Interest-Only Mortgage Advice in Hull
There are thousands of interest-only mortgages across the nation that are maturing every year and the homeowners who have one of these may be caught off guard when it comes to having to pay off the capital sum that is owed.
In this article, we take a look at what interest-only mortgages are and what can be done when situations like this occur.
A Summary of Interest-Only Mortgages
Back in the ’80s and ’90s, it was actually really common for residential mortgages to be set up this way. The purpose of these mortgage types, was that you would only pay back (over the course of your term) interest on the amount that you borrowed, with the remaining capital lump sum being paid back once the term ended.
For anyone who had previously taken out an interest-only mortgage, it is likely that you will have been advised to set up a repayment vehicle, perhaps something like a low-cost endowment policy.
The policy would mature over time and was designed with the purpose of helping you to repay the capital balance in full, whilst also giving you sufficient life cover for the duration of your mortgage term. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who weren’t made aware of the risks attached to this type of product.
One of the risks that cropped up, was that there was no guarantee the policy would actually mature enough to cover the costs of your mortgage debt, which in turn led to many applicants being compensated for them being mis-sold a product.
Nowadays, interest-only mortgages tend to be a popular option for customers who are looking at their options for buy to let Mortgages in Hull. These types of people are landlords who buy properties to earn some extra income.
Why do people still have interest-only mortgages?
It is not very common to come across customers who have taken out an interest-only residential mortgage in recent memory, as they are considerably difficult to obtain unless you can prove that you have a very solid strategy for paying back the capital at the end of your term.
For customers who took out an interest-only mortgage at any point in the late ’80s or ’90s and have not switched it to a capital repayment, then you should absolutely look to take action sooner rather than later.
What can I do if my interest-only mortgage is ending?
If you happen to be in this sort of position, the chances that your mortgage lender will send you a letter or give you a call, asking how you plan to pay the capital back will be slim.
It is important to always keep open a line of communication with the mortgage lender, remaining honest and open with them. Contrary to the belief of some, a lender truly does not want to take your property into possession and will only do so if they have no other choice.
Instead of letting things get to that point, here are some other things that you could look to do instead;
- Ask your lender to convert your interest-only mortgage into a repayment mortgage.
- Sell your current property and consider downsizing into a more affordable and manageable property.
- Use savings/other investments to repay whatever you have remaining on the mortgage balance.
- Remortgage to a new lender, for a better rate.
- Consider taking out a Retirement Mortgage.
The retirement mortgage market is an area of the world of homeowners that is currently thriving, largely due to the amount of interest-only mortgages that are reaching the end of their terms, without any concrete plans in place to actually pay back the capital.
There are a lot of retirement products available to customers across the country nowadays, and some providers may even possibly let you service the interest element by way of regular monthly repayments.
Creating this sort of agreement means that when you die, the capital balance that is left to pay, is repaid from the house sale and the surplus can be given out to your family.
Is it still possible to obtain an Interest-Only Mortgage?
Interest-only mortgage are still in existence and can be obtain, though there are limitations as to who can obtain one. For example, you may possibly be a landlord with an extensive property portfolio or have some other investments in place, which you can use to help you repay the balance.
Lenders will now take an in-depth look at your strategy for repaying the loan, analysing a lot more deeply than they would’ve done in the past.
They do this in order to ensure that they are only lending for a property that they are confident won’t default. In addition to this, they will also want a much larger deposit to go down, potentially as much as 50%.
They will also want to future proof any of your plans before going ahead. An example of this would be checking that you have enough equity in your home to potentially downsize to a reasonable property down the line.
As always, our team of dedicated mortgage advisors in Hull, here at Hullmoneyman, are always happy to run through the options that are available to you as a home buyer or existing homeowner in Hull. Book your free mortgage appointment online today and we will see how we are able to help you.
Date Last Edited: 09/29/2023
