Mortgage term end for Ian and Lisa

When looking to purchase a property, there are 2 main types of home-buyer loans available: interest-only mortgages and repayment mortgages. Depending on personal circumstances, both have their advantages and disadvantages with the most popular being repayment mortgages, but like any loan, it’s a commitment and they need to be repaid by the end of the agreed term.

Making the right choice

With the end of their interest only mortgage term coming up on their Wakefield home, Ian and Lisa decided it was a better option for them to sell the property rather than make the expected final payment or renew the mortgage.

“Our 25-year mortgage term was about to expire, and we had no way of re-paying the amount owed at the end, so we decided to put the house on the market and move into a rented property,” explains Ian

With the market being so hot, Ian and Lisa listed their home with PurpleBricks, and within a short time they received an offer.

“We were delighted when we agreed the offer, we had a lot of interest and it felt good knowing our property was off the market and could plan our next move,” said Ian.

A frustrating set back

Sadly, the couples joy was short-lived as within a few weeks their buyer pulled out of the sale leaving Ian and Lisa in limbo, with their mortgage deadline fast approaching. With only a small window of time to sell, and PurpleBricks quoting at least 4 months to complete if they found a new buyer, the couple needed to find a solution to get their home sold as soon as possible before their mortgage expired.

“When our buyer dropped out it was really annoying and left us in a very stressful situation. Having to find a new buyer and then deal with the lengthy conveyancing process, we decided the timings wouldn’t work for us and began to look at companies who could buy our own directly from us instead of waiting on the open market,” said Ian. “I was familiar with home-buying companies, I’d had a few letters arrive in the post when our Wakefield home when on the market, many making empty promises that didn’t materialise. But, when I received a letter from Spring offering to buy my home, it was different and it stood out by a mile, so I began to do my homework on Spring and contacted them for an offer.”

Choosing the right company

Ian was right to research home-buying companies, it is vital to ensure you sell to a reliable and trusted company. There are many unscrupulous home-buying companies operating who pose as ‘cash buyers’ but are instead a ‘broker’ and don’t have the funds available, or many make high cash offers on the onset to tie you in and then drop the price last minute, forcing homeowners to accept a much lower offer.

“Spring had great reviews on Trustpilot, many that went into a lot of detail. The reviews also mentioned some of the staff in person, so it was nice to know exactly who I would be dealing with - it felt more familiar when I called,” explained Ian.

After chatting with Shah, a Spring Property Advisor, and completing a short questionnaire about the property, the couple decided selling their home directly to Spring was the right way forward.

“Spring could buy the house when it suited us and most importantly the sale would fit in with the end of the mortgage term date, it was ideal and the price worked for us also, we were really pleased and also very relieved,” said Ian. “Shah was my main point of contact initially and great at keeping us updated, he was fast at responding to emails and all the information he provided was easy to understand. We also dealt with Rebecca when she presented our final offer following the independent valuations and RICS survey and again she was extremely helpful and explained the next steps clearly.”

A fresh start

Now settled in their new property in Barnsley, which is only 12 miles from their previous Wakefield home, meaning family and friends are still close by, Ian and Lisa are relieved everything worked out.

“We had mixed emotions leaving our old house, but our new property is in a great location and Lisa’s commute to work is now a lot shorter too, plus she’s enjoying being back home where she grew up. Selling our home to Spring worked well for us, it was a positive experience, really easy and straightforward.”

Thank you, Ian and Lisa, for choosing Spring and all the team wish you the very best of luck and many years of happiness in your new home.

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