Ask the experts

About our experts...

At John Charcol, we are constantly asked for advice by borrowers on what they should do when it comes to mortgages.  As such, we created this section so that you can submit your questions to our experts.  The answers are provided by a number of people who have years of experience in the mortgage market.  The team is led by Peter Woodward who works in our technical department.  Peter spent his formative years as an underwriter with one of the major UK lenders so what he doesn't know, quite frankly, isn't worth knowing...

So please do submit your question and we will do all we can to answer it as quickly as possible

Please be aware that these answers can only be generic and no personal recommendations can be made.


Posted on 30 July 2007

Hi Katie.  I am in need of some advice rather quickly.  We have a mortgage and a secured loan.  We have had to have all our debits taken over by paypal because our mortgage is killing us.  Where can we get a...

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Category: Bad credit, Lower mortgage payments


Posted on 30 July 2007

We have a £65,000 mortgage on a property worth around £125,000.  We also have a secured loan for a further £65,000 which is £630 per month.  Would it be in our interest to re-mortgage rather than pay this ever...

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Category: Remortgaging, Secured loans


Posted on 30 July 2007

My daughter and her boyfriend have just split up. They co-own a semi-detached house that they have spent months renovating, which is now done to the highest quality. He has agreed to a lump sum pay off, leaving my daughter with...

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Posted on 26 July 2007

I am in the military, living in MOD property. My wife and I have a house and rent it out. It's a 2 bedroom, we have a daughter and one on the way.  We're happy living in the MOD property but we've outgrown our 2...

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Category: Buy-to-let


Posted on 26 July 2007

What sort of costs should I expect if I need to take out a bridging loan for a couple of months to stop the chain breaking? I've found a new property but have not yet sold my old house.

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Category: Bridging loans


Posted on 24 July 2007

I purchased a property under a shared owership homebuyers scheme in 1999 with myself having 40%.  I now think i want to buy the other share from the housing association, as well as buy a property for a buy-to-let.  My...

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Category: Shared ownership


Posted on 24 July 2007

I am a first time buyer who wants to buy a small house. I am not yet sure if I will live in it or if I will rent it out. Do I have to get a buy to let mortgage or can I get a personal home owner mortgage and then rent it out...

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Category: Buy-to-let


Posted on 24 July 2007

We owe approx £30,000 on our house worth approx £280,000. We want to buy a second home in France for £50-70K. Is it best to remortgage our home or get a Euro mortgage to fund the French property, Our existing mortgage will be...

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Category: Buying abroad, Remortgaging


Posted on 24 July 2007

We currently have a £28,000 mortgage with Barclays its fixed rate is due to end soon.  Would you advise us to use our £9,000 in mini-cash ISAs to offset the interest or look for another competitive fixed rate.  We are...

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Category: Offset mortgages


Posted on 24 July 2007

I have just finished building a house.  I borrowed £94,000 against the land value which I got in a lump sum before I started building. To date I have spent approx £150k and the house is finished - it has recently been valued...

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Category: Remortgaging, Secured loans


Posted on 23 July 2007

I currently owe £50,000 on a property worth approx £210,000.I am considering building another property and would need to borrow approx £175,000 to do this if I don't sell my current property first. I intend to sell the second...

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Category: Self-build


Posted on 23 July 2007

I owe approx £50,000 on a part repayment, part interest only mortgage. £20,000 of this is interest only. I also have an endowment policy which should cover the £20,000. At the moment the whole plan has 13 years remaining, but I...

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Category: Lower mortgage payments


Posted on 23 July 2007

I currently own a house with a fixed mortgage in london. I have recently bought another flat off plan with a friend which I am intending to live in and rent my own house out. Just wondering what mortgages are available and how I...

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Category: Let-to-buy, Remortgaging


Posted on 23 July 2007

Do banks accept state benefits such as child benefit and tax credits as further income?

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Category: State benefits


Posted on 20 July 2007

My husband has a trust deed that we want to split up as he says that I can keep the house. That means i would have to find a mortgage in my name only - can this be done with him having the trust deed?  I want to stay in the...

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Category: Self-certification, Trusts


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