Broker advice required

Bexter

Hello,

My partner and I are feeling extremely lucky to have just been given £20k by family to use as a deposit on a house. We're currently renting and have a 7 month old baby so we're looking to move asap to a house in the East Renfrewshire area - fantastic schools catchment and somewhere we'll stay for the long term.

So, we're looking for a 90% LTV mortgage as we'll look to spend about £180-£200k, which seems realistic for what we want.

However, I know there aren't many 90% mortgages about - plus our credit scores are not great - we can get credit, but not the best deals, I still get rejected for leading credit cards though I did get a Sygma one last year. I also had a Trust Deed (like a Scottish IVA) which started in 2003 and which I was discharged from in 2008. Everything relating to this has now dropped off my credit files and I have worked hard to make sure my files are now clean - no missed payments, we're on the electoral roll etc.
We do have some debt now as a result of maternity leave- about £3k each on credit cards and a loan each (but one of those finishes in December).

Earnings wise, we have a combined income of £75k - so monthly about £4300. Our debt payments total £800 per month currently but that will drop by £300 come December (though we will then use that money to get those credit cards cleared). Plus we have a PSP on our car at £360 a month. So I think our affordability shouldn't be a problem.

Today I was asked if I wanted to see the mortgage advisor at the Allan & Harris (Sequence) estate agency. I have never normally agreed to see the agency brokers, I used London & Country or went direct in the past but I thought I would talk to the guy and see. Since we have potential credit issues, he has suggested the 'head start' service which essentially means we put the full application into RBS and get a cast iron mortgage in place before we find a property (which obviously then has to meet valuation criteria)

I really like the idea of getting a 'pre approval' in place on the mortgage and it seems like they can access the Nat West deal via RBS, which looks to be one of the best 90% fixed rates. I am obviously also keen to avoid multiple applications.

My questions are - does anyone know anything about this Head Start pre approval thing via RBS - is it genuine? ( I asked if they have a spceific team they speak to and he assured me they do, as I thought that may help if there are queries around my past history) I understand that the broker will look to sell us insurance add ons etc and I'm comfortable refusing those if they are genuinely not competitive products. The fee for the mortgage is £299 on application completion. Are there any reasons I'm missing not to use an estate agency broker?

However - I am also a Santander premier account customer and their direct fix is also quite a competitive 5.99% - plus cashback and no booking fees. But Santander will only give me £100 overdraft, I was refused any higher due to credit scoring plus I incurred my first 2 bank charges this month with them for going overthat limit though I corrected the position immediately - could the above mean they are more likely to reject my mortgage application?

I guess my gut instinct is that a broker may smooth the path for me and having spoken to London & Country they don't seem to have access to the most competitive deals at the higher LTV end- but should I speak to other brokers too?

I'm sorry this is long but I don't want to mess things up - does anyone have any advice for me please?

VIGILANT22

How can you be given a full mortgage without a property!!

Bexter

Well, what they say is they submit the full application minus property details and therefore you get a confirmation of the mortgage amount they'll lend, subject only to survey etc. It's apparently a special arrangement they have with 2 lenders..?

Dan_1976

Hello

They used to be called PAM's, Pre approved mortgages subject to val. Very good but they were restricted to lenders. Skipton natwest cant remember the others.

It may help but sequence only have 20 or so lenders they can use. Sequence are owned by Skipton and are a sister company of Connells. They are targeted on PAMS or head starts or whatever they call them now, and were even targeted to get Skipton mortgages.

I would get a whole of market broker, free if they are still about in Glasgow, you have credit problems so you need a good one. YOu dont need a PAM, they are good for some people but I think they are overrated by Sequence/connells.

Good luck

Bexter

Dan_1976 wrote: »

Hello

They used to be called PAM's, Pre approved mortgages subject to val. Very good but they were restricted to lenders. Skipton natwest cant remember the others.

It may help but sequence only have 20 or so lenders they can use. Sequence are owned by Skipton and are a sister company of Connells. They are targeted on PAMS or head starts or whatever they call them now, and were even targeted to get Skipton mortgages.

I would get a whole of market broker, free if they are still about in Glasgow, you have credit problems so you need a good one. YOu dont need a PAM, they are good for some people but I think they are overrated by Sequence/connells.

Good luck

Thank you for this- very useful but I am a teeny bit confused. If you're saying PAMS are good, isn't it a good idea to get one? From what I've found from the 2 whole of market brokers we've tried (London and Country and one via Slater Hogg), NatWest are doing the best 90% fixed rate and that would fall into the PAM that Sequence are proposing via RBS. The other option is direct to Santander at 5.99% and no fee, but I was told today that they are awful for agreeing in principle and then casuing you massive problems at underwriting stage. I'm not sure what advantage there is in trying another broker - we don't have to pay anything to get the PAM, only the £299 once the full application is made. Does that make any difference to your advice?

Thanks

Dan_1976

Its not advice, its my opinion. I worked for Sequence, about 5 years ago and the pam was very good in its idea but it was not with enough lenders and it was being pushed to heavily. If all lenders did a pam life would be easier.

If you can save money going to a lender that does not have a pam then go for the better deal.

jill2002

You can get a first and second stage decision from Santander via your local branch. The first stage is a decision in principle and the second stage (has to have the property details input - but these can be changed at a later date) is the final decision - subject to valuation. In your situation, it sounds like it would be wise to ask for the first and second stage to be done before you start hunting for properties.

Not sure if the brokers can do this, but in the branch, you can watch the decision yourself - takes about 15 minutes :T

VIGILANT22

what..........Santander offer mortgages to clients discharged in 2008 from a TD?????.....well i never cant wait to discuss this ii the morning meeting!!

Dan_1976

LOL in the shabby abbey days they did worse for £50!!