HSBC lifetime tracker..portable?

RavingMad

I thought that I could port my existing mortgage when we decide to move in the future and any extra lending requirement would be on a new rate.

I had a brief chat to someone in the branch (non-mortgage person) who didn't think it was possible. He was 99% certain that we'd have to do a new mortgage on a new (higher) rate

Having gone through the mortgage details last night, I think he's right.

Can anyone confirm that is the case?

_Andy_

The existing amount is portable (subject to current lending criteria i.e. it would be treated as a new application). Any further amount on top of that would be at whatever rates are currently available.

rj1000

_Andy_ wrote: »

The existing amount is portable (subject to current lending criteria i.e. it would be treated as a new application). Any further amount on top of that would be at whatever rates are currently available.

Yep, it can be done as my other half has just got agreement to port over her existing lifetime tracker to our (hopefully) new house. For the balance of the mortgage we could only get it at the current rates available.

I have to say it was a bit of a nightmare doing it though. The mortgage adviser in the branch wasn't very helpful and we got conflicting messages when we initially applied over the phone. It took a number of calls before we found someone who said it could be done!

RavingMad

rj1000 wrote: »

I have to say it was a bit of a nightmare doing it though. The mortgage adviser in the branch wasn't very helpful and we got conflicting messages when we initially applied over the phone. It took a number of calls before we found someone who said it could be done!

This is quite bizarre. How is it not black and white I'm not looking to move at the moment but would like to speak to someone to confirm that it is possible. Can I ask who you rang?

beecher

RavingMad wrote: »

This is quite bizarre. How is it not black and white I'm not looking to move at the moment but would like to speak to someone to confirm that it is possible. Can I ask who you rang?

They won't give you a definite ok as the new lending would have to fit in with their present criteria regarding LTV etc and they can't give you a definite answer to that over the phone. So for example if your new LTV was going to be 95% it'd be a definite no no and if your salary was too low, or you had poor credit you'd be in trouble.

Money_Man

beecher wrote: »

They won't give you a definite ok as the new lending would have to fit in with their present criteria regarding LTV etc and they can't give you a definite answer to that over the phone. So for example if your new LTV was going to be 95% it'd be a definite no no and if your salary was too low, or you had poor credit you'd be in trouble.

Not sure what value this reply adds - the criteria you state would be the same for any loan from any lender. I would suggest speaking to someone face to face at the branch, i.e requesting to see someone senior when you call to make the appointment

beecher

Money_Man wrote: »

Not sure what value this reply adds - the criteria you state would be the same for any loan from any lender. I would suggest speaking to someone face to face at the branch, i.e requesting to see someone senior when you call to make the appointment

The OP seems to think they'll get a definite yes or no and I'm merely pointing out that they won't as it depends on present day criteria and that it'll be treated as a new application would. The OP may not realise this.

rj1000

RavingMad wrote: »

This is quite bizarre. How is it not black and white I'm not looking to move at the moment but would like to speak to someone to confirm that it is possible. Can I ask who you rang?

Our situation was slightly different as at the same time as porting the mortgage we needed to add my name to the mortgage as well. I think it was just the case that some of the people we spoke to at the bank didn't really know whether it could be done or not.

My suggestion would be to ask to speak to a supervisor if you don't get anywhere with the call centre. It was bizarre that some of the staff would say it definitely was NOT possible whilst others said it wouldn't be a problem at all.

Spangled

We're in the middle of porting our HSBC lifetime tracker (BoE + 0.99%) to a new property.

We have to port the full oustanding amount of the current mortgage. We can't port less or change the remaining term.

Fortunately that's not a problem as the property we're buying is less than the price we're getting for our current place. There are no ERCs with our mortgage so if we do have anything left over once we move (unlikely, given extortionate EA fees, stamp duty, removals costs, legal fees etc) then we can just pay down the new mortgage.

Our current mortgage was 60% LTV max and so the new mortgage had to meet that criteria too. There was no application fee but we had to pay the legals and valuation.

The ability to port the mortgage was clearly spelled out in the Key Facts document of our current mortgage.

Hope that helps.

Archlever

Hi,

we are porting our HSBC tracker (BoE +0.54) and borrowing additional at their 5 year fixed rate (4.39). Basically the full outstanding amount is portable at the tracker rate subject to their current lending criteria. That is, it was a new application with all new credit checks etc. Also we extended the term back to 25 years. So in my experience, both porting the existing mortgage and extending the term are possible with HSBC.