Owning a property is the biggest investment most of us will make in our lifetime.

Fortunately, Edinburgh’s property market is one of the strongest in Scotland, and because so much of the city's housing stock is older, buyers place a premium on properties that are well maintained, energy efficient, and modernised.

If you want to add value to your home in Edinburgh, the following improvements can deliver the best returns on your investment.

These suggestions are specifically tailored to common Edinburgh property types, ensuring you get the maximum impact.

Upgrade Your Bathroom

Bathroom upgrades are one of the most reliable ways to add value to Edinburgh properties, especially older tenements and character homes where bathrooms are often dated or small.

Why bathroom upgrades are valuable in Edinburgh

• Many traditional tenements (found in areas like Marchmont, Bruntsfield, Leith, and Newington) have compact bathrooms that benefit greatly from modern layouts.
• Older homes commonly suffer from poor ventilation due to thick stone walls, making upgraded extractor systems and moisture resistant materials essential.
• Period properties often have pipework that needs modernisation to meet current standards.

High value bathroom improvements

• Replace old cast iron baths or worn fittings with modern, water efficient designs
• Install a walk-in shower to suit smaller tenement bathrooms
• Improve ventilation to prevent condensation in stone-built flats
• Add underfloor heating, which works especially well in ground floor colony houses
• Use bright, neutral tiles to lighten internal bathrooms with no windows (common in older flats)
• Consider creating an ensuite in larger properties such as Georgian townhouses or Victorian villas

Bathroom improvements can make an immediate difference in appeal and help your home stand out in competitive areas like Stockbridge and the New Town.

It is estimated that a bathroom renovation can add between 4-6% to your property value, even more if the work is done to a high quality, and the property is in a desirable area.

Upgrade Your Boiler and Heating System

Edinburgh’s climate and the age of many local buildings make heating efficiency incredibly important. A new, modern boiler is one of the most attractive upgrades for potential buyers.

Why this matters in Edinburgh specifically

• Many stone-built tenements and townhouses lose heat quickly and require efficient heating systems.
• Victorian and Georgian properties often have larger rooms and high ceilings, making efficient boilers and smart heating essential.
• Buyers increasingly look for low running costs and strong EPC ratings due to rising energy prices.

Heating upgrades that add the most value

• Install a modern condensing boiler capable of heating larger traditional rooms
• Add smart thermostats, ideal for controlling heating in multi-level properties common in Edinburgh
• Upgrade radiators in older homes where original units are inefficient
• Consider underfloor heating in kitchens or extensions, particularly in 1930s semis or renovated colony houses

Heating improvements make your home more comfortable and energy efficient, which is highly appealing across Edinburgh’s colder months.

Installing a modern boiler and central heating system could increase your property’s value by up to 4%. If you are considering installing a new boiler in Edinburgh, make sure that the installers are Gas Safe registered engineers.

Improve Insulation and Energy Efficiency

Energy improvements are especially valuable in Edinburgh due to the age of the housing stock, where many properties lack modern insulation.

Best energy upgrades for Edinburgh properties

• Loft insulation for 1930s semis and stone villas, which often have large, heat losing attics
• Secondary glazing for sash and case windows in Georgian or Victorian properties, especially in conservation areas where full replacement is restricted
• Draught proofing original windows and doors in tenements and townhouses
• Internal wall insulation in older stone properties where external insulation is not possible
• Floor insulation for colony houses and lower ground flats

These upgrades significantly improve comfort and EPC ratings, making your property more attractive to energy conscious buyers.

Restore Character While Modernising

One of Edinburgh’s greatest selling points is its historic charm. Whether you own a flat in a Victorian tenement or a Georgian townhouse, buyers love original features that have been carefully restored.

Value adding restoration ideas

• Restore original cornicing, ceiling roses, and woodwork, common in New Town and Marchmont flats
• Bring back traditional fireplaces in Victorian terraces or Morningside villas
• Repair sash and case windows instead of replacing them when working within conservation rules
• Sand and seal original floorboards found in many tenement flats

Homes that blend modern convenience with restored character often achieve higher selling prices in Edinburgh’s most desirable districts.

New Windows and Doors

Replacing old windows and doors in your Edinburgh home boost your property's value. Not only can it improve your property's kerb appeal, but it can also improve the thermal efficiency of your property too. Having energy efficient windows and doors can reduce heating bills over the long term too.

There are different types of windows and doors, from the most common and popular uPVC windows and doors, to the more premium and sleek aluminium windows and doors.

Aluminium windows in Edinburgh will cost more than uPVC windows, but they have a far more desirable and premium finish.

The same goes for aluminium patio doors in Edinburgh vs uPVC patio doors. You can install sliding or bifold doors to really add the wow factor and open up the rear of your house to your garden.

Modernise Your Kitchen

Kitchens are particularly influential when valuing a home, and Edinburgh’s older homes often benefit from a thoughtful refresh.

Kitchen upgrades suited to Edinburgh homes

• Open up smaller kitchens in tenements by removing non-structural walls to create modern dining kitchen layouts
• Upgrade cabinet doors and worktops to refresh older installations
• Install energy efficient appliances which appeal to eco conscious buyers
• Improve lighting to brighten internal kitchens common in older flats
• Add breakfast bars or small islands in larger homes like 1930s semis and family houses in suburbs such as Barnton or Trinity

A well designed, practical kitchen helps Edinburgh buyers see the home as move in ready.

A new kitchen could boost your property value from 4% all the way up to 12%.

Create Additional Living Space

More usable space almost always adds value, especially in city locations where square footage is limited.

Popular Edinburgh specific improvements

Loft conversions

Loft or attic conversions are very popular in Edinburgh, especially in 1930s semis and terraced homes across Corstorphine, Portobello, and Blackhall.

You can convert the attic of almost any property to extra bedrooms or bathrooms, as long as there is enough head height. Even then, with planning permission and the right budget, you can increase your roof height to accommodate this.

Adding bedrooms and/or an extra bathroom to the attic space of your property can increase the value of your property beyond the cost of the work. It is also a great move if you don't want to move from your current home, but are outgrowing the house and you need more space.

If you're considering getting an attic conversion in Edinburgh, then make sure to use a legitimate business with positive reviews and plenty examples of their previous work.

• Garage Conversions can take an unused space and create another bedroom or kitchen/bathroom in the property.
• Box room conversions in tenement flats, turning small windowless rooms into offices, dressing rooms, or even compact bedrooms
• Open plan living for smaller tenements, improving flow and brightness
• Basement or cellar conversions in Georgian or Victorian townhouses in the New Town, West End, and Leith Links areas
• Garden rooms in properties with large rear gardens
• Sauna or steam rooms - saunas and steam rooms in Edinburgh homes are becoming more popular these days. They can deliver great health benefits, are relaxing, and can also add value to your property

Maximising internal space is one of the strongest ways to increase your property’s value in Edinburgh.

Create Additional Internal Storage Space with Fitted Wardrobes

Fitted wardrobes in Edinburgh properties are one of the most effective ways to increase both the appeal and value of a property. Space is at a premium across the city, especially in traditional tenement flats, colony houses, and older Victorian or Georgian properties that were not designed with modern storage needs in mind. Installing fitted wardrobes is a practical, stylish and value boosting solution that makes better use of the space you already have.

Fitted wardrobes maximise every inch of available room. Unlike freestanding options, they can be designed to run wall to wall and floor to ceiling, making use of alcoves, recesses and awkward corners that are common in Edinburgh tenements and stone built flats. This gives buyers a fully optimised storage system that feels integrated into the home rather than added on.

Extra storage also makes homes feel bigger during viewings. Clutter free bedrooms present much better in online listings and at physical viewings. In smaller Edinburgh flats where every square foot matters, the perception of more space can directly influence the offer price buyers are willing to make.

Fitted wardrobes can add as much as 2-3% to your property value.

Boost Kerb Appeal and External Presentation

Whether you live in a tenement, townhouse, or semi-detached home, first impressions matter.

Ways to improve kerb appeal in Edinburgh

• Repaint external doors in heritage friendly colours common around the New Town
• Clean or repoint sandstone, which helps traditional buildings look fresh
• Upgrade garden paths and lighting in suburban areas
• Improve shared stairwells in tenements, repainting walls and refreshing lighting
• Install attractive planters or tidy front gardens to complement period façades

Even simple improvements can dramatically enhance the visual appeal of older properties.

Update Electrical, Plumbing, and Internal Systems

Many Edinburgh homes still rely on dated electrics or older plumbing systems.

Why this matters locally

• Older wiring is still common in Victorian and Edwardian homes
• Traditional tenements often have outdated plumbing layouts
• Modern safety standards and building regulations influence buyer decisions

House rewiring in Edinburgh will not only make the house more desirable to future buyers, but will give you peace of mind that an old wiring system is going to be safe and functional.

Upgrading these internal systems increases safety, reduces future maintenance concerns, and enhances overall property value.

If you are ready to start searching for tradespeople and builders in Edinburgh to work on upgrades on your property, a good place to start looking is the Edinburgh Trusted Trader website or the Best in Edinburgh website.

 

*IMPORTANT*: If you want 100% unbiased and independent investment management advice, then give us a call now on 0131 564 1940. Or fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button, and we'll match you with an expert adviser in no time:

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You only have to look at the stock market and investment world for less than five minutes to understand that it is a fluctuating beast, an area which requires skill and know-how, in order to master not only the basics, but in order to grab success overall.

Jumping into investments with little or no knowledge is a recipe for disaster, it’s really that simple.

The fact of the matter is that interest rates are lower than they have ever been before, and whilst we’ve always been told we should save money in a high interest savings account, at the moment, that isn’t the most sensible option.

In the past, you would have got a low of 3% on your savings balance, but we can wave goodbye to those glory days! Instead, more and more people are choosing to invest their money, rather than save it, and then reap larger rewards further down the line.

*IMPORTANT*: If you want 100% unbiased and independent investment management advice, then give us a call now on 0131 564 1940. Or fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button, and we'll match you with an expert adviser in no time:

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Where to start when looking for investment options?

The key is to find the best options to invest in, which will give you good returns (although varying) every year, without going too far into the big risk category.

Risk needs to be calculated in terms of gain, and if you’re a newbie to the investment world, you simply can’t be expected to know this, not without gaining advice first.

There is no investment out there which is without any amount of risk at all, but there are lower risk investments available too.

Of course, the returns on lower risk investments are smaller than the potential rewards on higher risk investments - but what if the high risk investment goes south?

Can you see how tricky investments can be if you’re not sure what you’re doing? For this very reason alone, hiring an independent financial adviser that specialises in investments will help you find the right routes to pursue, and to avoid the ones which are going to bring you nothing but wasted time and lost money.

