Bank won't lend us additional mortgage funds

geri33

Hello

We would like to make an offer on a property we'd like to buy. I spoke to Bank of Scotland (our current lender) yesterday to see if they would lend us the required mortgage to move being under the impression that this was possible as our paperwork says our rate is portable. However, the adviser I spoke to said that BOS were no longer doing mortgages. There is an ERC to pay of £3,000 as we are on a fixed rate till next year. He said we would have to get a mortgage through the Halifax. However. we would still need to pay the ERC. I could understand fully that we would have to pay the ERC if we went to a different lender but wondered does this seem right/fair given that BOS can't lend us the additional funding because they are not doing it, not because we wouldn't meet criteria as I am sure we would.

Sorry hope this makes sense.

Thanks.

dimbo61

Give the mortgage centre a call ( not your local branch) and ask.
We know very little about you! Income, LTV, savings, current mortgage deal etc
Mortgage market has changed big style in last 2/3 years
The mortgage call centre can at least tell you your current mortgage debt and any deals they have for existng customers
This might not be the news you want to hear

beecher2

I had a quick look on the BoS website and found this
http://www.bosmortgages.co.uk/pdf/new-deals-and-additional-borrowing-guide.pdf
The homemover rate looks pretty high, but I don't see any evidence of them no longer doing mortgages.

Did you phone the number here?
http://www.bosmortgages.co.uk/movinghome/

Thrugelmir

geri33 wrote: »

I could understand fully that we would have to pay the ERC if we went to a different lender but wondered does this seem right/fair given that BOS can't lend us the additional funding because they are not doing it, not because we wouldn't meet criteria as I am sure we would.

If BOS no longer sell mortgages. So there's no product for them to offer you.

They may let you exit without paying the ERC if you switch to a new lender. Though at current interest rates.

opinions4u

This from their web site:

Thinking about moving home? We can't do all the hard work for you but we can help you to move your existing deal to your new home.

As a Bank of Scotland mortgage customer you can continue with the great rate on your current mortgage by carrying forward the special rate to a mortgage on a new property for the remainder of the special rate period.

To find out more about the deals available to you call our Retail Contact Centre on 0845 850 0842.

Thrugelmir

beecher2 wrote: »

The homemover rate looks pretty high, but I don't see any evidence of them no longer doing mortgages.

More than likely part of the restructure of LloydsHBOS under the guise of operation Verde. All Lloyds new mortgages will become Halifax.

One way of circumnavigating the 2% above base guarantee. No new products. A neat side step.........

opinions4u

Thrugelmir wrote: »

More than likely part of the restructure of LloydsHBOS under the guise of operation Verde. All Lloyds new mortgages will become Halifax.

One way of circumnavigating the 2% above base guarantee. No new products. A neat side step.........

The BoS branded mortgage book includes a bit of historic residential lending but most new mortgages via BoS branches since around 2004 have been Halifax branded.

Most BoS branded lending since this time has been via intermediaries with a focus on near prime and buy to let.

New LloydsTSB mortgages remain Lloyds branded, but are being sold on the old Halifax sales platform.

I doubt anything BoS related is being touched by Verde.

Thrugelmir

opinions4u wrote: »

I doubt anything BoS related is being touched by Verde.

I'm looking ahead into the future using my BOE QE'D crystal ball. My thinking is that streamlining to a single mortgage brand will slash administrative overhead costs.

beecher2

opinions4u wrote: »

The BoS branded mortgage book includes a bit of historic residential lending but most new mortgages via BoS branches since around 2004 have been Halifax branded.

Bank of Scotland branches became Halifax branches around 2003 , but now they are back to being BoS and no longer deal with Halifax accounts which just adds to the confusion.

opinions4u

beecher2 wrote: »

Bank of Scotland branches became Halifax branches around 2003 , but now they are back to being BoS and no longer deal with Halifax accounts which just adds to the confusion.

They no longer sell Halifax accounts. But they process transactions on them.

Thrugelmir wrote: »

I'm looking ahead into the future using my BOE QE'D crystal ball. My thinking is that streamlining to a single mortgage brand will slash administrative overhead costs.

One platform. One set of administrative costs. Just a different logo based on where the sale took place.

Multiple brands gives more flexibility on pricing going forwards. While that does lead to higher marketing costs, all other costs are moreorless benefiting from the economies of scale you have in mind.

It will be interesting to see how things work going forwards.

geri33

Thank you all for your input so far.

Our current LTV is 30% with 4 years remaining on our current mortgage, on a fix with BoS until next Summer. We have a sizeable deposit to put down and would need 2.5 x income. Excellent credit ratings on both sides.

beecher2 wrote: »

I had a quick look on the BoS website and found this
http://www.bosmortgages.co.uk/pdf/new-deals-and-additional-borrowing-guide.pdf
The homemover rate looks pretty high, but I don't see any evidence of them no longer doing mortgages.

Did you phone the number here?
http://www.bosmortgages.co.uk/movinghome/

I checked the website too which is what led me to believe that "moving home" would not be an issue and of course we'd be able to get the mortgage, although as you point out new lending is at 6.99% which is fairly steep but would have avoided us paying out the ERC if we stayed with BoS.

I will give them another call as sometimes I have found in the past that members of staff do give conflicting information. The adviser did say though that any new mortgage would be with Halifax. Annoyingly, when you ring up Halifax and say your mortgage is with BoS they don't want to talk to you but give you BoS's number!