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 19 November 2007

We bought an old property in Italy in 2003, renovated and added a new extension. Its currently valued at 250,000 Euros but no mortgage, and we would like to repeat the process with another property. We have the contacts and...

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Category: Buying abroad, Foreign Currency or foreign tracking rate mortgages


Posted on 17 November 2007

My friend and I want to buy a flat together. We found a flat for £173,000 and are looking for a mortgage. The only problem is that she is here on a work permit(5 years) - she has completed 1.5 years with 3.5 years left - kindly...

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Category: Special circumstances


Posted on 15 November 2007

I recently bought a flat with my partner and now just 4 months down the line we have split. I own 50% of the property, my partner 41% and his sister 8.85%. This is because we were required to put down a 15% deposit and I had only...

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Category: Separation or Divorce


Posted on 12 November 2007

My partner and I are looking at houses as first time buyers we have seen one at 199,950 that has already been reduced and we know that the seller is desparate to sell so we are hoping to reduce the price as much as possible. I...

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Category: 100%+ borrowing, First-time buyer


Posted on 10 November 2007

A friend of mine has just split up with her boyfriend and they are going to sell the property. They have just bought a new mortgage deal and are tied in for a fixed period. He would like to continue the mortgage by buying a new...

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Category: Separation or Divorce


Posted on 8 November 2007

Hi katie, I would like to buy a pub, but don't know the best way to go around it. The tenant at the moment would like £25,000 and there is 7 years left on the lease. I live in private rented accommodation,and my credit rating is...

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Category: Bad credit, First-time buyer, The application process explained


Posted on 7 November 2007

We have a joint mortgage on a 10 year term, £80,000 interest only & £53,000 on repayment total £133,000. The house is currently valued at £300,000. Our current tracker ends in Jan 2008 so we are looking to remortgage now. In July...

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Category: Interest only vs repayment, Overpayments, Payment Holdays, underpayments, Borrowback, Remortgaging


Posted on 5 November 2007

Hi Katie, Almost a year ago I bought a two-bed flat and started renting out the one-bed flat I had owned and lived in for six years. It just about breaks even - the rent I receive covers mortgage payments (interest-only) and the...

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Category: Buy-to-let, Valuations, Freehold, leases & unusual property


Posted on 5 November 2007

I own a property (Let at £650 per month) worth approx £190,000 with outstanding interest only mortgage of £48,000. I would like to purchase another property worth approximately £140,000 which I would let to my son with his rent...

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Category: Buy-to-let, Second properties


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