Mortgage broker - ask me anything

K_S

theonenonly said:

A bit disappointed by LandC, just had a chat and supposedly my amount has dropped from £280,000 at AIP to £223,000 when looking at what lenders can actually offer. Which is around 4.1x our salary.

I mentioned Nationwide's Helping Hand to him and I don't think he works with them so couldn't say how much they can lend, and I also mentioned that civil servants can sometimes be offered 5.5x by some specialist lenders too, but couldn't give me any information.

Should I adjust my budget for what I can buy or maybe get an AIP with Natwest Helping Hand and see what's available?

@theoneonly

Generally speaking, affordability is a function of your income, committed outgoings, background debt, flexibility with term (current age, intended retirement age, maximum term for specific lenders, etc.), lender LTI cap and LTV (lenders can often have higher LTI caps at lower LTVs and vice-versa)

If the broker has done their job properly, then they would've considered your affordability for almost all the lenders/products that are available for you and your requirements, including the Nationwide HH product. 

Off the top of my head, I don't know of any mainstream lenders that will lend enhanced multiples for CS employees, it's usually to do with profession. There are smaller BSs and specialist products that may consider higher income multiples for non-professionals but in the current market the circumstances would have to be quite specific for them to lend more than mainstream options.

You can play around with a few affordability calculators and see what they return with different terms, etc.
https://www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/calculators/affordability-calculator
https://online.accordmortgages.com/public/mortgages/quick_enquiry.do

Assuming that you're in a desk-based job, think about your intended retirement age as well, as that can make a difference to the maximum possible term and thus how much you can borrow. For example Accord will consider a maximum retirement age of 80 while with many other lenders it's 75 or 70.

If you really need to maximise your borrowing, then I would suggest getting a second opinion from another broker. The MSE guide here should help you find one
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-mortgages-cashback/#step3

Good luck!

GoingOn30

Current 3yr fix ends in June 24 but we're facing increasing costs that will impact ability to meet repayments this winter. 

We're looking at asking for a term extension under the mortgage charter to help make repayments affordable in the short term. 
Are there any downsides I may not have considered? I know its more interest to pay overall (but we will have to extend term anyway when current fix ends next June as we will lose our lovely 1.95% rate). Lenders says no impact to my credit file. 

We are both 33 and current term with our existing mortgage is 27 years. 
The alternative is putting more of our spending on interest free credit card in the short to medium term. 
Any thoughts?

Newbie_John

Really difficult without knowing more details, but if you're struggling with 1.95% rate, it will likely go up by couple of hundreds in June next year. Extending the period could be an option - but you would need play with mortgage calculators to see how things play out for you. You still have some time to find a way to improve your finances or  think of downsizing? Only saying this as you are very close to your limits already.

K_S

GoingOn30 said:

Current 3yr fix ends in June 24 but we're facing increasing costs that will impact ability to meet repayments this winter. 

We're looking at asking for a term extension under the mortgage charter to help make repayments affordable in the short term. 
Are there any downsides I may not have considered? I know its more interest to pay overall (but we will have to extend term anyway when current fix ends next June as we will lose our lovely 1.95% rate). Lenders says no impact to my credit file. 

We are both 33 and current term with our existing mortgage is 27 years. 
The alternative is putting more of our spending on interest free credit card in the short to medium term. 
Any thoughts?

@goingon30 Stretching the term to its max is definitely an option to consider when cashflow is tight and it's likely to result in a noticeably smaller monthly payment given that your current term is only up to 60.

I don't know which lender you're with but as long as you have a corresponding intended retirement age, lenders will range from 70-80 for max term so if you're in a desk based job and with someone like Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, you could potentially stretch to a 40 year term.

Other than the obvious impact from taking longer to pay off the mortgage (assuming you don't make any overpayments) there aren't any credit file implications.

And if stretching the term will give you some breathing space, I wouldn't stress too much about the longer term as how much you'll pay in interest is still fully within your control.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2015/03/decrease-the-term-or-overpay-my-mortgage-martin-lewis-answers

rwarren10

Hi, just looking a bit of advice please as we are planning on applying for a mortgage next year - 2024.
Basically we own our house at the minute (mortgage free, it was gifted to my wife after her grandmothers passing). It is a small cottage house and we are planning a major extension & renovation - planning permission & building control all passed.
We are currently paying down some credit card debt (related to the architect fees for planning permission) before we are trying for a mortgage as we want the highest amount in affordability calculator.

If we were to undertake some site clearance i.e. removing hedges that run the full length of the garden & the house and replacing with a fence (this will need done when it comes to extension time anyway) would this be frowned upon by lenders ? As we have started some work out of our own pockets before going to the lender for the mortgage next year for the actual foundations & build maybe they would look badly upon this ?

Thanks

HunterHome

I am a foster carer and my partner a teacher.  Would any broker be able to help with a mortgage or are there specialist ones? I have seen one called Mortgage Brain but hoped there were other options.

Thanks

Neilos9

theonenonly said:

A bit disappointed by LandC, just had a chat and supposedly my amount has dropped from £280,000 at AIP to £223,000 when looking at what lenders can actually offer. Which is around 4.1x our salary.

I mentioned Nationwide's Helping Hand to him and I don't think he works with them so couldn't say how much they can lend, and I also mentioned that civil servants can sometimes be offered 5.5x by some specialist lenders too, but couldn't give me any information.

Should I adjust my budget for what I can buy or maybe get an AIP with Natwest Helping Hand and see what's available?

Helping Hand is Nationwide.

london21

I am remortgaging within 6 months of y current fix ending. Virgin money current deal ends 01/02/2024 and new 2 years fixed selected been told ends 01/12/2025 not exactly 2 years product?

2 years 5.7%
5 years now 5.17%

kingstreet

HunterHome said:

I am a foster carer and my partner a teacher.  Would any broker be able to help with a mortgage or are there specialist ones? I have seen one called Mortgage Brain but hoped there were other options.

Thanks

Any decent broker could deal with your enquiry.

kingstreet

london21 said:

I am remortgaging within 6 months of y current fix ending. Virgin money current deal ends 01/02/2024 and new 2 years fixed selected been told ends 01/12/2025 not exactly 2 years product?

2 years 5.7%
5 years now 5.17%

As fixed rates are constructed using rate swaps it's usual for an end date rather than a number of months or years from completion, so a two year fix may well be upto 31/12/2005.