CC Debt and Remortgage

twicebittennotshy

Thanks for the comments and suggestions - some good advice given.

Could someone please tell me what SOA means?

twicebittennotshy

Thanks for the suggestion MortgageMamma. Unfortunately moving now is not an option as our 50k gift won't be available until around August or September. In your experience as a mortgage advisor, am I correct in thinking that there's no point making serious inquiries about a mortgage until we have proof that the 50K is available?

On the plus side though, that gives me a bit of time to a/ reduce my CC debts a tiny bit, b/ halve the remaining balance on my personal loan c/ do some of those little jobs around the house that will make it easier to sell and hopefully add a bit of value.

twicebittennotshy

droiderm wrote: »

Personally I would completely stop thinking about a new house.
That's an awful lot of credit card debt. Significantly too much.

Someone suggested going onto the debt forum and posting an soa. That's a very wise move.

I don't think you quite understand or are willing to look at why you are where you are. That isn't going to change unless you do something about it.

Thinking about getting a bigger mortgage isn't wise.

I am speaking through experience , and you really need to look at your debt before thinking about a new house. Nor do I think paying off your credit cards with your equity is a good idea either. You need to understand why you are continually spending more than you earn. You will end up in an even worse potion in years to come.

I don't mean to criticise, just think about your finances

Thanks for your input Droiderm - what you say makes sense and, for a long time I wasn't willing to look at why I am where I am.

MY CC debt is due to a combination of factors - a significant pay cut shortly after the birth of our first child, my partner going from full-time to part-time work, a mortgage that wasn't really affordable from the outset and, most importantly, my failure to re-calibrate my spending to take into account all of these other factors and a delusion that I could afford to maintain my lifestyle.

I am now very aware of where I am and how I got there - many sleepless nights have contributed to that - and because of this have resolved never to make use of credit other than for a mortgage. My CC's are being paid off, albeit very slowly, but will be cut up the day the balances are settled from the equity. I will be, even if the mortgage provider doesn't insist on it - instructing the solicitor to settle the balances directly to avoid the temptation to delay payment or pay less than the full balance. I've learnt that I can't trust myself with credit.

On a five year fixed rate my new mortgage should cost roughly the same as my current mortgage on my lender's SVR and means that I should then, with my other debts settled, be in a position where I can actually put a few hundred pounds a month into a savings account.

I will never let myself get in this position again.

nkkingston

SOA stands for Statement of Affairs. If you fill in the calculator here and then set it for MSE forums and start a new thread in the debt forum, people will be able to pick over it with you and suggest ways to cut bills and snowball debts to pay them off more efficiently. It can be helpful to have bank statements on hand to make sure you know where the money is going, or keep a spending diary if you pay for a lot of stuff in cash.