Mortgage rejected by HSBC, bother with FirstDirect? Others?

avgjoe

Hi,

I recently applied for a HSBC zero fee mortgage and got rejected based on HSBC's policy that people like me (researchers) on continuous fixed term contracts don't qualify for their mortgage products unless the contract has been renewed several times already. This of course makes life rather difficult given that I only started working 3 years ago, after university.

So I spotted a nice deal on FirstDirect but noted with dismay on their website that they are a member/subdivision of HSBC.

Should I even bother applying to them? I mean the advisor I talked to for the HSBC mortgage said it was HSBC policy and FirstDirect is a part of HSBC.

A bit of background:
Got a property and a mortgage already tracking 2.49+BBR. Got 140k outstanding on a 650k property.

Looking for a better deal given that BBR is slated to rise end of this year and next year by up to 2.5%. And in general because shaving 0.5-0.7% off is always nice.

Thanks for any help you can offer, including other mortgage deals I should look into.

iamana1ias

avgjoe wrote: »

Hi,

I recently applied for a HSBC zero fee mortgage and got rejected based on HSBC's policy that people like me (researchers) on continuous fixed term contracts don't qualify for their mortgage products unless the contract has been renewed several times already. This of course makes life rather difficult given that I only started working 3 years ago, after university.

So I spotted a nice deal on FirstDirect but noted with dismay on their website that they are a member/subdivision of HSBC.

Should I even bother applying to them? I mean the advisor I talked to for the HSBC mortgage said it was HSBC policy and FirstDirect is a part of HSBC.

A bit of background:
Got a property and a mortgage already tracking 2.49+BBR. Got 140k outstanding on a 650k property.

Looking for a better deal given that BBR is slated to rise end of this year and next year by up to 2.5%. And in general because shaving 0.5-0.7% off is always nice.

Thanks for any help you can offer, including other mortgage deals I should look into.

You've only had the mortgage a year. What's the early repayment charge? It will probably wipe out any potential savings.

avgjoe

Thanks for your answer,

The early repayment + exit fees are 150+100 so 250.

Should note that I started off at 150k and am hoping to repay via capital within 10 years, though I chose a 20 year term due to potential rise in interest rates.

kingstreet

Approaching First Direct is pointless. As you have noted, it's a HSBC subsidiary and shares a mortgage centre in Sheffield.

The amount of equity you have in your home suggests you won't struggle to get a decent offer, however the cherry-pickers like HSBC don't have to offer any kind of flexibility to fill their allocations.

A whole of market or independent broker would be your best bet.