Is it work applying to first direct?

becominganobsessivesaver

I'm just thinking about remortgaging for the first time. We currently have a split mortgage, approximately 90k on a base rate tracker (br+0.95) and 60k fixed til December at 4%. We bought our house in 2012 for 200k, two identical houses on our estate have sold at 220k (marketed for quick sale) and 225k in the last 6 months. Other houses like ours are currently SSTC, listed at 250k.

So by December we could realistically be in a position where we only need 143k, and if our house was valued at 220k that would give us a 65% LTV. Do you think first direct are likely to accept this valuation?

I earn 50k, OH is self employed on a low salary so we don't want to bother including that. We have 2 dependants, no debt (several credit cards paid in full each month), no childcare costs and have never been turned down for credit. I know first direct are supposed to be a pretty stringent lender, so you think we'd stand a chance? We want the mortgage over 19 years.

Final question, is it 6 months in advance that we can 'book' a mortgage, I.e. Should I apply at the end of June if these decent 5 year fixes are still around?

Thanks in advance.