Mortgage broker - ask me anything

K_S

leanne56789 said:

Does anyway have recent timescales for NatWest waiting for a mortgage offer ? 

@leanne56789

https://www.intermediary.natwest.com/intermediary-solutions/service-levels.html

K_S

GuitarZero said:

Hi.

Our 5 year fixed rate mortgage expires in early February and we have been holding off on renewing it in the hope of getting the best deal possible before fixing it again.  We are unsure if there will be anymore rate cuts between now and the end of our term and wondered if it's best to fix now for a couple of years to ride out this current storm, or perhaps wait until after Christmas in the hope of something happening in early January.

Any ideas?

@guitarzero I don’t have any reliable thoughts on where rates might be in Jan compared to today.

For future reference, there’s no absolutely no need to hold off on securing a rate as with the vast majority of mainstream lenders, you can secure a rate without any commitment or cost. And if rates fall after that, it’s usually a simple process to switch to the lower rate. And you can do this all the way to completion.

So for a mortgage ending 02 Feb, you could secure a rate with the vast majority of lenders (or your own lender if you don’t want to move) back in August and with some a few months before that. Between then and completion - If rates went up, you would sit tight, if they went down you would simply switch to the lower rate. That way you get maximum optionality, the best of both worlds.

In your place I would secure a rate now, then if rates fall in Jan you can always switch to the lower rate.

kingstreet

FWIW we've done three or four rate switches for each client before their current rate expiry. Normally, we have to cancel the one we have booked and book a new one, sometimes a day or two later.

GuitarZero

Wow, ok, that really is very useful information, thank you.  I had no idea that it was that easy to switch and it's something that will be extremely valuable in the coming years.  Our current lender's rate seems quite competitive at the moment (Santander) so will look to stay with them I think.  I had always made the assumption that once you've signed on the dotted line, you are locked in to that rate/product for the duration.  Thanks for you time.

Emillie83

Hi, I’m hoping someone will be able to give me some advice on my situation. I’m 22 and work 2 jobs. One is seasonal and gives me 30-40 hours weekly over 8 months. The other I work when my seasonal contract ends and the hours are less between 20-30 weekly. Both are zero hour contracts. I’ve been doing both these jobs for over 2 years. I’m looking at buying my first home in the middle of next year. Will a deposit of 10% on a £75-85k home be realistic within my situation? Or am I being too optimistic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you  

Codename66

Hello I’m being driven spare by not getting an answer to a Remortgage application. Previously I had applied for equity release but due to incompetence on the part of a financial advisor it was refused as I had 87 yrs on my lease. So I extended my lease which completed last week but In the meantime I sought an old person’s remortgage. I am 67, single, mortgage free, no dependents and my property in London is worth 750,000. I have debts of 85,000 half bank loans credit cards and half loans from friends and relatives. My main aim for the remortgage is to pay these off but also do some home improvements etc so the amount of the loan was 123,000.

At the end of October I contacted an FA and the next day got a call from a Northern based broker firm and began the process. As of today I have no remortgage offer. They came up with a quote from one of the smaller building societies which I liked and we started the process using the same solicitor. For an 5 year fixed rates at 6.65%. They wouldn’t do a shorter fixed rate because of my level of debt. After 7 weeks of supplying documents many asked for more than once and working with the solicitor at the same time I am at my wit’s end. I suspect the BS doesn’t think I can pay the interest quotes at 665 a month but since all of my money from two work pensions and state pension about 3k a month goes out on bills and loan cc repayments and since it’s my intention to pay all these off it doesn’t take much to see that I’ll be better off and able to pay the interest.

But I can’t get an answer and since the broker who talks big about getting everything moving and on track seems powerless or disinterested I don’t know what to do. I have even suggested a smaller loan but no answer . If they’re not sure why don’t they just turn me down?  Any comments or advice would be most welcome. It’s so stressful.

