Financial Times - Home improvers hit by remortgage problems
Homeowners who have often spent tens of thousands of pounds on loft conversions, basement dig-outs or kitchen extensions are being locked out of remortgage deals that reflect the higher value of their property, following the ban on physical surveys.
Aaron Strutt, product director at mortgage broker Trinity Financial, told the Financial Times, one client had spent £100,000 refurbishing a property and was due to remortgage in May after coming to the end of their fixed-rate deal.
A combination of the surveyor problem and changes to the way banks have reduced their income-related criteria meant they could not refinance to account for the value they had added. “For the moment, they will need to swap to an exit penalty-free tracker rate to avoid an expensive standard variable rate with their existing lender and wait for the market to improve.”
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