Are you stuck in your mortgage and unable to switch, even though you’ve been keeping up with your repayments?
You might, unfortunately, fall into the category of being a mortgage prisoner – but not for much longer.
Mortgage prisoners is a term used for people who are unable to switch to a better mortgage rate even though they’re able to keep up with their repayments. The reason they can’t switch is due to tougher affordability rules that were brought in by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014.
These rules required mortgage lenders to increase their stress testing of mortgage affordability, and therefore it became more difficult to get a mortgage or remortgage, so whilst you may have been eligible for a mortgage prior to 2014, you might not have been after the new affordability rules were brought in, and as a result can’t get a new mortgage and end up paying higher rates than you need to.
You might also be classed as a mortgage prisoner if your lender has left the market, leaving you paying higher rates with an inactive lender and struggling to remortgage in the meantime.
The good news is this is finally beginning to change, and Clever Mortgages are standing by to help.
Thanks to new guidance brought in by the FCA, lenders can now carry out a modified affordability assessment that’s based on your payment history rather than the old affordability criteria.
Lenders taking part don’t, in certain circumstances, have to look at your income and expenditure or conduct a stress test, opening the door for you to get a better mortgage deal if you’re stuck paying higher rates than you need to. It’ll also allow you to remortgage to a new lender if your old one is now inactive, or unable to offer you a new product.
How can Clever Mortgages help?
At Clever Mortgages we can help you take advantage of these new changes and get you a better deal than you’re currently on. We work with over a 100 different lenders, and have access to over 1000 competitive mortgage products that mean you could get a better rate on your mortgage even with an adverse credit score.
Similarly, if you’re trapped in a mortgage deal (a so called mortgage prisoner) with a lender that has since become inactive or left the market, we’d love to hear from you. Chances are, we’ll be able to help you remortgage at a better rate than you’re currently on, allowing you to spend your money on the more important things in life.
With us, we take the time to learn about your situation and circumstances first so that we know what mortgage products might be available to you. This means you don’t have to worry about an application being declined, and that when you do apply, you’re likely to be accepted.
To find out more about what mortgage or remortgaging deals might be available to you, give us a call on 0800 197 0504 or arrange a call back at a time that suits you.
