Mortgages are normally a “good” sort of debt. Not only do you have somewhere to live, and avoid the costs and uncertainty of renting, but you can be buying a valuable asset.
But even though mortgages are a sensible way to borrow, and mortgage rates are at record lows in 2018, they can still have problems. And these can be made worse in Britain because of the high property prices.
Getting a mortgage if you haven’t had big debt problems
How high should my credit score be? The actual number doesn’t matter much! But what your credit record shows about how you have managed credit is very important. See How fast can I improve my credit score to get a mortgage? which looks at different situations.
Should I opt for a very long term mortgage? This keeps your monthly payments low, although at a cost of paying a lot more interest over the whole term. But these mortgages can run into problems: they mean your mortgage may not be repaid before you retire; they make it harder to retire early; if you have difficulty you no longer have the extra help from extending the mortgage term; and if you want to move someone larger, you will find you have repaid very little of a long mortgage in the first five years.
My debts are all fine but are they too high? Debt repayments take up some of your income so it affects the lenders’ affordability calculations. See I have debts – can I get a mortgage? which also has a link to a good affordability calculator. It doesn’t matter if you think the mortgage is affordable, what matters is what a mortgage lender will think.
Will paying my rent help me get a mortgage? Skipton Building Society has a mortgage designed for people who have no deposit but a track record of renting. There are also some local Building Societies that are more flexible than the big national lenders about what they consider while considering affordability.
Should I maximise my deposit or clear some more debt? – There isn’t an easy answer to this question. Any large or problem debts need to have been cleared.
Getting a mortgage if you have had debt problems
I’ve had very recent defaults but paid them off – This may still be a problem, see Will recent defaults stop me getting a mortgage? which answered a reader’s question who had inherited some money.
Am I OK as my debt problems no longer show on my credit record? – Sometimes this is fine, but lenders ask to see your bank statements and have other sources of information. See Can mortgage lenders see debts that aren’t on your credit record? for details
I’m in a DMP – Debt management can go on for a long time and can be shown on your credit file in various ways, so there isn’t a simple answer to this question, but it will normally be very difficult. See Mortgages and debt management.
I’ve had payday loans – In 2020 most lenders will not give you a mortgage if you have had a payday loan in the last two years. See Payday loans make it harder to get a mortgage for details.
I’ve completed my IVA/bankruptcy/DRO – Although bankruptcy, IVAs and DROs all wreck your credit record for six years, you can recover from this if you can get a good deposit together. See Can you ever get a mortgage if you have been insolvent?
I’m in a DMP, can I use Right To Buy? – There is a clause in the Right To Buy rules which says you can’t have an arrangement with your creditors – but this means IVAs not a DMP or payment arrangements, see “Right to Buy” and debts.
When you already have a mortgage
Struggling to pay your mortgage? This is very common in 2024 with rates increasing. Find out what your lender can do to help.
Worried you will be rejected for a new mortgage fix? If you only need a new fix, most mortgage lenders (97% of accounts) will NOT do a credit check or check for affordability.
Options if you have an interest-only mortgage At the end of an interest-only mortgage you have to repay the full amount, but nearly a million people in Britain don’t have a plan for how they can afford to do this. Many are hoping they can remortgage, or be allowed to carry on making their usual monthly payments, but this isn’t likely. If you are one of these people, find out what your real options are.
Financial problems when you have a mortgage
For remortgage/equity release and secured loan problems if you are in an IVA, look at What is an IVA?
SMI – should you accept the new loan? Support for Mortgage Interest is the name given to the help you can get from the benefits system with your mortgage costs if you retired, unemployed or too ill to work.
Charging Orders and Orders for Sale If you have a house with equity and you are having problems with your unsecured debts, you may be worried about your creditors getting a charge on your house or even make you sell it. Find out the facts about this area.
Sell the house – this is a tough decision. One of the main aims of debt advice is to let people stay in their own home, but this isn’t always the best decision, so have a think about whether it is right for you.
