Mortgage broker - ask me anything

Aliliva

kingstreet said:

Aliliva said:

Good Morning!

We are contemplating getting some additional borrowing to help us with the costs of an extension. Does anyone know what are the current rates for this with NatWest? I cannot find them online, but before doing an application we wanted a rough idea of whether we can even afford it. Currently we owe around £200k on a £330k house, and would be looking to borrow an additional £30k over 10/15 years.

Thanks

Upto 75% LTV no fee - 2Y fix 5.38%, 5Y fix 5.10%.

Thank you, super helpful!

cheeseball73

Hello! I have two debts that are classed as 'unenforceable' due to the original lenders being able to provide the CCA. From advice I've seen online, the best thing I can do with these is wait and then offer a very low settlement figure to write them off entirely, but in the meantime I still technically owe these debts even if they can't legally compel me to pay them, if you see what I mean. They are no longer present on my credit record and I don't plan to apply to the original lenders (they have been sold on multiple times in the past ten years!) 

In the meantime, we are looking to apply for a mortgage as FTB next year, and I'm not sure whether I would need to declare these as debts (they are not financial outgoings as such, I'm not making monthly payments toward them, they just exist until I make an offer to clear them) or whether they would be an issue generally. If i make an offer to clear them now, not only would I be unlikely to get a decent settlement, it will wipe out more of my savings than it would with a better settlement offer, which I'd prefer not to do during the moving process. 

Any advice? If it helps, we would be looking to borrow much less than the rough online mortgage calculators suggest we could theoretically get, and would be looking at putting down a 15-20% deposit. 

BLN83

New question. On my mortgage tracker I seem to have finally moved from application being reviewed to valuation instructed….. however after moving status this morning this afternoon a small noted appeared under saying Valuation on hold ….. anyone know why this would be??? 

K_S

BLN83 said:

New question. On my mortgage tracker I seem to have finally moved from application being reviewed to valuation instructed….. however after moving status this morning this afternoon a small noted appeared under saying Valuation on hold ….. anyone know why this would be??? 

@bln83 My best guess would be -

Specialist/off-high-street lender: possibly that it's on hold until a manual initial assessment has been carried out

Mainstream lender: probably an automated system generated status which could mean anything. The above, or that it's pending at the valuation panel or that it's pending the firm allocating a surveyor, or that the surveyor hasn't been able to arrange an appt yet, etc. etc etc. 

Just an educated guess, I might be way off!

jet80met31

Hello,

I agreed a new rate on a 5 year fixed rate with Halifax at 5.65% in September for my mortgage rate that ends on 1.2.24. I am seeing in the news that mortgage rates are failing and I know that Halifax said that if I change my mind I can get another deal..

 My only concern is that they don't offer me anything better if I do cancel this offer. Would it be best to ask them first before I cancel the offer and would they likely offer a better deal now? In terms of timing, I don't want to leave it to the last minute but when would be the best time to check about a new rate?

Thank you in advance.

BLN83

K_S said:

BLN83 said:

New question. On my mortgage tracker I seem to have finally moved from application being reviewed to valuation instructed….. however after moving status this morning this afternoon a small noted appeared under saying Valuation on hold ….. anyone know why this would be??? 

@bln83 My best guess would be -

Specialist/off-high-street lender: possibly that it's on hold until a manual initial assessment has been carried out

Mainstream lender: probably an automated system generated status which could mean anything. The above, or that it's pending at the valuation panel or that it's pending the firm allocating a surveyor, or that the surveyor hasn't been able to arrange an appt yet, etc. etc etc. 

Just an educated guess, I might be way off!

Thanks. Moved into panic mode again when I saw on hold thinking something is wrong. But hoping it’s just admin and all comes through next week. 

K_S

jet80met31 said:

Hello,

I agreed a new rate on a 5 year fixed rate with Halifax at 5.65% in September for my mortgage rate that ends on 1.2.24. I am seeing in the news that mortgage rates are failing and I know that Halifax said that if I change my mind I can get another deal..

 My only concern is that they don't offer me anything better if I do cancel this offer. Would it be best to ask them first before I cancel the offer and would they likely offer a better deal now? In terms of timing, I don't want to leave it to the last minute but when would be the best time to check about a new rate?

Thank you in advance.

@jet80met31 Halifax has dropped PT rates multiple times between September & now so you'll almost certainly have access to a better rate today. It's a simple task to switch to a current deal. Don't cancel anything, just speak to them.

NorthernExpat

Hello, thanks in advance for your help - hopefully it's okay to ask here. I've got a question about how a big overpayment might work at the end of my fixed term.

My fixed term comes to an end mid Jan 2026. I'm planning on securing a new fixed rate as soon as possible and then backing out and getting a new deal if rates improve. So say for this example that I secure my rate 6 months in advance and that works out the best deal so I stick with it.

I've been saving my overpayments in a separate pot, so if I continue then I want to make a big overpayment at the end of the fixed term, which will be above my 20% overpayment allowance for the final calendar year of my mortgage. I've already checked and my bank (NatWest) won't let me make unlimited overpayments until I change to the Standard Variable Rate (I think I've seen on these threads that other banks do let you do that).

Am I correct in saying that if I secure a new fixed rate in advance, I won't have any period on SVR and so I don't have an opportunity to make this big overpayment before I go onto the next deal? Is this a drawback of fixing the rate so soon in advance, that you can't make a big overpayment without it counting towards your overpayment allowance?

Or is there a way around it? Eg if my fixed rate ends on 13/01/2026 could I ask my new fixed rate to start from 21/01/2026 say and I would have to make bloody sure that I make that big overpayment during that week? With enough of a gap to bear in mind limits on bank transfers etc.

Thank you

Anna2924

Really hoping you can help or guide me where I need to go.

My mum is terminal (no date of when). She gets an income from PIP etc on the highest amount she can get.

She owes £42k on her Interest only mortgage which ends in April 2024. Its with Santander.

House is worth approx £225k

She doesn't have that money neither do I.

She want to stay in the house until well you know the inevitable happens 

What are our options?

K_S

Anna2924 said:

Really hoping you can help or guide me where I need to go.

My mum is terminal (no date of when). She gets an income from PIP etc on the highest amount she can get.

She owes £42k on her Interest only mortgage which ends in April 2024. Its with Santander.

House is worth approx £225k

She doesn't have that money neither do I.

She want to stay in the house until well you know the inevitable happens 

What are our options?

@anna2924 Sorry to hear this.

If you haven't already, this is something that's best resolved by speaking with Santander and explaining the situation. In your place, after speaking to them I would also email/write to them summarising the situation and attaching a copy of the evidence of the terminal diagnosis.

I couldn't say what exactly they might propose (an extension perhaps), but assuming that you can evidence the diagnosis of terminal illness, your mum lives in the mortgaged property and has sufficient income to service the interest, I would think it extremely unlikely that they would try to force a repossession or that they would succeed in that effort if they did try.

Not specifically limited to the mortgage, but it might also be useful for your mum to consider an LPA https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/power-of-attorney/ and to state the obvious, her will if she hasn't made one already
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/free-cheap-wills/

All the best.