UPDATE - September 2020 - now Credit Ladder are proposing to charge you £60 a year to report to both Experian and Equifax. I suggest you don't bother! As a means of paying to try to improve your credit score this seems unnecessary, reporting to two is very little better than reporting to one. Do yourself a favour and pay that £5 a month off a debt instead. Or add it to your savings account if … [Read more...]
Articles about Mortgages
Mortgages are a "priority debt". If you are having difficulty paying the mortgage you need to take debt advice as soon as possible - the earlier you do this, the more options you are likely to have.
These pages list all Debt Camel articles about mortgages in date order. If you would prefer to see the most popular articles grouped by theme, looking at "problems getting a Mortgage", "problems if you already have a mortgage" and "interest rates", then look at the Mortgages and Debt page.
“On furlough, now redundant – what about my mortgage & IVA?”
A reader, Mr D, asked: I am being made redundant, no redundancy pay as I didn't work there long enough. We have managed my IVA payments when I was on furlough by taking a mortgage holiday but that is ending and now our household income will be halving. We will struggle to pay the mortgage let alone the IVA. My partner earns too much for me to get any benefits. I know I have to tell my IVA, but … [Read more...]
Now is the time to reform SMI – before mortgage breaks end
Support for mortgage interest (SMI) provides help to people on benefits with part of the cost of paying a mortgage. Most homeowners whose household finances have been affected by Coronavirus have taken mortgage payment breaks. This has avoided problems with mortgage arrears and people haven't had to think about how they could get help with their mortgage costs. But mortgage payment breaks … [Read more...]
95% mortgages – no longer available
At the beginning of 2020, this article started by saying "95% mortgages are back in fashion" and pointed out how many more 95% mortgage offers there were compared to a few years ago. That is no longer true. In mid 2020, it is now very hard to get a mortgage with a 10% deposit. The 5% deposit offers have all vanished. Mortgage lenders are concerned that house prices may fall for the next … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – you can now get a second 3 month mortgage payment break
All mortgage lenders will provide a three-month mortgage payment holiday for borrowers whose household finances are affected by coronavirus. By May 2020, 1.8 million people had taken a mortgage payment holiday. If you have already had one and your finances are still affected, you can now ask for a further three months. Ask your lender for a payment holiday You have to ask your lender for … [Read more...]
Save a house deposit or pay off debt?
A reader asked: "A friend said not to pay my defaulted debts off but save money towards a deposit for a mortgage - is this a good idea?" It's often unwise to rely on friends for debt advice... They may be guessing, their situation may have been quite different from yours, or they may be assuming what happened to them years ago is still useful today. But they may know nothing about the current … [Read more...]
I have debts – can I get a mortgage?
You know a mortgage will cost the same or less than your rent which you have paid without problems for years - so it's obvious you can afford the mortgage. But that isn't what a mortgage lender looks at when they assess affordability! A few years ago, lenders only looked at the size of your deposit, your credit rating and your income. Now, in 2020, the "affordability calculations" look … [Read more...]
“Can mortgage lenders see old debts, no longer on my credit record?”
A reader asked: I know a debt drops off my credit file 6 years after it was settled or defaulted. I just want to ask when I apply for a mortgage, can the lender dig up unpaid debts if they are no longer showing on my credit report? This is a common question. The answer is Yes, sometimes because a lender can see other information that may show the debts. Let's look at what the lender can see, … [Read more...]
Are 35 or 40 year mortgages a good idea?
Mortgage terms are getting longer, especially for first-time buyers. Twelve years ago about half of all first-time mortgages were for 25 years or less. And only one in six first time mortgages was for 35 years or more. 2019 figures show how the mortgage world has changed. This year only 22% of first-time mortgages is for 25 years or less. And a dramatic 36% are for more than 35 years. So … [Read more...]
After a fixed rate mortgage ends, fix again? For how long?
If your fixed mortgage has ended, or will soon, you could face a large increase in your mortgage payments. Most mortgage revert to their lender's Standard Variable Rate (SVR) when a fix ends. In summer 2019, the average SVR is 4.9%. You can get much cheaper fixes than that! This affects a lot of people. In October 2019, fixed rate mortgages worth £26billion are coming to an end. More than … [Read more...]