There’s no point dancing around the subject – we all know that the cost-of-living crisis has become a serious worry for millions of UK citizens. With energy prices sky rocketing, keeping on top of your outgoings can be incredibly stressful and with a further rise potentially coming in November, perhaps it’s time to reassess your finances and see if your monthly repayments can be reduced.
Re-mortgages and Product Transfers are two practical solutions that may help with the cost-of-living problem by enabling you to arrange new terms on a mortgage to suit your financial situation. So, if you are starting to worry about managing your finances during this stressful period – keep reading to find out if this may be an option that could suit your situation & needs.
When it comes to using your mortgage to lessen any financial difficulties you may be having, here are two options that you may wish to consider.
One is to negotiate a new deal with your current lender, (perhaps lengthening the repayment period to lessening the monthly payments or find out if a better interest rate is available). Another is to see if a remortgage of your property – going to a new lender to secure a better deal is viable.
Product transfers
A product transfer involves you and your mortgage adviser negotiating a better deal with your current lender. If you’re coming to the end of your fixed term, you’ll be switched to your lender’s Standard Variable Rate (SVR) – a rate that could be much higher than one you could get through a product transfer. It’s an effective way to keep your monthly payments at a manageable level without having to switch lender. It’s also arguably the more convenient option of the two – with less paperwork being involved making the process much quicker.
Re-mortgages
Re-mortgaging is when homeowners change their mortgage deal or wants to reduce or increase the mortgage amount to release more money from the equity of their home. Similarly, a remortgage can achieve much lower rates than your current lender’s SVR. Additional borrowing could be beneficial if you’re looking to make improvements to your home (perhaps to improve its energy efficiency). If you’re looking to longer term solutions, improving the energy efficiency of your home could help to reduce the cost of energy for your home. We would always recommend you seek advice from a qualified mortgage adviser.
If you’re not sure whether these options may suit your current situation, or if you simply want to explore what’s available to you, get in touch with us today to discuss whether a product transfer or remortgage could help you cope during a worsening cost- of-living crisis.
Think carefully before securing any debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.