Luke Ganderton at Linear Financial Solutions

19/12/2025

The Bank of England base rate was reduced yesterday as expected - good news for those with tracker mortgages. 👌🏻

If you're thinking about moving or remortgaging in the new year, feel free to get in touch over the festive period. I'll be available early next week, and between Christmas and New Year as well. 🎄↔️🎇

12/12/2025

Get in touch if you want to find out what's available!

25/11/2025

Contactable by phone or online - I'm not far away! 😂

21/11/2025

📉 Mortgage rates continue to fall this week (or at least the lenders who were slow to act are finally catching up!) but food and energy prices are on the rise. Not ideal as we head towards Christmas 🎄 when many of us lean on credit cards a little more than usual 💳.

📊 Research shows 26% of UK homeowners have missed a credit card payment in the past two years.

This really highlights the growing pressure on household finances and the potential long-term impact on a credit profile.

✨ The good news is there are lots of lenders willing to consider less-than-perfect credit files. Some will even lend to borrowers who’ve had four blips in the last four years! Rates may be a little higher, but it can be a “means to an end” and still cheaper than going onto a mainstream lender’s standard variable rate at the end of the fixed term. Definitely something worth getting advice on if your payment history isn’t spotless.

The business manager of one specialist lender put it perfectly when I spoke to him this week:

“We aren’t the cheapest. But we say yes to your client when the high street banks say no. We might not be first choice, but we can be a solution in the short term — 2 years, 3 years, however long it takes until the credit file looks healthier. Then you can help them move to a better rate with someone else — and that’s fine by us.”

Refreshing honesty — and a point well made 👍

🎁 Whatever your situation, there is a lender out there for you.
(But maybe go easy on those credit cards while Christmas shopping! 😄💳🎅)

11/11/2025

Occasionally I'll post about experiences I've had in property over the last 20 years as people might find it interesting, or learn something from it.

Here's the first one...

After completing my first two refurb projects I was looking for the next one when I came across this beautiful little terraced cottage in a nice village in Worcestershire. It needed redecorating throughout, but being so small it wouldn't have meant spending a great deal. It was on the market for OIRO £120,000 which I assumed was to attract interested parties and induce a bidding war. This was more common 10+ years ago, before "offers in excess of" became popular.

I phoned the estate agent to book a viewing and said, "I know it's offers in the region of £120k, but realistically, what do you think it will sell for?"

The agent replied, "realistically, I would think £105,000".

Not what I was expecting to hear! I don't think I spoke for a few seconds as I tried to hide my surprise. Was I missing something? I booked the viewing, loved the house, and had an offer accepted of £105,000. Brilliant. To me, this house was going to be worth significantly more than the sale price, and it wasn't even a big project.

At the time I had an off-set interest-only mortgage on my house which was slightly unusual. It was great for me because I worked shifts and did a lot of overtime and the flexibility of the mortgage meant I could overpay a bit each month when possible, and conversely, I could borrow back what I'd previously paid off - no questions asked. The drawback of this type of mortgage is that not all high street banks were familiar with it.

So I wanted a broker. I searched on moneysavingexpert and used the recommended brokers that cover the whole country and are online / telephone based. I won't name them, but let's call them Capital & Country... 🤔

The guy I spoke to seemed really helpful and polite. He took all my details and said he'd see what was available and get back in touch. A few days passed and he asked me to confirm some details about my off-set interest-only mortgage as it wasn't something he'd encountered before. I explained it. He took the information to a supervisor. A few more days passed by and he asked me to clarify details on the product again. I was slightly concerned at this point. The problem is that I trusted the guy would sort it out. He didn't. After two weeks nothing much had happened. No meaningful progress had been made at all.

As nice as the guy was, he was in a huge firm and didn't have the personal accountability for sorting my case. Not enough time was spent working on it. The estate agents called me for evidence of funds. I couldn't provide it. Even though it was obviously affordable and borrowing should not have been a problem.

I asked for more time - "I'll find another broker asap!"

"Sorry sir, there's another buyer waiting and if he can provide proof of funds the vendor will go with him". Fair enough. If I was the vendor I would probably have gone with the other buyer too.