Repossessions
Repossession after bankruptcy Sometimes when everything has gone wrong and you have a house with negative equity you want a completely clean start after going bankrupt. Find out how to hand back the keys after bankruptcy and make sure your mortgage debt is included in your bankruptcy.
How repossession will affect your credit record Most of the problems that occur here when a lender doesn’t add the correct default date.
Shaun says
Hi Sara,
My question may be on the wrong thread so apologies if it is (It was the closest I could find!)
I’ve been in a DMP since late 2010 starting with £43000.
I now have a little over £4400 in unenforceable debts and £7700 on a 2nd schedule to my Mortgage with Landmark.
The £7700 is showing across the 3 reference agencies in inconsistent ways – Arrangement to Pay/6+/DM so even if I paid them today, I’d still be troubled by this for 6 more years. This wasn’t the plan in 2010!
I know I can ask for a back dated default, but i’m reading Landmark can be stubborn about this.
I also noticed recently that the agreement appears to have been rescheduled from what I originally agreed to. The original term with Northern Rock was 276 months, the agreement with Landmark has been reduced to 174 and ends 6 years before my Mortgage. I understand the debt transferred from NRAM, possibly in the same way it would with a DCA. However I don’t understand the benefit to Landmark or myself, rescheduling the agreement over a shorter term at a payment higher than I was paying at the time through my DMP. Can Landmark reschedule without my consent? What questions should I be asking? Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I now have a little over £4400 in unenforceable debts
Because the creditor cannot produce the CCA agreement? Have you stopped paying these?
Are all your other unsecured debts cleared?
You had mortgage arrears paid as part of your DMP? Thats… unusual.
it is highly unlikely Landmark will backdate a default – the 3-6 months in arrears guidance doesn’t apply to mortgages.
the agreement with Landmark has been reduced to 174 and ends 6 years before my Mortgage.
This is an arrangement to repay arrears?
I don’t understand the benefit to Landmark or myself, rescheduling the agreement over a shorter term at a payment higher than I was paying at the time through my DMP
If you have repaid a lot of unsecured debt, can you not afford to clear the mortgage arrears sooner? The sooner the arrears are clear the better!
Chris says
Hi Sara,
I was wondering if you could offer any advice, I currently need to raise funds to repair the roof and side and back wall of my house that is leaking quite badly and impacting the interior. I contacted my current mortgage company (Lloyds) but did not pass the soft search check, which wasn’t a huge shock to me as my credit rating has only just crept into the fair category after being poor for a number of years and I have previously had morgtage arrears with them albeit over 2 years ago.
My current mortgage has a balance of ~40k and the house value once the issues are fixed would be around £210-220K, I am looking to borrow circa £50k so I think I am okay from an equity point of view and my income and expenditure would show affordability would not be an issue.
Are there any brokers you could point me in the direction off that may consider someone with poor credit but meets the the other 2 areas, I understand that this would most likely be at a higher interest rate but I am looking to sell the property once it has been fixed and done up so this is less of a concern for me.
Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated.
Thanks
Chris
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Sorry, no.
Nats says
Hi Sara, could you help on what my chances might be for a mortgage?
My Credit score is fair. One default that was paid two years ago and falls off next year. I do have credit card debt of about 6k. My partner who I’ll be applying with has excellent credit and no debt.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
is this default the only problem on your credit record?
The credit card debt – how much of your credit limit are you using? Do you only make the minimum payments each month?
how large a % deposit do you have?
when are you hoping to apply?
Nats says
The default is the only problem yes. I had previous defaults but they dropped off years ago.
The credit card utilisation is approximately 50%. I make more than the minimum payments each month.
Deposit size is about 15% of the house prices we’re considering and hoping to apply ASAP as soon as we find something suitable.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you have said, I would hope you will be able to find a loan at a reasonable rate from a high street lender. Do go through a broker, not direct to a lender.
