Ask Katie

What are the house price predictions?

amsaltmarsh@yahoo.co.uk — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:31:30 +0100

I am a first time buyer who wants to buy a flat in London. Some people are saying to wait as prices are expected to fall by 12%-18% over the next 2 years nationally. Can this price drop be expected in London or other "hot spots"? London prices seem to be in a bubble that is not typical of the rest of the country.

The Charcol rate search wizard's top ten year fix

wendy@wendybarrett.co.uk — Mon, 19 May 2008 12:21:47 +0100

What are the best rates available in 10 year fixed rates?

Using a Payment holiday during maternity leave

diane@romarworkwear.com — Mon, 19 May 2008 11:09:56 +0100

I cant afford to make over payments but I need a mortgage where I can take payments holidays as we would like to start a family in the next few years and could not afford to pay our mortgage whilst I would only be on standard goverment maternity pay can you suggest a good company

Will you tell me about deals only available direct from lenders?

insure@blueyonder.co.uk — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:30:11 +0100

Will your adviser tell me about deals only available direct from lenders?

Buying for a dependent relative

critchley_ml@hotmail.com — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:04:33 +0100

My mother had a fall recently and after several weeks in hospital she is now staying with me as I live in a bungalow. We are very overcrowded so it is not an ideal situation. Her house is on the market for 89950 which is a realistic price. There have been about 5 viewings in as many weeks but no offers. She has seen a flat that she really likes close to me and my brother which is priced at 97950. My question is, can we help in any way to get the flat until the house sells ? Is it better to remortgage her house (she will put it into our names if necessary) or get a remortgage on one of our houses. Mine is valued at 225000 with 80000 mortgage and my brother's around 400000 with small mortgage. There is no mortgage on her house but we are not too keen on letting it out if we can avoid it. Can you help ?

Can I draw from my pension to use as a deposit?

badger327@btinternet.com — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:22:40 +0100

can you cash part of your pension to put down as a deposit on a house.We have been renting for a while and have no extra cash

Can I take a payment holiday if I'm looking for a job?

mooreze@msn.com — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:39:36 +0100

What reason for a payment holiday would be acceptable to my lender? I am on the verge of taking voluntary redundancy & want to take time off whilst looking for a suitable new post.

I'm overpaying... best to reduce the term or monthy payments?

sshaw101@hotmail.com — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:24:39 +0100

We have just started making overpayments on our mortgage beginning with £10,000 off, continuing with £200-£500 a month hopefully. Is it better to reduce the term or reduce the mortgage payment amount but continue paying the same? They have automatically reduced our payments so I'll just top up back to what it was. Is it better to ask for reduced term? Are there any consequences to your credit rating if you have zero mortgage or debts?

Need to improve to sell, but with little income and a credit blip

jane_thecity@yahoo.com — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:55:42 +0100

My ex boyfriend is selling the flat we lived in in West London. We are on very good terms and have been working together on getting it ready for sale. It was bought in 2000 for 72k and is now worth around 153,000. The mortgage (with Abbey National Mortgage Finance) stands at 74k and is in his name only. The bathroom (pink, 20 yrs old) and kitchen (orange, ditto) badly need replacing and we had planned to pay for this ourselves from his salary and my student funds (I'm a law p/g studying to be a barrister. Unfortunately he was made redundant a couple of months ago and can't contribute and my funding has changed, making it difficult for me too. The mortgage-provider isn't very helpful, even though the flat is empty and ready for sale as soon as the works are finished. What kind of financial option would enable us to replace the bathroom and kitchen so as to get the best price for the flat - a remortgage? a bridging loan? Any funds will be repaid immediately the flat is sold. BTW he has one CCJ - the insurers on our credit card refused to pay out on the - policy and the cc provider went to court - although we hope to have this set aside once our solicitor has proven that the insurers should have settled the claim.

A mortgage for newly-discharged ex-bankrupts

vickhar04@hotmail.co.uk — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:05:34 +0100

Are there still any lenders out there with deals for newly-discharged ex-bankrupts looking for a mortgage? I would be buying with someone else who has a 25%-30% deposit to put down.

Charcol does not charge a fee for advice

kelly.hodson@hotmail.co.uk — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:23:07 +0100

What fees do you charge?

Mortgage on a main residence... but in a holiday park?

vizionoptics@yahoo.co.uk — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:04:44 +0100

We are interested in purchasing a 'holiday home' the difference is we will be living in it 12 months of the year (1 weekend a month away)is this something we could get a mortgage on, its classed as a holiday home because it is on a holiday park site?

I can't sell but need to move

philip.hendry@bbc.co.uk — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:48:46 +0100

I have a house in my sole name on the market for £350,000 with £130,000 left on the mortgage. In the current climate it's not shifting. We don't want to lose the house we want to buy which we have agreed a fee of £440,000 for. I am married and my wife has no mortgage but earns about £35,000 per annum. Am thinking of getting a buy to let in her name for our current property using it to raise a 10% deposit on the new house and putting that solely in my name.....is this a sensible way to proceed in order not to lose the house we want to buy ? Or is a bridging loan a better option ?

Borrow more from my lender, or remortgage?

avril.webster@theaa.com — Tue, 06 May 2008 11:14:21 +0100

I have a mortgage of 100k which is on a fixed rate of 4.84% until 1.3.10 and need to borrow 60k for an extension. Is the best thing to borrow on a homebuyers loan from my existing provider? Or should I remortgage? If I go with my existing provider who is currently providing homeowners loans at 7.09% would it then be worth consolidating the amounts borrowed into a new combined mortgage in 2010?

I'm committed to buying, do I need Life/ illness insurance now?

becs.ten@virgin.net — Mon, 05 May 2008 22:31:51 +0100

I am buying a flat in Dubai. I can meet the first 3 payments and I will then need a mortgage to cover the rest. Although I won't need a mortgage for at least 8 months, I am concerned about insuring myself in case I became unable to get a mortgage, say due to illness etc.