consent to let and mortgage

yorkiegirlie

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, but new to all this!
My husband has been posted abroad with his job and we are all going with him - for 5 years. We cannot sell the house as it is not the right time, and nor do we want to as we will need something to come back to. Therefore we need to rent out the house to cover the mortgage etc as we have to pay for accomodation abroad too. I contacted the Halifax today, my mortgage lender, who told me as I am on the std variable rate - 3.5% - I have to now move to a buy to let mortgage at 6% as I become a bigger risk! I have had my mortgage with the Halifax for over 18 years and never missed a payment etc etc. I think this is an absolute con. Anyone else had the same and any suggestions of how I can get round this?

Thrugelmir

Sell up and purchase a property that requires no mortage. In addition that is suitable for letting.

Burridge60

Most lenders are doing something like this where they can get away with it.

What you are asking them to do is allow their previously lent residential mortgage money to be used for commercial purposes and in their portfolio of loans this would be a higher risk loan. Halifax don't do buy to let are they suggesting you remortgage with BM Mortgages.

Try again explain that this is a specific need to be abroad for a certain length of time and is only being entertained as you feel it is the wrong time to sell up and in any event you are coming back to the UK at the end of the posting. They can still say no but would be worth a try.

GuidoT

Some lenders see this as an opportunity to take you off your current deal and fleece you, even though it is the same property and mortgage that you have had for many years.

If you advise some lenders (like C&G) they just charge you a nominal fee (£150) and others charge you several thousand and double your rate, like Halifax.

I question whether you should tell lenders at all, others I know here will disagree and some will want to lynch me for saying this.

In your position I would look around and see what other lenders will do. I presume you have a good Loan to Value (as you have been paying the mortgage for 18 years) so that will help you getting a good deal.

If you are renting you may want to consider an interest only mortgage for tax reasons.

poppy10_2

GuidoT wrote: »

If you advise some lenders (like C&G) they just charge you a nominal fee (£150)

That's for consent to let, which is normally only for a limited period. If this is going to be a five year let, the OP will have no choice but to switch to a BTL mortgage. However there is no obligation to stick with Halifax, there may be cheaper rates from other BTL lenders.

Gigglepig

If Halifax refuses to give you a "consent to let" (e.g. for a nominal sum), you'll need to switch to a BTL with them or look for a BTL elsewhere. Some lenders may be more flexible than Halifax however annoyingly I have not found an easy way to spot which ones are more inclined to give "consent to let" rather than force you to switch to BTL. I have been through the same process and know how costly and annoying it is.

A long shot, but if the employer has a great relocation package they may agree to refund some of the added interest costs? (Unless the country you are going to is lower cost of living in which case you will be better off financially anyway even if you need to pay BTL interest rates.)

Meeper

This is not as simple as people might make out. In order to switch to a BTL mortgage, you would need a residential UK address to move into. As you are going overseas you have no such address therefore not only would you need a BTL lender, you would also need one who will deal with ex-pats and UK residents living overseas.

kier333

HSBC allow you to have Consent to let for a 12 month period at no additional cost or fees, the APR rate also does not change. I have just spoke with them.

yorkiegirlie

many thanks for all your advice. We are going to California (LA) where it is mega expensive so can't really offset the higher interest rate. It is all so complicated! I will have a look at moving my mortgage elsewhere I think, and possibly not tell them it is for 5 years and maybe try the HSBC - extending our stay after 12 months!

nomoneytoday

GuidoT wrote: »

If you advise some lenders (like C&G) they just charge you a nominal fee (£150) and others charge you several thousand and double your rate, like Halifax.

Strange, as they're both part of the same LTSB stable

GuidoT

As Poppy10 says above, the £150 is for consent to let which is normally for a short period.