Nobody has cash to burn these days, but trying to make more money from a smaller amount should be what we’re all aiming for.

It’s about making good decisions and knowing when to cut your losses. Again, an independent investment management adviser in Edinburgh is the one to tell you all of that, and more.

Where investments are concerned, the risk side of things does put a lot of people off, so let’s be realistic about this for a second. Let’s explore the pros and cons of investments, to help you make a decision on whether this is the right route for you to go down.

When you decide that investments are for you, if that is indeed the case, you then need to make an appointment with an independent financial adviser to find out your first tentative steps into the investment world.

The Pros of Investments

Many people choose to use investments in order to work as a passive income method, i.e. making extra cash at the side of their usual job, without putting much, or any, effort in.

Of course, you need to make the right decision from the get-go, and monitor it regularly, but investing in the lower risk end of the stock market is certainly something that many people dabble in, in order to line their bank accounts a little.

This can also be a good investment for the future, e.g. for retirement, to work alongside a regular pension scheme.

Getting the right amount of risk versus what you’re willing to (and can afford to) invest is the number one point, and sitting down with an independent financial adviser will be able to identify all of that information much quicker than if you tried to work it all out yourself.

The chances of error in that case are high - you’re not a born investor, after all. We all need to learn.

Let’s outline the pros of investing:

• A comfortable and regular income of money, variable in amount according to the investment you choose
• Income can be at various times, e.g. yearly or bi-yearly, depending upon the type of investment and the circumstances surrounding it. For this reason, shopping around for what suits you best is vital
• There are many low risk investment opportunities out there, so you don’t necessarily have to go high risk and potentially lose everything if a major drop occurs. This can be a good first step into the investment world for many
• Investments require little to no work at all, once the initial decision has been made, making them a great passive income method, or even a cash-making hobby!
• Following your investment online is easy, once you get the hang of it, and this allows you to better understand whether your investment is thriving or diving
• You can bail out at any time, however it is always better to get impartial advice before you make a decision to leave an investment and take your cash
• A good investment can bring you big rewards in the future
• Investments can be used for future financial comfort, e.g. retirement
• Investments can also be used after retirement, to bring a further source of income into the household. During retirement, you can concentrate on lower risk investments, and you will also have more time to learn the nuances of the stock market in more detail, if you want to
• You don’t necessarily need a large amount of cash to invest in the first place, but obviously, the more you invest, the greater your potential returns. It’s about being sensible with your investment capital, and seeking guidance from your personal investment adviser

From that, you can see why so many people invest, or are interested in doing so. Now, to balance things up, and to give you a complete overview, let’s talk about the cons of investing.

The Cons of Investments

Investments all come with a certain amount of risk, and as we mentioned earlier, that risk increases the more money you invest, and with what are deemed to be generally ‘riskier’ investments.

Searching around and doing research is vital, but even then you can’t be sure to know all the ins and outs of the situation you’re considering investing in.

Again, this is where an independent financial adviser will be able to help you out.

They will be able to go over the details and give you their professional opinion into whether this is a good idea or not.

It’s up to you whether you take that advice or not, of course, but it’s always wise to do so. An adviser doesn’t undergo years of training for nothing, after all.

The main cons of investments are:

• You cannot cut out risk entirely, and it will always be there in some amount. Some people can cope with this easily, others find it too anxiety-inducing and choose not to try investing
• If you only invest a small amount of cash, you may find that the return you receive is very small
• It is very easy to invest in the wrong thing, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, and if you don’t seek out advice beforehand
• Making the decision to stick with an investment or bail on it, can be a difficult one to make, and this is where seeking financial advice will help you gain confidence in your growing investment skills
• Watching investments isn’t particularly difficult, but you do need to understand the investment market overall to be able to make good decisions - it takes time to build up understanding, and you shouldn’t attempt to run before you can walk.
• The economy worldwide is very volatile at the moment, and even the slightest event seems to upset the stock market and all its related areas. Nobody can foresee certain events, so you have to go into investing with a ‘what will be, will be’ attitude to a certain degree at least, heeding advice as you go
• Finding the right investment takes time and know how - you can’t be expected to be an expert overnight

Savings Versus Investments

We mentioned earlier that interest rates are so low in the current age that saving doesn’t really give you the same rewards that it once did.

Of course, savings accounts are still the right option for some people, e.g. those who simply can’t deal with the varying amount of risk associated with investing, but overall, investments do give a better return on cash.

An independent financial adviser will be able to show you the way forward with regards to low risk versus high risk investments, and could even find you a mid-risk investment opportunity, which is neither too little in reward, or too risky for your heart to take!

Investments make your money work harder for you, and the hope is that the reward will therefore be greater when the payout is made.

From there, you can choose to either re-invest your money and hopefully make even more, or you can take the cash and run, using it for whatever you need or want to use it for.

If you want to, you can do both, reinvesting a smaller amount, and giving you a small sum to tide you over. Investment is a flexible beast, whilst also being a complicated one!

Savings aren’t going to make you money, at least not much, but an investment will, provided you make a shrewd choice, based on good advice.

That’s what it really boils down to, but making the right choice at the beginning is the make or break area.

Independent financial advisers know the financial market extremely well, and they have the knowledge that you simply don’t have. It’s their job to know these things, so why not take advantage of that?

Of course, it’s always a good idea to keep some cash to one side in a savings account, because if you need to access money quickly, in one of those ‘unforeseen circumstance’ situation that life tends to throw at us on occasion, you can get to it much faster than if you needed to bail on an investment.

If you do this early, you risk losing a lot of cash, so having some savings, is always a good choice.

It really comes down to how much you save, and how much you invest.

Again, a financial adviser will be able to help you come to a good source of middle ground here, as well as helping you choose the right investment to put your cash into.

Looking at your overall financial picture will allow you to make affordable choices, whilst giving you a greater chance of returns at some point in the relatively near future.

What Can You do to Increase Your Investment Returns?

We’ve talked about savings versus investments and we’ve talked about the pros and cons, so by this point you should have a general inkling of whether investments are for you or not.

If you’re still not sure, again, an independent financial adviser will be able to answer any question you have on investments.

It’s not out of the ordinary to have several questions about this particular complicated financial matter, and that is what the professionals are there for!

It’s a good idea to have several ideas in your head when you meet your adviser, so that you can hash out the good from the bad at that point.

Minimising risk is really about making the right investment choice, as we’ve said countless times already, but there are a few things you can do, with the help of your adviser, which will help to minimise risk a little, and also increase the returns you gain on your investment choice.

What Sort of Risk Can You Afford?

In order to identify the right investment, you need to identify the amount of risk that you can really afford to take on - realistically. An independent financial adviser will be able to take a look at your overall financial status and forecast and give you an idea of what you can realistically afford to invest, without going over the top.

You need to make a joint decision on whether you’re looking to invest in the short term, e.g. less than five years, or whether you’re going for a more long-term investment choice.

Regular Investment Reviews

Your independent investment adviser can help you review your investments in more detail, and this should be done ideally on an annual basis.

This ensures that you have the right balance of money invested in your particular choice, you can explore how it is performing, what it is likely to bring to you rewards-wise, and you can make a shrewd and informed decision on whether you should continue with the investment or not.

If you don’t continue, you can then explore options regarding other investment opportunities, taking on board the information your adviser gives to you for your individual circumstances.

Make Decisions Based on Retirement

As retirement looms, this is another opportunity to look at your overall investment portfolio, with the help of your independent investment adviser, and look towards how much risk you have invested in.

As you move towards the end of your working days, it’s always best to minimise the amount of risk you are investing within, and stick to lower risk investments.

Remember, when you retire, you don’t have the monthly pay check from work coming in, so you don’t need to be adding extra risk to the mix!

Any investment which is regularly affected by ups and down (fluctuations) in the market, should be reinvested somewhere with less of a risk factor.

You can also decide whether to cash in on your investments at this point.

Stick to Your Investment Goal

Why did you decide to invest in the first place? Was it because you wanted to earn extra cash for your retirement? You wanted to earn money to pass onto your children for the future?

It’s very easy to lose sight of why you are investing your money, especially as rewards start to roll in, but it’s vital that you stick to your initial goal.

If you don’t do this, you run the very high risk of getting a little too far ahead of yourself, which then increases risk by a huge amount.

Your independent financial adviser will help you to stay on track with regular investment reviews.

Never Invest in Just One Thing

A good independent financial adviser will always tell you that investing in just one thing gives you a higher risk than spreading your investments across lower risk choices.

If you pile everything into one area, and then it goes bang, what do you do? You lose everything, that’s what.

If you spread your investments, and stick to smaller amounts, in low risk areas, then you will always have something coming your way, and that makes more money sense than having nothing at all!

Again, your independent financial adviser will show you what makes good sense and what doesn’t.

Don’t Have Your Head Turned by ‘Sure Bets’

There is no such thing as a ‘sure bet’, not in any investment across the entire planet!

Every single investment has a risk attached to it, it’s just about identifying how much risk.

The number one error that new investors make is listening to the blurb of a salesman who is promising them the Earth.

For this reason, always get your investment ideas checked out by an independent investment adviser, because they will be able to tell you the truth, without having any other prior motive.

A salesman has a prior motive, he or she wants you to invest your hard-earned cash in their initiative, and some unscrupulous types will tell you exactly what you want to hear in order to make you do that.

An independent financial adviser will take one look at it and tell you what it really boils down to. Make your decision based on that advice instead.

Know When It’s Time to Let go

No investment is going to work for you forever, and there will come a time when you need to cut ties, take your cash and move on to something else, or simply take the cash and run in general.

Knowing when to let go is a difficult decision for many, especially for first time investors.

There is always the ‘what if’ attached, e.g. what if it picks up, what if they have a major boom and I cashed in, what if I lose out in the end? The thing is, you can’t make your choice based on ‘what ifs’, you can only make it on the information you have available to you at the time, and the situation you are in financially too.

A financial adviser will be able to sit down with you and examine your individual investments, decide if they are doing well enough to stick with or not, and then you can decide together on whether it is the time to go, or the time to stay a little longer.

Sometimes, we all need a little nudge when it’s time to let go, and your adviser is the right person to go to for that nudge.

How Your Independent Financial Adviser Can Help You

We’ve talked a lot about risk versus benefit, and we’ve mentioned the main ways a financial adviser can help you in the sometimes confusing world of investments, but the number one thing to take away from all of this is that you cannot know it all, and a financial adviser knows a lot more than you do! It’s easy to think you can teach yourself, but as with anything financial, investments have layers.

