Accord questions (any brokers out there who can help?)

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Accord offers can be valid 3 months from 'date of application' (I have one on my desk at the moment but it took a lot more than 10 days to get it - at one point in the process they were processing letters/documents received from 10 days previously!).

The validity period 'from date of application' if applied is very unusual (normally it is from offer) and a potential problem for clients when the application to offer period eats up half their completion time !

Any kick backs (we prefer the terms 'fees' or 'commissions') are declared on the documents you will be provided.



...... and that information and advice is just one example of the knowledge and protection that a mortgage broker should be providing their client (together with a dozen other potential pitfalls that contributors on here report daily)

Daniel_gecko

Yeah I think my broker stopped answering my emails :rotfl: I keep sending him emails asking him whether a certain mortgage is good or not. Hmm I suppose if my completion date is "august/september" I should probably wait a couple of weeks to apply?

Any idea how likely they are to pull the mortgage I like? Not sure how often these things change.

You guys are cool advisers! :T

kingstreet

Wait for a few weeks to apply?

I suggest you gauge the builder's reaction to that. They will still expect you to exchange quickly, even if completion is on notice sometime later.

If you're using the builder's pet adviser, you can bet they'll be getting it in the neck from the site if you don't get on with it!

handytips

DG
Products quite stable at the moment, however the more popular products get .....SOLD OUT quite quickly and therefore taken out of the lenders current products and usually replaced with a similar product with a higher rate...Why ? Because they allocate a certain amount of funding to each product. If i were you i would get it now.
Once interest rates start to rise .....Products will change on a Daily basis.

Pinklepurr

From a customer point of view, I have been very happy with Accord. Remortgaged with them 8 years ago and cannot fault them at all. Paperwork is set out clearly and we've been able to overpay 10% of the balance per calendar year. We need to remortgage later this year and if they have the right product we will stay with them, but if not, we will move to a different lender.

Daniel_gecko

kingstreet wrote: »

Wait for a few weeks to apply?

I suggest you gauge the builder's reaction to that. They will still expect you to exchange quickly, even if completion is on notice sometime later.

If you're using the builder's pet adviser, you can bet they'll be getting it in the neck from the site if you don't get on with it!

Under the advice of my broker I already applied for a 5.24% mortgage which was application free, valuation free and didn't expire for another 6 months or so from Abbey. I used this mortgage offer to exchange a couple of months ago with the intent to reapply to a better mortgage closer to completion. That mortgage is my backup, because it's a terrible rate compared to the 4.19% from Accord.

The mortgage will be about 75% on a 170000 house, so the several thousand saved on interest over 5 years is far better than saving several hundred on fees.

After taking out the mortgage we will have about £10,000 left over. I also estimate anywhere between £500-£1,000 left over every month in savings from my salary. Would you suggest looking to make this an offset mortgage? I believe the rate goes up to 4.39% and the fee goes up to 900. By my maths I guess this would lose me £2000 in terms of cost/remaining debt over 5 years. I don't think I would earn £2000 back in reduced interest would I? Probably earn more by just keeping it in ISAs?

dwsjarcmcd

Just one thing to mention, if you decide to change lenders you will need a new valuation, and it will be the lower of the purchase price or the valuation that they will base the 75% LTV on. Surveyors tend to be more stringent on new builds because of the builder's profit margin, so don't be surprised if it comes in lower than expected. Obviously you had a valuation done for the Abbey, which presumibly was ok, but there is a change the valuer Accord appoints will have a different view.

Daniel_gecko

Yeah I suppose that would be an issue if I was stretching to a 30% deposit and all of a sudden the lender was prepared to give me less than anticipated, or if the builder's incentive didn't count towards the deposit.