Can’t Wait to Renovate? We’ll Show You How, Right Now!

Meet Susan and Jared

Susan and Jared are both in their 50s and have reached that stage in their lives when they want to live for today rather than wait until tomorrow. When it comes to making any improvements to their home, if they can find a route to raising money so those renovations can be done straight away, then that’s the one they’d prefer to choose. So, as their existing mortgage deal was about to expire, this gave them the perfect opportunity to explore their options. 

Based in Chester-le-Street, County Durham, Susan, a secondary school teacher, and Jared, a manager for an environmental charity organisation, first bought their current home in 2020. At the time, their finances weren’t in a great place, but they did manage to secure a mortgage through a specialist lender. Although the interest rate was higher than those available on the high street at the time, opting for a 5-year fixed-rate mortgage deal proved to be a smart move, as rates soon began to escalate in the following years. 

When buying their house, they’d hired the help of a local mortgage broker. But it soon became apparent that the broker was unable to give them the support they needed, and Susan ended up having to take control of the process herself. This meant Susan also had to take on all the stress and delays that can come with trying to get a mortgage when you’re unfamiliar with the process. 

With these bad memories still pretty clear in their minds, Susan and Jared promised themselves that when it came time to remortgage, they’d put all of this in the hands of someone who knew what they were doing. And through Experian, they spotted the chance to speak with Haysto. 

How did we help?

Susan and Jared’s remortgage involved combining their current mortgage with raising further funds from the equity in their property for home renovations, namely: a new bathroom, new stair bannisters, carpeting, new windows, and a new roof for their garage. 

One year after buying their home, they took out a second mortgage to convert their garage into an additional living space and to clear off some other existing debts. The balance for the second mortgage would also need to be added to their new mortgage, giving Susan and Jared the benefit of bringing all of their home loans under one easy-to-manage monthly repayment. 

Susan and Jared’s initial concern was that there wouldn’t be enough equity in their home to cover all the things they wanted to do. Despite the lender’s valuation coming in £4k below what they thought the house was worth, they were still able to secure a new mortgage for just over £156,000, which covered the main mortgage, secured loan and the majority of the renovation work they had planned. 

There were some complexities involved with their application, mainly around Susan’s ability to produce a recent payslip to confirm her earnings (Susan had only recently returned to work following surgery, which also required a period of recuperation, and had not, at the time, received a full recent payslip). However, their mortgage advisor, Tom, was able to clarify Susan’s earnings with the lender by requesting a letter from her employer confirming her annual salary. 

Once this was cleared up, their mortgage offer was approved with Accord Mortgages, with a better interest rate than their previous deal. This meant they pay less each month overall and get to do all the renovations they wanted to their home. 

What Susan and Jared say

“After the experience we had when we first bought our house, it felt so good this time to be able to pass everything onto the team at Haysto and let them take care of everything for us. The fee we’ve paid was worth it, because the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes is immense. It’s such a comprehensive service, and the online portal is so simple to use, allowing you to check up on where your application’s at whenever you want. 

Also, we absolutely loved the team concept that Haysto uses, with specialists involved at specific stages of the journey. It makes you feel as though you’re really being cared for, with someone only a quick message away and everyone working on your behalf.”