Remortgaging -

wobblyjelly29

Hey everyone

I am looking for some advice ahead of a remortage later this year

My current fixed deal ends at the end of June and I’m trying to understand what options might realistically be available before speaking to brokers.

Here are some details:

• Property value around £320–330k
• Mortgage balance roughly £235k
• Remaining term about 26 years
• Current rate around 3.5%
• Monthly payment roughly: £1,150

The mortgage is currently with gatehouse bank and their remortgage deal isn't very good.

The mortgage is joint with my sister, who lives and works in the US (finance sector). I live in the UK and work part-time for the NHS with a salary of around 24k GBP. My sister makes much more than I do which is why I'll need her on the mortgage.

I am aware the overseas borrower aspect may make things more complicated, so I’m trying to understand what the best option might be for me. Also if anyone has any broker recommendations for more complex remortgage situations that would be amazing.

I am trying to get a realistic sense of what options might look like before the current deal ends and would appreciate any advice. With the original mortgage my sister and parents were much more involve, I'm largely on my own with this, and am in the process of finishing my masters, plus dealing with burnout from my job so feeling pretty overwhelmed. any advice would be greatly appreciated, plus any mortgage broker recs… thanks!

Newbie_John

Staying with the same provider is called product transfer, not remortgage (unless you change value of the mortgage etc.).

What rate do they offer you? It's so much easier that way..

MWT

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6660009/remortgaging

The mortgage is currently with gatehouse bank and their remortgage deal isn't very good.

They specialise in the type of mortgage you need with your sister being resident abroad and earning in USD, so you cannot directly compare their offer to what you are seeing from the other typical High St lenders…

They also offer Shariah-compliant home purchase plans, is that something you have at the moment?

wobblyjelly29

thanks for your responses!

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81925788#Comment_81925788

ah yes its product transfer for them… you're right… so originally the mortgage was a 5 year fixed deal at 3.49%… they're now offering two products: 2 year fixed at 5.74% or 5 year fixed at 5.7%

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81925833#Comment_81925833

yes that's correct, we chose them as there weren't that many options for someone living overseas/earning in USD. I'm not sure if we're on a sharia compliant plan, I don't think we are. I just called my bank (Santander) and they said an expat mortgage would be possible with better rates than what gatehouse is offering. I think I need to explore more options before committing to anything, but not sure where to check besides my bank.

Newbie_John

Have a call with Santander and see what they say, also try some local mortgage advisors.

Its a difficult case, as I understand your sister lives abroad - so she's not living in the house meaning it isn't her primary residence - which rules out most typical mortgages.

if your current rate is 3.5% you're likely had a 5 years fixed period (I don't think there were such cheap ones 2 years ago), and 5 years ago they were about 2% so your one was 1.5% higher, and the current offer follows this pattern.

wobblyjelly29

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81927163#Comment_81927163

thanks for your response John. I spoke to Santander, and they said they could do a mortgage with money earned overseas in USD (he didn't refer to it as an expat mortgage, but assuming he's aware that that's what it'll be), yes our original one was 5 years ago. They offered rates between 4.3 and 4.47% (with additional fees of 1-2k depending on what deal we chose as they had different ones, 2, 3, 5 and 10 years).

I'm wondering how to go about choosing a local mortgage broker… i probably need someone who specializes in expat or more complex mortgages, not sure where to look for someone like that?