Jo says
Hi Sara, hoping you can help me. Just wondering if it impacts a mortgage application if you are paid cash? My husband is paid cash with his payslip every week. Should I be depositing that exact amount to reflect it?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I’m sorry, I don’t know. I would hope his P60s are enough to prove what he earns.
Simon says
I got a Mortagte in principle for 114k for a property
I got 10k deposit and my mum can gift me 10k, I can also save extra 10k, in 10 months to have 30k deposit, ideally I don’t want any from mum.
However prices for houses are about 160k
I wouldn’t mind a flat however there all, Leasehold so very hard to sell in 5-10 years.
Credit scores, excellent experien an
999
Clear score 804 stable
Credit karma 608 Good
No debt other then student loan 9500
Pay day loans over 2 years all paid in time
Salary 23500, bonus 2000 a year
5 miss payments last six years 2 in row 2020
3, 2019, 1 alone and 2 separate
What should I say when they ask why, reason is I was manipulated by friend so could not pay them and it was took out to help brother, in my name.
And that time I was unaware miss payments would effect that much.
How about buy you let for now, at least I will get on the ladder and when I sell could make more
What about a broker, for higher lending will that cost too much, I don’t have thousands to spend on them.
Including bills and mortgate I could afford to pay about 800 a month, if I don’t save any money
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Buy to let’s require a HIGHER deposit than a property you live in. Not an option.
The problem isn’t just your missed payments, it’s that your salary isn’t that great for borrowing more. 4-4.5 is the normal maximum. the exceptions are if you are a high earner.
I think you may need another year or two so your salary goes up and you can save more. During that time the problems on your credit file will get older and less important.
Simon says
I seen a broker she charges £600.
She said she could get me 140k leashold, is that worth it?
She said you can sell they just take longer and would be like savings too
Or should I wait few more years for freehold
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I can’t give you advice on this.
HT says
Hey Sara can you say on mortgage application no to havin had a payday loan if they were upheld as being missold and removed from your credit record as part of wonga and quick quid administration? Tho the answer is that I had a payday loan I want to be able to say no coz strictly they don’t show on credit file coz they were removed. Would there be any way for them to see that I had payday loans other than credit file?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you being asked on an application if you have had any payday loans?
HT says
No but from reading up on common mortgage application questions this seems to be a common one
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to a good broker and explain the problem.
Miles says
Why does the Bank of England keep raising interest rates?
I just don’t understand how this helps anyone other than banks. Is this the reason?
Experts keep saying it’s to stop inflation, but how are we at fault with inflation, when prices and fuel rises are rising hand in hand.
All the Bank of England is doing is making it 100 times worse.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The Bank Of England Monetary Policy committee sets the rate. They said today:
“The labour market is tight and domestic cost and price pressures remain elevated. While the [energy price] Guarantee reduces inflation in the near term, it also means that household spending is likely to be less weak than projected in the August Report over the first two years of the forecast period. All else equal, and relative to that forecast, this would add to inflationary pressures in the medium term.”
So it wants to reduce inflationary pressures. By increasing rates, people and businesses have less to spend, so the theory is that there will be less demand for goods and services so inflation will moderate.
Also if it hadn’t increased rates, the pound would have dropped a lot more. This would puch up the cost of everything imported, from oil to food.
Miles says
So you as a debt advisor, agree with the B of E rising interest rates then? I’m flabbergasted!
No one including yourself as ever given me a feasible reason for raising interest rates to curb inflation. In fact, if the government had kept energy prices under control there wouldn’t be this ridiculous rise in inflation or interest rates.
Why do we have to suffer for the stupidity of government and banks?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
you asked me why the Bank raised interest rates and I told you… I didn’t say I agreed with it.
But for what it’s worth, if I had been on the monetary policy committee I would have voted for an increase. Energy prices are not the only cause of inflation. Britain faces a difficult situation , some of it caused by Covid, some by Brexit, and some by the war in Ukraine.
