Those hoping to remortgage to get a fixed mortgage are quickly finding out that it will be nearly impossible. Banks are raising the rates on fixed mortgages and including new fees that make it quite expensive to get this type of loan. Currently, anyone seeking a fixed mortgage will have to be prepared to pay higher closing costs as well as higher interest rates. Banks are also making it difficult to get an approval for a fixed mortgage, thanks to lower LTV ratios and stricter lending requirements that are shutting out many applicants, particularly those with bad credit.The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, stated recently, ‘The property industry will not be the only casualty in the fall-out from the credit crunch, with the high street and purveyors of a range of household goods, including furniture and white goods, also feeling the pinch,’Ray Boulger, at mortgage brokers Charcol, accepts the rising pressures on many owner-occupiers: “A year ago, you could get a maximum LTV ratio of 85% in the sub-prime mortgage sector, despite a heavy adverse credit rating. Now that is cut to 75%. Anybody who started with a maximum LTV probably wouldn’t now be able to remortgage.”
Related reading: Fixed Mortgage
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