Mortgage interview inevitable?

ambioni

Do all mortgage applicants require to go through the mortgage interview/MMR? Or is this only where there are concerns about affordability?

sinizterguy

If you go through a broker, you don't have to have one.

kingstreet

It would be a good idea to set out any particular issue you might have, rather than an oblique question about an interview.

Interview or not, every lender has to have an affordability model and you will be expected to meet your chosen lender's requirements.

pinkteapot

We remortgaged to HSBC and didn't have an interview (though I was expecting one - thought everyone had one these days). Think we were well clear on affordability though - less than 50% LTV and borrowing 2.6 times our joint income.

That being said, we wouldn't have minded an interview. Any particular reason you're not keen?

As above, if you go with a broker you won't need one, but you'll effectively have the same with the broker. We used a broker for the mortgage before the HSBC one and had to sit down with them and run through all the finances.

ambioni

Actually am quite happy to have an interview- no affordability issues and broker is more than happy with all the paperwork and figures I have provided. I just assumed that all applicants (particularly FTBs) had to have a mandatory interview with the lender these days. There are possibly one or two items on my bank statement that a lender may not be totally thrilled about (£10 on national lottery last month) but these are quite minor

kingstreet

Don't fall for the media hype which says you have to eat nothing but beans on toast for three months to make your bank statements look magically wonderful and a mortgage will be an automatic result.

Most lender use ONS figures for outgoings, they don't forensically analyse your bank statements. They look only for regular recurring costs such as credit, season ticket loans, ground rent & service charges, childcare etc.

An interview is a consequence of;-

going direct to a lender and;
choosing the advised route.

You can transact a mortgage online with many lenders and that is execution-only as there is no interaction with a human.

As a consequence, consumer protection is weakened, as you would be accepting responsibility for selecting the correct product for yourself, rather than having someone advise you.

nicegirl

We've just had a mortgage approved and didn't have an interview. It's with a bank we've had one with previously though, so perhaps that makes a difference.

19lottie82

My fixed rate deal ran out with RBS recently and I went in to discuss a new deal. I wasn't changing the term of the mortgage, so no credit check was required, but the interview was horrendous. 2 hours of stupid questions like, "in your opinion, what will happen to interest rates in the next three years?". I wouldn't like to imagine what it would have been like if I wanted a new mortgage!

I suppose these interviews differ between lenders though.

ambioni

sounds like a good broker/adviser can be worth their weight in gold then!

Gadge2011

We went via a broker, we never communicated directly with the bank, or had to do much at all to be fair.