William H Brown (Sequence)

Grime

I'm a first-time buyer and I've recently had an offer accepted on a house, being sold through William H Brown (or Sequence Homes - they seem to be in the middle of rebranding). Throughout the process so far they have been unhelpful, unreliable and lazy.

I have an agreement in principle from Nationwide for their FTB 3yr fixed-rate deal at 4.9% which makes my monthly repayments £332.

I had a meeting with William H Brown's mortgage advisor earlier today who informed me a variable rate deal with Coventry Building Society - the rate is currently at 3.40% and my repayments would be £250 per month. The advisor assures me that the rates aren't going to rise by much in the coming year or two and if they go up too far I can get out without any charges.

Most people I've spoken to about mortgages recommend Nationwide as a safe bet. And I trust them. I really don't like the idea of going through these unreliable bustards at William H Brown but £80 less per month is not to be sniffed at.

So is this Coventry deal a good one? Are there hidden costs/potential pitfalls I'm not being made aware of? Is this guy at William H Brown telling me everything or is he just trying to get his commission?

Many thanks in advance.

silvercar

The mortgage guy will be getting roughly the same commission whether its nationwide or coventry.

Details:

Product Name Flexx for Term
Current Rate 3.40%
Term Variable rate for term, current applied rate 3.40%.

The overall cost for comparison is 3.5% APR
Fees/Incentives
(Fees will not be refunded) •£199.00 Booking Fee (paid on application)
•£300.00 Arrangement Fee (can be added to mortgage)
•FREE Remortgage Transfer Service
•ONE FREE mortgage valuation to max. £640.00

Early Repayment Charges None

Maximum Loan to Value
(LTV) 65%
Interest Charged Daily

If you qualify then it looks a good deal, nothing wrong with the Coventry. Note that the LTV is low at 65% so presumeably you have a good deposit. Also that 3.4% is the coventry's rate so there is no guarantee it will exactly follow the base rate. Incidentally that product was launched 28 August, so your broker has been a bit slow.

Grime

silvercar wrote: »

Note that the LTV is low at 65% so presumeably you have a good deposit.

I have 37.5% deposit.

Thanks for the reply. It's just that I don't trust these guys at all because of how useless they've been. But a good deal is a good deal I guess.

ray123

I would go for the coventry deal and be prepared to re-mortgage in the next 18-24 months. The rates might rise quicker than you think, look how sharply they dropped!

It is def the best deal for a no. of reasons:
1) Lower monthly repayments.
2) No early repayment charge.

By my calculations, the monthly payments at 3.4% are around £280.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/homes/property/mortgagecalculator.shtml

macaque_2

Grime wrote: »

I had a meeting with William H Brown's mortgage advisor earlier today who informed me a variable rate deal with Coventry Building Society - the rate is currently at 3.40% and my repayments would be £250 per month. The advisor assures me that the rates aren't going to rise by much in the coming year or two and if they go up too far I can get out without any charges.

If the mortgage advisor is so confident that "the rates aren't going to rise by much in the coming year or two", ask him/her if he/she will indemnify your upside risk for the same period as the Nationwide offer.

It is an outrageous and dishonest misrepresentation for him/her to give you such advice. These crooked shysters were giving similar advice to house buyers just before the £ fell out of the erm. Many people had their lives destroyed by that advice.

Right now the £ is dangling on precipice. If it starts to slide badly there is a serious risk of raging interest rate rises. Whatever you do, make plans with an eye on domestic security and assume the worst could happen. If the worst does not happen, you have paid a small premium. If the worst does happen, you still have a home and financial solvency. My own preference would be to go for a 5 or 10 year fixed rate.