Renting Out my Flat - Mortgage Consent Questions - Help Plz

little_miss_welsh

Hi

After long commutes for over 3 years the time has come to move nearer to my place of work. However, I own my flat and have a std residential mortgage on it, a fixed rate until end Feb 2011

I know I need to let my mtg company know, and I know they may well grant me a 'Consent to Let', the issue I have is timings. I am looking to put it on the market soon, which means i need to get a consent to let before my mtg term is up in Feb 2011.

So I have a few questions:

• Does anyone have any experience of getting a consent to let from Abbey?
• Any idea of the fees involved and timescales to get a consent to let?
• What will happen when my mtg expires i.e. when it ends on Feb 2011 will they force me onto a Buy 2 Let mtg or let me go for another residnetial mtg?
• If I rent my property out now, then look to re-mtg to another prodivder come February 2011 will I then have to look for a Buy-to-let mtg or can I go for another residential mtg?

I would be looking to get a tenant in through an agency, so I know it fits the box with the mtg company from that point of view and the rental income is more than enough. However, I have read that some fees can be as high as £495, and I dont want to have to fork this out for only 6 months or so before my mortgage expires in February next year

I just want to get some people on here's views on it before I make a call

Thanks for any help offered

Welsh

neverdespairgirl

Your LTV is likely to be very important.

G_M

Why not ring Abbet and ask the hypethetical questions?

little_miss_welsh

G_M wrote: »

Why not ring Abbet and ask the hypethetical questions?

that was my plan - scuppered by the fact that they close at 7! will have to try them tomorrow now but just wondered if anyone had any experience of it thats all

Welsh

skint-student-nurse

hi op, my OH got his standard mortgage from abbey/santander changed with consent to let as he was stuck in a high fixed rate for three years (still is) and they were more than happy to change it,paid a £190 fee and within a week the paperwork was complete. the mortgage is then going to roll over to a normal rate and the consent to let will stay on the mortgage.

the key factors abbey took into consideration were:
- length left on the mortgage (20 years :eek:)
- equity in the flat (over 25%)
- missed/late payments (none)

my OH has to make up a shortfall between the rent and the mortgage payments though,but overall,abbey were very helpful and efficient.

HTH!

Yorkie1

You say you own your flat - is that the freehold or just a long lease? If the latter ,you've probably already considered this, but in the unlikely event that you haven't ... have you checked the terms of your lease to ensure it allows you to sublet? There have been previous posters who have reported coming a cropper when they tried to sub-let.

little_miss_welsh

skint-student-nurse - thanks for your help, my issue is the product im on ends in February,so im not sure if Abbey will then force me onto a BTL mtg or let me go onto their std rate (not the end of the world if rates stay where they are, but a risk i know)

Yorkie1 - yes, have got the lanlord on the list also, they need to be called tomorrow. I know others on the estate have done it but not sure if they have been done 'offically' or not

little_miss_welsh

Ok, so I contacted the mgmt company today - and they say the lease says I dont need to let them know to sub-let

And Abbey want a £295 fee for a buy to let consent. Once my product is up in February I then move onto their std mtg rate. If I want a fixed product or a tracker mtg then they would put me on a BTL mtg, or I would need to re-mtg to another provider. Their std rate is fine at the mo, as its 4.24%, my only concern is what that rate is going to be come February

So some thinking to do me thinks......

little_miss_welsh

Anyone else with any snippets of wisdom?