What to do? Remortgage, 195 fee, need 75%ltv, it could be close!

gsf600y

Hi,
I've a dilema!

Looking to remortgage, and have found suitable product from Yorkshire Building Society.
£195 non-refundable application fee, conveyancing and valuation free. It is a 75% LTV.

My house is worth VERY close to the 75% mark. If I apply, and the valuation comes out lower, I'd have to pick the next best product, which is actually Santander.

Santander valued for free at £180000, which is the amount we estimated it to be.
Mortgage balance is £134000, so as you can see, very close to the 75%.

I could just go with Santander, no fees, but would cost me additional £1700 over the 3 year fixed term.

Do I risk losing the £195? I suppose only I can answer that, but any thoughts or tips?

kingstreet

You appear to have done the maths and identified the pitfalls. If there's no way of avoiding that fee, you appear to have to risk it.

Isn't there a product with no fees you could choose upto 75% so you'd lose nothing if the property is downvalued?

alexlyne

Lenders I have spoken to say that while their valuation fee is 'free', you still have to pay for it but it is refunded if you go ahead. I guess it's not always the case (only spoke to 2 lenders, and perhaps I only discussed it with one of them). It's one of the reasons why I'm not remortgaging at the moment - found a great 80% rate but could go the wrong way of the house is valued lower than expected.

kingstreet

alexlyne wrote: »

Lenders I have spoken to say that while their valuation fee is 'free', you still have to pay for it but it is refunded if you go ahead. I guess it's not always the case (only spoke to 2 lenders, and perhaps I only discussed it with one of them). It's one of the reasons why I'm not remortgaging at the moment - found a great 80% rate but could go the wrong way of the house is valued lower than expected.

Some do free valuations, some do refunded valuation fees, others the rate makes up for paying the fee. It just takes a little work to get the right combination.

In this instance, the fee is the admin fee for the rate, not the valuation fee. That's free on this YBS deal.

gsf600y

kingstreet wrote: »

Isn't there a product with no fees you could choose upto 75% so you'd lose nothing if the property is downvalued?

At YBS there is a £95 fee product, but conveyancing and valuation are not included.
The best fee free production I can find is the Santander one, at 3.55%. They've valued the house, no issues with the LTV, and it's ready to go.

I just hate wasting hard earned money (which is why I don't gamble/do the lottery), but at the same time it would be great too save that £1700 over 3 years.

kk20

Just to also say, YBS are quite strict on affordability too not just LTV, their online affordability calculator is quite close. Santander are not as strict.