And they did. Extremely frustrated and let down, I kept an eye on the house to see what happened with it. It was sold to the other buyer for £105,000. Within 6 months it was refurbished, marketed, and re-sale completed - for £180,000. Years later it sold again - for £250,000. 😕

The moral of the story - whether it's me or someone else - use a broker who you know is absolutely going to do everything they can to help you - or at least be honest if they can't. Someone who will act quickly and serve your best interests. Because even at the best of times, buying a house can be stressful.

Choose someone accountable - with their own name attached to the business! 😁

07/11/2025

Friday Roundup 🏡

The Bank of England kept the base rate at 4% yesterday — so no drop yet for those with tracker mortgages. That said, many are predicting a cut to 3.75% at the next review on 18th December 👀

Despite the rate being held, over a dozen more lenders have announced rate cuts this week across a variety of mortgage products — following on from others last week.

I’ve had meetings with representatives from different lenders every day this week as they explained where they’re strongest. It’s been great to hear each one make their case for how they can help customers — but best of all is knowing they’re having to compete harder than ever to win business and do their best for clients 👊

Today, a major lender even gave me the direct phone number for their underwriters. Their words:

“If you ever have a client who doesn’t quite meet the criteria, just phone us and we’ll see what we can do. We can tweak things.”

A refreshing contrast to years gone by when you’d ring a bank and effectively be told, “computer says no.”

Whether it’s to source a deal or just for advice, speak to a broker! 😁

31/10/2025

🎃 Friday Roundup ⚡

It might be Halloween, but the mortgage market hasn’t been scary at all this week! 🏡💰
Several lenders have cut their rates across the board — some by as much as 0.23%, which works out to £460 a year saved on a £200,000 mortgage.

So what’s driving it? 🤔
Is this a delayed reaction to the Bank of England’s base rate cut back in August?
Or are lenders getting ahead of the curve, predicting another cut next Thursday? 🔮

Reports yesterday show analysts at Goldman Sachs expect a cut on 6th November, while other sources point to 18th December. Either way, great news for borrowers if (or when) it happens! 🙌

Of course, all we can do right now is work with the deals available today — and this is exactly where a broker proves their worth 👇

💼 Draco gets his mortgage offer directly from his bank. If the BoE later announces a rate cut, his bank might pass on the saving… or they might not. If they don’t, Draco faces a tough choice — stick with the offer he has, or change allegiance and start again.

🧙‍♂️ Harry, on the other hand, uses a broker with access to 80+ lenders. When rates drop before completion, his broker simply re-checks the market and secures the new best deal — saving time, money, and hassle.

That’s the magic of having a broker on your side! 🪄💪

🎃Happy Halloween!🎃

24/10/2025

📰Friday Roundup following a week full of webinars, lender calls, and product updates in an ever-changing market.🏡

Here’s some of what I learned (I can't name lenders)...

🔺 One major lender has increased rates on product transfers for existing customers. Not ideal for their borrowers hoping to switch at the end of their initial term. 😬

🔻 Another big lender has reduced their rates on both residential and buy-to-let products — but only for new customers. ✅

👍 A third lender has relaxed their criteria for “near-prime” applicants — meaning they’re now more open to customers with minor credit hiccups (like the odd missed payment in recent years).

📈 A big market analysis this week highlighted a steady rise in later-life borrowing, and that trend looks set to continue 👵👴

👀 And finally — 100% LTV mortgages are expected to become more widely available in 2026! Expect to pay a higher rate of interest, but they could be suitable for some applicants.

Looking ahead…
📅 6th Nov: Bank of England base rate announcement
💼 26th Nov: Chancellor’s Autumn Budget

Both of these could really have an impact on mortgage rates — so November’s set to be an important month. 🔍

21/10/2025

https://www.facebook.com/saintaugustinesredditch/posts/pfbid06TpEkQPjpnd96XjspkggDEtDhWtrERTMqPzKHps5FwVTS6nzZ2f6w3uSw83z7nwsl

🙌😇😁

Do you need mortgage advice?

Luke Ganderton, a parent of Saint Augustine's, can help!

Please see his page here: https://www.facebook.com/LukeGandertonMortgageAdvice

Quote "SAINTS" as a reference