Advice Needed - 60 yrs old wanting mortgage

rangie

Hi all

I am posting this on behalf of my parents who want to do the following :-

Borrow £35k to buy a new car and pay of some existing credit card debts

My mother is 61 and in full time employment and my farther is 64 and retired. They own their home which is worth approx £145k (taking into account down turn) and have an take home income of £1k for her & £600 for him via pension per month.

They had originally applied for a loan via Yorkshire Bank but the amlount keeps decreasing each time they talk to the bank and after over a week they still dont have an offer despite giving all proofs of income etc etc. The bank actually suggested a 5 year mortgage but they wanted over £2k in costs and said it will take upto 8 weeks to arrange.They has seen the car they wanted and had hoped to get fixed up much quicker hence the loan application.

Can anybody advise the best way forward for them ?. They have 100% perfect credit rating and have never missed a payment on anything ever. Are their ages causing them problems ?.

They want about £15k for the car and £19k for some credit cards that they have which they pay month on month at silly rates.

Any advice is more than welcome. Is a small mortgage best, if so are there some good fee free deals that dont have tie ins and take 8 weeks to arrange ?.

Thanks

opinions4u

Mortgage should be cheaper, but you haven't posted any rates to help us compare.

Unsecured loans, if available, should be much quicker to arrange.

Have they looked at the finance deals from garage selling the new car? Most will have something at a reltively low rate.

rangie

Hi

I think the rate was 3.19% fixed until 2011

If they took a finance on the car it doesnt pay off the cards hence the option for a loan / mortgage.

I thought 8 weeks to arranage & £2k fees was excessive. I have to say im not impressed with YB they were very arrogant over the application, very "we have the money and if you want it beg" attitude.

I told them to go elsewhere and maybe take advice from an independant advisor if possible. If YB are arrogant stuff them. They even said if you want the mortgage you will ahve to wait because we are busy and cant see you yet even though they were sat in the branch over 2 hours yesterday.

They have savings accounts (want to leave for when they are both retired) and £145k equity in their home, for me its wrong that some 20 somthing kid sits there laying the law down to them when he has nothing at all and has worked 3 or 4 years !!!! :mad:

Oldernotwiser

My parents arranged an interest only mortgage with Cheltenham and Gloucester, funded only by pension income. However, that was before the credit crunch so things may have changed now.

opinions4u

rangie wrote: »

I think the rate was 3.19% fixed until 2011

Sounds okay, but the fee sounds high. The amount in question sounds like a lower fee / slightly higher rate would be better.

If they took a finance on the car it doesnt pay off the cards hence the option for a loan / mortgage.

No, but finance for the car and a loan for the credit cards is another option.

I thought 8 weeks to arranage & £2k fees was excessive.

It may well be quicker. This may be their view of a "typical" mortgage where there's a chain of other buyers involved.

I have to say im not impressed with YB they were very arrogant over the application, very "we have the money and if you want it beg" attitude.

If you don't like it, there are a remarkable number of other lenders out there.

I told them to go elsewhere and maybe take advice from an independant advisor if possible.

Seems reasonable. Help them to do it.

They even said if you want the mortgage you will ahve to wait because we are busy and cant see you yet even though they were sat in the branch over 2 hours yesterday.

While it sounds like the positioning of things by the bank is poor, a mortgage is a financial product which requires compliance with FSA standards. The adviser is most likely the only one in the branch who can talk to them. Did they book an appointment or just wander in and expect to be seen? If a typical mortgage application takes around 90 minutes to 2 hours to discuss, and other customers who had booked appointments were waiting, who should the bank see first?

As I said, the positioning of things by staff could have been better, but those who had pre-booked appointments should take priority.

They have savings accounts (want to leave for when they are both retired) and £145k equity in their home, for me its wrong that some 20 somthing kid sits there laying the law down to them when he has nothing at all and has worked 3 or 4 years !!!! :mad:

'Some Kid' has been poorly trained or was having a bad day. How do you know he/she has nothing at all? They got it wrong, but that sort of comment won't help anybody will it?

Rockporkchop

How much money do they have in their savings accounts? They should use whatever is in the savings accounts to pay off the credit cards immediately and then if needed just get car finance for the car. They could pay what they would have paid on the mortgage or more back into the savings accounts each month. Savings accounts are earning virtually nothing at the moment so it makes no sense to have money sitting there and then pay over 3% plus two grand fees to borrow some.

