James Hillon, head of mortgages at The Co-operative Bank said: “As a responsible lender, we want to work with our customers to ensure that they are managing their finances and understand their needs and requirements at various stages of their life.
“We have started a regular communication programme with all of our interest only customers to review their financial situation and ensure they fully understand their responsibility to repay their loan.
“There are a number of ways customers can close the gap between their outstanding mortgage balance and the value of their current investment, but it is important that customers recognise that the sooner they take action the better.”
According to the Co-op the options include:
- Switching - customers can convert the outstanding balance of their loan to a capital and repayment mortgage over a suitable term up to a maximum age of 75 years of age at the end of the term. There will be no charge for this and this option will ensure that the mortgage will be repaid at the end of the term.
- Overpay - customers making additional repayments have the opportunity to reduce their mortgage balance more quickly than on an current interest only plan, reducing both the amount outstanding on their loan as well as the amount of interest they have to pay each month.
- Extend - customers may choose to extend the term on their interest only mortgage, giving them more time to ensure their repayment vehicle has sufficient funds to repay the mortgage balance by the end of the new term. Customers could then review their existing investment or savings plan, start an additional investment or savings plan or progress alternative options.
