Yorkshire BS rates and underwriting

milanos

Can anyone advise how strict YBS are in terms of offering their headline rates?

The reason I ask is I'm looking at their 5yr fixed at 2.84%, but with the fees it wouldn't take much of an increase for it to be more worthwhile staying with the rate we've been offered with Natwest.

I work for a protection provider and know during the underwriting process if there's added risk then clients may be offered 'loaded' rates. Is it the same process for mortgage underwriting, or is it pretty much a straight accept or decline?

I've got a black mark on the credit rating due to a botched balance transfer a year ago (there's a thread already on that so won't go into it now) and wondered whether that sort of thing would rule me out of getting the best rates offered, and therefore I should just accept it and not waste time or money trying to save £1,000 over the next 5 years with YBS.

I realise everyone is different and so there's no one size fits all, but any insight into it would be much appreciated. Also, I'm hoping the question about whether rates can be loaded is easily answered.

Thanks

ethank

I've never dealt with YBS - but have heard that a lot of the brokers on here won't deal with Accord or their parent YBS as they are known to be very picky!

milanos

ethank wrote: »

I've never dealt with YBS - but have heard that a lot of the brokers on here won't deal with Accord or their parent YBS as they are known to be very picky!

Yeah, I got that impression too, which is why I'm thinking not to bother applying with them, although I've gone to the bother of getting letters from Nationwide who botched the CC balance transfer to try and explain my default.

The rate I've been offered with natwest is pretty good which meant that YBS are pretty much the only one who can save me a decent wedge on what I would pay with Natwest. I have a provisional Appointment with YBS on Monday to discuss it but was just hoping to find out more about them, the last thing I would want is to pay an application fee and valuation if there's no chance of getting their best rates

kingstreet

There isn't risk rating on the High Street, other than during underwriting, so you get what you apply for, or a lower loan to value, not a higher rated product.

YBS is probably the tightest underwriter in the market, looking for 100% clean applications and setting its rates accordingly. No-one can tell you if you'll be successful on here, it's up to you if you want to try...

milanos

Had a meeting with YBS mortgage guy in the branch today and talked through my situation. He called up an underwriter and talked it through with them and they were happy with the reason for the missed payments etc. It looks like they've tweaked their products slightly today so provided the rest of the finacial uw goes fine, it will end up coming down the the valuation, which will determine whether it's a 65% or 75% LTV product I can get. Even if it all goes pear shaped I've still my Natwest offer to fall back on!

dimbo61

I am a long term YBS customer with a local branch only one mile away and love the offset mortgages they have!
Best buy table nearly every month and won another award from MONEYWISE last month.
Yes strict on lending and valuation
Example desk top valuation of my property was £227K while I recently had valuation at £270K and two properties up for sale on my road ( same house) for £272K and £290K with last two sales at £270/265K.
It was not expensive to get proper valuation done but with my LTV not needed :-)

milanos

dimbo61 wrote: »

I am a long term YBS customer with a local branch only one mile away and love the offset mortgages they have!
Best buy table nearly every month and won another award from MONEYWISE last month.
Yes strict on lending and valuation
Example desk top valuation of my property was £227K while I recently had valuation at £270K and two properties up for sale on my road ( same house) for £272K and £290K with last two sales at £270/265K.
It was not expensive to get proper valuation done but with my LTV not needed :-)

Interesting, thanks. When you mention the example desk top valuation I'm guessing that is what they've said it's valued at without actually vising the property?

Given the margins I'm dealing with, having to get my own valuation done wouldn't be ideal, although I'm fairly certain it would value it at the required amount.

dimbo61

Yes no visit from a RICS surveyor and they quoted me less than £100 to do revaluation !

kingstreet

Lenders use HomeTrack for desktop valuations, so it might be worth spending £20 to get yours, then you know if you're better off paying the lender for an inspection.

http://www.hometrack.co.uk/our-services/analytics-reports/property-valuation-report

milanos

kingstreet wrote: »

Lenders use HomeTrack for desktop valuations, so it might be worth spending £20 to get yours, then you know if you're better off paying the lender for an inspection.

http://www.hometrack.co.uk/our-services/analytics-reports/property-valuation-report

Thanks. I was advised they'd be doing a 'drive-by' valuation, is that likely to be true or more likely to be a desktop one?

A slightly smaller but similar house in the same street sold about 3 months back - where's the best place to see how much it sold for? I know they appear on zoopla but not sure how long after as it's not on there yet

kingstreet

That depends. A desktop uses HomeTrack. A drive-by has a surveyor visit the property, or an internal inspection involves the surveyor actually coming inside.