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 spent his formative years as an underwriter with one of the major UK lenders and the last 10 years in our Technical Department along side Ray.
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 23/03/2010
In 2005 I bought a property in the UK but now live in Singapore and the property is rented out. I put a 50k deposit down and took a mortgage of 120k. I estimate that the house is now work 20-30k more now than when I bought it.
My question is this. I'd like to pull about 35k from the property to pay off all outstanding UK debts. Can I do this while I don't live in the country? My salary is UK equivalent of around 60k PA.
Categories: Consolidation of debts, Ex-pats mortgaging in the UK, Special circumstances
Posted on 11/02/2009
My husband and I are in our 4th year of an IVA and our fixed rate mortgage ended in January so we are now on the variable rate. We bought the house in 2001 for £43,000 but have a secured loan of £36,000 when we had the house valued last year it stood at £135,000 but due to the credit crunch I understand the value has dropped to about £98,000 we are expected to re-mortgage this year to raise £10,500 from the equity our current mortgage lender won't help even though we have never missed or even been late with a single payment. Is there anything we can do? Or do we say to the IVA Company we don't have any equity now?
You don’t say how much your First Charge mortgage is but it seems likely that the combined amount of your first and second charge (which you refer to as a secured loan) will be such that any additional borrowing secured on the property will be impossible in the current market, especially as your current lender won’t help. Even if you had more equity it would still be extremely difficult in today’s market to find a lender who would offer a mortgage to anyone in an IVA. Furthermore, mortgage valuers are currently being very cautious and so it is likely that your house will be valued at less than you expect if you apply for a remortgage.
To be certain you can’t raise any more money we would need more detail and so please call us on 0800 71 81 91 if you would like to check. However, you will probably have to tell the IVA Company you can’t raise any cash at present on your house.
Categories: Bad credit, Consolidation of debts, Remortgaging, Secured loans
Posted on 24/04/2008
Hi, my partner works for himself as a musician. He is currently paying off a gigantic tax bill that's making his finances very stretched. Also he owes £30,000 on cards and loans. This is the bad news. The good news is that he owns a house that is currently worth £220,000 and he has a mortgage for £140,000. I'm wondering if he would be better remortgaging to pay his debts off and then spending the next couple of years lopping that extra off his mortgage when he can. He currently makes £3,000 take home after tax so it's madness that his money is not working for him but rather against him! The longer he leaves the credit cards at just paying the minimum amount, the harder it will get for him. Its hard to see him make such a mess of his money! Can you advise us as to what we should do to help fix this situation? Many thanks, Sarah
Categories: Consolidation of debts
Posted on 17/03/2008
Hi Katie, my wife and I are looking to buy around September time. The house price is around £150,000-£155,000. If we consolidate our debts we could achieve a £15,000 deposit. Our joint income is £47,000 and the loan repayments would be £240 per month. Is this a good idea? Regards, Ryan
Categories: Consolidation of debts
Posted on 18/02/2008
Our monthly income is approx £4,000. We have debt accumulated to £23,000. Our current mortgage of £160,000 is with Northern Rock and our current repayment is £1,200 per month. If we consolidate and remortgage for £185,000 over 17 years, is this the best way to clear our debts?
Categories: Consolidation of debts
Posted on 13/02/2008
I have got a 40% stake in a shared ownership flat. I already have a secured loan on it for £24,000 along with unsecured debt when I was married. The only thing is, I have adverse credit, and no one will touch me with a barge pole! Are there any adverse credit lenders out there who can help me with my debt i.e. pay off secured loans and unsecured debt, to consolidate into one payment?
Categories: Bad credit, Consolidation of debts
Posted on 08/02/2008
Hi there, my girlfriend and I want to get a mortgage, but we both have about £5,000 of debt. Would it be possible to consolidate this debt into a mortgage without any deposit to lay down. It would be our first mortgage. What lenders are best to contact if it is possible? Thanks in advance.
Categories: Consolidation of debts
Posted on 17/01/2008
I'm looking to borrow more money on our house. Our house is valued at £175,000. Our current mortgage is £50,000 plus £28,000 on a secured loan. We want to consolidate our debt. We have credit cards as well and want to clear them. What option do we have?
Categories: Consolidation of debts
Posted on 10/01/2008
Our monthly income is £2,000 yet our total outgoings per month are £2800. Much of this shortfall has been spread across credit cards that now total £15,000 with the 0% offers ending around June this year. We are currently only making the minimum payment each month(part of the £2,800 outgoings).
I also have two car loans at around 6.9% with £11,000 balance remaining over the next 4 years totaling £276 per month (also part of the £2,800 outgoings). As our outgoings are £800 adrift from our incoming I am considering adding this £26,000 of unsecured debt to our mortgage, and by lengthening the mortgage from 9 to 15 years would make my monthly new payments for the whole lot on a 5.63% mortgage (5yr fix) around £649 per month (£440 per month more than my current costs).
I fully appreciate your help on this, the Ask Bea is a valuable part to this website.
Categories: Consolidation of debts, Current rates & the market, Lower mortgage payments, Remortgaging
Posted on 06/01/2008
I'm looking to remortgage for £130,000 to pay off debt. My house has £60,000 equity in it and I have excellent credit rating, but because of the lending crunch no-one can seem to help. Is there a way of getting the equity out on the house without selling?
Categories: Consolidation of debts, Remortgaging
Posted on 20/12/2007
I'm looking to borrow more money on our house. Our house is valued at £175,000, our current mortgage £50,000 plus £28,000 on secured loan. I want to consolidate my debt. I have credit cards and want to clear them. What options do we have?
Categories: Consolidation of debts, Lower mortgage payments, Overpayments, Payment Holdays, underpayments, Borrowback, Unsecured loans
Answers provided in response to Ask the experts are based on the information provided and do not constitute advice under the Financial Services & Markets Act. They reflect the personal views of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views, positions, strategies or opinions of John Charcol. All comments are made in good faith, and John Charcol will not accept liability for them.
We recommend you seek professional advice with regard to any of these topics where appropriate.