First Time Buyer in Scotland

optimus_prime_2

We are currently looking for a mortgage to buy our first house in Scotland. We have a 10% deposit and the best rates we can see at this level are 5.99% for a 5 year fix with the Post Office and 4.49% with the HSBC lifetime tracker. I fancy the Tracker but my girlfriend wants the security of a fix.

I'm not sure how the system works in England & Wales, but in Scotland the vendor pays for a pretty detailed survey called a Home Report (HR). We initially spoke to Bank of Scotland and they said they would not need a further survey over and above the HR. We then spoke to HSBC on the phone and they said they would still need an extra survey at either £150/£400/£600 although the guy on the phone did not seem too sure that this would apply to Scotland.

Has anyone else borrowed from HSBC in Scotland? Did they force you to get a further survey done and did the extra survey have any bearing on how much you can borrow? We are worried that everything could be set up to borrow the sum we need to get the house we like, only for the survey to value the property at less than the HR, therefore reducing our borrowing limit.Why can HSBC not just be satisfied with the Home Report? Selfish jerks.

Any thoughts?

poppy_f1

reading from thuis thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2457559 seems like HSBC dont take any notice of the home report survey in scotland

CloudCuckooLand

"only for the survey to value the property at less than the HR"

What is so bad about potentially being able to pay less for something ? It is very MSE.

sarahannreid

Hi,

Can i suggest you approach Halifax for a quote? We bought out first home two years ago and Halifax came up with the best deals for higher LTV's (around 90%). We took a tracker deal and it has most surely paid off, but i would be tempted now to go for a fix. As nice as it would be to save some money in the short term, interest rates are at a record low and will only go up. The banks know this full well, and this is why there are no super-cheap fixes on the market.

Hope this helps!