Hi, my mum and dad are both in their 80`s, and dad is due to come out of hospital next week after a heart attack. My mum wants to do some alterations to their house which will benefit my dad, but hasn`t got the money in savings to be able to do it. Their house is valued at about £145,000 and they have a mortgage of around £17,000 with no other debts, Their quote for the alterations is just short of £10,000. My questions are would the mortgage company (Halifax) let my parents remortgage for the extra £10,000 at their age? If not would I be able to be added to the existing mortgage and then using my income get them the £10,000 they need through a remortgage? My income is £25,000 with no debts other than private rent of £800 plus bills a month, which are split between me and my wife?

Thanks in Advance

Max

Hi Max,

Sorry to hear about your Dad, I hope he has a speedy recovery.

In terms of your question, it is unlikely that your Mum and Dad's Mortgage lender will allow them to borrow more at their current age, but its always worth asking. Each lender has a different lending criteria. You can ring and just ask what the maximum age they can take any customer up to is. You don't need to be on the Mortgage to ask that

In terms of you being added to the Mortgage, it is unlikely to help because most Mortgage lenders will go off the oldest persons age on the mortgage rather than the youngest so the very fact that your mum and dad are on the Mortgage will mean your age is unlikely to count for anything.

There are some lender who offer life time mortgages, this may be an option, but you do need to be very careful with this type of contract and if unsure seek advice from an IFA

Of course, the other thing Max is to get in touch with your Mum and Dad's local council. It may be because of your Mum and Dad's age and your Dad's illness and reasons for needing to make these changes to their home that they qualify for financial assitance with the modifications. Always worth checking and of course would mean they didn't have to borrow anything to do it.

I really hope this helps

Best wishes

Sean Hughes
http://www.ifacompare.co.uk/

Hi Max,

Halifax are a very flexible lender and have been one of the best for clients who are over retirement age. However due to recent times many lenders have tightned there criteria making it harder and harder to do things that were simple a few years ago. Halifax maybe able to give what is called a "further advance" for the £10,000 needed however this is subject to normal mortgage criteria so would be dependant on the details of your parents etc.
Feel free to email me at and I will be more than willing to assist you further.

Regards