One thing affects another, and when it comes to your cash flow, you need to ensure that you’re protecting every single penny as best you can.

An independent financial adviser is the one person on your side when it comes to investments, and the one person who will tell you straight. The advice you gain will be the basis on which to make your final decisions, and from there, you can look forward to prospective high gains in the future.

If you’re thinking of investing cash and you’re in the Edinburgh or general Scotland area, give us a call today. We’re happy to discuss any investment ideas you have, and help you come to a firm decision, before making the final leap.

From there we can do regular reviews with you every year or less, depending upon your preference, and make your investments work as hard for you as they possibly can.

It’s simply not worth making half-thought out decisions when it comes to investments, double checking everything with one of our highly professional and expert advisers will give you the peace of mind to have confidence in your investments, lining your bank account for whatever you choose to do with it in the future.

*IMPORTANT*: If you want 100% unbiased and independent investment management advice, then give us a call now on 0131 564 1940. Or fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button, and we'll match you with an expert adviser in no time:

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Talking about life and critical illness insurance is a great way to kill the vibe at a party. It's something that most people don't like thinking about, let alone talk about.

However, as with most subjects that people don't like talking about, it's very important.

Nobody wants to leave their children and loved ones behind with crippling debts should the worst happen, so why do so many people still continue to go unprotected? Especially when taking out life and critical illness insurance can be sorted simply over the phone, and is very affordable in most cases?

Read on to discover the shocking statistics and also how we at Edinburgh IFA are doing our part by putting our money where our mouth is to help some of the worst off kids in Scotland...

The Shocking Stats...

Over £125,000 is the average amount of debt owed by a family with a mortgage, and yet roughly HALF of all parents with children under the age of 18 don't have any life insurance at all.

Even worse, over 80% of parents don't have any critical illness insurance at all.

The majority of people would not be able to survive for more than 3 months if they were unable to work, how long would your family last if one or both of your incomes were to disappear overnight?

As a parent, would you agree that the most important thing in life is doing whatever it takes to ensure that your kids get the best possible upbringing and are happy and healthy? This is a big enough task with you working hard and providing for them, but imagine the situation facing your children if you were no longer around to provide that support and stability, what would their future look like?

These statistics show us that there are hundreds of thousands of parents in Scotland who are failing to protect their families, when in the majority of cases it costs mere pennies a day to have that safety net in place for your kids.

The reason for this most of the time tends to be down to the attitude of  parents thinking "This sort of thing will never happen to me"...

Unfortunately, it is estimated that roughly 23,000 parents die every year in the UK, leaving dependent children behind. That's one parent every 22 minutes.

So what are Edinburgh IFA doing about this?

We have decided that for every person that uses one of our expert financial advisors to find them the best life and critical illness cover at the best price possible, we will donate 1 month's worth of your monthly premiums to a Scottish children's charity at our own expense. So just by using our expert advisors to get this essential protection you will be doing all of the following:

1⃣ Providing your children with the much needed financial security and support should you or your partner unexpectedly become critically ill or pass away.

2⃣ If you are a single parent, providing your children with the much needed financial security and support should you unexpectedly become critically ill or pass away.

3⃣ Get a free, no obligation consultation from one of our expert, FCA regulated, independent protection advisors. They will explain everything clearly, answer all your questions, and most importantly, ensure you are getting the correct amount of cover that you need for the best possible price.

4⃣ At no extra cost to you, as a result of you trusting us to ensure your family's protection, we will do our bit to help improve the future of some of the worst off children in the country by donating 1 month's worth of your monthly premium to one of our Scottish children's charity partners.

*Also bear in mind that if you do already have life and critical illness insurance, our expert advisors have whole of market access.  This means they can search dozens of different companies and can often get you cover that is either cheaper than what you are already paying for the same amount of cover, or can get you better cover for the price you are already paying. If our advisors can do this for you then we will also donate 1 month's worth of your premiums to one of our Scottish children's charity partners...

Ok, I'm ready to protect my family, what is the next step?

Simply fill out the quick form below and one of our experts will get back to you for a completely free, no obligation telephone consultation. It couldn't be easier, just fill out the form below and then click the "Get my advisor!" button now:

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In 2016 around 138,000 customers received compensation from their life insurance policies across the UK, with roughly £12.5 million paid out daily and £4.6 billion for the entire year. 

There are also some people who believe that life insurance companies won't pay out upon death of a partner or parent. The industry average payout rate from leading life insurance companies in the UK is 99%.

As long as the information you give is true and accurate, there is no reason for these companies not to pay out, that is the whole point in having life insurance, and they pay out to the tune of billions of pounds every year.

What other things do you insure that are important to you?

People generally don't think twice about insuring their car, their home and contents and their pets. While this is important, are they as important as your life and the possibility of getting a critical illness at some point in your life which would make you unable to work and provide for your family?

Is your Sky/Virgin and Netflix subscriptions more important than protecting your children's futures? People routinely pay over £100 per month for these packages without thinking twice about it, but fail to pay a fraction of this amount for life and critical illness cover.

Do you have lots of assets so don't need cover?

If you have lots of assets like property, cars, jewellery etc, you may think that this will be enough for your loved ones to support their selves should the worst happen. However, you must remember that they will be saddled with the task of selling these assets.

This can take time and would be a big stress while having to deal with the grief of having lost a loved one at the same time.

Already got life cover?

If you already have life and critical illness cover, good for you, but do you have enough?

Some experts recommend that you should have cover of around 20x your annual salary, but most people with life insurance policies only have cover for around 3x-5x their annual salary.

Also, as your circumstances change (for example a new house with a bigger mortgage, more additions to the family etc) you need to have your circumstances re-evaluated to ensure you have an ample amount of cover in place.

It is often the case that our expert independent advisors can find people the same amount of cover at a lower cost, or a better amount of cover at the same price you are currently paying.

If you think you need to improve your cover, or haven't got any at all, then fill out the quick form below and one of our life and critical illness insurance experts will get back to you as soon as possible for a free, no obligation consultation:

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The UK is in the midst of a mis-sold pension scandal that could be one of the biggest financial scandals the country has ever seen. Over the last two years, the number of people claiming compensation for a mis-sold pension in the United Kingdom has more than doubled.

The sums of money involved are huge and the sheer number of people who have been mis-sold pensions, and quite frankly ripped off by greedy and unscrupulous financial advisors, is shocking.

In this guide article we are going to go over absolutely everything you need to know regarding mis-sold pensions, exactly how it all happened, whether you are eligible to make a claim or not and exactly what you have to do to make sure you claim back the compensation that is rightfully yours.

We have also designed an infographic below which gives an easy to follow visual representation of the whole mis-sold pensions fiasco, and whether you are eligible to make a claim for compensation. If you would like to check that out right now, click here.

*IMPORTANT*: If you believe you may have been mis-sold a pension, have been mis-sold a pension transfer, mis-sold a SIPP or have been given any sort of wrong advice on how to manage your pension, then fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button. One of our pension mis-selling claim experts will get back to you as soon as possible:

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How big is the UK pension mis-selling scandal?

Unfortunately, the figure of mis-sold pensions that have been poorly invested, advised and/or managed by shady financial advisors is estimated to be around the £10 billion mark. Yes you read that right: 10! BILLION! POUNDS!

As you can imagine, that is a hell of a lot of people who have been swindled out of their retirement nest egg and at Edinburgh IFA we will not rest until every victim who is due compensation gets it.

We have gone to a lot of trouble, time and effort to put together this guide and our easy to follow infographic for the victims of this scandal. It would really make a huge difference if you could take a few seconds to click the share buttons below and share this post on your social media to give us the best chance of getting it in front of potential victims so they know that they are not alone and there is a chance they can get their money back. We'd really appreciate it guys, and it'd be your good deed for the day. Thanks a lot!

Please click one, or all, of the share buttons below and make sure that your friends and family hear about this. There is a good chance that someone you love could be a victim and due up to £150,000 in compensation! Thank you so much for helping us spread the word...

Also, if you are a webmaster or blogger who would like to use our infographic, then you can just copy and paste this handy code and paste it directly on to your website or in to your post:

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Alternatively, click here to download the image if you'd rather self host it. All we ask is that you link back to this article if you do use the infographic on your site, thank you.

We have also put together this short YouTube video which breaks down the infographic in to slides:

Introduction to mis sold pension compensation

The good news is that in recent years tens of millions of mis-sold pensions have been compensated to victims but this is really only just scratching the surface.

Let's get in to exactly what pension mis-selling is, who perpetrated it, who is eligible for compensation and exactly how you get it.

How do you know if you are eligible for mis-sold pension compensation?

If your financial advisor, bank, or any other financial firm sold you a product that wasn't appropriate for you, you could get compensation for bad pension advice if you make a complaint and the complaint is subsequently upheld.

Mis-selling can cover quite a few bases, including;

• Being given inappropriate advice about a particular product, the risks not being properly explained to you, or not being given the information you required and ended up with a product that wasn't right for you.
• Charging ongoing fees and not receiving at least an annual review or follow up service from your pension adviser.
• Your adviser did not carry out a full and comprehensive fact find then there is a good chance the pension advice given was mis-sold as they do not know your full circumstances, thus cannot provide the suitable advice if they do not know the whole picture.
• If you were advised that you should transfer out of your defined benefit pension or final salary pension in to a defined contributions pension there is a chance that you could be due compensation. Even if your new defined contributions pension fund has not technically performed poorly. There are instances where this may have been a good move, but it is very hard to justify in most cases.
• If you were recommended to transfer your pension from a regulated investment in to an unregulated investment.
• Being charged an excessive or unjustified amount by the adviser that could not be recouped.
• Going from a cheaper to a more expensive pension without justification.
• The risks of the pension fund not being fully explained.
• Being recommended a pension fund that does not suit your risk profile.

This is the more technical side of this whole scandal, and why you should really have a chat with one of our specialists who can explain everything in more detail and get to the bottom of whether you have a chance at compensation or not.

Financial advisors are facing a stream of grievances about mis-sold pensions. It has been found that thousands of people in the UK have been poorly counselled on their pensions by financial institutions and independent financial advisors (IFAs), and they are now taking steps to claim their money back.

Deceived pensioners and investors could pocket up to £150,000 in compensation due to their floundering pension schemes as part of the colossal Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) scandal engulfing the United Kingdom – which the market professionals fear will overtake the recent massive wave of PPI (Payment Protection Insurance) claims.

What are mis-sold pensions?

With life expectancy continuing to rise, having some form of a pension plan is critical. It will help people enjoy a long retirement without the worry of looking for ways to cover the costs. This usually means paying into retirement pension plans with the money invested in shares and stocks.