I know it sounds like an easy option to just take the equity out of the house but I absolutely wouldn't put my home at risk for a car and credit cards and anyway it would work out much dearer in the long run. I know your mum is employed now but who knows what will happen in the next few months or years. If they couldn't pay the car finance the worst that could happen is that the car is repossessed, if they take out a mortgage they could lose the house.

Another reason for using the savings is that if she does lose her job she probably wouldn't be entitled to any state financial help if she has savings sitting there. Just my opinion but I definitely wouldn't take out a mortgage for this purpose at their age.

rangie

I was trying to explain that i dont think there were treated in the way they should have been. My parents have worked all their lives and dont need to feel inferior when they talk to somebody so young. Just because he worked their doesnt mean he can look down on others.

Perhaps thats my opinion and shouldnt be shared here !!!

They had an appointment to discuss both options and left with nothing. They had already made the loan application and were simply supplying proof of income etc only to be told there was still no offer a week after applying. The bank also knew that they wanted advice about the mortgage option and it was the mortageg advisor who also spent time with them but as i said they came away with nothing.

It was as if they didnt want to make an offer. My mother rang 3 times to get updates / answers but didnt get one then made the appointment to go into the branch ans still didnt get an answer.

It just seems strange that nothing happened, it was a waste of their time and surely the banks.

Anyway back to topic, anyone have advice ref mortgages out there rather than my opinions on the bank in question please ?.

Trollfever

If you have a look at the Debt Free Wanabee Board, turning unsecured debt into secured debt is not advised.

Is this the sort of borrowing that in times of responsible lending Yorkshire should be taking on, especially as they have their own woes:

Rating agency Fitch Ratings said it had downgraded the Yorkshire, Chelsea, Newcastle, Principality and West Bromwich building societies and was also placing Skipton Building Society on rate watch negative.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Building-societies-hit-by-credit.5296811.jp


.

opinions4u

rangie wrote: »

I was trying to explain that i dont think there were treated in the way they should have been. My parents have worked all their lives and dont need to feel inferior when they talk to somebody so young. Just because he worked their doesnt mean he can look down on others.

Totally agree with you. It works both ways though and I took offence to you referring to the staff member as having "nothing at all and has worked 3 or 4 years". Do you look down on people in supermarkets too, or is it just bank workers?

Perhaps thats my opinion and shouldnt be shared here !!!

You should share it on here. I shared mine back. In fairness I wasn't there so don't have the full picture. The staff member should treat his customers professionally at all times. But human beings sometimes get stressed so won't get it right all the time.

It was as if they didnt want to make an offer. My mother rang 3 times to get updates / answers but didnt get one then made the appointment to go into the branch ans still didnt get an answer.

It just seems strange that nothing happened, it was a waste of their time and surely the banks.

Anyway back to topic, anyone have advice ref mortgages out there rather than my opinions on the bank in question please ?.

Some thoughts already posted on this thread:

Sounds okay, but the fee sounds high. The amount in question sounds like a lower fee / slightly higher rate would be better.

They should use whatever is in the savings accounts to pay off the credit cards immediately and then if needed just get car finance for the car

I told them to go elsewhere and maybe take advice from an independant advisor if possible - Seems reasonable. Help them to do it.

I know it sounds like an easy option to just take the equity out of the house but I absolutely wouldn't put my home at risk for a car and credit cards and anyway it would work out much dearer in the long run.

rangie

No i dont look down on anybody. My parents left there after 2 hours with no offers or anything and actually feeling a little upset by the manor in which they were treated having worked hard for many years and banking with YB for over 30 years. I have nothing against the person they dealt with i was trying to express how he made them feel.

If a member of your family had been made to feel that way what would you have said ?.

I actually spoke to the young lad as it was me who made the appointment for them the day before and i ended the call thinking he was maybe a little too "i call the shots round here" during the call, perhaps thats just how he is or as you say he was having a bad day.

We have decided against using YB for a loan and will not persue the mortgage route either.

opinions4u

rangie wrote: »

If a member of your family had been made to feel that way what would you have said ?.

I'd have stuck to the facts about how their actions made me feel. I wouldn't have made reference to the staff member as having "nothing at all and has worked 3 or 4 years".

That said, the best way to pay a firm back for poor service is not to do business with them. Half-way there.

Check out the savings rates your parents are earning. The could well make their last visit to Yorkshire Bank ever soon - and close those account because there are far better rates elsewhere.

www.moneysupermarket.com/savings