If you’ve been reading the headlines lately, you might have seen that the RBS-NatWest group have increased their rate of interest on mortgages, with other lenders likely to follow suit. The current increase is likely to add an extra £300 a year to the cost of a £100,000 mortgage.
That might not seem like a lot of money when spread over 12 months, but for some individuals, couples and families, it will be the straw that broke the camel’s back. If you are one of the millions of families struggling with your finances and personal debts, the last thing you want is a mortgage hike that leaves you scrambling around trying to find even more cash each month.
If you happen to have an RBS-NatWest mortgage and the news seems like a disaster for you, it’s time to sit down, get a pad out and jot down all of your expenses and the payments that you are expected to pay on your loans and credit cards. If the total, including your personal debt payments, is impossibly high, compared to the income you are bringing in, you need to take action now.
If you have a mortgage with a different lender, get help as fast as you can, if you know that a mortgage interest increase will tip the balance impossibly out of your favour. Getting help before things become disastrous is the important thing when you have personal debts. There’s nothing to be gained by hanging on in the hope that things will get better and making your personal debt situation even worse.
If you want to just have a chat about the situation and discuss the ‘what if’ question in relation to your mortgage, it’s easy to do. Debt advisers are always on the end of a phone line at Debt Free Direct debt advisers and you can have an initial, no obligation chat that will help crystallise your situation and yur options. Debt counselling can provide a huge relief in itself, allowing you to just get things off your chest and admit the situation to a third party, who will not judge, but will definitely provide suggestions and things to consider.
Mortgages are a huge commitment for many of us, so any upward trend in interest rates is very bad news. Missing mortgage payments immediately puts your home in jeopardy; so don’t allow this to happen, if there is any way of avoiding it.