Remortage under difficult circumstances

i_am_really_rich!!

Hi there, this is my first post so I am hoping for some positive feedback. I currently have a £100K mortgage with GMAC-RFC. We got this mortgage last year after having a very expensive one with another company. We have had money problems in the past which we have now sorted (over 2 years ago) although obviously our credit record is not unblemished. The other problem is that my husband is self employed, although I don't belive that this should be a problem it seems that it is. I would like to remortage again at some point in the not toooooooo distant future. Our interest rate is currently 7.08% which I know is high.

My question is how long should I wait before going to another lender to get a better rate?

Ian_W

Hi rich!! & welcome,
I think you'd be better going via a broker, there are some advice and links on this on the mortgage section of the site. Also try a local, face to face, independent "whole of market" broker who doesn't charge a fee but gets paid by the lender, recommendation is best but otherwise you can find one on https://www.unbiased.co.uk.

Reason I suggest this is at 7+% you're paying through the nose so the sooner you can remortgage the better, but a broker should be able to give you a good idea of the optimum time to do it, ie it might be that in a few months you can get a better rate than right now. All depends on your exact circumstances and how distant your money troubles were. Self employed in itself isn't too big a problem, it's proving earnings that can make it much more difficult. It might also be a good idea to get a copy of your credit rating before you discuss with a broker.

HTH.

AndrewSmith

Hi,

It will really depend on the terms and conditions of the mortgage you are currently on, eg are there any early repayment charges etc.

It will also depend on the current situation that is represented by your credit file. It may be that it is not possible to get a lower rate based on this.

I would agree with Ian W that you need to sit with a broker. Beware of 'specialist' companies who claim to deal exclusively with people having had credit problems in the past. They will have accessto a very limited number of lenders and will invariably charge you a fee.

In a case such as yours it is vital that you arrange a consultation with a local broker / mortgage advisor who will visit you face to face and discuss the various options with you. He will then be able to actually show you via his sourcing system what is available to you, and all the associated costs etc.

Look in your local pages, yell.com etc initially. Also ask friends / family for someone they have used locally. After all recommendation from someone you know is the best source of all.

@ Ian W, the link to unbiased.co.uk refers to Independant Financial Advisors not Mortgage Brokers. Subtle difference that could make all the difference if you see what I mean

Andy

Hillfly

PM me if you would like a recomendation for a very good IFA who has helped me out a lot in the last 5 years.

He's a top guy.

MortgageMamma

Hillfly you seem to be recommending this "guy" a lot

Ian_W

AndrewSmith wrote: @ Ian W, the link to unbiased.co.uk refers to Independant Financial Advisors not Mortgage Brokers. Subtle difference that could make all the difference if you see what I mean

Not altogether sure I do, actually Andy. If IFAs do mortgage business won't they be similarly qualified and regulated to a non-IFA mortgage adviser? Unbiased allows you to search both by postcode AND speciality, in this instance mortgages, to find someone close to where you live or work. But of course I did preface that by saying recommendation is best.

So if you don't know of an independent whole of market broker or had one recommended to you - why would going to an unknown one who you sourced from an ad in the papers for example, "make all the difference" - as opposed to going to one sourced from unbiased?

Prey do tell?

MortgageMamma

I "think" the point andy is trying to make Ian, is that a mortgage broker is a specialist expert in his field, whereas an IFA deals with a number of different financial products, therefore no one particular specialism is achieved, consequently the depth of knowledge of an IFA on mortgages as opposed to a mortgage specialist is quite likely, in most cases to differ.