Miles says
So you did say you agreed with it!
So how does increasing mortgage rates help anyone other than banks?
They say it’s to cut inflation by reducing spending, but people have to spend to pay their increasing bills.
So YOU would be voting to get people with mortgages in increasing debt and despair. Sorry, I don’t understand you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you are overestimating how much control the BoE has over mortgage rates. Apart from a tiny number of base-rate linked mortgages, mortgage rates are sent by the lenders based on what they can borrow at. See https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/monetary-policy/the-interest-rate-bank-rate.
And this afternnon banks are making it clear their rates are now moving even when base rates hasn’t, see this from the BBC Live reporting:
“17:16 BREAKING
Lenders suspend offering new mortgages
Some UK lenders have taken new mortgages off the table in response to turmoil in British funding markets.
Halifax, the UK’s largest mortgage lender, says it will temporarily withdraw all mortgage products that come with a fee.
“As a result of significant changes in the cost of funding, we’re making some changes to our product range,” a Halifax spokesperson said in a statement.
Halifax, part of Lloyds Banking Group, says there will be no change to its product rates and that it continues to offer fee-free options at all product terms and loan-to-value levels.
Virgin Money says it is temporarily withdrawing all mortgage products for new customers at 20:00 BST, according to an email sent to brokers.
Skipton Building Society has taken its new mortgage business product range off the market with immediate effect, it told brokers in an email.
Tom William says
Hi,
I have currently lived with my partner for 5 years together; the mortgage is in their name only as I have had/have credit issues. I currently have 2 defaults on my file (1 due to be removed Jan 23 and the second in Oct 23) which were both satisfied in March this year.
The mortgage at present is for £260,000 on their salary alone (£65,000). The mortgage fixed rate ends June next year and given the current issues in the market re-mortgaging asap is preferable. Ideally, we’d like for both of us to be on a mortgage to utilise my salary (£35,000, soon to be £38,000 in October) for borrowing.
Given the current situation and banks lending criteria for bad credit issues; do you have any advice on the possibility of a joint mortgage?
Many thanks,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have any other credit problems on your record?
what is the current interest rate? is your partner’s credit record spotless and how much unsecured debt do they have?
Tom William says
Hi Sara,
No other problems. I have circa £2200 on an active credit card that I pay chunks off each month, usually £2/300 extra per month as I use this for work related petrol that I get back in expenses. I’ll be down to £1400 on it by the end of this month. And I have £3k left on a PCP.
My partner has a 999 credit score on experian with an old loan from HSBC of about £5000 and a car lease of £350 per month on a £20,000 PCP.
The current mortgage interest rate is 1.45%.
Thanks,
Tom
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Not sure why you need to get on the mortgage – your partner has a great rates and a good credit score, is there any reason to think she cannot get a new mortgage on her own account?
When mortgage markets get difficult, the first thing high street lenders normally do is get much fussier about affordability and poor credit records. Until those CCJs have both gone in Oct next year I doubt they will consider you. (Of course I cannot say it is impossible – my crystal ball isn’t working – but high street banks don’t like CCJs at the best of times and those CCJs have only been settled very recently.)
Should your partner try now to get a new fix? That is doubtful for several reasons:
1) it will mean paying an early exit fee – does sh know how much it is?
2) rates have already shot up. They may go up more of course but her 1.45% is likely to be well over 4%, possibly over 5% now. She has missed the time to get a cheap fix.
3) by refuxing now, she will be paying more for the next 9 months until the fix would have ended than she has to.
I’m not saying this is an easy decision. I suggest she talks to a mortgage broker about this.
Tim says
Hi Sara,
If a loan isn’t on the credit report as a payday loan and just classed as a unsecured loan but a quick google of the company (for example Valour Finance) shows Savvy who are short term high cost loans is it likely that the mortgage lender might still class this as a payday loan even if the credit file shows it as a normal loan? I presume the lender can see exactly who has given the loan from the credit report?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A lender cannot see who you have borrowed from on a credit report.
