🔨 Forged in Trust. Stratton Thorpe Mortgage Solutions is celebrating 6 iron-strong years of mortgage & protection advice tailored to you. Thank you for being part of our journey! Since 2019, we have successfully arranged 2,677 mortgages, totalling over £550 million. Our fantastic team of 11, located across the Midlands and South East, proudly serve our local communities.
We've received 248 five-star Google reviews and won six local business awards. Your support inspires us every day! Here’s to many more years of helping you achieve your homeownership dreams. Thank you to each and every one of our clients 🏡❤️
TEAM NEWS
The October team spotlight is on Gaurav Sharma of GS Mortgage & Protection Solutions
Tell us a bit about yourself… I started GS Mortgage and Protection Solutions because I believe everyone deserves the pride of owning their first home. With over a decade of experience, I simplify the mortgage process for first-time buyers and newcomers, offering impartial advice and working for you, not the lenders. As a multilingual adviser, I help clients find the best mortgage and protection products, ensuring they feel confident along the way.
Where are you based, and why do you love it… I’m based in Coventry, a city filled with history and culture, vibrant arts, and diverse communities. Its mix of tradition and modernity, along with attractions like the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, makes it a fantastic place to live and work.
Your favourite local restaurant… While I enjoy cooking Indian food at home, my family loves takeaways from Pizza Italia & Kebab House for their delicious pizzas and friendly service.
Top advice for home movers and first-time buyers in 2025… Be proactive. Secure a Mortgage in Principle early to show sellers you're serious. Let me guide you through the complexities, including new mortgage schemes and interest rates, to make your path to homeownership clear.
MORTGAGE NEWS
Cost of renting in retirement rises to £398k, widening financial gap between tenants and
People who expect to rent in retirement could need an extra £398,000 in savings compared to those with no housing costs, £7,000 more than last year.
According to analysis by Standard Life using projected rental costs over 20 years from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), those renting in retirement could need a larger financial cushion depending on where they rent. The research suggested that renters in Southern regions, particularly London and the South East, will need more than those in areas like the North East, Wales and Northern Ireland.
According to Standard Life, renters in London might need as much as £833,000 saved to afford renting in the capital during retirement, falling to £508,000 in the South East. Those in the North East will need savings of £269,000. This follows recent research by Standard Life, which found that 40% of people want to become homeowners in the future, but due to rising house prices, 12% expect to still be renting when they retire.
SOURCE: Mortgage Solutions
Conditional selling – the estate agent loophole that’s hurting buyers
The BBC’s Panorama investigation has reignited urgent discussion around the widespread issue of conditional selling in the UK property market. This practice – where estate agents pressure buyers into using in-house mortgage advisers in order for their offers to be considered – is not just unfair, it’s unlawful. And it’s eroding buyer confidence at a time when transparency is more important than ever.
Although long-denounced by independent brokers, the programme’s allegations against Connells bring the issue back into sharp public focus. Under the Estate Agents Act 1979, all offers must be presented to the seller, regardless of which broker the buyer uses. Yet we continue to see situations where this legal obligation is sidestepped in favour of commercial gain. It’s a breach of trust that has no place in modern home buying.
This scrutiny is not only welcome – it’s overdue. Buyers should always be treated fairly, and it’s telling that independent brokers weren’t the focus of any complaints in recent investigations. That alone highlights the value of objective, client-first advice.
But we can’t rely on complaints alone to drive change. Reform must come from the top. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) needs to do more to educate consumers about their rights. Empowering buyers with the knowledge that they are not obligated to use in-house services – that they can choose their own adviser – is key. This could be a timely opportunity for a public-facing education campaign or to rethink the disclosure requirements at the point of sale.
Whatever the tactic, the FCA must do what it can to ensure buyers hold this knowledge from the outset. Seeking independent mortgage advice means working with a professional whose only priority is you. Independent brokers aren’t tied to a single lender or pressured by sales targets. They offer a wider view of the market, tailored recommendations, and, most importantly, advice based solely on what’s right for the client. That’s what true financial guidance should look like.
SOURCE: Mortgage Solutions
House prices rise for third month in a row: Halifax
Average house prices rose for the third consecutive month in August, increasing by 0.3% compared to July to reach £299,331, the latest Halifax index shows. Although this marked a new record high, the pace of annual growth was 2.2%, down slightly from 2.5% in July. Northern Ireland continues to see the strongest annual growth with average prices up by 8.1% over the year to £217,082. In Scotland, average prices rose by they increased by 1.6% to £227,786. 4.9% in August to £215,594 and in Wales. In England, the North/South divide continues, as the North East, North West,and Yorkshire & the Humber all saw prices rise by more than 4%. But the South West saw prices fall 0.8% over the past year, making it the first UK region to record since July 2024.
In London the average house price ticked up by 0.8% year-on-year to £541,615.Across the UK as a whole, the average paid by first-time buyers has edged down by 0.6% since May to £237,577 as mortgage affordability has improved. On a 95% LTV mortgage over 30 years, that could mean monthly repayments of around £1,179 compared to the average UK private rent of £1,343, according to Halifax.
SOURCE: Mortgage Strategy
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240+ 5-Star Google Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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