Mortgage broker - ask me anything

Capri84

Financial advisor/Mortgage broker

First time buyer, so this is all very new to me. I had a phone call with a local (recommended) FA/MB who sent me a request/questionnaire for details of my status, income, outgoing, etc. 

I just wondered how long typically it might take for him to return to me with some further information on the way forward? I have a good level of income, one car finance loan, zero balance on CCs, 999 on Experian...

K_S

Ronster1984 said:

Financial advisor/Mortgage broker
First time buyer, so this is all very new to me. I had a phone call with a local (recommended) FA/MB who sent me a request/questionnaire for details of my status, income, outgoing, etc. 

I just wondered how long typically it might take for him to return to me with some further information on the way forward? I have a good level of income, one car finance loan, zero balance on CCs, 999 on Experian...

@ronster1984 Well that's just a customer service-levels question. I aim to review completed client fact-finds the same/next-day and then let my client know next steps. But it just depends on the broker firm.

Percy06

MWT said:

Percy06 said:

I own a town centre apartment directly above 2 restaurants. I have approximately £75,000 outstanding on the mortgage which has about 5 years left. The apartment was valued 2 years ago at £300,000 by 2 estate agents. I am retired and have no income apart from my private pension. I would really, really like to to remortgage my apartment ideally with Equity Release, or failing that with an interest only type mortgage, for about £80,000.

Are you living in the apartment or is this a Buy-to-Let property?

I live here, have done for 7 years, absolutely love it will not be moving. It's my forever home.

MWT

Percy06 said:

MWT said:

Percy06 said:

I own a town centre apartment directly above 2 restaurants. I have approximately £75,000 outstanding on the mortgage which has about 5 years left. The apartment was valued 2 years ago at £300,000 by 2 estate agents. I am retired and have no income apart from my private pension. I would really, really like to to remortgage my apartment ideally with Equity Release, or failing that with an interest only type mortgage, for about £80,000.

Are you living in the apartment or is this a Buy-to-Let property?

I live here, have done for 7 years, absolutely love it will not be moving. It's my forever home.

Let's see if K_S can comment on your original question...

Reason I asked about BTL is that as long as you have at least 75% LTV it is usually possible to get an interest only mortgage, but if it is residential it is relatively hard to get interest only and you will need to show evidence of your repayment vehicle...

On the flip-side Equity Release is easier on residential than it is on BTL but as you have discovered the lenders can be picky about what and where your property is especially when it comes to flats in close proximity to commercial property and even more so if that is a restaurant.

Also some Equity Release lenders will not lend on flats valued below £300k so you are right on the edge there as well.

In any event, I am not a broker so I'll leave it to the expert now it is clear that your question is about residential property.

K_S

MWT said:

Percy06 said:

MWT said:

Percy06 said:

I own a town centre apartment directly above 2 restaurants. I have approximately £75,000 outstanding on the mortgage which has about 5 years left. The apartment was valued 2 years ago at £300,000 by 2 estate agents. I am retired and have no income apart from my private pension. I would really, really like to to remortgage my apartment ideally with Equity Release, or failing that with an interest only type mortgage, for about £80,000.

Are you living in the apartment or is this a Buy-to-Let property?

I live here, have done for 7 years, absolutely love it will not be moving. It's my forever home.

Let's see if K_S can comment on your original question...

Reason I asked about BTL is that as long as you have at least 75% LTV it is usually possible to get an interest only mortgage, but if it is residential it is relatively hard to get interest only and you will need to show evidence of your repayment vehicle...

On the flip-side Equity Release is easier on residential than it is on BTL but as you have discovered the lenders can be picky about what and where your property is especially when it comes to flats in close proximity to commercial property and even more so if that is a restaurant.

Also some Equity Release lenders will not lend on flats valued below £300k so you are right on the edge there as well.

In any event, I am not a broker so I'll leave it to the expert now it is clear that your question is about residential property.

@mwt Anything post-retirement, I don't comment or advise on, too many regulatory pitfalls and constraints to watch out for!

MWT

K_S said:

@mwt Anything post-retirement, I don't comment or advise on, too many regulatory pitfalls and constraints to watch out for!

Very understandable and duly noted.

MWT

Percy06 said:

MWT said:

Percy06 said:

I own a town centre apartment directly above 2 restaurants. I have approximately £75,000 outstanding on the mortgage which has about 5 years left. The apartment was valued 2 years ago at £300,000 by 2 estate agents. I am retired and have no income apart from my private pension. I would really, really like to to remortgage my apartment ideally with Equity Release, or failing that with an interest only type mortgage, for about £80,000.

Are you living in the apartment or is this a Buy-to-Let property?

I live here, have done for 7 years, absolutely love it will not be moving. It's my forever home.

I would suggest you contact Step Change Financial Solurtions... They are the mortgage arm of the Step Change charity and they provide regulated advice for equity release and other mortgages without any charge to you.

If there is a solution to your needs I suspect they are in a good place to find it.

https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/mortgages.aspx

 

Capri84

When applying for a mortgage, does the entire deposit need to be ready at that time? For example, if you’re saving £1000 per month and will have 3k more at the end of a 3 month period when you’re hoping to buy... can you use that figure or just what you have at the time of the mortgage application?

K_S

Ronster1984 said:

When applying for a mortgage, does the entire deposit need to be ready at that time? For example, if you’re saving £1000 per month and will have 3k more at the end of a 3 month period when you’re hoping to buy... can you use that figure or just what you have at the time of the mortgage application?

@Ronster1984 You *should* be able to use the projected savings. For a relatively small amount of £2k-3k, it's unlikely to be issue unless it's a large portion of your deposit.

mustachio

Hi,

I'm looking to re-mortgage with a massive reduction on the term i.e. from 27 down to 9 years. We are just looking to clear it asap! Don't like being in debt.

Obviously the rate will increase per month with such a reduction substantially HOWEVER we have already matching that rate by overpaying the mortgage for over 18 months now. So we have shown that we can pay that rate already.

Are mortgage lenders likely to be agreeable to this significant reduction? It is 55% of my earnings towards the mortgage which is higher than they would normally recommend though since I have a proven track record I'm hopeful they will see sense.

What I don't want is refusing and trying to keep me on this 27 year mortgage where can only overpay 10% each year. Blah.