Questions from Trinity Financial's clients answered...
Trinity's brokers have been answering lots of questions from concerned clients and many of them want to know about payment holidays.
Here is a selection of some of the key questions and our responses...
How do I get a payment holiday?
Mortgage borrowers and landlords are clearly extremely worried about making their monthly repayments and the lenders have been inundated with calls and online applications for payment holidays.
To qualify for the payment holiday borrowers will need to be up to date with their repayments and confirm they are in financial difficulty.
The lenders are trying to start the payment holidays from their customer's next payment but if the direct debit is due in the next few days it may well apply the following month.
Lots of the lenders are writing to borrowers to confirm they qualify 5-7 working days from submitting their application.
Contact your lender using the information on this link.
Call Trinity Financial on 020 7016 0790
It is still possible to switch to a tracker rate but most of the standout best buys have been withdrawn. The lenders starting pulling them pretty soon after the base rate was lowered to 0.10%. There is still a great selection of short and longer-term fixed rates.
Barclays still has a 0.84% two-year tracker for mortgages up to £500,000. Applicants will need a 40% deposit to qualify and there is a £999 arrangement fee. The APRC is 3.8%.
Some of the mortgage lenders are not set up to allow borrowers to switch mortgage rates while they are on a payment holiday so they will be stuck on higher reversion rates.
NatWest recently confirmed it is possible to switch rates while on a payment plan but this may not be possible with lots of other lenders.
It is possible to remortgage to generate funds for a whole range of reasons.
To help home movers impacted by Covid-19, mortgage providers will give customers who have exchanged contracts the option to extend their mortgage offer for up to three months to enable them to move at a later date.
Stephen Jones, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said: “Lenders recognise that many people looking to move into their new home are facing significant stress and uncertainty due to the impacts of corona-virus. Current social distancing measures mean many house moves will need to be delayed.
“It is clearly not appropriate for people shielding or self-isolating to move home. Therefore where chains contain people in these groups, lenders, conveyancers and other professionals are working together to enable these customers’ moves to be delayed.
“Where people have already exchanged contracts for house purchases and set dates for completion this is likely to be particularly stressful. To support these customers at this time, mortgage lenders are working to find ways to enable customers who have exchanged contracts to extend their mortgage offer for up to three months to enable them to move at a later date.
“If a customer’s circumstances change during this three month period or the terms of the house purchase change significantly and continuing with the mortgage would cause house buyers to face financial hardship, lenders will work with customers to help them manage their finances as a matter of urgency.”
If your mortgage is coming up for renewal it is still important to try and switch to another deal even in these troubling times. If you don't you will automatically revert onto an expensive standard variable rate.
Many of the mortgage lenders are still offering incredibly cheap fixed and tracker rate remortgage rates and if you have lots of equity in your property it should be possible for us to get your mortgage through.
Even though the banks and building societies have been lowering their standard variable rate they are still expensive and well worth avoiding.
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