Comments on mortgage choice

Decadent_Fool

Hi, I'm going to be approaching a whole of market broker, but have also identified the Woolwich Open Plan mortgage as a product that meets my needs.

I want complete flexibility to make large overpayments with no penalty, and this seems to fit the bill - it tracks the BOE base rate and is currently 4.69%. I'd like a fixed rate for 2 years, but guess that it unlikely given the overpayments I want to make.

I'm tied in to my current mortgage until July; I take it now is the best time to apply to allow for paperwork to be processed?

Just wanted to hear other people comments

AndrewSmith

Regarding whether the Woolwich product is right for you, and it's comparison. Allow the broker you are going to approach to do his research for you as he will be privvy to your details.

It would be impossibly, even foolish, to try and suggest an alternative mortgage or product to you without knowing all the facts.

Woolwich are offering some excellent products at themoment however their administration and application handling is, even being kind, diabolical. If you do go with Woolwich be prepared for a slow application process and a lot of waiting to get the initial underwriting decision and mortgage offer. That said, the rate is very good if you are prepared for the wait.

I think it is wise to get the application process underway ASAP as the average time to switch lenders is approx 4-6 weeks. Factor in the fact that Woolwich are not the quickest off the starting block.

There will be those who will post details of rates, lenders, products however as you are going to approach a broker anyway, allow them to do the research based on the information they are privvy to. It is, after all, what they are there for.

Hope this helps

Andy

gazza975526570

i wont comment as to wether this mortgage meets your needs however it was the ideal mortgage for me and recently applied for it.

Before i did i read various posts on here regarding how poor their back up service was and how slow they where at actioning things.

Things couldnt have been further from the truth and from application to the purchase going through seemed a pretty seemless activity and went through much quicker than i ever imagined

Now this may be a one off however it goes to show that not everything you read is necessarily the case in every situation.

Decadent_Fool

Thanks both of you, rest assured I would not expect anyone on here to recommend a mortgage with the information I had provided; I was just after comments on that particular mortgage, and confirmation that now was about the right time to apply for any mortgage that I chose

AndrewSmith

gazza975526570 wrote:

i wont comment as to wether this mortgage meets your needs however it was the ideal mortgage for me and recently applied for it.

Before i did i read various posts on here regarding how poor their back up service was and how slow they where at actioning things.

Things couldnt have been further from the truth and from application to the purchase going through seemed a pretty seemless activity and went through much quicker than i ever imagined

Now this may be a one off however it goes to show that not everything you read is necessarily the case in every situation.

Totally agree that there will always be the exception to the rule and occasionally they get it right however I submit on average approx 15 applications to various lenders a week and have done for about 12 years now and, even before and after the Barclays link, Woolwich have always been in general one of the slowest lenders out there.

Glad it was ok for you though, as I said, the products are fine.

Cheers

Andy

AndrewSmith

Decadent_Fool wrote:

Thanks both of you, rest assured I would not expect anyone on here to recommend a mortgage with the information I had provided; I was just after comments on that particular mortgage, and confirmation that now was about the right time to apply for any mortgage that I chose

I would say that now is the perfect time to allow a seamless transfer to a new product/lender, assuming that is the best course of action for you.

Cheers

Andy

:beer:

Craig_A

Glad to hear they can do something right - I am close to going with the Woolwich. The time it takes to process the application is not uppermost in my concerns as my current deal runs until 18th August but I would welcome any feedback from existing customers of the Woolwich as to their performance once the mortgage is 'live'. i.e. they may calculate interest payable daily but that's not much use if they take three or four weeks to process a capital repayment!

payless

edit...( others have deleted their posts)


OMG If i was submitting 15 cases a week I would not have the time to go to the loo let alone post on here

AndrewSmith

payless wrote:

OMG If i was submissting 15 cases a week I would not have the time to go to the loo let alone post on here

Hence my lack of posting over recent months. Also doing more via telephone and post after gaining an introducer agreement with 2 estate agents and a building developer.

Plus there are now 4 of us here dealing with residential mortgage applications.

Andy

payless

AndrewSmith wrote:

.

Plus there are now 4 of us here dealing with residential mortgage applications.

Andy

4 of you now that goes towards explaining it...

AndrewSmith

payless wrote:

4 of you now that goes towards explaining it...

Yes. Good god I would never manage that many on my own !!!!!

There are 2 of us handling 'Advised Sales' and 2 others doing a mixture of non advice and telephone advice, via a partnership with another broker firm locally.

Early days yet but it should work out rather well. Trouble is you never know whether something actually pays until about 6 months down the line after you have invested in it.

Oh the joys of self employment.