confused regarding our mortgage

J

JM13

Guest
I was looking for some advice, my husband bought our current house alone, it was easier for him to get a mortgage alone.
we got married the same year before the sale completed and i had to sign some form with his solictor to acknowledge i was aware of this.

He is on a fixed rate,over a 35 year term, got a really crap deal but we were not in a great position at the time, i am wondering if we can look around now with a view to switch, having both of us on the mortgage, and reducing the term of our mortgage?

I would really appericate if anyone can offer advice here, as we are both really confused about all this and dont really understand what we should do,

THANKS ALL
 
Perhaps post the mortgage amount & % interest rates, bank etc. & someone on AAM will assist you further
 
Hi JM13,
I am surprised that your husband could have completed a mortgage whilst married without completing the family home protection declaration and therfore I would have thought if the deal was finalised whilst he was married that the mortgage and property would be in your joint names.
You say he is on a fixed rate and got a crap rate, I presume this was in the last 12/18 months as previous to this the fixed rates were good value.
My advise is for your husband to ring his lender and find out how much is outstanding on his mortgage, what rate he is paying and if there is a redemption penalty for him to change to variable or redeem the mortgage.
You then need to search the market for the best deal and my advice is to contact a reputable mortgage broker who can get you the best deal.
Rates are reducing so stick with a variable at the moment and the best rate at the moment is 4.20% and I reckon rates will reduce by a further 1% by March 2009. Legal fees to switch will be approx. 850 euro.
Best of luck
Spin
Mortgage Broker
 
If you're on a fixed rate there will probably be a penalty for breaking out of it? Do you know if the fixed rate is nearly up, or is there a long way to go? If the fixed rate is coming to an end soon, there is no point going to the expense of the penalty
On the other hand, variable rates are low and still falling, so if you can save a considerable amount in interest, paying the penalty may be worth it.
You will also have to factor in legal fees, but shop around on that as a remortgage is a very straightforward job for a solicitor.

As for putting the mortgage in joint names, it's likely the bank will require the house to be put into joint names because of the Family Home Protection Act (fortunately that's a pretty straightforward matter too).

Here's some things you need to find out to help you work it out

  • Your interest rate
  • How long more it's fixed for
  • What the penalty would be for early redemption
  • An estimate of the legal fees involved
  • What you can reasonably afford to pay - the payments ratchet up pretty fast as you shorten the term
 
depending on what the fixed rate is and also what the redemption penalty is it might be worth staying put till the end of the fixed rate. However some lenders will not charge a redemption penalty if their fixed rate for new customers is higher than the rate you are currently on.

One thing you can do straight away is reduce your term with your existing lender. Give them a call and they can advise you what your repayments would be over a shorter term.
 
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