re-mortgage worth it?

mroot84

Hi all, I apologise in advance if this is a stupid question, I've researched on the site but am still unsure of the answer.

I bought my house in December 2011 for £125k, of which 22.5k was gifted from my parents as my deposit. At the time I was pretty hard up with money and paying off a fair amount of debt, I used a mortgage broker and struggled to get many offers due to my financial circumstances, and I believe being a single ftb as well.

On moving in my parents immediately invested £2k into installing a shower and replacing the full bathroom suite which was in dire need of doing.

Thanks largely to getting out of rented accomodation I've now gotten myself together more - I had a lodger move in in April 2012, and then took my new job and raise in Jan 2013 with an £8k payrise. I've also cleared off a £4k credit card and not missed any payments for mortgage, my loan or cards. I have however just bought a new car on finance (mine died and I need a reliable car to travel for work)

My fixed rate is up in December and I wonder if it is worth remortgaging? Am i likely to get a more favourable interest rate now that I have essentially proven that i will not miss payments? I certainly consider myself to be less risky than I was 2 years ago.

There are also some improvements I would like to do to the house. Is this something that remortgaging would cover? I have a quote for £2.5k to replace expensive storage heating with an efficient central heating system which I am keen on doing if I can...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have had so many confllicting opinions on the above and really just want to know what options are available and the benefits / drawbacks of these.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

amnblog

yes MrRoot

well worth checking out - use a mortgage broker

originalmiscellany

Obvious things: What is your current mortgage standing at? I couldn't immediately see - if you have said I apologise!

What are your debts other than your mortgage and car loan (How much and how long for?)

What is your current interest rate of your mortgage?

What is your loan to value (Low estimate of house if sold compared to mortgage outstanding)?

These will give a clearer perspective and people to give better advice.


However, we are currently in a "golden era" of low mortgage rates, so I think you should (if your LTV is good) be able to get a decent mortgage.

I am not a mortgage adviser!

goldmask

amnblog wrote: »

yes MrRoot

well worth checking out - use a mortgage broker

This is essentially your reply to everyone who asks a question on this board.

mroot84

Thank you in answer (ish) to your questions...

Obvious things: What is your current mortgage standing at? I couldn't immediately see - if you have said I apologise! - I will check this evening as I'm not 100% certain, it was £102,500 when I took the mortgage out and I', on a repayment plan.

What are your debts other than your mortgage and car loan (How much and how long for?) I have 3 years left on a loan, paying £437 / month. Never missed a payment. I also have another credit card with £4k on (reduced from £6k 2 years ago). I have a £500 overdraft facility which is sometimes used, I am currently £200 overdrawn.

What is your current interest rate of your mortgage? will check tonight

What is your loan to value (Low estimate of house if sold compared to mortgage outstanding)? Average House prices on my street have increased by around £5k since I purchased according to mouseprice - not sure how accurate this is as a guage. When I got the mortgage I was at 82% LTV, its a repayment mortgage. I think my current LTV would be at around 77% but not certain how to work this out accurately.

These will give a clearer perspective and people to give better advice.

amnblog

goldmask wrote: »

This is essentially your reply to everyone who asks a question on this board.

It is generally the best advice. Very little asked on these boards is not best answered by a one to one with an experienced broker.

kingstreet

goldmask wrote: »

This is essentially your reply to everyone who asks a question on this board.

Feel free to proffer your help to the OP then.

amnblog

Witness the thread from this morning from FD client who took a fix and now feels he should have taken a tracker.

This is the risk of not getting advice by going direct instead of using a broker.

mroot84

Hi all,

I'll def be using a broker, but want to ensure that I go armed with advice / information beforehand rather than completely dumb as I was when I first bought the house. Hence my question here.
I also dont want to waste the time of a broker if it is not worth the remortgage...

amnblog

It is the broker job to establish of you are wasting your time MrRoot.

Make sure you have all the information the broker needs when you approach them.

Credit report (you can get this for free from Credit Expert)
Last 3 months wages slips
Last 3 months bank statements
Latest mortgage statement
Idea of value of property (eg Zoopla 'SOLD' figures)