However if you have been making payments recently, a mortgage lender will see who you have been paying from your bank statements.
Nigel says
what’s my best options
I can get about 100k from bank to borrow I’m first time buyer.
I have about 16k saved and can borrow 15k from my mum if needed for house total 30k
1. Still keep saving but then when will I be able to afford my own property I’m already 35 living with others stills, as prices will keep going up.
2. Do buy to let, and rent it out, then lose first time buyer benefits
3. Gets leasehold flat and move in, really want freehold
What’s finically best option for me?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you should talk to a mortgage broker about what your options actually are in your area. This isn’t just a financial decision, it depends on where you want to live as well,
Nigel says
Live in Leicester
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I don’t live anywhere near Leicester and have no idea about the local property market I can’t say anything useful!
DD says
Hi Sara,
Appreciate any advice on my situation. Looking to remortgage in June when fixed rate is ending. House is worth about 300k, mortgage left around 115k when we due to remortgage. I’ve 7k of credit cards which id like to clear before remortgaging. I can do this but it means using pretty much all monthly salary up for the next 6 months. All other bills etc are covered but wonder is it wise to clear all debt before remortgaging? Bank statements will show around 1k a month paying a credit card which I don’t know if lenders would be worried about. Also depending on interest rates, could it be worthwhile going to the lenders SVR for a month or 2 if mortgage rates are going to come down at the end of the year?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is your current lender a mainstream bank or big building society? If so then this should be simple as the main lenders have agreed that they won’t do affordability checks if all you want is a new fix. See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mortgage-lenders-commitments-to-borrowers. And in any case a lender will usually be happy to see you clear credit card debt as it improves your affordability. So go for it!
Your next question is harder to answer as my crystal ball isn’t working… it may all be a lot clearer by June and rates are edging down a bit at the moment. But I don’t think anyone expects them to drop dramatically and we may not see the old rates again for many many years.
You may have a third option between the SVR and a fix. Some lenders have a tracker rate you can switch to – and sometimes this doesn’t have a penalty fee to switch away from so you may decide that is good.
You can also talk to your lender now, you may be able to reserve a rate and still switch later to a better one.
A good broker can talk you through these options.
DD says
Thanks for the reply Sara.
We had to go through a specialist lender (Precise) to secure a mortgage as I had defaults in 2018.
The tracker option is something worth exploring, is it something we could quickly change from? Almost like a pay as you go mortgage? With the lender being Precise, everything has to go through the broker. The plan is to move to a mainstream lender once all debts are cleared and the rates perhaps drop to under 4%
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What other debts do you have? Are any of them defaulted?
DD says
No other debts, 7k on 1 credit card only. No car payments, loans or anything else. The default was settled/satisfied in November 2018. Another reason we went to a specialist lender was due to payday loans. The last one of those was around November 2019. Ironically the deal we are on now for the mortgage is 3.5% which at the time was way higher than mainstream lenders were offering. I presume a tracker if we could get that with Precise would need to go through affordability checks etc like a remortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I don’t KNOW what Precise will do. They are not one of the mainstream lenders that Treasury link was talking about.
They may also not have a tracker product on offer at all. Just a new fix or a very high variable rate.
How much equity do you have in the property?
DD says
Equity is around £160k – £180k. Looking at their website I don’t see many different products so likely it’ll be the white high SVR or new fixed. We won’t go to their fix as hoping easier to get a mainstream lender since default will nearly be 5years old
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A default that was settled in 2018 isn’t normally a problem for a high street lender. I think you should talk to a broker now about your options for June.
