Need advice on Mortgages as I'm clueless

leighec40

I've always had a guy do my pensions and mortgages but he lied to me about something silly last year so I decided to stop using him. I haven't found anyone else as haven't thought about it till now.
I received my annual mortgage statement this morning and I would like some advice on what to do.

My fixed rate finished in March of last year and as the base rate was low I decided to not renew to a fixed rate after speaking to a few friends and hoped to make a few overpayments to lower the balance.
My variable rate as of now is 3.99% and my balance is £84305.05 and I have 19 years left to pay this off.
Using the calculator on here just now and over paying at the minimum of £400 a month I would drop the length of my mortgage to 8 years which sounds fabulous to me at 40 years of age.
I have my mortgage with the Halifax and I can pay off as much extra as I want to.

Am I best staying at the 3.99% and overpaying or would I be better at having a fixed rate mortgage?
I seem to be paying £250-300 a month in interest so would this change if I had a fixed rate?
I'm reading through all sorts online and have to say it's throwing my brain into meltdown as there's so much info out there...so I really would appreciate any advice.
I'm a single woman with a birth son and I foster children so I'm classed as self employed but as I pay no tax I know it's hard to get a mortgage provider as they use pay slips (which I get but don't pay tax)

Advice would be greatly received. Thanks.

kingstreet

If you have no evidence of income which would be acceptable to a lender, you appear to have little option but to;-

- remain on SVR with Halifax
or
- ask Halifax about its product transfer options for your circumstances as these have no requirement for income/status information.

However, by changing, you will enter another period where your overpyaments are limited to 10% per annum and you need to balance this against the unlimited overpayments you can make now.

First job, ask Halifax what they will give you from the product transfer range. Then compare that with the SVR.

leighec40

So while I can pay double the money (almost) each month while the base rate is low I'm better doing this than getting a fixed rate?
I would much rather pay more and be mortgage free in half the time.

Is there any evidence that the base rate is going to rise in the near future?
In my mind if it stays low then I'm better staying as I am.....?

kingstreet

Double the money? Where have you got that from?

With a balance of £84,000 you can overpay 10% of that in a year and not pay a penalty, that's £8,400 and you appear to be overpaying £4,800. That's assuming you choose another Halifax fixed rate product.

Please establish with Halifax what it is prepared to offer you, then compare it with your current position. As things stand now, you can overpay ANY AMOUNT without penalty.

The rest is opinion and crystal-ball gazing and I'm going nowhere near that!

dimbo61

But what would you do if the Halifax offered you a 5 year fix at 2.95%?
You could consider reducing the term but that may not be a good idea if self employed and never sure of stable income every month!!
Speak to Halifax first and see what they can offer you as an existing customer.
Post on here what deals they have

leighec40

I phoned the Halifax and they said I could pay off as much overpayment as I wanted to so am going on what they said.
My payment per month at the minute is £528 so if I pay an extra £400 its close to double what I pay.

kingstreet

Here you go;-

http://www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/existing-customers/switch-to-a-new-deal/

leighec40

Thank you. I'll add it to my bookmarks for the light night time reading once kids in bed.

kingstreet

leighec40 wrote: »

I phoned the Halifax and they said I could pay off as much overpayment as I wanted to so am going on what they said.
My payment per month at the minute is £528 so if I pay an extra £400 its close to double what I pay.

Yes. You are currently able to overpay as much as you want. It's a coincidence that your contractual payment and your voluntary overpayment is in the region of "double" (175% actually).

If you take a new product from Halifax, your penalty-free maximum overpayment will be 10% of your outstanding balance each year, £8,400, so more than what you are actually overpaying.

Perhaps if I clarify this - you appear to be able to overpay more, penalty-free, than you are now doing even if you opt for a new fix with your existing lender.

Hope that helps.

leighec40

So...I could get a better rate than I have now and still pay the extra £400 a month so in effect save more money?
God...numbers confuse me.

kingstreet

You can still overpay by 10% of the mortgage balance. This may be restricted to single, or one-off payments rather than monthly overpayments, you need to check this with your lender.

On here, we can generalise and speculate. The only place you get an answer peculiar to you is from your lender.