Which Mortgage - HSBC or FirstDirect?

MrHelpful

Hello,

Need a second opinion. I am a FTB and I went to a mortgage broker and they have found me a couple of deals however not as good as what HSBC and FirstDirect are offering. Even though they were "whole market" they were unable to look at HSBC group mortgage.

I am in the process of buying a bungalow for 170k - offer accepted, solicitor engaged . I have roughly 60k deposit available therefore can get the best rates on a repayment mortgage. I am thinking of going tracker and the two which I am comparing are -

HSBC - 70% LTV, 2 yr tracker repayment, 1.99+Base Rate, £99 booking fee (I am a HSBC premier customer), no exit fee

or

FirstDirect - 65% LTV, 2 yr tracker repayment, 1.69+Base Rate, £99 booking fee, £149 exit fee if i were to leave firstdirect.

Which one should I go for? Has anyone done an excel spreadsheet which I can use to compare the two in detail. I want to use my money wisely and if there is no point putting down a bigger deposit... I'll invest in a high savings account instead. Your thoughts. Would like to sort this out by end of play tomorrow.

Also with a mortgage - do I have to have the survey done by who I take the mortgage from or can I go independent. Reason why I ask is because independent chartered surveyors are coming in cheaper.

Many thanks in advance

getmore4less

What rate after the two years are up?

FD is 0.3% cheaper so that will save £300ish on £100k which covers the exit fee.


why not a lifetime tracker?

dimbo61

You have to use the lenders survey for the valuation survey but there is nothing to stop you having a full survey on the property by a independent chartered surveyor as this will show up any problems with the property ( use to get the price down IF defects found).
If you can find a risk free high interest savings account can you put it on this website as 5 million savers looking for the same thing!!!
Having said that a few banks/building society now have regular savers with 5/8%
Rates have never been this cheap and the only way is UP so why not take a 5 year fix ( or offset fixed) and overpay each month to clear the debt! First Direct and YBS have some very good deals

MrHelpful

getmore4less - apologies , HSBC is a lifetime tracker. First Direct lifetime tracker is 2.89% LTV - 75%.... I think I'll go for HSBC tmrw morning at 70% LTV and give them a call. Should leave me some money for my summer hols.

dimbo61 - Overpayments on the fixed are limited to 20% and I am likely to go above this at times if I decide to ditch the share market... its been dire in the last year. I'll opt for a basic valuation with the mortgage lender.

I've been a saver too and this is what my mum/dad taught me however its been very harsh for the past 5 years... those who didnt save seem to have benefited the most...sods law...I'll buy some premium bonds/open regular accounts with surplus money... hopefully give me a better return.

Keep the thoughts coming.

dimbo61

Unlimited overpayments on the offset fixes or you can just top up the offset account.
See Martins article on premium bonds !!

MrHelpful

Offsets are interest only mortgages - I dont want that.... I have other savings with HSBC therefore looked promising but I want to repay the capital asap.

Re: Premium Bonds... I know the return isnt great but "you got to be in it to win it"....you never know "it could be you"

mbbetter

MrHelpful wrote: »

Offsets are interest only mortgages - I dont want that....

Don't think you have that quite right.

We have an offset with First Direct. We have it set-up as a repayment mortgage. We are also overpaying capital faster than we could with many repayment mortgages.

getmore4less

Watch your fees the HSBC are higher than the FD.

I think I'll go for HSBC tmrw morning at 70% LTV and give them a call. Should leave me some money for my summer hols.

Offsets are interest only mortgages - I dont want that.... I have other savings with HSBC therefore looked promising but I want to repay the capital asap.


SO which is it holidays or pay off the mortgage;)

Offset are run how you want them so Interest only is irrelivent.

There are no penalties for overpaymnet on either HSBC or FD lifetime trackers you may have not read the small print on the 20% rule for standard payments.

Yhe FD 65% LTV tracker is 0.1% cheaper than the HSBC 70% LTV on £110k thats £110 a year cheaper and cheaper setup fees.

whatyadoinsucka

i found in nov 2009 HSBC beat any other mortgage lender for FTB.
I got a mortgage by far the cheapest on the market. Still on my life time tracker overpaid £500 a month and the mortgage seems to bew biting the dust.

its good that you can see the mortgage alongside yuor bank account so any spare change at month end :money:can be transfered in seconds, interest is therefore reduced every day you overpay

MrHelpful

The fees are the same (£99) as I am a HSBC Premier customer.

Should one be going for the offset if they can afford a tracker the rate difference is about 0.3% therefore looking at about £300 on £100k mortgage... I understand the bigger the deposit I put down the lower interest rate I get however I am also looking at other potential costs down the line i.e. doing up the house, holidays, car maintainance (ok I have a bmw, so it is significant at times), taxes/bills etc.

How does one negotiate with HSBC when you are a FTB?

whatyadoinsucka

from the basics you look like a strong candidate for a hsbc loan, I secured £130k mortgage on £16.5k.

to get the mortgage we provided bank statements / (possibly 3x wage slips) and talked to a mortgage advisor about income expenditure.
we proved that our mortgage was easily affordable.

pay for the valuation and fingers crossed it comes inline, as we made an offer on a house and the valuation knocked 8k off what we offered, so had to walk away from that house

got a tracker on a 30 year term, just to reduce the capital repayment element, we pay a £1k a month and still afford to live and holiday etc. never gone for a posh car. a 207 and a 500 will do :0)
so its going down fast