Terminally ill hospital worker trapped in her home by sky-high mortgage
CHRISTINE KINSELLA drew up a bucket list of dream holidays when she was diagnosed with a terminal lung disease.
But instead, the hospital worker will spend her final years working to pay off her mortgage, which she says is stuck on a “stupidly” high interest rate.
Christine’s mortgage problems began a decade ago when her lender, Northern Rock, went bust.
It led to her and thousands of others being trapped on a sky-high mortgage tariff.
She has repeatedly tried to move to a more competitive rate.
But the best her new lender — Landmark Mortgages — says it can do is a variable “loyalty rate” of 4.54 per cent, down from 4.79 per cent.
The average two-year fixed rate this month is 2.51 per cent, according to comparison site.
She cannot switch to another lender without borrowing more or extending the term of her mortgage, which she has never wanted and which now is not possible because of her illness.
She said: “When Northern Rock went bust I contacted numerous lenders but had no joy.
Christine added: “My friend’s son borrowed £70,000 on his mortgage, which is what I originally borrowed, and is only paying back £230 a month, I’ve got to pay £565 because of this rate.
"If the interest rate went down, it might mean I only have to work for two more years instead of four.”
And that extra cash would make an enormous difference to her life.
This is because of new rules that insist on strict affordability checks on anyone applying for a mortgage, even if they already have one and are just trying to get a cheaper fix.
If they fail the checks, they have to stay on a standard variable tariff which, ludicrously, will be much more expensive than a fixed deal.
The report also warned a further 120,000 people cannot get a cheaper fix than the one they are currently on because they have a mortgage which has been sold to a firm that is not authorised to offer new mortgage deals.
But Christine’s situation highlights a further problem.
Some debts, which seem significant sums for the individual homeowner, are too small for other lenders to take an interest in.
Mortgage expert David Hollingworth confirmed that many mortgage providers have a minimum loan amount, which is typically around £25,000.
But he added that some would consider smaller loans switched on a like-for-like basis.