Rhiwbina Living Issue 54 │ Spring 2022

Home buying with a
helping hand
Nicola Wicks of Northwood speaks to Leon Pisani and
Steven Pyne of Mortgage Advice Bureau North Cardiff
on how the best mortgage advisors can help you find
your dream home in Rhiwbina and North Cardiff
What advice would you
give first-time buyers or
homemovers looking in
the area?
It is always important to be ready.
If you are a home mover, you need
to have your house valued, on the
market and ideally sold subject
to contract. As there are so many
buyers out there, a vendor is not
going to accept an offer from you if
your house is not sold and you are
not in a proceedable position - so
if you're serious about moving get
a professional estate agent such as
Northwood to come out to give you
a fair and honest valuation.
If you’re a first-time buyer, then it is
incredibly important to ensure you
have an ‘Agreement in Principle’
or an ‘AIP’. This is essentially a
certificate from a lender that
evidences you are proceedable,
the loan amount requested is
affordable and you have passed
a soft credit check. This generally
means that the lender will accept
a full application from a client,
subject to an acceptable valuation
of the property you wish to
purchase.
The common misconception is
that applying for an Agreement In
Principle will have a detrimental
effect on a client’s credit file.
However, most lenders now will
only carry out a ‘soft check’, which
will not have any impact on your
credit file at all. Having an AIP will
ensure you can begin making offers
on properties right away and puts
you in the best possible position.
Sponsored feature
Leon Pisani
Is it a good time for
current homeowners
and landlords to remortgage?
We have spent a lot of time during
the last 12-months arranging remortgages
for clients who wish to
raise funds for home improvements
or simply looking to secure a lower
rate and achieve a lower monthly
payment. There really has never
been a better time to do this given
how low interest rates currently
are and we have saved our clients
thousands of pounds this year. This
applies to both homeowners and
landlords.
Steven Pyne
What are the advantages
of using a trusted broker
such as Mortgage Advice
Bureau North Cardiff?
Both myself and my colleague
Steve have both worked and
lived in North Cardiff for a number
of years, we know the market
extremely well and our local
knowledge of the area has been a
huge help to our clients. We also
both come from an estate agency
background and so have a real
understanding of the whole house
buying process from making the
offer to getting the keys.
As part of the Mortgage Advice
Bureau network, we have access
to over 99 lenders and a number
of exclusive rates. We can arrange
purchase, re-mortgage and buy
to let applications, as well as any
insurances that may be needed
upon moving in. We also charge no
fees for an initial consultation, and
this can be done over the phone or
face to face.
Finally, we pride ourselves on
managing the customer journey
and speed of service. We keep in
regular contact with our clients
until exchange of contracts and
are there to offer advice whenever
needed.
Ready to start your
moving journey in 2022?
Get in touch with Leon or Steven
for the latest mortgage advice or
Nicola at Northwood for the best
local insights or a free market
appraisal.
nicolawicks@northwooduk.com
1A & 1B Heol Y Deri, Rhiwbina,
Cardiff, CF14 6HA
02920 521400
www.northwooduk.com