Poor credit

HopefullyDebtFreeBy2014

Hi

I'm new here so please bare with me if I'm posting in the wrong place... Me and my husband are hoping to borrow more money on our Halifax mortgage to pay off existing debts, we have cards all over I have viewed our credit report and both state "very poor" and my husband defaulted on one account a couple of years ago. We currently owe £55000 on £160000 house so we have loads of equity available and have never miss one single payment on our mortgage however, we have struggled with juggling cards and payments for a few years now resulting in 17 missed payments in total. It's really getting us down!!
So after thinking things over this would totally makes sense as all our debt would be in one place, our mortgage we could get rid of cards and live a lot happier and be better off a month.
Does anyone know what the chances of Halifax agreeing to this are taking into account our current situation?

Thanks

cookyy2k

I wouldn't know the chances of Halifax agreeing but I will say will this really solve your problems? Shifting the unsecured debt you're struggling with already into secured debt? You may benefit from talking to the CAB or stepchange and see what they can offer.

Reformed_Spender

I can't offer any advice on whether Halifax will accept your remortgage but I would be wary of the easy fix to debt.

If you do move all this debt onto your mortgage can you honestly say that you are ready to never use credit cards again.

From what you have said regarding your credit history maybe opening up the potential for even more debt might not be the answer.

I would ask yourself how the debt was created in the first place and how you would stop that happening again? When was the last time your purchased on any card and what was it for?

If you have made any purchasers in the last 6 - 12 months on credit that weren't absolutely necessary whilst you have already been struggling to make existing debt payments then my advice would be to address the reasons for debt before you work out the best way to deal with the debt.

I don't know your individual situation but I am somebody who was in a lot of debt for the last 11 years. I had a consolidation loan in the past and although different to adding debt to your mortgage it's the same principal of moving debt rather than paying it off. Like so many people on these forums I soon spent again and had the consolidation loan and credit cards to pay each month.

Thankfully I had my LBM, changed my spending habits and will finally be debt free in the next few weeks.

It might be worth having a look on the DFW forum and all the great advice that can be gained on there.

I hope this doesn't come across as preaching and I wish you all the best in sorting out your financial situation.

Thrugelmir

17 late payment markers will immediately be an issue for any lender. How much unsecured debt do you owe? Unlikely that debt consolidation will be the answer to your problems.

thriftylass

HopefullyDebtFreeBy2014 wrote: »

Hi

Me and my husband are hoping to borrow more money on our Halifax mortgage to pay off existing debts, we have cards all over I have viewed our credit report and both state "very poor" and my husband defaulted on one account a couple of years ago. We currently owe £55000 on £160000 house so we have loads of equity available and have never miss one single payment on our mortgage however, we have struggled with juggling cards and payments for a few years now resulting in 17 missed payments in total. It's really getting us down!!
So after thinking things over this would totally makes sense as all our debt would be in one place, our mortgage we could get rid of cards and live a lot happier and be better off a month.
Does anyone know what the chances of Halifax agreeing to this are taking into account our current situation?

Thanks

I agree with previous posters, address the debt issue from the point of how was the debt created and why. Do you still spend on cards? Cut them up. Make a list of all the cards and debts and how much interest they charge. Start paying them off by highest interest and smallest amount owned (to reduce the number of cards). Maybe get in contact with a free debt advice agency like StepChange to get advice on how to tackle it best. But I wouldn't increase the mortgage. That won't change your habits and you'll be glad later on to still have only 55000 owing on your house. How do you pay your cards, do you have DD set up for at least the minimum payment, that way you should never miss a payment in the future. Maybe also post you SOA to see where you can make cuts in your budget and free up money to throw at the cards.

You made the first step and asked for help. Now take the next and change your ways