Mortgage broker - ask me anything

Kazzam1984

Remortgage advice- our
current 5 year fixed rate comes to an end 30th Sept 26. We currently pay £959 a month at 2.46%. New deal is 2 year fixed or 5 year fixed . The 2yr is 1232.57.a month at 5.31%. The 5 year fixed is appox 5 pounds more a month . All with halifax as they are our currant lender. Amount left is £210,521.00. At 69.33 % LTV -House valued by Halifax at 305,000. 5 years ago However next doors is up for sale for 300,000.

1st question
would you go for 2 yr or 5yr fixed?

2nd question.
We have approx 63k debt. Mostly all 0%. Except 2 loans. 1 with a 7k balance at 4.41 % ending 2031( paying 115 a month). And another with 9k ish at 12% ending 2031( paying 221 a month). Is it worth trying to consolidate these on the mortgage? Or moving these to 0% credit card We have never missed a payment , defaulted or had a ccj. But worried because of affordability we would get declined and affect credit score We are trying to free up more cash monthly.

3rd question
is it worth seeing a broker? Or keeping with same lender. Not sure if a cheaper rate would be available?

4th question i have an old card with a 0% offer on. If I do a 0% transfer from one card to this card will that affect remortgage, it's not new credit, just moving from one card to another

Total income for household is approx 81,100k
Thanks

Emmia

On 2. Shifting unsecured debt to secured debt by putting it on your mortgage is a terrible idea.

Not increasing your mortgage means you can stay with your current lender, and just do a product switch to a new fixed deal. This involves no credit checks etc. and is just a few clicks on the computer.

If you'd like advice on your budget/spending including ways you might be able to free up more cash, pop over to the debt free wannabe board, start a thread, fill in an SOA and post it up.

https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php

silvercar

3rd question - see the best buy tables and what is around, though bare in mind that sticking with exiting lender is less hassle and involves no credit check.

2nd question - move the 12% to a 0% card or deal and then hammer it. 0% deals are short lived and the rate at the end of it could mean moving it again or being stuck with a high interest, so throw as much money as you can to clear it at the end of the 0%.

K_S

• 1. No one knows where interest rates will be in 2 years time, so whatever choice you make is to some extent a hostage to fortune. I would suggest thinking about your priorities and what you value. Personally, I go for short fixes for my mortgage because I don't like long lock-ins and I have the financial flexibility to flex if rates go higher, but that preference is entirely personal and nothing to do with trying to predict rates. I'm rubbish at predicting rates, I never thought rates would go as low as they did, never thought they would stay that low for so long, never thought they would go back up so fast and never thought that we'd be seeing rate instability continuing for so long after the inflation spike and the mini-budget.
  
  For next time, do remember that with a rate ending 30 Sep, you could have secured/reserved a remortgage rate with another lender (at no cost, little effort and no commitment) back in Jan-March when rates were as low as they've been for many years. Once you have a rate locked it, it gives you so much optionality. If rates rise from there, you complete on the secured rate. If rates fall you keep ratcheting down and completing at a lower rate.
  
  2. Debt-consolidation (securing unsecured debt against your home) is not something you should consider lightly. However, if reducing cashflow is your main concern then it may be worth considering consolidating the £221/month loan as it's on 12% and then continue paying the £221 as an overpayment so effectively you're paying the loan off earlier than you would while paying a lot less interest.
  
  3. Entirely up to you. This comment here lists some of the potential benefits from using a broker.
  https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/79475024#Comment_79475024
  
  The MSE mortgage best comparison should show you all the rates (broker/direct/mixed) available as of today
  https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-buys/
  From a quick look it looks like the top 75% LTV no-fee remo 2yr fix is ~4.90% and 5yr slightly lower around ~4.8%
  
  4. When moving a balance from one card to the other, it could temporarily show the balance on BOTH cards on the credit report until all the updates feed through. If a DIP is done during that time, the lender system might double count the debt, impacting affordability. So if you are doing a transfer, make sure it correctly reflects on your Experian and Equifax credit.
  
  If you're worried about affordability, you can do one or both of the following -
  
  - check one or two full lender affordability calculators
  https://www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/calculators/affordability-calculator
  https://intermediaries.hsbc.co.uk/calculator/
  
  - run a soft-check DIP/AIP with a mainstream lender

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82024855#Comment_82024855