My house is valued at approx £200,000. I owe £40,000. I am 67 years. I need to remortgage as I may not be able to downsize in time for the term of my present mortgage . I was led to believe I would be given an extension of three years on interest only. I now find out that they would change it to a repayment mortgage. I need more time and peace of mind. I hope you are able to provide me information on a way forward. Thanks Theresa
Ask the Specialist response:
Thanks for the query Theresa.
This is a question posed by our clients aged over 60 quite a lot. Typically they are approaching the end of their existing mortgage contract and wish to extend it for around 5 to 10 years to allow them more time to sell their home and downsize to a smaller property that is more suitable for them when they get older.
Given the mortgage is only to last for a short period most clients over 60 request an interest only mortgage to keep their monthly payments low. As you say in your query - your current lender is offering a 3 year repayment mortgage which would mean the monthly payments are going to be quite high.
Clients tell us they plan to repay the mortgage when they sell their home and downsize. This is acceptable to some lenders as a "repayment vehicle" i.e. a method of repaying your mortgage, as long as it is feasible. Usually this means we will ask you to demonstrate that you are able to purchase suitable smaller properties in the current market using the existing equity in your home.
Some of the lenders who will consider this scenario do also provide assistance to switch from your existing lender by way of free valuation, free legal service and so on.
We will also need to look at whether your income is going to change over the term of the new mortgage. For instance, are you planning to retire and if so will your pension income be able to support the mortgage.
On the face of it, we have assisted other clients in similar situations and we maybe able to assist yourself, subject to your individual circumstances.
To obtain an indication on mortgage rate you can either check our over 65s mortgage rates or, if you would like to discuss your individual circumstances with an Adviser, I'd recommend calling our City Office on 0207 710 0400. Alternatively, if you send us an enquiry online one of our Advisers will call you back.
David Rostron MEng(Hons) CeMAP CeRER
Business Manager
