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Support for our mortgage customers
We understand you might be worried about the rising costs of living - we’re here to help. To support you through this difficult time, we’ve introduced a range of options that could help you stay on top of your mortgage payments.
We’ve signed up to the government’s Mortgage Charter
This means we’ve agreed to work closely with the government to give mortgage customers the right support.
Mortgage Charter help and support
These options are available as part of the Mortgage Charter. They won’t impact your credit score.
Making interest only payments or extending your mortgage term will mean paying more interest overall. You should continue with your current monthly payments if you can manage them comfortably.
Please read through all the information provided about each option before applying for any of them.
Can't make your mortgage payments?
Switch to a new mortgage deal
Get peace of mind by securing a new fixed deal and switch as soon as possible or, start when your current deal comes to an end.
This might be suitable if you:
- live in the mortgaged property and are up to date with your payments
- have 6 months or less left on a fixed or tracker deal
- are currently on a variable interest rate mortgage
- haven’t got an application to make changes to your mortgage in progress.
Make interest only payments
Make interest only payments for six months to reduce your monthly payment amount and help get your budget back on track.
This might be suitable if you:
- are up to date with your payments and don’t have a Buy to Let mortgage
- don’t already make interest only payments on all of your mortgage
- aren’t currently taking a mortgage payment holiday
- haven’t got an application to borrow more on your mortgage in progress.
Extend your mortgage term
Extend your mortgage term to reduce your monthly payment amount and help you budget better for the long-term.
This might be suitable if you:
- are up to date with your payments
- are looking to reduce your monthly payments for a longer period of time
- understand you’ll be paying your mortgage back later in life.
Should I make interest only payments or extend my mortgage term?
You can temporarily make interest only payments for a maximum of six months, to give you some time to get back on track with your budget. With a term extension, you could make reduced payments for longer. Both options mean you’ll pay back more overall, but a term extension could mean you’ll be paying your mortgage later on in life.
If you extend your mortgage term past your planned retirement age, we’ll need to ask you some questions about your income. You can choose to go back to your original term within the first 6 months without an affordability check.
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Can I consider all three options?This will depend on your individual circumstances. Not every option might be suitable for you, and each option will have a different impact on your mortgage, so make sure you understand how they work.
Which option should I select first?
Again, this will depend on your individual circumstances. Before choosing any option, it’s important to think about the impact it will have on your mortgage by selecting it first. For example, if you’re on a variable interest rate mortgage, or your current fixed or tracker deal is coming to an end, you might want to think about switching to a new deal first. Any term extension or interest only payments made after that will be based on your new mortgage deal.
If I take interest only fixed payments, can I still switch to a new mortgage deal and extend my term?
Yes. Your interest only payments will be fixed for six months. If you choose to switch to a new mortgage deal or extend your term within these six months, your new deal will start as planned, although your payments won’t change until after your interest only payments have ended.
Any changes in interest rate will apply to your mortgage, but not your payments. Once your reduced payment period comes to an end, we’ll write to confirm your new increased monthly payment amount and total mortgage cost, including any interest added because of interest rate changes.
Can I extend my mortgage term while making interest only payments?
Yes, although you might prefer to wait until the end of the interest only period, so you can figure things out properly once you’ve returned to full monthly payments on your new mortgage balance.
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Mortgage details:Remaining balance: £200,000
Remaining term: 25 years
Interest rate: 5%
Current monthly payment: £1169.18These examples are for illustrative purposes only and assume there are no other changes to the mortgage over the remaining term.
Cancelling an interest only payment arrangement
If you decide to cancel the payment arrangement before the six months comes to an end, you can let us know by completing our cancellation form.
Please remember, you can only apply once.
Cancelling a term extension in the first six months
You’ll be able to cancel your term extension in the first six months without us needing to do an affordability check by completing our cancellation form.
Can’t make your mortgage payments?
We're here to help you figure this out. The sooner you get in touch to let us know, the more options you’ll have.
Dealing with financial difficulty
We've put together some guides to help you manage your money and understand the support available to you.