K_S

Emillie83 said:

Hi, I’m hoping someone will be able to give me some advice on my situation. I’m 22 and work 2 jobs. One is seasonal and gives me 30-40 hours weekly over 8 months. The other I work when my seasonal contract ends and the hours are less between 20-30 weekly. Both are zero hour contracts. I’ve been doing both these jobs for over 2 years. I’m looking at buying my first home in the middle of next year. Will a deposit of 10% on a £75-85k home be realistic within my situation? Or am I being too optimistic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you  

@emillie83 As long as you've had the ZHC contracts for 2+ years and have the P60s from both jobs that show your gross annual earnings, there are lenders that will consider.

10% deposit (90% LTV) should be absolutely fine. Whether or not you can borrow the amount you need will depend on the annual income from these jobs and the rest of your financial circumstances.

Good luck!

K_S

Codename66 said:

Hello I’m being driven spare by not getting an answer to a Remortgage application. Previously I had applied for equity release but due to incompetence on the part of a financial advisor it was refused as I had 87 yrs on my lease. So I extended my lease which completed last week but In the meantime I sought an old person’s remortgage. I am 67, single, mortgage free, no dependents and my property in London is worth 750,000. I have debts of 85,000 half bank loans credit cards and half loans from friends and relatives. My main aim for the remortgage is to pay these off but also do some home improvements etc so the amount of the loan was 123,000.

At the end of October I contacted an FA and the next day got a call from a Northern based broker firm and began the process. As of today I have no remortgage offer. They came up with a quote from one of the smaller building societies which I liked and we started the process using the same solicitor. For an 5 year fixed rates at 6.65%. They wouldn’t do a shorter fixed rate because of my level of debt. After 7 weeks of supplying documents many asked for more than once and working with the solicitor at the same time I am at my wit’s end. I suspect the BS doesn’t think I can pay the interest quotes at 665 a month but since all of my money from two work pensions and state pension about 3k a month goes out on bills and loan cc repayments and since it’s my intention to pay all these off it doesn’t take much to see that I’ll be better off and able to pay the interest.

But I can’t get an answer and since the broker who talks big about getting everything moving and on track seems powerless or disinterested I don’t know what to do. I have even suggested a smaller loan but no answer . If they’re not sure why don’t they just turn me down?  Any comments or advice would be most welcome. It’s so stressful.

@codename66 You mention "old person’s remortgage" and your post suggests that's its an interest-only product. I assume this means some form of I/O later-life lending (Retirement Interest Only products for example).

I don't do later life lending myself so can't add anything useful beyond suggesting that you get a second opinion from another broker if you're having no luck here.

At 67, with 2 work pensions and the SP and 3k net monthly income, I suspect you may have standard capital repayment mortgage options as well with a term going up to 80-85-90 though the size of the current debt will be an issue for a lot of lenders that will look at debt consolidation. Whether or not you'll be able to borrow what you need depends on the details.

Good luck, I hope you're able to find an option that may not give you the whole 123k but at least provide a partial solution.

theonenonly

How likely are we to get a mortgage 5.5x of our combined salary, with a deposit of £70,000?

Wife and I are on a combined salary of £57,500. On a 4.5x multiplier, even with a £70,000 deposit we'll be priced out of our area sadly.

K_S

theonenonly said:

How likely are we to get a mortgage 5.5x of our combined salary, with a deposit of £70,000?

Wife and I are on a combined salary of £57,500. On a 4.5x multiplier, even with a £70,000 deposit we'll be priced out of our area sadly.

@theoneonly The multiplier is only a cap which can vary based on income band, LTV, loan size, specific lender, etc.

What decides where you lie on the range between 0 and the cap are the things that feed into lenders' affordability calculators, the big ones being - income, debt, dependents, age+kind of work (which determines how much flexibility there is in maximum term), individual lender's max age at end of term, etc.

Assuming that everything affordability related is in your favour, with a combined permanent PAYE income of 58.5k/annum, a product like Nationwide Helping Hands will consider lending 5.5x for FTBs. If the combined income was 60k+ (annual bonuses received for 2 or more years may count), a few more mainstream lenders/products (one example Accord Boost LTI) would come into the picture.