Regrettably, thousands of Brits have been convinced to put their money into inappropriate investment schemes through mis-sold SIPPs. These are the investments, which the investors were promised would ensure they can enjoy a comfortable retirement, as they would deliver higher returns.

The truth is that people were deceived into investing in worthless products that won't reap any benefits. There are many ways an individual might have been mis-sold a pension. Here are some of the most common:

• Nobody asked if the individual had any other insurance which could cover the loan.
• The individual wasn't informed how the commission would work on the SIPP.
• The individual wasn't told the rules about pre-existing medical conditions.
• Nobody thoroughly explained the terms and conditions (small print) to the individual.
• The individual was informed that SIPP was obligatory and that he/she had to take it out.
• The individual was retired or employed when he/she were sold the SIPP.
• The individual wasn't informed that he/she could buy SIPP from another company.
• The individual wasn't informed about exclusions to the policy.
• The individual was pressured into buying the SIPP.
• The individual was told to transfer his/her pension into SSAS or SIPP investing in Property Syndicates, Carbon Credits, and other risky sectors.
• The individual wasn't provided with all the options available to obtain the best possible deal.
• The individual's attitude towards risk or capacity for risk was not properly considered.
• The individual may have been offered a free Pension Review and advised to transfer his/her investment.

During research conducted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it was found that one in eight individuals who received financial advice in the last year had an adviser mis-sell them a pension product at some point.

Remember, you do not have to have lost money from your pension pot in order to have been mis sold your pension, or to claim back compensation. Here is an example that could help you understand the concept of pension mis-selling in a simpler way.

The situation is similar when you are sold a pension product. The financial adviser endorses something appropriate for your requirements and clarifies what the product can do and can't.

The financial adviser should ensure that you know the risks associated with buying the pension product. If the financial adviser does not do this, you can claim for compensation.

*IMPORTANT*: If you believe you may have been mis-sold a pension, have been mis-sold a pension transfer, mis-sold a SIPP or have been given any sort of wrong advice on how to manage your pension, then fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button. One of our pension mis-selling claim experts will get back to you as soon as possible:

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What are the UK's most common mis-sold pensions?

The Financial Conduct Authority regulates the sale of mainstream investments, funds, shares, and stocks that you may generally choose to invest via SIPP. But, there is a whole host of unregulated investments that the investors have been influenced into making with their pension funds.

The majority of these investment schemes are known as Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS). In this, a host of individual investors pool their money for a fund manager, which is then used to invest in some form of asset that is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Here are some of the commonly mis-sold pensions

#1 Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)

The Self Invested Personal Pensions usually are set up to hold high-risk, under-performing, illiquid investments with higher charging structures. The individuals do not have to involve their employer for a SIPP. Instead, all they have to do is enter an agreement with their pension provider and start making payments for their pension. Here are some examples of such investments;

• Parking Investment
• Cape Verde
• Global Forestry
• Ethical Forestry
• Green Oil
• Sustainable Agro Energy
• Store Pods
• The Resort Group
• Harlequin Property Investment
• Australian Farmland
• Global Cure Environmental Investment
• Elysian Fuels
• Los Pandos Development

If you have invested in any of the above unregulated investments with your pension then please click here and contact us right away so we can advise you what to do next to make sure you can get the compensation you deserve.

These investments are not suitable for the majority of individuals. They are not only high-risk investments but can be extremely illiquid and speculative. That is, selling these investments is not that easy.

In 2013, the Financial Conduct Authority banned the sale of these investments to ordinary investors. For an investor to put his/her money into such investment, he/she will require proving that he/she is a sophisticated or a high-net worth investor.

The issue is that in the years leading up to the prohibition, people can self-certify that they are high-net worth, or get a financial advisor to do it for them. Consequently, it is very easy for the SIPP mis-selling to happen. If you believe you are due SIPP compensation from mis-selling then don't waste any time in making a claim.

#2 Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS)

A Small Self-Administered Scheme is set up to prevent stern guidelines by unregulated entities, such as substitute service providers or sales agents. Similar to a Self Invested Personal Pension, an SSAS is set up to hold high-risk, illiquid, and underperforming investments.

As said before, Self Invested Personal Pensions are the most commonly mis-sold pension in the United Kingdom. In 2013, it was found out that most financial advisers offered instruction that did not obey with the Financial Services Regulator's requirements. Most customers were directed to set up the scheme without considering the implicit substitute schemes apprehended within the SIPP.

One can successfully claim for reimbursement if he/she provide necessary proof that his/her financial adviser provided inappropriate advice to transfer an existing pension to an SSAS.

#3 Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution (FSAVC)

A Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contribution, unlike other pension schemes, does not hold any limit on the amount of money one can pay into their monthly pension fund. FSAVC gives the investor the freedom to choose how much he/she wants to save for retirement.

Those looking for pension plans that provide flexibility with their spending can opt for this type of pension plan. However, there is a possibility that one can feel like his/her FSAVC pension was mis-sold.

#4 Final Salary Pension

The Final Salary Pension is handled by the employer where the final salary of an employee is taken into account at the time of his/her retirement and provides an amount that is equal to his/her last known pay. Due to its very nature of being volatile, it is not advisable to transfer out this type of pension to any other pension provider or product.

This type of pension plan is quite popular as it provides the individual with a guaranteed income that increases as his/her salary increases.

Despite the absolute benefit of a guaranteed income for life, many final salary pensions were transferred out into an investment environment therefore putting clients in a position where they could then potentially incur losses and run the risk of their pension running out before they die. You can claim for final salary pension closure compensation.

#5 Occupational Pension Scheme (OPS)

An occupational pension scheme is set up by an unregulated entity in order to prevent regulated advice procedures. It typically references an account set up by an employer of the organisation to help employees save for their retirement. In the majority of the cases, an occupational pension scheme falls under three categories:

1. Defined benefit pension schemes
2. Defined contribution pension schemes
3. Cash balance plans

In most cases, the occupational pension schemes require the employer to contribute towards the employees' pension. The amount contributed by the employers is deducted from the employees' monthly wage. There are possibilities that an OPS is mis-sold.

#6 Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS)

The Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme abides with certain Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requirements. This type of pension scheme is designed for those who plan to relocate abroad after retirement.

But, many customers have been mis-sold a QROPS, with the assurance of a cash advance after the completion of the mis-sold pension transfer.

What is a Pension Transfer?

Pensions represent one of the most substantial assets an individual can own beside his/her home. Financial advisers have been courting members of the occupational schemes, and pension fund holders, to persuade them to migrate their funds to new products and providers.

The advice may not be appropriate and may not have provided the investors with what they had anticipated. This would be classified as pension mis-selling, and a claim can be made against the IFA for providing this conflicting advice.

How did pension mis selling start?

It is all about a professional presentation. You will get a phone call unexpectedly out of nowhere. The person on the other end of the call will communicate about a fantastic opportunity that you can’t miss. In the present low-interest rate environment, the supposed returns sound attractive. Moreover, the person also guarantees those returns during the initial stage. For example:

A guaranteed return of 17% for the first three years! It sounds more than attractive. Everyone would want that.

Worse still, it doesn’t stop with just a phone call. You may even be invited to attend seminars where you may get convinced that the firm deals with professionals who understand these investments. This will make you feel like you are being presented with a legitimate opportunity.

You may also receive an annual statement from your SIPP stating that everything is fine, suggesting that the investment is still pretty hot and valued.

Although the reality may be different, the annual statement may claim that your investment in Store Pods is worth say £50,000, but it is a non-standard investment.

The truth is the investment is only worth what someone will pay for it, and honestly, it may be actually nothing at all.

Unlike shares and stocks, there is not a ready market to sell such SIPP investments; hence, it can be really difficult.

They shower you with lucrative returns while underestimating the threats involved or failing to address them at all.

The harsh reality is that the sums secured in these mid-sold investments can be huge. In general, they range from £20,000 to £75,000+, but it can vary significantly.

There are cases where investors have put in hundreds of thousands of pounds. What’s worse is that many investors then tell their friends about the scheme and encourage them to invest as well.

Did You Use Any of These Pension Advice Companies?

If you used any of the following companies to seek pension or investment advice then there is a chance that you have been mis-sold and poorly advised, therefore may be due compensation;

• Knightsbridge Financial Management
• Moneywise Financial Advisors Limited
• Henderson Carter Associates Limited
• Asquith Hart Financial Management LLP
• Precise Advice Partnership LLP
• Cherish Wealth Management
• Total Wealth Solutions Limited
• CIB Life & Pensions Limited
• Bank House Investment Management Ltd
• Alderley Asset Management Limited
• Pengwern Wealth Management
• Cumulus Investment Management Limited
• Hennessy Jones
• Financial Page Limited
• Blue Infinitas
• Kingsland Financial Management
• Luapkram Limited (Ashton Hoyle)
• Douglas Baillie Limited
• SFIA Limited
• 1 Stop Financial Services
• Strachan and Windram
• Real SIPP
• Baker Wainwright
• Kynaston-Carnoustie Financial Consultancy Ltd
• Shah Wealth Management
• Build your Wealth Ltd
• Aspen Financial Planning
• My IFA Friend
• Choices Financial Services Limited

If you have dealt with any of the above companies in the past regarding your pensions then please click here and contact us right away so we can advise you what to do next to make sure you can get the compensation you deserve.

Mis-sold Pension Compensation

Your financial adviser is obliged to verify and counter verify if the investment is viable to put your pension and SIPP in it.

If you feel that you are a victim of mis-sold pension due to unsuitable counsel, you need to act fast as there are time limits to make such claims.

You can make a claim to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or Financial Ombudsman (FO).

You can apply for compensation through a claims management company or a lawyer, or even directly by filling the online claims form.

When you apply for compensation through a claims management company, they will put emphasis on whether you are a high-net worth investor and were the investment products suitable for your requirements and in-line with your risk profile.

The Financial Ombudsman, on the other hand, looks at complaints made about FCA regulated companies. If your claim is deemed valid, the Financial Ombudsman will tell the business how much reimbursement is outstanding. The award limit for losses is around £150,000 plus interest.

Lastly, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme only looks at complaints if an organisation has entered liquidation or administration and is unlikely to be able to pay the victim the compensation. This is good as it means even if a rogue company has gone out of business, victims can still make successful mis-sold pension claims.

What are the chances of success?

During the 2017/2018 calendar years, the complaints to the Financial Ombudsman about pension and SIPPs increased by over a third – around 37%. Out of 2051 complaints registered, 52% were upheld.

This compared with 1493 complaints in 2016-17, and merely 697 complaints in 2013-14.

According to Financial Ombudsman, the main driver for the recent upsurge has been complaints about discretional fund management.

