Kensington mortgage

beezkneez

I have a question about a friends mortgage

They needed to remortgage a few years ago because of a debt on a credit card and the only company that would help was Kensington!

They have never defaulted on a mortgage payment but a few months ago due to ill health they wanted a 2 month 'holiday' from payments but Kensington said no and then tried to make out they were refusing to pay or were going to default on their mortgage. They weren't they merely wanted a breather for a couple of months due to sickness

Anyway we are wondering if they can more their mortgage to a more 'regular' lender that would have been more helpful!

Are they stuck with Kensington forever because of their bad history?

Thanks

monty-doggy

Not necessarily, I'd advise getting hold of all three credit files, experian, equifax and call credit. Make sure they are all correct and up to date and query anything that's wrong. Then see an independent mortgage advisor who has whole of market access, and give them the reports, they will be able to find a lender to suit your friends needs.

The worst thing they can do in the meantime is apply for any credit/ mortgage and they need to make sure no more payments are missed or late.

Thrugelmir

Why are they struggling to meet their mortgage payments? If they are financially stretched then may fail affordability criteria with mainstream lenders. Precisely why they originally ended up with an adverse lender.

The root of many problems is peoples ability to manage their money responsibly. Charity starts at home as they say.

ACG

You havnt really given any information on that post.

Theyre best getting their credit reports down to a broker to see what can be done.

beezkneez

Thanks for your replies

The reason they wanted a 'holiday' from payments was because my friends partner had been off work due to having a back operation and as he had been off a year his work had stopped his wages and he had to go onto statutory sick pay

They both work full time. It was him that ran up some debts and my friend didnt know till they came to try to get a better deal on their original mortgage. That's when it all went wrong!

I didn't really get too involved but I know that the financial advisor they used at the time told my friend to pay all her partners debts off using her credit cards and then remortgage and clear the credit cards that way. Thats how they ended up with Kensington!

My friend has no debts, she pays all her credit card purchases in full each month and isn't a financial risk. It's her partner that's the problem!

They have never defaulted any payments

monty-doggy

The FA they used wasn't a good one then. You need to ask around for a personal recommendation. Failing that see the CAB.

beezkneez

The FA was a charlatan! And he was recommended to them

It was all too late before I found out and could have helped out!

_Andy_

Failing to see why you think Kensington or the broker are at fault here.

In any case, with the absence of basic info, impossible to state whether a mainstream lender would now be possible

beezkneez

Hi andy
Thanks for your input. The FA they used gave them really bad advice. It was too late by the time I found out what they had done and I spoke to another FA and they were shocked at the advice they had been given!

Kensington has no doubt helped lots of people out and prevented then losing their homes. For my friend it was just a step too far as they weren't that much trouble at that stage. They had a mortgage from a regular lender and had they not have rushed into Kensington remortgage they probably could have kept their original mortgage and dealt with other debts differently

GMS

It is easy to blame the adviser here but the advice would have been agreed to by the borrower.

We have no idea as to what the debts were. What rates were they?

Consolidating unsecured debts into a mortgage should not be done without full consideration but it can prevent dire situations for many.

Had they been unable to keep up with the unsecured debts then there are avenues the lenders could pursue ranging from CCJ, charging order or ultimately bankruptcy.

Unsecured borrowing has the ability to put a home at risk.

Was the partner party to the mortgage previous to Kensington?

beezkneez

They bought the house years ago through a high street bank

The partner then for some reason ran up £20,000 worth of credit card debts which he hid. My friend only found out she went to the FA for advise on a better deal on their original mortgage!

That's when she was advised to take on the bad debts to clear his debts using her credit card and get re mortgage through Kensington!

I will tell her to get updated credit files and find another FA. She has no CCJS etc but I think he partner must have now!