mortgage

[crosspatch12]

My husband and i own our house worth about �250000. We have no mortgage but have done a lot of home improvements stupidly on credit cards thinking we could pay this off quickly. Can I now use the equity in my home to get a mortgage to repay these debts. Thanks

[raysparx]

Take out an equity release loan from your bank or building society,the interest rate is charged at the same rate as a mortgage, I did this to clear my overdraft and you know exactly what the payments will be every month,you can even pay it off early without penalties, do it now,don't keep paying those crooks.

GOOD LUCK

[Eels]

Be careful crosspatch - you currently have unsecured debts and you're planning to secure these on your home. Be very sure that's what you want to do before taking the plunge. Some determined budgeting might be a better option. What are the APRs on the cards? Some of them might need paid off urgently, some might be as well to wait. raysparx's suggestion might be the best option for you, but do take the time to work it all out carefully on paper first - find out what you owe, what you need (need, not want!) to spend on living each month and how much you can afford to pay back monthly. Compare that to the minimum payments, the APRs and total outstanding amount, before working out exactly what a loan will cost you ie what you will actually end up paying out.

[lady_p_gold]

I agree with what has just been said, be very careful, plus the fact you might not think you will do it but once the credit cards are clear it is soooo tempting to use them again just for 'one small thing' and before you know where you are you have credit cards and a secured loan ... have you thought about getting a personal loan from the bank, that is what I did, its not ideal but at least it is not quite such a high rate as the cards.

[raysparx]

I agree with what Eels and lady p say ,you must learn from it,cut the cards up,and forget them but the Equity interest rate will be lower than a bank loan,and you can choose the period of time it is paid back. Also as Eels says you have got to sit down and have a serious talk about the correct way for you to go. Cheers, Ray

I like the bit Eels put about NEED not WANT there is one hell of a difference.

[themas]

Have you movedf the debts onto credit cards with a 0% interest offer? This could help you for 6 to 9 months because everything you pay would then go towards the debt rather thanquite a bit of it going to interest.

[WoWo]

"Be careful crosspatch - you currently have unsecured debts and you're planning to secure these on your home."

While it's important to keep that in mind, you should be told that even "unsecured" debts can lead to you losing your home. Worst case scenario is you could be taken to court and a charge be placed on your property, they can just kick you out like they can with a mortgaged property but it's not as simple as unsecured = no chance of losing your home.

I'm not saying that you fall into this category (you don't say how much you owe), what I'm trying to say is that using equity release may well be a good idea and don't dismiss it out of hand because it is secured against the property.