Complaints about discretional fund managers often relate to funds that haven’t been invested with the agreed strategy. The Financial Ombudsman also received complaints about advice to invest in unregulated investments and other administration issues.

The success of the complaints upheld depends on how they are processed. That is, the officials consider what has happened and agree with what is rational and reasonable in all situations of the complaint.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme, on the other hand, can pay out up to £50,000.

This has put both the SIPP providers and financial advisers under pressure to safeguard investors from inappropriate high-risk investments that can stem the flood of mis-selling.

A reputable company will never cold call the investors about their pension and try to entice them into switching to a SIPP and placing money into an unsuitable high-return investment.

The high-pressure sales tactics often fool most investors as they are convincing. However, investors must try to avoid this kind of approach.

I have been mis-sold a pension. How do I make a claim?

If you feel like you are a victim of pension mis-selling in the UK, then you should start looking at your options.

There is no need to panic; there are a few options to file a reimbursement claim against the SIPP provider or the financial adviser.

You need to act quickly because if you are going to complain to the Financial Ombudsman, there is a time limit of six years from when the product was sold to you, or three years from when you noticed that you had been mis-sold – whichever is later.

Before you reach the Financial Ombudsman for filing your complaint about your SIPP provider or IFA, you need to be prepared.

Step 1: Gather all the details you require

The Financial Ombudsman will be looking for proofs to uphold your complaint.

Therefore, you need to find the concrete evidence against your service provider and how they deceived you into buying an unsuitable investment plan. You need to explain your problem to the official.

• Stick to the facts and be clear and concise when describing them to the Financial Ombudsman
• Gather all the relevant documents, written proof, and all other information about your scheme

Step 2: Complain to your IFA or SIPP provider

• Ask for the adviser’s internal complaints process. Every firm has one; it is mandatory. It will tell you whom to contact in the events of an issue. If the provider maintains a website, you can get the copy from there.
• Once you have complained, the provider has eight weeks to respond. If the provider fails to respond, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman.
• If the provider has answered to your complaint, but you are not pleased with the kind of reply, you have six months to take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.

Even if the provider has gone out of business, there is still a chance to get compensation.

Step 3: Ask Financial Ombudsman to investigate your case

If you are not happy with the response the provider gave you regarding your complaint, you need to immediately contact the Financial Ombudsman within six months of receiving the response from the provider. There are time limits, and you need to act quickly.

However, you are advised to first check with the Pensions Advisory Service for pension mis-selling issues.

• Financial Ombudsman is an independent service that will investigate your service for free
• However, before you use the Financial Ombudsman service, you need to follow the provider’s official complaints procedure

You might want to wait a little longer if the provider is cooperating with you regarding your concerns that you have been mis-sold.

On the other hand, it could take some time to find the related information and files if your complaint ties to something that occurred years ago.

Essentially, the Financial Ombudsman’s judgement is where things end. However, if you are unhappy with the verdict, you can present the matter before the court.

Court cases are expensive as the lawyers are pretty stern about their fees. So think through before considering this as your final option. Court cases also come with uncertainty; thus, there is no guarantee that you will win.

If you don't have the time or don't feel confident in pursuing the claim for compensation yourself, then fill out the quick form below and we will put you in touch with one of our highly experienced independent claim handlers who can give walk you through the entire process.

How much compensation will I get?

If the Financial Ombudsman upholds your claim, you are entitled to compensation. The compensation you will get varies greatly from case to case depending on your situation and size of pension pot.

However, the average amount of compensation claimed for pension mis selling cases is around £25,000 for private pensions and £50,000 for final salary pensions. So you can see that it is well worth your while looking in to seeing if you were indeed mis-sold a pension and are due compensation.

*IMPORTANT*: If you believe you may have been mis-sold a pension, have been mis-sold a pension transfer, mis-sold a SIPP or have been given any sort of wrong advice on how to manage your pension, then fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button. One of our pension mis-selling claim experts will get back to you as soon as possible:

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In this article we'll cover the many benefits of using an Edinburgh mortgage advisor and where you can find the best mortgage advice in Edinburgh.

Whether it’s your first house, second, or third, mortgage rules and types are always shifting and changing. It can be difficult to not only keep up with everything, but make the right choice too. Remember, a mortgage is with you for a long time, and making the wrong choice means you’re stuck with it until it expires.

*IMPORTANT*: If you want 100% unbiased and independent mortgage advice, then give us a call now on 0131 564 1940. Or fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button, and we'll match you with an expert adviser in no time:

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You could liken choosing a mortgage to a major investment, but the difference is you can’t bail and run, you need to see it through, either by paying it off, or re-mortgaging your house once more.

For this reason, more and more people are making the good choice to seek out help from n Edinburgh mortgage broker, before making their final choice. This means you can be sure you’ve made a sound decision, and that you have all the relevant and up to date information to hand, as well as many other benefits.

Edinburgh Mortgage Basics

If you’ve never had a mortgage before, and this is your very first chance to buy property, then the whole idea can be exciting and terrifying in equal measures. Anything financially-related needs to be thought about once, twice, three times over, and it’s always the best idea to get advice from a professional mortgage advisor.

A mortgage is of course a borderline loan/investment, and it means you are borrowing cash to buy your house, and you then pay it back monthly at a certain rate. The repayments are likely to go on for some time, much longer than a regular loan, usually over the 20 years mark, and once that is complete, you own your house completely. If you fail to make repayments, your home is at risk.

That very statement alone should make you understand the severity of the agreement you’re getting in to, and why you should always consult and expert to ensure that the agreement you’re thinking about signing is a good one for you.

Of course, there are many different types of mortgages, and one size never fits all. How can you be sure you’re getting the best deal if you haven’t shopped around? How can you be sure that the deal you’ve found is the right one? The only way to be sure is to have everything checked out by an advisor, who will be able to advise you on the right way forward, and give you their honest, unbiased opinion.

It is vital that you use a truly unbiased and independent Edinburgh mortgage advisor when seeking advice as this ensures that you get the best deal for YOU and not the broker. Too often people end up going with mortgage brokers who are tied to certain lenders and miss out on much better deals that are available elsewhere. Always make sure your advisor is independent and 'whole of market'.

Probably best to avoid your bank

For most people, especially first time buyers, when they decide to buy a house, they go to their bank and inform them of their intention. From there, the bank will give them a deal and they simply take that deal, because this is their regular bank, surely they will give you the best agreement out there?

That is almost always not the case. There are dozens of other banks, there are other lenders, there are other choices, and you cannot make a good and sound decision until you have explored you options and exhausted them.

At any one time there can be north of 15,000 different mortgage products available. Knowing this, what do you think the chances are that your bank are going to have the best deal of them all?

It is this simple - the wrong type of mortgage could cause you to pay thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, more pounds than you really needed to over the course of your mortgage agreement. Now, couldn’t you put that money to better use? Of course!

How an Edinburgh mortgage advisor can help you

Understanding the Edinburgh mortgage market is the key to making good decisions, but this is a market which is always shifting and changing, with small details making a huge difference to those looking to buy what is perhaps their first house. In addition, we’re talking about a very competitive market, and with so many choices out there, making the right one has never been more difficult than it is now.

There are many different mortgage lenders out there, not just banks, and some of them offer some fantastic rates for you to take advantage of. Some are not so great. Before you make your final choice, it is always the best option to seek financial advice from an independent Edinburgh financial advisor, who will be able to let you know whether the shortlist you have is actually a good shortlist or not.

When choosing a mortgage, you need to do the following:

• Look into the mortgage amount you can realistically afford
• Work out how many repayments you can also realistically afford
• Take into account any circumstances which aren’t in place yet, but may be in the future, e.g. loss of job, or perhaps a promotion
• Take into account any other repayments you need to make, e.g. debts, and ensure those are taken care of at the same time, weighed up against the mortgage options you’re looking at

Working out your expenses is easy enough, but you do need to look into the future a little and ensure that any circumstances that do occur would still ensure you could pay your mortgage.

Remember, if you don’t keep up your repayments, your home is at stake. That means that any decision you do make needs to be the right one, and the safest one. Of course, finding a good deal is also very important, but it needs to be a deal that doesn’t just look good on paper.

So, what would an Edinburgh mortgage broker do for you in this case?

He or she would look at your overall financial situation and then would tell you without bias whether you truly can afford a mortgage or not.

If you can’t afford one, you will know about it there and then. If you can afford it, you will be informed what kind of mortgage is most affordable for you, and you will also be given advice on the best types to avoid, based on your particular financial and personal circumstances.

Remember, there are many Edinburgh mortgage brokers and lenders out there, and they are all vying for your custom. Some of the less reputable ones might offer you a fantastic deal on paper, but the terms and conditions might totally contradict the offer you received.

Unless you’re a legal expert and you can look through those terms and conditions with a fine tooth comb, taking everything on board, you are possibly putting yourself at risk of not only losing your home, but ending up in a large amount of debt too. It’s simply not worth making a snap decision for, and therefore paying a little for advice is going to save you heaps in the future.

Once you have the information on whether you truly can afford the mortgage or not, your advisor will be able to sit and go through your options with you, giving you the pros and cons for each.

A good mortgage advisor might also have contacts within the mortgage lending world, i.e. ideas on the best deals and contacts to access them. You will have a few choices before you, and a discussion will then take place on which one to go with.

Of course, it’s all so easy to become caught up in the excitement of buying a new home, especially if it is your first one, that you’ll simply agree to anything they say, just to get the cash to live your dream. Remember you need to be cautious and you need to second guess everything.

Your dream is in sight, of course it is, but you need to be very careful about any piece of paper you sign. That excitement has led many people down the wrong path in the past, don’t be one of them. Listen to your advisor.

Your mortgage advisor will help you complete the mortgage paperwork, which can be a time consuming and arduous task if you haven’t done it before. This also means that your mortgage application is more likely to be done faster, because you’re not missing details and having to go back and correct an omission or mistake.

Details and jargon

The financial world in any guise is packed with jargon and terms which is difficult to understand if you’ve never dealt with it before. This is why so many people fall foul of incorrect deals - because they didn’t really understand the terms and conditions and the words contained with it. So, within all of that jargon, what should you really be looking for when searching for a good mortgage deal?

