her young children asked at the time, does this mean we will have to sell the house?! Their family home 😔
Fortunately, they didn't have to. Not only did they get to stay in their family home but keep the standard of living they had been used to & have some money left over for the big milestones he has missed like buying their first car and money towards their first home.
This may not be the case for someone who doesn't have any life insurance in place as mum only worked part time, with two young children.
We insure our phones, cars, pets & homes so we should definitely be insuring our lives!
We only get one life, lets protect it! 💖💖
If you would like me to review your current protection, or if you don’t have any life insurance in place, message me to find out more! 💖💖
📱 07469702568
📧 [email protected]
www.appletreefinance.com

Appletree Financial Solutions Limited is an appointed representative of The Openwork Partnership, a trading style of Openwork Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Approved by The Openwork Partnership on 17/07/2025.

29/07/2025

CHECK YOUR CREDIT FILE 📢 Around a third of people have never reviewed their credit reports. 😩
This could delay your mortgage process if there is something that comes to light at agreement in principle stage that you weren't aware of.

I spoke to a client this week who'd been issued a CCJ last month on one of their properties - they had no idea ! Fortunately they cleared the balance in time so this was removed from the credit file but this is not always the case and could have been a different story!

There are many ways you can keep on top of your credit profile so you don't miss anything important, and there are lots of free sites you can use 💰

17/07/2025

Did you see BBC Panorama this week?
‘Undercover Estate Agent’ exposed big-name firms giving priority to buyers who used their in-house broker or solicitor 😱

Some buyers were even told to increase their offer unnecessarily...
I experienced this first-hand when buying my first home! 😤

I see this all the time 👇
⚠️ Clients are told they’ll get “better rates” or “faster service”
⚠️ Some feel they HAVE to use the agent’s broker, even if they’ve already got an agreement in principle
⚠️ Others are made to feel they might lose the house if they don’t go along with it
❌ That’s not how it should work.

Here’s the truth:
You’re never required to use an estate agent’s broker or solicitor.
You have the right to choose your own!

✨ You should never feel forced into using someone you don’t want to work with whether it’s a broker, solicitor, or lender.
The choice is always yours 🙌

Have you ever been told you have to use an in-house service just to get your offer accepted? I’d love to hear your experience 👇

16/07/2025

On Sunday, me & Hattie took part in our first 10k together! It was boiling hot down Blackpool prom, but we did it and my goal was to get under an hour! (Running and pushing a 3 stone toddler plus a heavy buggy is not for the faint hearted 😅) 🥵😮‍💨 we did it in under 55 mins 🥳💃🎉

Around a year ago, I bought a running buggy so I had no excuse and didn't need to find childcare to get the exercise in when hubby was working!! I didn't realise how hard it would be and I felt like I'd never ran before in my life the first time I pushed her round the park 😆 I was so slow but I was determined to get quicker, and now we do our weekly 5k with our buggy buddy!!

Little did I know when my marathon training started, I'd end up with a new bunch of friends❤️ & not only are these lovely ladies running friends, they're also my mum friends and all our girls are starting school together this September so we're stuck with each other for 7 years now 😁❤️