Any suggestions on how to finance a new motorhome?

[CustomBuild]

I wonder if anyone here has experience in using any form of home equity loan to purchase a new motorhome or if there are better options via other channels, excluding selling dealer finance?

One other question would be how quickly home equity or other kinds of loans could be arranged, does it takes days or weeks?

If anyone has any suggestions on brokers or agents that might be worth contacting I’d certainly appreciate it.

 

[rolosroller]

Rob a

 

[Carpmart]

Lots of sources… it will depend on your credit rating which is the best to use.

Can you not just go to the high street… a good credit rating will give a competitive rate still.

 

[CustomBuild]

Lots of sources… it will depend on your credit rating which is the best to use.

Can you not just go to the high street… a good credit rating will give a competitive rate still.

I’m a total newbie at this. I didn’t even realise there was a credit rating system in the UK. I guess I need to do some research on that too.

 

[Lenny HB]

Work and save?

Too old-fashioned an idea?

That's what we have done.

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[Jim]

I've known of a few people who extended their mortgage to release cash. Essentially, this is another loan, so you'd need to show you can pay, I'm not an expert but I imagine that it is safer than equity release.

All the main dealers are hooked up with specialist lenders who lend over a longer term than your bank might give you, but I doubt that it's the cheapest money.

My advice would be borrow as little as possible. You can have just as much fun in a 10 year old motorhome than in a new one, probably with a lot less hassle too. Best of luck

 

[nicholsong]

That's what we have done.

Lenny, you obviously saw my post as follows, since you quoted it

"Work and save?

Too old-fashioned an idea?"

The original has since disappeared.

Geoff

 

[Minxy]

The cheapest way is to extend/increase your mortgage assuming you can do so without penalty. We bought a new bungalow by remortgaging our home, we originally intended to move to the new bungalow and sell our old one but it didn't happen so I stead we rented the new one out. It was by far the safest and cheapest way to do it. Nowadays you could look at getting a 'free loan' by part-paying with 0% credit cards with no or low fees for a while but they aren't as readily available as they used to be.

 

[Jim]

Lenny, you obviously saw my post as follows, since you quoted it

"Work and save?

Too old-fashioned an idea?"

The original has since disappeared.

Geoff

I deleted it, and if you look at your notifications you'll see a note of explanation as to why.

It was deleted because it was a sarcastic response to a question. It's the particular smart arse type of response that gets forums a bad name, the very type of response that deters people from posting.

Good manners! Too old-fashioned for you, Geoff?

 

[Northernraider]

My mammy taught me to live within my means .....I always have so I have no debts as a result.

Is it your first motorhome? , I'd say new isn't always better and as it's a depreciating asset buying an older model might be a good start.

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[1967bowesj]

I deleted it, and if you look at your notifications you'll see a note as to why.

It was deleted because it was a sarcastic response to a question. It's the particular smart arse type of response that gets forums a bad name, the very type of response that deters people from posting.

Good manners! Too old-fashioned for you, Geoff?

Thought I was going mad or had slipped nicholsong on ignore lol.

To the op, take as much advice as you can and don’t rush in to anything.
The old saying “fools rush in” really does mean a lot in motorhome purchases.
Establish how you will finance and an upper limit, then start looking what that gets you.
Then look around some more as this will be a big commitment and purchase

Good luck

 

[PP Bear]

I opted for the bank loan, plus savings. I borrowed £18k over 5 years and put in another £12k, which the bank seemed to like. The £18k payback was £21k, which was manageable on a monthly basis and it got me into a 6 year old motorhome, which was the exact model and layout that I wanted. Still got the same one, nearly 20 years old, of which I’ve loved for 14 years and it’s still going strong.

As Jim said, you can have just as much fun in an older van and usually any warranty issues have normally been resolved.

Good luck in your search

 

[Shrimp]

Don’t buy a brand new motorhome, go for one a few years old, they have a long life and an older van will have had its wrinkles ironed out!

 

[Minxy]

Are you going to tell us which MH you've got your eye on?

 

[MisterB]

another PLUS for buying pre loved. there are some cracking bargains out there and if its your first motorhome, you get chance to try it out before committing heavily with finance, in case it just 'isn't you; ...

as an example, we bought a bought a sea going power cruiser, had it converted to freshwater, added some bits to get a Broads licence and and put it on the Norfolk Broads, we used it twice in two years, it just 'wasn't us' ......

theres always a few that come up on the classifieds that are worth considering, read the guide on buying second hand in the resources section ......

what layout and number of berths and belts are you looking for? you could even place an advert for what you want ,,,,

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[Dave Scadding]

Are you over 55 with a private pension?
25% tax free sum?

 

[CaptainPaul]

Some good advice here as you'd expect from this forum, as for my tuppence worth I would forget about all the brand new shiny stuff if its beyond your reach and look for a decent 2nd hand van that's maybe closer to your budget there's some great bargains to be had if you look hard enough, our very first van was €14,000 (approx £10k) and we still smile at some of the great times & fun we had in it and it seemed a lot better built than some of the new stuff around

 

[Tonks]

I bought my first one by extending my mortgage when my interest rate was about 2.5%.
Bought the second on finance for reasons I won't go into here, but it was MUCH cheaper going the mortgage extension route. I paid that back by overpaying my mortgage monthly. Just have to be careful not to go over the amount you're permitted to repay each year by your mortgage lender as otherwise you can inadvertently incur penalties, which can be steep.
I'd definitely NOT go the equity release route without having exhausted every other option first.