• Interest Rate - Of course, this is the first thing you will look at, and you’ll see shortly that it shouldn’t be the only thing you look at! A good interest rate is the first clue that you might be onto a winning deal, but never simply jump because of this fact. You also need to look into how often the interest is charged to the mortgage, is it daily, monthly, or it is per year?
• Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC) - This is a percentage charge which uses the interest rate and mortgage fees to calculate the amount paid annually for this charge
• Deposit - This is the amount you put down on the house at the start, and the lump sum from the mortgage will pay for this. The more you pay for the deposit, the lower interest rate of your overall mortgage. Conversely, the less you pay as a deposit, the higher your interest rate.
• Standard Rate - This is the rate your mortgage will switch to once the fixed rate deal amount has finished
• Payment Flexibility - Are you able to pay a bit more off your mortgage on an ad hoc basis if you want to, and will there be a penalty charge for this? Can you take a repayment holiday at any point in the term? Are you able to switch from fixed to variable rate deal at any point?

As you can see, this can make finding a deal difficult for first timers, and even those who have been down the mortgage road before. Independent mortgage advice will be able to remove this worry for you and give you peace of mind.

Different types of Edinburgh mortgages available

Another complication in the mortgage world is that there isn’t simply one type of mortgage to go for and that’s that, there are several!

The one which suits you depends entirely on your circumstances, both financially and personally, and it is important to get the right one at this stage, to avoid problems in the future. Once more, knowing the types inside out is impossible for the general person, but a mortgage broker has this knowledge as standard.

Let’s briefly explore each one;

• Repayment Mortgages - This is the basic type of mortgage, and as the name would suggest, you pay back some of the interest and some the bulk amount every month. These usually last for around 25 years, and at the end, the house is yours.
• Interest-only Mortgages - In this case, you pay off the interest borrowed first, with monthly repayments, and after that you need to find the money to pay back the capital owed, in a lump sum. Repayments are lower with this type of arrangement, but you need to be sure that you can repay the capital borrowed when the interest is paid.
• Fixed Rate Mortgages - As the name suggests, the amount you pay back every month with this type of mortgage is fixed and you pay on a set date monthly. It doesn’t matter what happens to interest rates, your amount remains the same. This type of mortgage usually lasts from either 2 to 10 years.
• Variable Rate Mortgages - The amount you pay back every month depends on the SVR (standard variable rate) of the lender. As interest fluctuates, so does your repayment amount. If you think the rate of mortgages is likely to go down, this is a good deal, but remember the volatility of the market overall.
• Tracker Mortgages - This type of mortgage has an interest rate which moves in sync with the base rate of the Bank of England. Again, if the rate goes down, you benefit because you pay less, but if it goes up, you pay more.
• Discount Rate Mortgages - Again, the amount you pay every month changes with this type of mortgage, although this type does tend to offer low amounts generally. A discount rate mortgage offers a discount on the SVR and generally lasts for between 2-5 years.
• Capped Rate Mortgages - This type is the same as a variable rate mortgage, but there is a cap on the interest rate, so it can’t go above that amount. This is good for those who want the peace of mind to know that their rate is never going to skyrocket.
• Cash-back Mortgages - When you take out this type of loan, the lender will usually give you a percentage of the amount in a lump sum. This is really designed to grab you’re a attention and it’s likely that you will pay back more interest as a result. If you’re in need of a lump sum cash injection however, this could be an option.
• Offset Mortgages - If you have savings, this is a good option for you, as they combine your savings and the mortgage into one arrangement. Your interest rate per month will be calculated on both.
• 95% Mortgages - For those who are finding it hard to save up for the deposit on a house, this is an option, however because you are paying a very small amount in deposit, you are likely to end up paying more over time and you are playing a risky game with interest rates.
• Flexible Mortgages - There is a large amount of flexibility with repayments on this type of mortgage, i.e. you can pay more back at any point without penalty, and there is the option to take payment holiday, which is ideal if you are going through a time when cash is a little lower, e.g. holiday time. The rate on this type of mortgage however is higher.
• Buy to Let Mortgages - This type of mortgage is for those who want to buy a property and then let it out, effectively receiving income every month from their tenant’s rent payments. In this case, the borrowing amount takes into account the rent amount you’re likely to get too.

With such a large amount of different mortgages on the market, an Edinburgh mortgage broker really is the only option in terms of making the right choice.

Every single one of those mortgages has a set of pros and cons, and they are not suitable for everyone. For instance, the mortgages with flexibility of payments might look great on paper, because you aren’t stuck if you suddenly have a low income month or two, but the rate you pay will be much higher to offset that benefit. Having said that, this benefit might be enough for one person to accept the higher cost.

The only way to identify the best type of mortgage for you is to sit down and discuss it with an independent mortgage advisor. The sheer number of different types of means that you really need to grab as much benefit out of the one you choose as possible.

You’re tied into this arrangement for at least a few years, and in the case of a repayment mortgage, around 25 years. That’s a long time to be stuck with a deal that just doesn’t quite work for you. It is entirely possible to win out on your mortgage deal, i.e. allow it to give you more than you pay back, with benefits that suit your lifestyle and your financial needs.

However, the only way to pinpoint those benefits is with an impartial discussion. A mortgage broker or lending company, or even bank, is not going to give you advice that is totally impartial, because at the end of the day, they want you to sign on the dotted line with them, over their competition.

If you’re in Edinburgh or the surrounding areas and you’re struggling two make sense of the mortgage world, don’t stress over it for a second longer. The confusion will be much less if you can talk it out and get the right advice, giving you peace of mind that the huge investment you’re about to sign your name to, is not going to be detrimental at any point in the future.

Of course, buying a house, no matter how many times you’ve done it before, should be a joyous thing, so take the confusion of it as much as possible! Give us a call today and let us help you.

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If you are amongst the very few people who understand pensions inside and out, back to front, then you are very lucky indeed. This is a subject that seems to be mystery to many, and with constant changes in rules and regulations, it’s no wonder that more and more people are choosing to hire a financial adviser to help them with their pension issues.

It’s never too soon to start thinking about a pension, even if it does seem like a daunting conversation to have. Pensions often seem like a subject which should be discussed close to retirement, but by this time, your pension should already be at its bulk amount, ready for you to pick away at during your retirement years.

Basically, as soon as you begin working, you should put aside some cash every month in a pension scheme, whether that is a private scheme or a company pension option. Some people choose to go down both routes, and that is a very sensible idea indeed. Whilst working alongside your state pension, you will have enough to live on comfortably and enjoy whilst you’re not working.

First things first, let’s start at the very beginning, and then work up to telling you exactly why you should be thinking about using a financial adviser for anything pension-related in your life.

What is a Pension, and Why is it Important?

Most people understand that a pension is something you pay into every month through your employment years, which then goes towards funding your life when you retire. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to release that once you stop working, yes, you don’t have to get up and go to the office in the rain anymore, but you also don’t get that monthly influx of cash, via your salary either. There are pros and cons to everything!

Pensions come in different shape and sizes. There are state pensions of course, but these are unlikely to give you the kind of lifestyle you want or deserve when you finish working, and most people choose to supplement and top these up with a private or company sponsored scheme during their working time. Put simply, a state pension is meant to give you enough to do the basics on, and for most people, it barely stretches to that, if we’re honest.

It is vitally important that you look to supplement your state pension for this reason, otherwise you really will find yourself with a poor standard of living when you retire. You didn’t work all those years to struggle! Remember, a state pension is just enough to live on (just), but it is certainly not enough to allow you any flexibility or any room for luxuries.

When you have spent 60 odd years working, surely you deserve the odd luxury here and there! You also don’t want to be worrying about where the next penny is coming from, not when you have worked so hard, for so long.

For this reason, pensions are a must do. It’s not a good enough excuse to put them on the back burner because you don’t really understand them, or you think retirement is just too far way. The time will come, and you will want to look back and see that you made a good decision, not a poor one, or no decision at all.

Pension rules change on a regular basis, due to pension companies making changes, and the Government making changes too. It is impossible for the regular person to stay up to date with these changes, and totally understand them.

This is one reason why financial advice will work very well for you. By seeking help, you will be privy to the very latest developments, without having to scroll through endless financial jargon trying to make light of it yourself.

Most youngsters put off pension talk for far too long, and if you are a parent reading this, you should certainly be imparting some words of wisdom towards your children, whether they listen or not! Retirement seems so far off, something that will never happen to us, but it creeps up faster than you would realise.

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Choosing Your Pension

Put simply, there are three main types of pension scheme:

• State pension

• Private pension

• Company pension

You can choose to have just one of these (not advisable for most people), two, or you can have all three. Three is obviously the best option, but you are going to be paying more of your salary into it every month. It is a personal decision that you need to weigh up for yourself. It’s no good being out of pocket every month throughout your working life, but you do need to find a happy balance, to ensure you’re comfortable in both states - working and not working.

A state pension is, as we mentioned before, the Government pension which you will receive when you reach retirement age. This is what you pay your ‘stamp’ for every month, which will automatically be taken from your wages, via your National Insurance contributions, assuming you are earning enough for NI contributions to be deducted.

Whether you receive full pension or not depends entirely on whether you managed to accrue enough contributions throughout your working life. For this reason, many people choose to continue paying their ‘stamp’ even when they are not earning enough for regular NI contributions. You can do this by contacting your local tax office and arranging for these contributions to be paid via your bank, or by a one off payment every year - it depends how you prefer to go about it.

As we mentioned, the state pension is enough to scrape by on, but it’s certainly not going to line your savings nest in any way. For that reason, supplementing this is a good idea.

A private pension scheme is a choice you can look into, and this means taking out a pension policy with a private company, and paying it into it every month. The amount agreed will be taken out of your bank account on a set date, usually through a Direct Debit agreement. This will then accrue over your working years and pay out when you retire.

Some private pension schemes allow for a lump sum upon retirement, and then a fixed amount to be paid each week/month thereafter. This is something you should look into, as a fixed sum upon retirement is a very nice bonus indeed!

Shopping around when looking for a private pension scheme is vital, and again, this is something a financial adviser can help you do. Making the wrong decision here could leave you very short in the future. There are also some unscrupulous companies out there who live to make a profit scamming people out of their money. If you are not sure about a company, do not agree to anything. Again, financial advisers can help you to side-step any potential issue such as this.

There are regulatory bodies which pension companies need to be registered with, and this is a bare minimum requirement. If they can’t show you proof of this registration, or the papers they show you don’t look particularly official, the chances are they are not offering you the best possible investment.

That leaves us with company based pension schemes. Most large organisations will offer a pension scheme for their employees, and it is a good idea to take them up on it. For instance, the NHS offers a very good pension scheme, with the employer paying a large amount of contributions every month, and the employee paying a smaller amount, which is directly deducted from their wages at source.

Upon retirement, this scheme pays out a healthy amount per month, and is a good option for employees working in that field. This can be taken at the same time as a state pension.

