Self Employed Income Support Scheme

The Chancellor has announced that self employed individuals who qualify will receive direct cash grants though a UK-wide scheme to help them during the coronavirus outbreak. The Chancellor has set out plans that will see those who are self-employed receive up to £2,500 per month in grants for at least 3 months. Called the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, those who are eligible can receive a cash grant worth up to 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. It is anticipated that this will cover 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.

Eligible people for the scheme will be able to apply directly to HMRC for the taxable grant, using a simple online form, with the cash being paid directly into people’s bank account.

The Self Employed Income Support Scheme will be open to those with a trading profit of less than £50,000 in 2018-19 or an average trading profit of less than £50,000 from 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. To qualify, more than half of your income in these periods must come from self-employment.

To minimise fraud, only those who are already in self-employment and meet the above conditions will be eligible to apply. HMRC will identify eligible taxpayers and contact them directly with guidance on how to apply. The income support scheme, which is being designed by HMRC from scratch, will cover the three months to May. Grants will be paid in a single lump sum instalment covering all 3 months, and will start to be paid at the beginning of June.

Individuals should not contact HMRC now. HMRC will use existing information to check potential eligibility and invite applications once the scheme is operational. Those who pay themselves a salary and dividends through their own company are not covered by the scheme but will be covered for their salary by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme if they are operating PAYE schemes.

Self-employed individuals can already benefit from a series of measures announced by the Chancellor to boost household incomes and will be able to access these while the new scheme is being rolled out. These include increases to Universal Credit, alongside income tax and VAT deferrals.

For more information go to Brighton Mortgage Broker – The Finance House

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-gives-support-to-millions-of-self-employed-individuals

The Finance House has been seeking urgent clarification from the government about whether Home buying in the current climate should continue at the current time, particularly as physical property valuations are no longer possible. The government has now stated that:
1. Home buyers and renters should, as far as possible, delay moving to a new house while emergency measures are in place to fight coronavirus.
2. If moving is unavoidable for contractual reasons and the parties are unable to reach an agreement to delay, people must follow advice on social distancing to minimise the spread of the virus.
3. Anyone with symptoms, self-isolating or shielding from the virus, should follow medical advice and not move house for the time being.

Further detailed guidance about buying in the current climate is anticipated shortly, and The Finance is seeking urgent clarification from the FCA to that there are no barriers if the buyer/seller wants to go ahead.

For more information go to Brighton Mortgage Broker – The Finance House
For the FCA go to Register Home Page (fca.org.uk)

There has never been a more important time for customers to seek the advice of a Free mortgage advisor in Brighton as we start to see lenders reducing their exposure to the riskier end of the market. Those operating in the 90-95% LTV arena, Lenders offering first time landlord products and for some who operate predominantly in the self-employed market, there will be a period of re-positioning and re-pricing but of course this is where a mortgage brokers value really shines through. There are still plenty of attractive deals available and feedback from lenders who are well capitalised is that they are very open to business but can’t give advice in their branches in the current climate.

We are hearing and seeing a focus on payment holidays through email social media. What is clear, is that not all lenders have worked out how they will offer this option to customers who are in financial difficulty as a result of the Covid-19, and in what shape it will be delivered. A few are looking at moving customers to an interest-only option for a short period of time, others are looking at extending the mortgage term by 3 months, whilst the rest rely on their current terms and conditions. The challenge, breaking the relationship between a payment holiday and the system impact on your credit report. Of course a payment holiday is not free and has long term cost implications for a borrower, so the decision to take the holiday should not be taken without sound and professional advice.

One question we have been asked is “is the Insurance Industry going to follow the Lending world by introducing a three month holiday for protection premiums” and for the majority of insurers this is a no. Some are looking at the option, but this involves significant systems development and with the Prime Minister suggesting that we may have reached the peak of cases in twelve weeks, it may be that such changes are not necessary. In fact, Insurers, whilst not publicly announcing moves, are warning that anyone looking to cancel a policy and then to re-instate it once we are over the worst, they run the risk of having inferior cover put in place. This means for the sake of 3 months premiums; the policyholder could be putting the future financial security of them and their family at risk if we should ever suffer a repeat to today’s events. Anyone looking to cancel their insurance should be encouraged to think twice and perhaps prioritise the cover they have now, they might never get it again in the future.

Finally, it is worth re-iterating the Government’s message, that this situation is not like the credit crunch of 2010 where banks had little capital to lend, this is about saving the lives of the elderly and vulnerable and helping others.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate

Base rate

Free mortgage advisor in Brighton, go to Brighton Mortgage Broker – The Finance House

You may, or may not, have heard that The Bank of England has cut the Bank Interest Rate, March 2020 to 0.1% which is the lowest level in history.

This could be a great opportunity to review your current mortgage deal so we can get you the best arrangement for you.

In these unprecedented times, it is only natural to start to think about your current financial arrangements. As a Brighton Mortgage & Protection Adviser, I just wanted to let you know that we are here, open and have access to great technology solutions which means that we can review your finances securely without having to arrange a face to face meeting.

According to the Money Advice Service, each year one million people in the UK find themselves unable to work due to a serious illness or injury. Whether you own your own home outright, have a mortgage or are renting, the thing you will not want worry about when trying to get yourself better is finding the money to pay the bills, or to keep the lender or landlord happy by meeting their monthly direct debit. In our experience people are not always aware of what could happen if they were unable to work and many have no financial back up plans to protect them.

The most common causes of long-term work absence we know are mental health, stress, musculoskeletal injuries and acute medical conditions. But every client is different and so are their needs so that’s why we choose not to limit insurance solutions to just one provider. We have access to a wide range of insurers so we know that there is a solution to match both needs and budget. So, if you want to make sure your bills get paid when you aren’t able to work, an income protection plan is essential.

Should you have any questions about the Bank interest rate, March 2020 or anything else, we are a phone call or email away. We will continue to support you and your circumstances.

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk 
The Finance House, Independent Free Mortgage Broker

As you may have heard on the news this morning, the Bank of England base rate has been cut to 0.25%.