Fixed rate mortgages disaster looming....
Fixed rate mortgages disaster looming....
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Discussion

Tony*T3

Original Poster:

20,911 posts

277 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Friend of mine that just tried to get a new mortgage at the end of a fixed rate term has found it impossible to get a new deal after his house was devalued by the tune of 35% by the valuation agent.

Means he is now stuck in a mortgage deal long term thats hundreds more than his fixed rate payments.

Fortunatly he's on a good wage in a very secure job. But whats going to happen when all the others on fixed rated find the same issue....? Wholesale repossesions is my guess.

I'm guessing that anyone with less than 40% equity will soon be in an unsellable house with no way to remortgage to a cheaper deal.

Think about that number. At least 40% equity. Did you have 40% at the start of this crisis?

CommanderJameson

22,096 posts

256 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Hundreds more?

May I ask what the mortgage amount is?

I have a relatively small mortgage (i.e. <90K) because I bought when property was relatively cheap (i.e. 10 years ago).

Plotloss

67,280 posts

300 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Theres worse to come, without doubt but I dont think you can say that 40% as a borrowing requirement is a hard and fast rule, we for instance dont know this chaps financial situation/payment history and many other factors that can influence a lending decision.

Interesting comment in The Guardian. "Interest rates are far too high at 5%"

One can only assume that its a paper written by teenagers or people with very short memories.

Tony*T3

Original Poster:

20,911 posts

277 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Plotloss said:
Theres worse to come, without doubt but I dont think you can say that 40% as a borrowing requirement is a hard and fast rule, we for instance dont know this chaps financial situation/payment history and many other factors that can influence a lending decision.

Interesting comment in The Guardian. "Interest rates are far too high at 5%"

One can only assume that its a paper written by teenagers or people with very short memories.
The point is he now has no equity in the eyes of the valuations agent. According to them the value of his house for mortgage purposes has plumeted 80k!!!!! Therefore making his house both unsellable and un-remortgageable. He cant move his mortgage. End of story. He's gone from haveing a healty equity to having a house that he cant sell and a mortgage he cant possibly clear.

Plotloss

67,280 posts

300 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Bought April 2007 or similar?

Those 25 year fix deals that were floating about at the start of this year are probably looking like the dream ticket to many now.

CommanderJameson

22,096 posts

256 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
Plotloss said:
Theres worse to come, without doubt but I dont think you can say that 40% as a borrowing requirement is a hard and fast rule, we for instance dont know this chaps financial situation/payment history and many other factors that can influence a lending decision.

Interesting comment in The Guardian. "Interest rates are far too high at 5%"

One can only assume that its a paper written by teenagers or people with very short memories.
The point is he now has no equity in the eyes of the valuations agent. According to them the value of his house for mortgage purposes has plumeted 80k!!!!! Therefore making his house both unsellable and un-remortgageable. He cant move his mortgage. End of story. He's gone from haveing a healty equity to having a house that he cant sell and a mortgage he cant possibly clear.
Heh. The fact that the value of his house has fallen by nearly as much as mine is worth gives me a clue that his mortgage is probably considerably larger than mine.

cjs

11,681 posts

281 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Surely when the fixed rate is finished he will just go on the standard variable rate? The mortgage company can't just refuse this it must be in the agreement?

toppstuff

13,698 posts

277 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
Plotloss said:
Theres worse to come, without doubt but I dont think you can say that 40% as a borrowing requirement is a hard and fast rule, we for instance dont know this chaps financial situation/payment history and many other factors that can influence a lending decision.

Interesting comment in The Guardian. "Interest rates are far too high at 5%"

One can only assume that its a paper written by teenagers or people with very short memories.
The point is he now has no equity in the eyes of the valuations agent. According to them the value of his house for mortgage purposes has plumeted 80k!!!!! Therefore making his house both unsellable and un-remortgageable. He cant move his mortgage. End of story. He's gone from haveing a healty equity to having a house that he cant sell and a mortgage he cant possibly clear.
This is precisely why the impacts of the current problems are going to take time to filter through. We are a long way from seeing the end of this.

It is also why , IMHO, the Gubberment and the Bank of England simply MUST slash interest rates and stimulate the economy. Money has to start flowing again, and that includes mortgages and the buying and selling of houses. Then and only then, will a more sensible valuation for the house be made and so, in turn, this chap can re-mortgage at a sensible rate.