Of course, many other companies offer the same sort of pension scheme, and you will be given the choice to opt out at any time, having been automatically enrolled within the scheme at the time of your employment commencing. To opt out isn’t a good idea; if you find a good company based pension scheme, it’s best to stay in it for the duration of your employment. After that, you can choose to freeze your pension contributions and have them transferred to your new company.

Again, this is something a financial adviser can give you help on, and ensure that you don’t lose out at any stage of the process. It’s about making your money work for you, so you have more when you retire, and you’re not struggling in the meantime.

Pension Reviews

Once you’ve identified your personal pension choices, and you’ve paid into it for a few years, or decades, it’s not a good idea to simply let it go on without occasionally stopping to review it all. How do you know if you’re getting the best deal? How do you know that you can’t get a better choice somewhere else?

These are things which a financial adviser is on hand to help you with. He or she will know all the best options available to you, and after reviewing your particular circumstances, they can give you the choices that you might like to take.

You can easily switch from one to another, with the help of your pension adviser leading the way. If you attempt to do it yourself, how do you know you’re making the right decision?

Here at Edinburgh IFA, we discovered that those who are 45 years or older who don’t have a regular financial review, could be losing out on around £157,500 on their overall pension. That’s a huge amount of cash to let go!

By having an independent financial review from time to time, you can identify the best new routes to go down, and that could bring you up to another £7000 per year during your retirement, as an average figure. During your retirement an extra £7000 every year will go a long way indeed, so it’s certainly worth sitting down and having a chat, looking over your current state of affairs and seeing if anything can be tweaked and changed. If it can, you can easily make a switch, and if it can’t, you can stick with where you are for a little while longer, and check again in a year or so.

Understanding Pension Products

Perhaps the number one reason why many people seek out independent financial advice regarding pensions is because pension products overall are quite complicated. You are talking about a long-term investment, something which it’s going to bring you rewards until many years down the line. Looking that far ahead takes some practice, and if you don’t have the financial know-how, and most people don’t, then how are you expected to make the right decisions?

Every single pension product and policy is different to another. The only constant is the state pension, and even that can get tricky and complicated from time to time!

There is enough worry and anxiety about retirement as it is, you don’t need to be adding to it by not really understanding your pension, what it is going to give you, and what it isn’t going to give you.

You could compare pensions loosely to insurance policies, and we all know how difficult understand they can be. There are loopholes and small pieces of print at every corner, and if you miss even one tiny detail, you’re probably not going to be covered.

Pensions are similar in that there are many terms and conditions to take into consideration, and because we are talking about your livelihood when you decide to stop working, it’s so vitally important to make sure that you make the right decision, and that the policy you choose continues to work for you as the years go by.

It’s likely that it won’t at some point, and then you will need to switch - again, your pension review will identify that, and your financial adviser will be able to show you the way towards a better product for your needs.

New Rules, New Advice

Pension rules change on a regular basis, and there has been a big change over the last few years, coming into effect in April 2015.

Prior to April 2015, once you had taken the cash which was eligible to be tax-free from your pension pot (the amount of cash you have saved up in your pension scheme for retirement), then the rest of the cash left over had to be used to buy something called an annuity.

This annuity would then guarantee you enough cash every month until you died. Following this change, you now have total flexibility over how you use the cash in your pot, which might be a good thing in some ways, but it also brings up a myriad of different decisions to think about and make. How can you be sure you’re making the right choice? Do you even know about all the options available to you?

The most sensible thing you can do here, prior to your retirement, is to discuss your options with a financial adviser. It can be very confusing at this point, because you have a big life change coming up, and of course you want to be secure for the duration of time you’re enjoying it. If you don’t take financial advice for any other reason, make sure it’s for this one, because this is your life and your livelihood at stake if you make the wrong choice, based on lack of information to hand.

Of course, it could be that you know what you want to do, but it is never a bad idea to get your plan checked out by an adviser, to check there are no loopholes and pitfalls that might be coming your way sooner than you realise.

Knowing When You Can Afford to Retire

The biggest decision to make regarding retirement is when to do it. Most people are never 100% sure it’s the time, because it’s such a daunting thought; what if you don’t have enough to survive on? What if you should have stayed on for a couple more years, and you made the wrong choice? These ‘what ifs’ can cause you more anxiety than you will realise at the time.

In this situation, a financial adviser will be able to look your current state of financial affairs, including any savings you have, and then look into your pension pot. This pot will have all the cash in it which is yours for your retirement years.

Your adviser will be able to tell you honestly whether you have enough cash there to retire on or not. Whether you take this advice or not is up to you, but it is based on professional training and experience, so it’s strongly advisable that you do!

At this review, your adviser will also be able to work out what your state pension is going to look like, and when added to your private or work pension scheme forecasts, you will have a total overview of how well off or otherwise you can expect to be during your retirement, if you choose to retire at that point or not.

Making this very important decision correctly requires knowledge beforehand.

Your Financial Adviser is There to Help

We’ve talked about a lot of different issues pertaining to pensions over the course of this article, and with all of this in mind, it’s no wonder that so many people find pensions to be a total mystery.

It’s so important to get the decision right when you choose which pension to go with, it’s equally as important to have regular reviews, and don’t be scared to move things around if you need to, and it’s even more vital to make the decision to retire at the right time, at the most sensible time for you financially.

How are you supposed to know all of this simply off the top of your head? You can’t!

A financial adviser has years of experience and knowledge, whilst staying totally on top of the latest developments in the pension world. There is unlikely to be one speck of detail that they don’t know. For that reason alone, a financial adviser is the number one source of help you should seek out when pension talk time comes around.

You should make your pension a priority in your life from the moment you start work, no matter how young you are, and it should be something you revisit periodically over your working life.

When retirement begins to loom on the horizon, your thoughts should turn more towards what you want when you retire, and how you’re going to afford it. All of this can be discussed with a financial adviser, who has only your best interests at heart.

Many people wrongly think that a financial adviser is something which wealthy people have, and that they can’t afford such a luxury. Financial advice should never be considered a luxury, it should be a necessity, in order for you to live your best life possible. Financial advice is not something to break the bank, that would be a total contradiction of what it is for!

A high quality financial adviser will be able to help you find the ideal pension scheme for you, one which is going to see that you’re not struggling to make ends meet during your working life, and that when you do take the decision to retire, you can enjoy your retirement years, doing all the thing you planned, without having to worry endlessly about money.

Your pension should tick the following boxes:

• Work hard for you, to accrue as much as possible for your retirement years

• Be affordable whilst you’re working, and not overstretch your funds

• Be tailored to your particular needs and wants, both before and after retirement

• Stay up to date with all developments and meet guidelines

• Offer you flexibility, in terms of lump sum options and being able to transfer pension contributions from other ‘pots’

• Supplement your state pension, to create a comfortable lifestyle after retirement

Finding a product to tick these boxes easily can be difficult, but your financial adviser will be able to do that for you with ease.

Pensions are confusing enough, without trying to deal with it all on your own. Don’t leave yourself in the dark, heightening the temptation to simply not bother with a pension at all. That would be the biggest mistake you could possibly make in your life.

If you’re living in Scotland and are in need of pension advice, don’t hesitate to give us a call to arrange a free consultation. We can help team you up with your ideal personal financial adviser, who can then give you all the information you need to find you the best pension policy for you.

If you already have a pension, we’re more than happy to review it and see if it needs to be changed, or whether you’re good to go. Equally, if you’re totally confused about pensions and you really don’t know which way to turn, we urge you to call us as soon as you can; there’s no need to be worried and worked up about pensions, and if you allow the experts to work it all out for you, the pressure will be off, leaving you to look forward to a healthy and happy retirement period of your life.

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These days, we are all trying to juggle several balls at any one time, whilst keeping one eye on the future. It can be exhausting, and it can be very confusing too. We’re constantly bombarded with how important it is to plan for our future days, but how are we supposed to do that, whilst also enjoying the present?

It really comes down to sound advice, in a no hassle, and non-confusing way. You don’t need endless financial jargon terms thrown at you, you need easy to understand, sound, unbiased, and high quality financial advice, to allow you to make the best decisions today, to line your nest for the future.

Of course, it could also be that you need advice on a financial issue that is affecting your life in the current day – again, it comes down to where you get your financial advice from, and how you handle it.

Whilst it can seem like swimming through mud, if you speak to the right people, you will find that it all becomes very clear.

For this reason, a financial adviser is your one stop shop for everything money-related, a guru of cash-focused issues, a veritable Yoda of financial services.

Having said that, you need to find an advisor who suits you, one who understands your circumstances, someone who you feel comfortable with and can trust, and someone who you are confident will reach out and find the right solutions for you.

Let’s not waste any more time and get in to the serious stuff;

What is a Financial Adviser?

A financial adviser, also known as a financial consultant or financial planner, is a highly trained individual, who basically knows all there is to know about financial planning, and every facet of the money-related world.

This covers a huge range of subjects, from pension advice to private health care, funeral plans to investment management, with a variety of other subjects lurking somewhere in-between.

Having a wealth manager or financial expert at your disposal means that you can make well-informed decisions, based on your own personal circumstances, without confusion or worry.

The advice given to you will be based on your situation, taking into account all the variables that affect you as an individual. The advice will also be given with predicted future trends in mind, so you can try your best to navigate any potential potholes along the way.

By using a financial adviser, you are basically minimising risk and maximising your potential cash flow in the future.

Of course, there are a huge range of money-related matters that you might need to use a financial consultant for, so let’s check each one out in turn, and explain why an expert is the one to show you the light in each different situation.

Remember that your financial expert isn’t there to make the choice for you, and that decision is ultimately down to you, but that they are there to strongly point you in the right direction based on their training and experience.

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Ok, lets have a look at some of the more popular types of financial advice you are likely to require throughout your life time and why it’s important to see unbiased and impartial financial advice for each one.

Investments Advice

You’ve no doubt heard about low interest rates and how that adversely affects the cash you keep in your bank. You might be wondering what else you can do, in order to create a little extra cash flow for your future. Well, investments are certainly a good answer to this question, but it’s vital to make the right decisions, or you risk having a worse outcome than keeping cash in your bank!

In this case, an investment manager is someone who can explore viable options with you, taking into account the amount you want to invest, the amount of risk you’re willing to accept, any special instructions, e.g. a particular industry you would like to invest in, perhaps due to personal reasons.

A financial adviser has their finger on the investment pulse, so they will be able to advise you on the right course of action, and steer you away from routes which are not going to take you anywhere pleasant. If you simply do this yourself, yes you may get lucky, but there is a great chance that you will make a decision based on not knowing all the facts. In this case, you would end up losing your cash, and ending up within nothing in return.

On the other hand, a cleverly formulated plan, with the help of someone in the know, can lead you towards a very financially rewarding destination indeed.