Fi says
Apologies if wrong thread. I’m looking for clarity on 2nd charge mortgage. Coming out of fixed period, lender (Together mortgages) insist we now must move onto a terrible rate and can’t have any of the lower rates they are offering to new customers. They say we would have to pass affordability (we won’t) to qualify for the better rate. I thought if coming off a fix lenders were meant to apply new rate without checking affordability, or did that just apply to 1st charge lending? Has no one issued guidance on 2nd charge lending ? Thank you.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
are you in arrears on this?
what is your current rate and what is the terrible SVR they say you have to move to?
Fleur says
Hi,
Do you have to supply 3 bank statements for all the bank accounts you have….. or just the account your wages go into and the account the mortgage will be paid out of
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
When you are applying for a mortgage? You have to supply what you are asked for – it may be 6 months statements. It’s best to apply through a broker who can help your through this sort of thing.
Fj says
Sorry yes for a mortgage.
Ah okay I was looking at just switching products with my current provider myself…and didn’t know if they require all bank accounts like saving etc..
Do you have to go via a broker? House is worth 460k the morgage is for around 38k so pretty minimal.
Thank you
Sara (Debt Camel) says
if you only want a new fix, they may not even want to see bank statements.
If they ask for them, I suggest you ask them if they want to see savings accounts.
If you have a lot of savings you could consider paying a chunk off the mortgage at this point as your new rate is likely to be higher than you can get on a savings account – just something to think about, not financial advice!
Naina says
Hi Sara
Have you ever heard/dealt with Together Money?
They’re reviews are horrific.
We have a loan against our house with them. Really high interest.
Unable to pay and if 3payments missed they repossess the house.
They are not FCA regulated so I assume nothing the Ombudsman can do.
?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
what is the legal entity that gave you the loan? Together Personal Finance Limited and Blemain are FCA authorised.
Michael says
In september my iva finishes and my car paymnt also ends same month, so will be debt free apart from an interest only mortgage of £114,000 which we have no way of paying off. I am 64 retired with partner 61 full time work.
When we took on the interest only mortgage we were told that we would be able to change to repayment at any time in the future but when we tried they deemed it unaffordable and we were stuck with the interest only mortgage for 18 years now of the 20 year term.
All was looking good for us to wait until September and then re-aplly for a repayment mortgage with no debts and around £500 spare after the £270 interest only per month.
Our current valuation is around £190,000 so there is some equity but we don’t really want to move due to my ill health.
It just feels like the walls are closing in, cost of living wise and I’m getting very worried about the future.
Any advice you have would be much appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago did your IVA start?
It is a shame you did not start overpaying your mortgage when they wouldn’t let you switch to interest only.
Michael says
5 years ago.
We wouldn’t have been able to make that much of an impact.
I’m very concerned because I feel the BOE rate rises are more about helping the wealthy than controlling interest rates.
A third of households 8Million, own their own home outright, leaving them unaffected by the rate rises, and some of those have savings, which have suddenly become a massive income surge, much of it to the wealthiest 5%.
Yet the 3M mortgage payers who face a £3,000 increase in mortgage payments are left with no help whatsoever.
The “affordability” issue also is a concern, how can it be fair that you are limited to a mortgage on the basis of affordability, yet the interest rate rises are not treated as “unaffordable”.
I would have thought that influencial people like you and Martin Lewis would try to do something about it, but you even said you agreed with the interest rate rises, which is unbelievable to me, given you are supposed to be helping the poorer members of society.
Very sad times indeed.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
There is no point in worrying about why the Bank of England is making these decisions, it won’t help you make a good decision yourself for your family.
For what it’s worth (which is about zero), if I had a vote, I would have voted for rate rises in late 2021 and very early 2022. But probably not after that point. Inflation hurts the poorer members of society as well. I am not very interested in discussing this subject and won’t be replying any more about it – it just isn’t relevant to this blog.
Sarah says
You may not want to answer him Sara, but he does make a good point.
Why is it okay to increase mortgage rates which in turn increases monthly payments for anyone on a variable rate? Where is the “affordability assessment”?