CommanderJameson

22,096 posts

256 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
cjs said:
Surely when the fixed rate is finished he will just go on the standard variable rate? The mortgage company can't just refuse this it must be in the agreement?
I think the problem is that the 2% (or whatever) jump up he'll get from moving to a variable rate from a fixed rate will give him a kick in the goolies.

raf_gti

4,257 posts

236 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
I'm not looking forward to 3 years down the line when our fixed rate is up. Paying far more for something which is 'worth' far less is a rather gut wrenching feeling!

Just out of interest, assuming the market were to stay more or less the same as it is now would any of you experts out there recommend paying more of a mortgage per month or saving up a greater lump sum to use as equity?

Plotloss

67,280 posts

300 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
toppstuff said:
Tony*T3 said:
Plotloss said:
Theres worse to come, without doubt but I dont think you can say that 40% as a borrowing requirement is a hard and fast rule, we for instance dont know this chaps financial situation/payment history and many other factors that can influence a lending decision.

Interesting comment in The Guardian. "Interest rates are far too high at 5%"

One can only assume that its a paper written by teenagers or people with very short memories.
The point is he now has no equity in the eyes of the valuations agent. According to them the value of his house for mortgage purposes has plumeted 80k!!!!! Therefore making his house both unsellable and un-remortgageable. He cant move his mortgage. End of story. He's gone from haveing a healty equity to having a house that he cant sell and a mortgage he cant possibly clear.
This is precisely why the impacts of the current problems are going to take time to filter through. We are a long way from seeing the end of this.

It is also why , IMHO, the Gubberment and the Bank of England simply MUST slash interest rates and stimulate the economy. Money has to start flowing again, and that includes mortgages and the buying and selling of houses. Then and only then, will a more sensible valuation for the house be made and so, in turn, this chap can re-mortgage at a sensible rate.
Does LIBOR have any relationship to the Base rate or is it simply a reflection of perceived risk of inter institutional lending by the wholesale markets?

cjs

11,681 posts

281 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
CommanderJameson said:
cjs said:
Surely when the fixed rate is finished he will just go on the standard variable rate? The mortgage company can't just refuse this it must be in the agreement?
I think the problem is that the 2% (or whatever) jump up he'll get from moving to a variable rate from a fixed rate will give him a kick in the goolies.
Yes but he new this when he took out the fixed deal, eventually he would have to go on the standard rate.

crossle

1,520 posts

281 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Tony*T3 said:
The point is he now has no equity ..... making his house both unsellable and un-remortgageable. He's gone from haveing a healty equity to having a house that he cant sell and a mortgage he cant possibly clear.
Welcome back to the real world of property ownership.... I was in exactly the same boat in 89/90, having bought unwisely at the top of the market and then watched as prices slid and interest rates went up to 15%.

All I could do was sit tight and wait for things to improve... I ended up going to Dubai and renting out my house, just to get away from it! When I eventually sold in 1999, I made a handsome £7000 profit....

Edited by crossle on Saturday 4th October 18:16

Fittster

20,120 posts

243 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Bit of inflation and all will be fine.

Naked Man

105 posts

217 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
house prices will be going up soon anway

anonymous-user

84 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Naked Man said:
house prices will be going up soon anway
rofl

CommanderJameson

22,096 posts

256 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
garyhun said:
Naked Man said:
house prices will be going up soon anway
rofl
Actually, he's got a point.

From here, this graph shows the trend clearly:



Onwards and upwards. The question is, can you afford to wait?


anonymous-user

84 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
CommanderJameson said:
garyhun said:
Naked Man said:
house prices will be going up soon anway
rofl
Actually, he's got a point.

From here, this graph shows the trend clearly:



Onwards and upwards. The question is, can you afford to wait?
I think the bit at the very right hand end it the "current" trend though - so my rofl remains!

Slaav

4,372 posts

240 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
Just try and renegotiate with the existing lender. If Remortgaging is not a solution, try calling and asking what deals are available or threaten to move away. The idiots on the other end of the line will normally offer something. If there was equity in the house in the first place, then there is not always a need to move lender every two or so years.

Who is the lender?

hal-finch

188 posts

222 months

Saturday 4th October 2008
quotequote all
It's a good job i don't understand any of this or i might give a crap.