HELP: Kicked whilst already down by A&L (Santander)

johncrossy

I'm at the end of my tether and would appreciate any guidance on my predicament...

We're a family with (nearly) three children - 2 y/o daughter and twin boys due in 1 month (had planned for 1 not 2 - no twins in family). We currently live in an upstairs 2 bedroom flat and have a mortgage with A&L which is approx 80% LTV. Our mortgage is fixed for another year as it was originally a 5 year fixed rate.

When we first started considering expanding the family (Sep 2010) I rang A&L to see how much additional lending they could offer and was informed £30k. Between this and some inheritance we've received we should have enough to upsize to a 3 bed house, hence our falling preganant and the flat being placed on the market.

Already stressed out with selling the flat, I've just been going over my finances to see how much we can afford to sell our flat for and in doing so rang A&L again to check how much repayments on our additional lending would be, only to discover they're no longer willing to lend me £30k but only £2.5k as they've updated to the Santander affordability calculator!

As we're fixed for another year we also can't afford to take our mortgage elsewhere as we'll incur a £4800 early repayment charge.

We're now in a position where we need to move as our flat simply isn't big enough, however A&L will no longer lend us the additional money we need and we can't go to another lender either as we cannot afford the charge to leave A&L.

What with this and all the other stresses of having twins, moving etc, I'm feeling close to tears at the moment so any help would be greatly appreciated.

beecher2

All I can think of is for you to either put up with the 2 bed flat for another year, or ask for permission to rent it out, and you rent a bigger place.

Lending criteria changes all the time so not much you can do about that I'm afraid.

Thrugelmir

johncrossy wrote: »

As we're fixed for another year we also can't afford to take our mortgage elsewhere as we'll incur a £4800 early repayment charge.

The ERC was there last September (in some form) so not a new charge that's been imposed.

TrickyDicky

Can you not sell up and rent? you usually get more for your money when renting compared to a mortgage. Why be stressed about owning a home (when you cannot afford a bigger one) when you have 3 kids to bring up?

kingstreet

Sadly, I can see no mortgage-related escape route for you.

Lending criteria is always subject to change and non moreso than in the last four years since you took out your last mortgage.

As you said, you've seen your lender taken over, due in no small part to its previous lending policies.

BadgerFace_2

I'm sure that two babies would neither mind, nor remember sharing their bedroom for the first year of their lives. Moreover, you'll want them in with you for the first 6 months or so anyway I'd have thought.

It might not feel it, but you have a stable roof over your head, so you are in a good position compared with many.

originalmiscellany

It's a great place to be in some ways!
You have positives: You own your accommodation; you have a family and a healthy expanding one!
You are aware things need to change and you have time to do it.

It looks like a focus of say 2.5 years time is what you need, to save a certain amount of money is needed. Also, bare in mind that you could post an SOA - to allow others to see if you're able to cut your cloth to save money here and there.