My mortgage payment went from £569 to over £1200 in a few months and now I can’t afford the repayments. Not once have the mortgage company Santander asked if it’s affordable for me and no-one seems to care. It’s really depressing.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
He pops up on lots of different articles here making the same point about a remark I made over a years ago which he now takes out of context. It’s tedious.
Why is it okay to increase mortgage rates which in turn increases monthly payments for anyone on a variable rate?
Because that was your decision when you took the mortgage out with a fix that has ended. (Unless you are a mortgage prisoner of course.)
Where is the “affordability assessment”?
There would have been one at the start of your mortgage which should have looked at whether you would be able to manage higher rates. Of course your situation may have changed since then.
Are the current repayments affordable? Have you talked to Santander about getting a new fix? It will be more than you were paying before but should be less than Santander’s variable rate.
Phil says
Hello (newbie alert so apologies if wrong section)
I have a mortgage with Woolwich (Barclays), which I took out with my wife, over a term of 30 years. We are currently nearly 16 years into the mortgage and so have around 14 years left. We have never defaulted or gone into arrears on this mortgage but have had credit issues since the mortgage with other creditors.
The main issue I have is our Mortgage Reserve (sometimes called mortgage overdraft). Basically as my main mortgage reduces down my mortgage reserve increases. Over the years we have kept relatively in control of this reserve however over the past few years my income has reduced from employment and our household expenditure has heavily increased. This has led to over the last few years creeping up to the mortgage reserve limit which is now at £71k DR
For reference my house is valued at £280k and my actual mortgage is £95k. If you add the 2 debts together it totals £166k so there is 100k+ equity in our house
We are now at the point where the interest alone is nearly £400 pm (SVR) on the reserve and so we can’t afford to pay this and reduce down the total. We are getting further and further behind on this.
Does anyone have any advice on what options we have such as agreement for remortgage to combine the pots together or maybe a interest freeze on the mortgage reserve to help us reduce down the debt?
Any advice would be appreciated
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
have you talked to Barclays about your options?
Phil says
No not yet. Is that the first thing to do? Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes! This is an uncommon situation, other people can’t guess what Barclays may say. If you don’t like what they say you4 options are, come back here
Phil says
Ok perfect I will arrange to contact them. Will update you soon
Soph says
My husband and I have applied for a mortgage with NatWest. Last week we both had an alert from our credit files to say a hard search has been done and will appear on our next report. A week later my husbands credit report shows this hard search but mine has completely disappeared?
Is this normal for a mortgage application or does anyone know why this could be?
Sorry if I’m on the wrong thread.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
No idea!
Kim says
Hi Sara,
My fixed term mortgage is up in a few month. Since taking out my mortgage my credit score has dropped to poor. I have approx £8k debt with missed payments. I was hoping to take extra out on the mortgage when I re-fix to clear this debt. I have read that to fix most major providers aren’t doing a credit search (I’m with Nationwide) but if I wanted to take out further lending I assume they’d need to do a credit check?
Property Value £270K
Mortgage £106K
I’m currently paying about £500 a month out to my CCs so the debt absorbed into mortgage would free up much need money,
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Yes all lenders will do a full affordable check and credit check if you want To borrow more.
Instead I suggest you talk To StepChange about a Debt Management Plan, see https://www.stepchange.org/how-we-help/debt-management-plan.aspx. There interest will be stopped on your cards and you mJe One affordable payment a month. There is no reason to delay until after your new fix starts.
Martin says
Hi
Me and my partner are thinking about getting a mortgage for the first time. Both in our early 30s. We have 10k savings for a deposit (so far). We both have good credit score ( 730 & 749 on ClearScore ). Both have reasonable paid jobs (55k yearly wage combined). I was just wondering is it better to pay off any of our outstanding debt before looking at buying a house? We have 1 loan we are paying which is currently at £1700 and an Argos store card which is sitting at £500. Also with the info I have giving , does it sound like we have a chance of getting accepted for a mortgage?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
See https://debtcamel.co.uk/mortgage-with-debts/