Lower LTV ratio on mortgage

StarBright01

Hi does anyone have any experience on reducing the LTV ratio on a mortgage? Our mortgage was taken out 4 years ago and our fixed rate is up in May next year. We have had work done on the house since our last valuation would this help or not? What are the steps?

Alkers

Yeah done it twice, just contact your bank and say you had work done and want a revaluation. They have a list of approved valuers or they just appoint one. It's about 100e - 120e iirc.

StarBright01

Thanks. Do you need to be out of your variable rate to get this reassessed? I thought someone had said this to me but maybe I’m wrong.

Alkers

You need to be on variable rate, if your fixed you may have to break it

AndyBoBandy

I pushed my sister to do this when they moved home to Ireland... they bought a house & immediately renovated it thus increasing it's value, so they had it re-valued and as such fell into a lower LTV band and saved themselves I think about €40-€50 a month... So it's absolutely worth doing..

I did similar a few years before that when I rang my bank looking for a better rate and they informed me that as my LTV was now in a lower banding (thanks to regularly overpaying), I could get a better rate from them.. I went from 4.3% down to 3.9% - Note they didn't contact me informing me of this, but rather it was me who initiated the discussion......

You might not even have to of had work done in the house, as the housing market alone could push you into a better LTV bracket..... (i.e. bought for €300k, but now worth €400k..)

Grumpypants

The bank likely has a generic valuation based on location and size. I know Ulster do. I checked that and I was down to 38% LTV so could get the lower rates without needed a valuation to be done.

JohnnyChimpo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119610146#Comment_119610146

You can get the valuation done anytime, I forget depending on the bank whether it's valid for 3 or 6 months. IF you're not planning on changing lenders, then get it done ~2 months before the end of your fix (bank should have sent you a notice about the impending end of your fixed rate by then with a notice of your potential new rates), the valuer should give you the number and then copy you on the email they send to the bank. From this you can easily determine your LTV for yourself, and whether your current lender can offer you a better rate (use bonkers.ie or similar to show all available rates)

spaceHopper

We did it. Get an approved valuer, if you have a B3 or better BER get an up to date BER cert and get a "green" mortgage. I'd say get all the paperwork now and talk to the bank before the current fixed term runs out

stargazer 68

Interested in this. I contacted my bank a few months ago and they told me they needed to request a revaluation and that I couldn't do it myself, so basically get lost!

Will have to check if we are still on our fixed rate. Probably are.