Switching to a new deal with existing lender

newtothisgameandconfused

How painful is it?

I was under the impression to switch to a new fixed deal with the same lender that it was relatively pain-free.

Having been placed on hold for an hour and having to book an appointment to ring them next week I am starting to think that it would be easier to re-mortgage with an entirely different bank!

Plus they said the phone call could take all day and the advisor may take breaks and a lunch break of up to FIVE hours!

They also seem to want all our financial details again? I thought when you stayed with the existing lender to avoided having to submit payslips again.

Also our income has increased but I am not sure if we would qualify under affordability criteria as we now have 1 child - we both have great credit scores and minimal personal debt (A professional development loan and 1 student loan. We do have one other debt for Carpet Right but we could pay that immediately), no credit card debt or overdrafts.

Also my contract ended at the end of my maternity so when my maternity finished I got a new job so have only been in this job since August 2014. It is with the same employer but it a different position, the money is the same.

Thanks in advance for anything you can shed light on.

Ozzuk

I just did this with Nationwide, took about 1.5 hours on the phone and massively easier than moving mortgage and going through valuations etc. The affordability questions are a new experience, it felt like they were doing an eharmony profile! financials didn't really come into it and at no point did they even ask my salary. It was all about attitude to risk, understand finance etc. Very easy. I secured a rate close to what I wanted with no fees and no hassle as was pretty much effective immediately.

dsab

I just "negotiated" a new deal with my Bank, as my fixed rate ran out on the 1st of February, and there was no interview and there were (almost) no questions asked.

I called them and inquired about their follow on products. They sent me out 2 offers (one fixed and a variable with actually quite decent rates). As I was very close to the next lower LTV rate I called up and asked for their best offers if I would make a overpayment to bring me down into the next LTV bracket, and they gave me a new offer over the phone, and even said that as it was very close that there was no need to actually make an overpayment. I made my decision on the phone and only had to email them my 3 last payslips and 3 month Bank Statements. I got confirmation of the new deal and new payment amount the next day.

I imagined it to be much more complicated. Seems to vary a lot by Bank.

alba7

I've just switched to a new product with an existing lender and it was just a 5 minute phone call! I confirmed the type and rate of product I wanted and was told the offer papers would be in the post.

No further questions were asked and I didn't have to provide payslips or any other evidence - but I did go for execution only rather than an advised service. I knew exactly what I wanted.

bookgirl_2

Really depends on the lender. Our one with Santander took about an hour on the phone but no paperwork involved.

BIL did his online with Halifax, just a few clicks.

LHW99

Britannia wanted to do a complete new affordability interview, even though we wanted to
a) stay with them
b) swap from our original £105k interest only (now with about 45k left, from overpaying) to a repayment fixed for 2 years at less than half the current interest rate
c) keep the same overall mortgage term.
When I asked why, was told it was because we wanted to change from interest only to repayment
Me - so do you still offer interest only mortgages?
Britannia telephonist - er - No.

!!?

RavingMad

Our mortgage is with the HSBC and we did everything online. Obviously, there isn't advice so you have to be clued up on what you want to do.

Thrugelmir

LHW99 wrote: »

When I asked why, was told it was because we wanted to change from interest only to repayment
Me - so do you still offer interest only mortgages?
Britannia telephonist - er - No.

!!?

A side effect of MMR. Lenders have to ensure what they offer you is affordable.

kingstreet

If your lender has an online switch facility, this isn "execution-only" and requires no advice, so it's normally free of further affordability checks.

If you involve a human being, in a branch or on the phone, this means you are seeking advice and this is now ore tightly regulated since MMR in April 2014. This will see lot of additional questions and affordability checks again.