FTB Help! Restructure existing debts to improve affordability?

vp123

Hi, and thanks in advance for reading!
I'm a first time buyer hoping to get a mortgage within the next 3 months. I can afford a max of £200k ish with my current income and debt outgoings however if I reduce my debt / outgoings I can hopefully borrow around £340k based on the research I've done so far. I have 9.5k on a credit card and pay £627 each month towards two loans which are both with Tesco. I called Tesco to see if they would consolidate the loans into one and increase the term so that the monthly payments are lower but they told me they don't do this.
I have the option to increase one of the existing loans and then use this increase to pay off one of them. This actually works well in my favour as the monthly payments would go to £210 and the APR changes from 18.45% to 6%! My concern is how this affects my credit report though. I'm assuming another account would be opened and this would be a negative in a mortgage application even if it coincides with 2 accounts closing?
What are your thoughts? Is it worth it as I won't get the mortgage I need as it stands today anyway? Am I missing something else here... like my credit card debt - should I focus on that instead?
My daughter starts year 10 of secondary school in September and we are looking to move area so it will be a change of school for her - hence why I would ideally want to move by September - am I being totally unrealistic though?
TIA!

grumpy_codger

vp123 said:

...I'm assuming another account would be opened and this would be a negative in a mortgage application even if it coincides with 2 accounts closing?
What are your thoughts? 

I don't think so, but I'm no expert.

 My daughter starts year 10 of secondary school in September and we are looking to move area so it will be a change of school for her - hence why I would ideally want to move by September - am I being totally unrealistic though?

IMO, you are