ybs or hsbc fixed mortgage advice

cashew2

Hi,

I'm a ftb, 70% LTV, I have made an offer on a flat (waiting outcome), have been spending sleepless nights calculating mortgage possibilities and decided on a 5yr fixed rate from either HSBC (first direct) or Yorkshire Building Society both with 4.29&.

Does anyone have any advice re choosing HSBC or YBS - i'm worried about how long the applications will take to go through HSBC said 4-6 weeks, YBS said 6-8 weeks, i don't know if that means anything anyway. I've read HSBC can be very slow?? Any comments for or against or preferential experience of customer service? For eg HSBC were supposed to call me back today at agreed time and haven't . . . which is first bad sign. YBS works out £150 cheaper over 5 yrs, but i don't have a local branch, and while the saving would push me toward YBS i really am concerned about the turn around time.

Any advice or experiences gratefully received.
Thanks J.

D2007

Just had a look at the YBS rates and the only 5 year fixed rate at 4.29% is the fee assisted one. You might want to consider paying another £500 in fees to get the better rate of 3.99. This would pay for itself within the 5 years and some extra.

http://www.ybs.co.uk/mortgages/current_products/index.html?1#accountType1