NRAM/Northern Rock issue

TrickyDicky101

The contents of my post were statements of fact, not opinions. I didn't mean them to sound like a judgement and hence I apologise if they came across that way.

The crisis that impacted Northern Rock is not the reason you have a combined mortgage and loan greater than the value of your property. Whatever mortgage provider you had gone with, had you been able to borrow the same funds, it would not have changed the fact you are currently in a net debt position.

Rising expectations are usually a product of living longer - we all (myself included) get used to thinking things will always improve and plan accordingly. It is a bitter pill to swallow that things could actually get worse (this from personal experience).

To expand your options you need to pay down a proportion of your existing debt - without any actual assets (after repayment of all debt) your options are strictly limited.

I applaud you for your service to our country, and it is right and proper that you should want to improve the lot of your family.

I don't work for a bank.

Thrugelmir

TheHutches wrote: »

When we finally decided to give up trying to move and just settle here so we had 2 kids which used up the last of what we saved.

Was your choice nobody elses.

Once you wife returns to work. Start paying down the unsecured element. There's really no other alternative if a bigger home is your dream. On a joint income of over £50k should be possible to make significant inroads into the debt quite quickly.

TheHutches

I think we know we made the choice to take this mortgage and we knew how much we were borrowing and that maybe the advice we were given wasn't the best. However I didn't come on here for a lesson in our mistakes. I simply wanted to see if anyone had any ideas on how to help out. We plan on paying extra on the loan and thank you to anyone who has given us any advice.

However RPW, How can you not see how NRAM are corrupt? They were Northern Rock but now they're NRAM. Northern Rock are now a new company with new customers offering new deals. We was on a fixed rate for 3 years, at the end of that we automatically go to a variable rate without the option of one of these new deals that Northern Rock customers get offered? If I want to move my mortgage I have to pay 10% more APR on the loan. Admittedly we were probably told that at the time but that was before we knew that NRAMROCKNORTHERNDAYLIGHTROBBERS, were gonna leave us with absolute no options what so ever. Do you honestly think that this is fair? Is this how people deserve to be treated when all they are guilty of is making a poor decision off the back of even poorer financial advice?

R_P_W

What financial advice did you receive?

I bet NRAM were the best thing since sliced bread at the time?

The world changes......I'm sorry you are in the position you are in, but I don't see how it is the fault of NRAM.

What rate was your mortgage fixed at? What rate is it at now?

Thrugelmir

TheHutches wrote: »

Do you honestly think that this is fair? Is this how people deserve to be treated when all they are guilty of is making a poor decision off the back of even poorer financial advice?

Your problems lie with the unsecured debt that you accumulated prior to taking out the mortgage. You've never made a serious attempt to repay this debt. That's the fact of this matter. No point in whinging on about Northern Rock and fairness.

If as I suggested earlier, you start to repay this. In time other doors will open. Days of easy credit are over. Now you wouldn't even get a mortgage with that amount of unsecured debt. But you have, so channel your energies into what you can do to help yourselves.

kingstreet

FWIW, NRAM is a Government-run vehicle designed to run down the old Northern Rock mortgage and loan book which was left when the Government hived-off Northern Rock so it could sell it.

It is tasked with returning money to the taxpayer and as a result is unable to lend more money or offer new products.

The Northern Rock Together product was fine as a concept and if used correctly was a wonderful way of reducing the interest payable on unsecured credit. However, the extended term meant discipline was needed to channel the cost savings into overpayments to repay the consolidated debt within the original timescales.

What has happened over the years, is borrowers' circumstances have changed, there have been job losses and unexpected families and their plans have been blown off course as a result.

FWIW when I offered advice on this product, I always used the lowest secured element I could, choosing 90% secured in most cases. This was a way of giving the borrower a bigger stake in their home in an effort to reduce the chances of negative equity as much as possible if house prices fell. Unfortunately, as mentioned, if any of those changes of circumstances combined with a large house price fall, they may be unable to move without extreme action to reduce their overall indebtedness.