Second Charge

Thrugelmir

smith08 said:

400ixl said:

£23k of unsecured debt will be reducing your affordability by reducing your disposable income quite a bit. Equity only really comes into the LTV calculation, not so much of the amount they will loan.

Given your income and debt + existing mortgage, something around £25k over a full term mortgage would seem in the right ballpark, so I don't think they are low balling.

Thank you for your help. I think my expectations were perhaps too high, I naively presumed we would be able to borrow the amount over our existing term no issues. 

I think we will just have to consider the longer term 😊

Surely it would make more sense to clear more expensive debt first. 

FrugalCat

smith08 said:

They couldn't break down the drastic varying options but said it's based on affordability.. For 6 or 8k we would just do a 5 year personal loan.. 

Part of me thinks we are being persuaded to increase our mortgage to benefit the company as I felt our equity and earnings were favourable.. 

Does this sound abit off and what would potential other options be for borrowing for home improvements, outside of a personal loan. 

Thanks in advance for any advice, feel a little deflated after speaking with Santander 

As you're on MSE - I think the proper advice is: 
Do you really need to take on an extra £25k of debt (which is presumably a number of years of savings for your household)?

It may make more sense to regroup a bit, make your income/outgoings ratio positive (your unsecured debt hints at spending exceeding income over the nearer past) and ensure that you're set up to weather unforeseen difficulties.

I'm basing this on a rough assumption of your age, your dependents and how much they'll cost you in the coming years, and of wage growth likely flattening compared to what you've likely experienced so far in your lives. It also reads like your home improvements are optional.
(As it's all assumed, correct in your mind and decide whether advice applies for you on that basis.)