How to ask a question about your mortgage

Lately my phone has been buzzing with messages from friends I haven’t heard from in a while. Indeed, the last time I felt this popular was in October.

But I don’t get asked about parties or the pub or how life treats me. No, I’m again answering questions from acquaintances who own a home and ask for mortgage advice.

And it’s not just friends. My wife also continues to forward messages from her friends asking for my help, as if I were some kind of mortgage magician who can help them navigate their mortgage loan maze.

That’s how I knew mortgage chaos, the unwanted sequel, was back.

I’ve politely told everyone who has messaged — as I did in October — to talk to their lender or broker, fiddle with calculators for overpayments, and basically keep calm if they need to re-mortgage.

You can check where you stand using This is Money’s best mortgage finder calculatorwho will do the amounts for you based on the value of your home, the size of the loan and the type of solution you want.

It got me thinking, though, that it’s about time This is Money did what it does best: help our readers with their real problems and direct them to experts we know and trust.

We’ve got Sir Steve Webb answering your deluge of retirement questions – a column he’s written for us for the past seven years – Heather Rogers unraveling your tax dilemmas and Dave Fishwick tackling your entrepreneurial challenges.

And today we have a new name for the roster.

David Hollingworth, a name you probably know, as he is one of the few “go-to” mortgage brokers that personal finance journalists across the country use for commentary, will now answer your questions weekly in our new Navigate the Mortgage Maze column.

With the Bank of England’s base rate set at 5 per cent, lenders have been reviewing rates in recent weeks and a general sense of panic has set in among UK homeowners and those seeking to get up the ladder.

Man in the know: Mortgage broker and new This is Money columnist David Hollingworth

This week, data from Zoopla shows that 42 percent of sellers are accepting lower bids (up from 15 percent a year ago), while lenders have warned that it will be weeks before the government’s mortgage support package is implemented.

David, who is a broker with L&C Mortgages, is ready to tackle your mortgage lending dilemmas and understand the madness that has arisen in the backdrop of rising interest rates, after years of ultra-low.

For starters, he answers a question about overpaying on a mortgage to take advantage of a 1.24 percent mortgage rate through 2026.

If you would like to ask him a question please email: editor@thisismoney.co.uk with the subject line: Mortgage Assistance

Please include as much detail as possible in your question so that he can respond comprehensively – and remember that he will not be able to immediately respond and answer every question that is sent to him.

And hopefully it will help make my phone quieter again.