Protection Advice

We can never be sure what is around the corner in life, and whilst that makes for the mystery and environment of living in many ways, it can also because a source of worry.

None of us really want to think about what happens in the event of an accident or illness, or even more depressingly, after our days are up, but if we want to leave behind favourable conditions for our family, e.g. not leaving them in financial trouble, the it’s vital to think about it in the here and now. The good news is that once you’ve thought about it and put a plan in place, you can forget about it!

Life insurance and critical illness insurance are two of the most important things to think about in this particular subject, and finding the right policy for you is vital.

A protection adviser will be able to match you with the best policy, which not only suits your payment options in the here and now, but which will also give you the best outcome ‘just in case’.

It is a rather worrying statistic that most of us don’t have the right amount of protection set in place, so don’t be a part of that – seek out some protection advice and right the issue sooner rather than later. One of our advisers can sort this for you very quickly with little fuss, it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Mortgage Advice

Buying a new home is an exciting and thrilling time in your life, but it is also one of the most stressful. This happy time shouldn’t be marred with financial woes and pitfall along the way, especially when it comes to lining up your mortgage. For this reason, a mortgage adviser is the best person to go to.

A mortgage adviser will be able to find the best mortgage for you, one which is affordable and over the right amount of time. If you go down the route of using your bank, or perhaps an independent company, you’re probably going to be sold their policy and theirs alone, without exploring the other perhaps more favourable choices out there.

Finding solid mortgage advice means that you have one less thing to worry about when it comes to buying your dream home, and you can busy yourself with the more enjoyable side of it!

By using one of our fully independent mortgage advisers it means you will get independent, unbiased access to the entire market and every lender in it. Even if that means on of our mortgage advisers are able to save you just a fraction of a percent on your interest rate. This can equate to many thousands of pounds of savings over the life of your mortgage.

Pensions Advice

Hands up who is confused by pensions? Yes, that’s most of us! Pensions are confusing, they are riddled with ‘what ifs’ and pitfalls, and there are so many loopholes involved that it can all be enough to cause serious financial distress.

When you retire, you want to look forward to your years of hard-earned enjoyment, not panicking about where your next cash influx is going to come from. That is why getting the right pensions advice in the here and now is absolutely vital.

Far too many young people put off organising their pension because it seems like years away, and you’re never going to get old, right? Wrong! All it takes is a little advice from a pensions advisor and you can put a little aside every month, sure in the knowledge that when you decide to retire, you can enjoy the finer things in life, rather than scrimping and budgeting until you’re prematurely grey.

Again, in this case, a financial adviser will be able to seek out the most advantageous pension policies for you, ones which are affordable in the here and now, but pay out big when you do decide to call it a day on your working hours.

A major study of retirees recently highlighted just how important it is to seek advice from an experienced pension adviser. It showed that people who planned for their retirement by using a financial adviser ended up receiving more than £7,000 extra per year from their pensions.

With the average length of retirement currently at 21 years, and only likely to keep getting longer, then an extra £7,000 per year over this length of time is near enough £150,000 extra in total!

Equity Release Advice

The name alone sounds confusing, so how are you supposed to navigate yourself around the confusing world of equity release without adequate and professional advice? A financial consultant is the person to go to for this particular issue, and can hep you choose the right option for your, based on your circumstances.

Basically, equity release covers a range of different financial products which allow you to access the cash (equity) tied up in your own property, provided you are over the age of 55. It is possible access this has one large sum of cash, or to have it given to you in smaller instalments. There are a wide range of products on the market, so discussing with a financial professional is vital in order to find the most profitable for you.

The two main types of equity release include a lifetime mortgage and a home reversion. Both are good options to look into, but there is bound to be one which suits your situation much better than the other. For instance, if you opt for a home reversion and you don’t do your homework properly, you could find that you land yourself in hot water via small print; you are selling part or all of your home to an external provider after all, and that is something you need to consider very, very carefully.

Equity release is a specialist skill among financial advisers and not all are able to assist with this. However, at Edinburgh IFA we have equity release specialists within our expert network who will be able to advise you every step of the way to ensure you get the best possible deal.

Inheritance Tax Advice

Part of arranging our financial lives isn’t just about the present day, but also about what happens after we are gone. If you have written your will, or even if you haven’t yet, it’s vital to get some accurate and unbiased advice on inheritance tax.

Depending on what you leave behind, how much you leave, and who you leave it to, depends on whether there will be any tax to pay. Again, this can be a confusing subject, and a minefield to navigate if you’re not too sure where to start. There are exemptions and relief options to take into account, but as with any type of tax, it’s vital to know what you’re doing!

A financial adviser is professionally trained to give the right advice, so you can either avoid your family members paying excessive amounts of tax on items they don’t need to pay tax on, or you can ensure that it is paid correctly.

Either way, you need to know that you are working with the law, both now and in the future. A financial consultant will be able to advice you accordingly, and ensure that inheritance tax is not something you need to worry about.

Funeral Plan Advice

A little like protection insurance, nobody wants to think about what might happen, but the bottom line is that at some point in your life, hopefully later rather than sooner, you’re going to have to pay thousands of pounds for a funeral.

This means that you need to have a funeral plan in place to ensure that costs don’t fall at the feet of your loved ones. You can also alleviate some of the stress and upset of this distressing time for your family and friends, by ensuring that every detail is taken care of from the money point of view.

A financial advisor will be able to assess the right type of funeral plan for you, tailor-making it to your specific needs and desires. By arranging this through a financial consultant, you know that everything is in place, and that you haven’t forgotten something important by doing it yourself.

Again, it’s about putting your affairs in the hands of an expert, someone who knows all there is to know, and someone who isn’t going to overlook a very vital detail. You can rest much easier knowing that your funeral plans are taken care of, and so can your loved ones.

Health Insurance Advice

It’s common knowledge that the London governments over the past few decades have managed to completely ruin the national health service for everyone in the entire UK. Huge funding gaps, staff shortages and being overworked, endless waiting lists for operations and treatments and ever worsening hygiene levels leading to killer super bugs. It is a sad state of affairs and something that a growing number of people are no longer willing to rely on should the worst happen.

Any type of insurance can be a minefield to navigate, something which has many types of small print to investigate. If you have any existing medical conditions, arranging health insurance can be not only costly, but dangerous, if you accidentally fail to declare something which will affect a claim in the future. For that reason, a financial adviser is the absolute must go to for health insurance advice.

From the countless policies available, a financial advisor will be able to whittle down the best one for you, matching the amount you want to pay every month towards your policy, the excess payments in the event of a claim, and of course how much it will pay out and what it will pay out for.

Insurance companies are renowned for making everything a little more complicated than it needs to be, so an expert in the field is the only course of action, to avoid an issue which could turn out to be extremely costly in the future. Your health is not something to play Russian Roulette with!

With some of the perks and benefits attached to some of the modern private health insurance plans, depending on your lifestyle, our advisers can often get the cost of your premiums to become almost negligible when you take the additional perks and benefits in to account.

Get in touch with us and we’ll have on of our expert private health cover advisers to explain this to you and show you what options are available.

How to Find the Best Financial Adviser for Your Needs

Now you know why you should employ the help of a financial adviser, how can you find one, and indeed, how can you find the right one for your particular question and needs?

Firstly, let’s explore what you need to look for in a financial adviser.

• FCA regulated
The FCA (Financial Conduct Authority, formerly the Financial Services Authority until 2013) is the body responsible for ensuring that their financial advisers are behaving properly and doing everything by the book and following regulations. Always ask to make sure your adviser is FCA regulated. At Edinburgh IFA, all our Edinburgh financial advisers are FCA regulated.

• You need to be able to trust what they are telling you
Anything to do with money matters instantly makes us put up our guard. We are hard-wired to be a little suspicious of anyone who is trying to sell us something, particularly if we need to pay something out at the same time. It is obviously wise to be on your guard where your cash is concerned, but by finding a financial expert who can hep you with wealth management issues, and one that you trust 100%, you can be sure that you’re making shrewd and wise decisions, without the risk involved.

• You need to know that their advice is unbiased and high quality
A highly trained and professional financial advisor will be able to give you the most detailed and up to date advice on the financial market today, and will be able to look forward and predict any trends that may affect your investment or your financial arrangement in the future. By choosing an expert who gives unbiased advice, basing their information on your circumstances and the information you have given, you can be sure that you will make the right choices for your future.

• You need to be able to ask as many questions as you feel the need to ask
Anything remotely financially related can cause confusion; we’re not all money experts, and sometimes a few jargon words are enough to cause us to run away in sheer panic. This is normal – you’re not a financial planner yourself, so you need to be able to ask questions that relieve any fears you may have. Finding an approachable, friendly, and expert guru is important, because that means you can ask any questions without feeling embarrassed, and you will get the information you need. Having the right information to hand, in a way that you can understand it, will allow you to make the right choices for your situation and circumstances.

• You need to be sure that they will explore all options before arriving at the best financial option for you
An advisor isn’t there to make the decision for you, but they are there to point you in the right direction and advise you as best they can. You need to feel confident that your particular chosen one is going to explore the market and search for the right plans and choices for you, with your situation in mind, and no-one else’s. If you can find someone like this, you are much more able to find a financial solution that suits you perfectly.

• Experience
It is important to make sure that whatever service you are using your adviser for they have plenty of experience in that field. We have a whole array of experts in various fields among our financial advisers so you can always rest assured that any adviser we match you with will have years of experience in dealing with your issue.

• Unbiased and Impartial
Again, it is very important to ensure that when you seek financial advice that the person giving you it has no allegiance to a certain bank, fund or mortgage provider. The huge benefit of seeking your advice from truly independent and impartial financial advisers is that they have access to all lenders, fund and organisations, which means that they have no reason to not give you the best possible deal.

At Edinburgh IFA all our advisers are fully independent and impartial, so you always know that you will be getting the best possible deal when using one of our advisers.

We offer a tailor-made service, which pairs every single person up with the right financial consultant for their circumstances. It’s a little like online dating, but without the romance!

All it takes is ten seconds to fill out our easy to follow online form, and then you just need to sit and wait for your personalised financial expert to get in touch. We cater for the whole of mainland Scotland, dedicated to making the Scottish people the most financially savvy of them all!

So, if you’re in a quandary over a money matter, which is dragging you down and causing confusion, maybe it’s time you reached out to your own personal financial expert, allowing you to look to the future with security and sound decisions made.

*IMPORTANT*: If you want 100% unbiased and independent advice, then give us a call now on 0131 564 1940. Or fill out the quick form below, then click the "Get my advisor!" button, and we'll match you with an expert adviser in no time:

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