broker advice right?

cleofish

Hi we are looking into getting a mortage ive posted the other day to get advice and it basically came down to speak to a broker for advice.

We spoke with london and country yesterday, I called up for some general advice and they just told me before seeing anything of our situation to go with halifax? We then called up later on, sent our experian file through give more details, we mentioned we had seen clydesdale, monmouth and santander deals and we are looking for around 90 ltv or possible 89 ltv, they said they would call us back yesterday afternoon (they didnt but did aplogise) they said they are whole of market and would look at the ones I mentioned as well.

Well I emailed them this morning to fijd out as they still hadnt got back, even to say they were still looking but i got a reply to say the only one really will be halifax again and they have dropped rates this morning as well.

Im not sure how to take this, they have now said halifax both times, the first time before even seeing our situation, it just seems they are biased towards halifax or am I being paranoid here?

Im just a bit wary of going to the big guys halifax as ive read they are giving out aip easily but its harder to actually get a mortgage approved. I also read that building societies are looking the better choice.

The mortage is going to go under my partner, he hasnt got a squeaky clean credit record but like I said in my other post its just 1 credit card, paid off every month and an overdraft on there now, although we did find 2 accounts did show an arrangement but they were settled in full, one from 2008 and one from 2012.

Does the advice from the broker sound right, is halifax our only choice given our situation or should we look elsewhere?

We obviously dont want to go down the route of applying and getting rejected for a mortgage. So we were looking for advice really on which way to steer our application.

I forgot to mention that my partner does bank with halifax as well but im not sure if bank loyalty does count though.

kingstreet

TBH if L&C have all your information and have come back with Halifax, you either trust that opinion, or you find someone else.

If your own research has uncovered other lenders, who may lend to you, such as those mentioned you have the option of putting these to another broker, or going direct.

ACG

The advisors on here can not give specific advice - just pointers etc. Its a regulated industry and we would need to have conducted a factfind first.

Im very surprised that L&C are making a recommendation without knowing all the facts but also not returning your calls!

Halifax give out soft footprint AIPs which do not check everything - this means they can miss things which is why at application stage there are AIPs that have been agreed which do not then pass when a full credit search is done.

Personally i would probably ditch L&C and find another broker, someone who will be happy for the business and spend time with you doing a factfind and discussing what you need and want.

Halifax are not a bad lender and they do have some good deals and can be lenient on underwriting, but without knowing the full picture i dont think anyone should be suggesting a lender.

cleofish

Thanks both for the replies, we had another call back from l&c who took some more details and again said halifax and said he would call back at a certain time but never did..!!
So we spoke to a couple of other brokers in regards to the other deals, some of the other deals they advised us you need speaky clean credit for so we didnt waste time or chances by applying for those, and in the end we did go with halifax, oh banks with them but it did feel better after having checked the other deals out, least it felt like we did a bit of routing around first before picking one!

They have approved for a dip for us with a rating of a1? And have said to go ahead and look for a house and then put a full application in, I suppose im still cautious because of it being a soft search and it might fall through at application but I suppose we will just have to go with it and see, just try not to picture ourselves too much in the house we put an offer on in case it falls through!

Thanks for your advice, im sure ill probably be back nagging here again!

One question I just thought of, does anyone think its worth still going with a broker (different one then l&c though!) for the rest of the process now?

kingstreet

It's upto you.

If you feel you'd benefit from someone analysing the products and working out the best for you (lower rate/higher fees v higher rate/lower fees) and the "hand-holding" approach, use the broker, as we tend to be more contactable, particularly outside office hours.

If you are happy you can handle the property buying process and pick the right deal from those available, go direct.

cleofish

Thanks, I suppose its good to know we can still go back to a broker, especially as its our first time, will have a chat to oh I think!

Just pre thinking in regards to application, it asks for outgoings etc, the application is just going to be in oh name though, however I have all the bills, council tax, rent coming out of my bank account and he pays me his half of these in 1 lump sum at the beginning of each month.

Will he need to put down on the application form just the one payment he makes to me or will he need to note down each individual cost of things like rent even though it doesnt come out from his account and therefore wont show on bank statements?
Or will they then ask me for the break down and my statements, even though it wont be in my name and we dont want it financially connected to me yet?

GMS

Where is the deposit coming from?

If it is a single application there may be problems with the deposit if it is from the non mortgage person.

cleofish

The deposit is coming half each from our set of parents, to help set us up.

However we were going to put this into my bank account and I give the full amount to my partner and gift it, giving a letter stating its not a loan and wont need paying back, so to make it easier than having to get gifted letters from each set of parents. We let the bank know at dip stage that it was going to be gifted from me, would that be enough, do you think?

kingstreet

Base your outgoings on what you'll be paying after you move, not your current arrangements. They are interested in future affordability.

cleofish

So for the actual application form that we will fill in when applying for the mortage after we find and make an offer on the house, he needs to put the rent/mortgage payments we will be making and the council tax of the new property?

I thought it was based on his situation now and his outgoings/ ingoings and they could see if he then could afford a mortgage ? And now really all his bank statements will show is 1 payment to me every month going out.

GMS

You will find issues with you providing the deposit and residing despite not being party to the mortgage.

Why are you not going on the mortgage?