We have a mortgage for 269 000 on our property that an estate agent has just valued at about £400 000 - £420 000. (we bought it for £345 000 in 2007). We want to add the cost of extending our lease, £20 000, to the existing mortgage but the bank are saying no quoting various reasons amongst them bad credit history, which is not true as we came up top of the league, not lending more then 55% of property value etc. They say they are happy to give us a personal loan for the £20 000 at an higher interest, so they obviously trust we can pay that back. We have never missed a payment and been with same lender for 4 years is there anything we can do to convince bank to add the £20 000 to the mortgage rather then take out an expensive personal loan?

Any advice gratefully recieved!
Thank you

Unfortunately there is nothing you can do to convince a lender to do something they don't want to do.

What you can do is ensure they aren't making a mistake in their approach, as it is not uncommon for a lender to say no, after misinterpreting their own criteria. So check through their criterea yourself or get a professional mortgage adviser to do it.

As an alternative to getting a personal loan, you could consider moving the entire mortgage to a more understanding lender who has a more relaxed approach to lending. A maximum LTV of 55% is rather low, so you will definitely have options available, depending on income etc.

Have a chat with an independent mortgage broker who will be able to show the best alternatives to staying with your current lender, allowing you to make an informed decision on the best way forward.