Remortgaging: What you need to know
In light of the pandemic, more and more of us are exploring re-mortgaging our homes. For the most part, this is down to two main reasons; firstly, to raise funds for house renovations, and secondly as a method of debt consolidation. Sam Tudor is one of our in-house mortgage and protection specialists and he has seen a significant increase in remortgaging work over the last 18 months.
Staying at home
Since spending more time at home, many people have decided to re-mortgage in order to release equity to allow them to make home improvements. These improvements often include loft conversions, extensions and garden improvements, as well as building summer houses and home offices. Our homes have become the focus of our day-to-day lives with many of us spending more time at home than we ever have before. This has driven an increased desire to improve our existing space and make it more practical, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.
Furlough & debt consolidation
Unfortunately, the pandemic has had some negative financial impacts on many people in the form of job losses and furlough. As a result, many people have found it necessary to remortgage their homes as a method of reducing their overall monthly outgoings.
For those on flexi-furlough, it could be a better outcome, as Sam explains:
“Although those whose monthly wage is still purely funded by the furlough scheme will be unable to re-mortgage at this time, some lenders will work with those on the flexi-furlough scheme and will look at granting mortgages to them based on the portion of their salary that is still being paid by their employer.
“Despite it being more challenging for those on furlough to remortgage their home, it’s not impossible. We can help to explore options, such a re-application to an existing lender to keep mortgage payments down”.
More than just the ‘best deal’
Most of Tudor Financial’s remortgaging work has been as a result of us contacting our existing clients whose mortgages are up for renewal and having conversations about what they would like to do next.
We always search for the best deal to save money and get the best interest rates, however more and more, we are finding that clients want to explore other options such as making home improvements or reducing their outgoings as a result of financial hardship.
In terms of timescales for remortgaging, it remains much the same as it was pre-Covid, with most lenders taking around 4-8 weeks for the application process. If you are looking to remortgage your home and would like some further information on the options open to you, book an appointment with Sam or one of our team today
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE
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