Both of my vans were bought used. The first one was three years old, the second four, and as Jim says, I've had just as much enjoyment with them as I would've if I'd bought new. That's not to say I'd never consider buying new if I could afford it! But my van is now too personalised to me for serious consideration of a change for another five years at least.

 

[Zoobec]

We bought a van and converted it ourselves in order to be able to afford to have one.

 

[Landy Andy]

I just searched the internet for the best loan deal, filled an online form in and got the money at a far better rate than the street banks. I financed my used van over 5 years, but paid it off in three without any penalty. Don’t stretch yourself, and understand that there will be other costs, and using the van isn’t free either.

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[Carpmart]

Are you over 55 with a private pension?
25% tax free sum?

Yes a potentially useful source, but there is a future cost, so needs careful consideration based on the individual’s circumstances…

 

[CustomBuild]

I've known of a few people who extended their mortgage to release cash. Essentially, this is another loan, so you'd need to show you can pay, I'm not an expert but I imagine that it is safer than equity release.

All the main dealers are hooked up with specialist lenders who lend over a longer term than your bank might give you, but I doubt that it's the cheapest money.

My advice would be borrow as little as possible. You can have just as much fun in a 10 year old motorhome than in a new one, probably with a lot less hassle too. Best of luck

Thanks Jim, I appreciate your advice.

Unfortunately for me, or maybe it’s fortunate for me, I don’t have a mortgage so I can’t consider an extension. It’s interesting to know that those products (mortgage extensions) exist though.

The dealer option is out because they are in Germany and don’t provide any options for non residents.

I’m totally onboard with borrowing as little as possible. Originally I was expecting to sell a house with plenty of time to spare but that has just fallen through so I kind of got derailed. I guess I could consider mortgaging a house if there are lenders that would do that for a MH purchase.

The factory delivery date was confirmed yesterday as week 20, so I have around 6 - 8 weeks to get myself sorted.

If only I had a crystal ball.

 

[CustomBuild]

The cheapest way is to extend/increase your mortgage assuming you can do so without penalty. We bought a new bungalow by remortgaging our home, we originally intended to move to the new bungalow and sell our old one but it didn't happen so I stead we rented the new one out. It was by far the safest and cheapest way to do it. Nowadays you could look at getting a 'free loan' by part-paying with 0% credit cards with no or low fees for a while but they aren't as readily available as they used to be.

The word mortgage is starting to look interesting and I’ll have a look in a bit more detail.

Any recommendations on how to find an online based lender or broker?

0% credit cards brings back many memories of the old days. There was a time we would jump card to card for the sign up incentives. A fun way to make some extra money if you could handle the mental stress of making sure everything was paid in full before any fees kicked in.

 

[carolyn]

Oh dear, that does explain the sudden need for cash. As it’s a brand new van that’s a hefty chunk. Presumably you’re still going to sell your house. I would have thought your best bet would be a loan at the lowest interest rate you can get but with monthly payments you can afford now ie over 3 or 5 or 7 years and then when your house sells just pay the loan off .You’ll seen forget the interest you’ve paid and that’s probably the quickest option with most flexibility.

 

[VXman]

I’m a total newbie at this. I didn’t even realise there was a credit rating system in the UK. I guess I need to do some research on that too.

Not in the way that you have a number attached to you. When you apply for credit a company will do a search on you and your financial history and from that will calculate a rating for you.

From google AI - "In the UK, the three main credit reference agencies (CRAs) are Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion, which collect and store information to create credit reports used by lenders and other service providers"

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[Geistguy]

My thoughts are, sit down and work out what you can comfortably afford in repayments and the get the best deal you can for that based on that amount. It can be frightening but also work out the total amount you will repay. Most dealers are overstocked at the moment, they also earn commission on the finance deal so bargain hard.

 

[CustomBuild]

My mammy taught me to live within my means .....I always have so I have no debts as a result.

Is it your first motorhome? , I'd say new isn't always better and as it's a depreciating asset buying an older model might be a good start.

My folks taught me the same and sure enough they never had a single debt, at least that I was aware of.

I guess that’s why some people prefer to rent and never own a home, it keeps one debt free.

Is it my first motorhome? No, but it is very specific to our needs. I do agree with your logic though on buying an older model.

 

[Jev88]

I have used Zopa loans successfully a few times but with a MH you need a lump.sum out to one side in case of repairs so that your expensive toy doesn't become a driveway ornament.

 

[CustomBuild]

Still got the same one, nearly 20 years old, of which I’ve loved for 14 years and it’s still going strong.

As Jim said, you can have just as much fun in an older van and usually any warranty issues have normally been resolved.

Good luck in your search

It sounds like you got the right one for you. Great stuff.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[Tombola]

How much are you looking for.
Drop down a few years from new, and there are plenty of decent deals you can finance better then doing equity loans.

There are plenty loan caculators from the major lenders online too to give you an idea.

Finally people like paragon finance can fund larger sums, but interest reflects this, but if you are planning to pay it off when the house sells then it may be attractive.