Shitting myself over mortgage

[MortagageHell]

Name changed for this as I’ve told people in real life.

We have two mortgages with HSBC, one of which’s fixed rate runs out in December and the other which runs out in January. (Had to take a second when we moved house and were locked in to a fixed deal on the first one)

We could’ve fixed the one that runs out in December sooner but didn’t want to have to pay two arrangement fees so had hoped to do it together with the second one.

Of course, while waiting for this to happen, everything has gone to hell.

Tried to fix with HSBC last week at 3.72% and was going to pay the redemption fee on the second mortgage but it couldn’t be done online without paying two arrangement fees at £999 per one. Spoke to them over the phone and they confirmed it’s a problem with their system that means it can’t be done online. Had an appointment with an advisor the next day but in the meantime the rates have gone up overnight - over 1% to 4.92%.

The advisor sent an email to their rates team to ask if they would honour the original rate I had been trying to go ahead with. This was on Thursday and we’ve still not heard anything ☹️

As a back up we also applied for a mortgage with NatWest at 3.78% on Thursday. This offer has now been pulled on their website. Does anyone know if they can change the rate after you’ve applied for a mortgage?

And has anyone ever heard of HSBC honouring previous rates due to an error with their website. I know it’s highly unlikely.

I basically haven’t slept since Thursday amid all this stress. I’m so worried we won’t be able to afford our bills. I feel physically ill and struggling to think of anything else.

Thanks so much if you got this far

Have you seen the state of the housing market. A friend just took over 6 months to move with it falling through 3 times along the way. Absolutely mad suggestion

Well excuse me for putting a suggestion forward. You did not actually mention that you work and have care obligations nearby to begin with and the "south east" is a bloody big place where house prices can vary a lot.

If you are going to be asking for help then perhaps dont be do bloody rude with comments you dont agree with.

Usually you can book a mortgage 6 months in advance so you shouldn’t need to pay for the redemption you would just pay your December mortgage at the SVR for one month which is likely to be less.

I also really recommend London and Country if you need a broker

Unfortunately HSBC is 120 days (just recently gone up from 90) so can only arrange a new rate as of today for the end of Jan mortgage without incurring the redemption charge.

HSBC’s SVR is 5.04. Or was last week

We just remortgaged with hsbc. Two mortgages on same property similar to you due to a house move. The advisor told us To pay both arrangement fees and that they would then refund the second one. We are lucky to have remortgaged a few weeks ago. Mortgage up in December. Increase of a few hundred

Hope you get it sorted OP. I've always been on a decent salary and never really had to worry much about money but I'm constantly worried at the moment. Costs are spiralling out of control.

😭 I wish she’d said this. She just said “computer says no!”

Glad you got yours sorted though

Sorry you’re right. Shouldn’t have snapped at you. Feeling very stressed and worried at the moment.

All children ill, work manic and then this on top means I’m not in a good place.

Apologies 💐

This isn’t true. Our hsbc mortgage began today and we arranged it first week of May! We did it through London and Country brokers who found better deals than we’d found ourselves. Speak to L&C, fix a rate to start at the end of the fixed terms you have.

Childcare gets easier from age 3 with twins. I don’t think a £600,000 home can be described as “modest” in the south east. I realised it won’t be a mansion but it’s still more expensive than most families on your earnings.

Have you spoken to a broker? The headline rates for major banks are not necessarily what you’ll pay if you have access to the whole market.

FWIW, I was offered 4.2% on a five year fix on Friday (lower mortgage than you, but lower income and higher LTV).

Same op, my income is a third of what it was a year ago and my fixed rate ends in Dec, I’ve got savings to top up for a few months however it’s likely we will lose the house. The area I live in hasn’t seen much growth over the past 10 years since I bought it so I know many people will likely go into negative equity if prices even reduce a little.

I haven’t spoken to a broker.

I think it’ll be too late now. So many mortgages have been pulled even over the weekend. When I had a look earlier there was nothing available under 4%

I’m so sorry 😢

This is all so utterly horrendous.

Really hope you don’t lose your house. I can’t imagine how worrying this must be for you x

Seriously, OP, speak to a broker. You won’t know what’s on offer til you do. I was properly panicking early in the week (having the absolute worse timing ever, I had an offer accepted last Saturday) but the broker found way better deals than I expected. The headlines were all “nothing available under 5%”. But that just wasn’t true. And the deals I could find included arrangement fees, but many deals the broker found have cash back (offsetting the arrangement fee).

Even the banks themselves admit that the deals on their websites don’t include offers available only via brokers. Don’t stress until you know the full situation. It may not be as bad as you think. And once you’ve spoken to an expert you’ll know what choices you have. Right now, it’s all uncertainty.

Another vote for London and county very very helpful

Thank you all so much for your advice yesterday. Appreciate it.

Good news - HSBC called this morning and have agreed to honour the 3.72 rate. We’re so relieved

I mean our mortgage is going up by almost £300 per month which is shit but it could be so much worse

I would sell and move up north and be mortgage free.

Utter madness to have such an enormous mortgage when it could buy a big house outright elsewhere.

Surely your job could be done remotely until you get new jobs?

FFS

How can you possibly say ‘surely your job can be done remotely’?

Plenty of jobs can’t be done remotely

And OP has already clarified the family situation