Financial advisors and mortgage brokers tell people "not to panic" after turbulent week

Many lenders have stopped offering mortgages as they wait to find out how the Bank of England will respond to rising inflation and last week's mini-budget.

Financial advisor Mark James Smith, from Wolverhampton, told the Express and Star: "The worst thing someone can do in times like this is panic, but once people do start panicking they hit all the panic buttons at the same time which causes problems for everyone.

"What I am telling people now is if they are already tied into a deal then they are fine, don't worry, however, if their deal is up in three months then they need to sit down and find out what the options are.

"There is no point taking advice from someone down the pub, people need to sit down with a financial advisor or a mortgage advisor and find out what options are available to them."

Mr Smith added: "Only in January we were fixing rates at one per cent but in the last week we are seeing the goal posts being changed on an hourly basis.

"Lenders are pulling out of the market, or we are finding offers only for them to be withdrawn the next day."

Mr Smith warned homeowners who signed a deal several years ago will find the market place very different now.

He said: "It is all about affordability now, the criteria might have changed and what people could afford previously when they signed the deal they cannot now.

"It seems like everyone is believing hearsay that the Bank of England are going to keep on putting up interest rates so many lenders are not committing to anything at the moment."

He added: "However, confidence should return back to the market sooner or later and then we can all get back to normal."

Mark Villers runs Your Choice Mortgage Centre in Sutton Coldfield and described the last week as "a nightmare".

He said: "We have not been able to quote anything really because as quickly as you find a deal, it's gone.

"We have not been helped by the media who are saying everyone is panicking. The reality is if you are on a fixed rate mortgage then you are fine for now, there is no need to panic."

He added: "We have all been enjoying low interest rates for a long time now and what goes down has to come back up.

"Even if we end up with interest rates of four per cent that will be lowest in Europe. These interest rate rises are just a handbreak to the economy to combat inflation."