Bank account question for brokers please

uncreative

Thanks for reading. I currently bank with RBS as my main bank salary paid in etc (over 20 years) but also have a current account with Halifax that I opened when RBS had their software glitch that I keep a few quid in so I am not stuck. I also have a Barclays bank account too (open for about a year).

I have an RBS Black account, the Halifax and Barclays are just normal accounts.

I was looking at moving to First Direct and wondered of that lot, who is the "easiest" to deal with on the mortgage front. I know "easiest" is a subjective measure.....

Is it worth moving to FD?

TIA

ACG

Do you mean whoever you move your bank to is who you will apply to for a mortgage?

uncreative

ACG wrote: »

Do you mean whoever you move your bank to is who you will apply to for a mortgage?

Thanks ACG, if it makes it easier then yes, but not absolutely stuck on that. I suppose the subtext is I am trying to make sure the mortgage process takes the line of least resistance for us.

I know that's a big bunch of "who knows" however if RBS were literally throwing mortgages at people and FD only gave out 10% LTV to lottery winners then it wouldnt be wise to move, I know I am illustrating that by absurdity.

I know its a bit of a how long is a piece of string question.....

Malmo

My opinion is that the approach you have described is not the best place to start in preparation for a smooth mortgage application process.

There are far more important variables and criteria that influence how a lender profiles and risk assesses an application.

Start with a review (and if required, clean up) of your credit reports from all 3 Credit Reference Agencies (Experian, Equifax, Callcredit / Noddle). Clear down as many credit commitments as possible. Build up your deposit and savings for costs.

Lenders can't throw mortgages at anyone. All lenders must follow the framework and conduct set out in the 2014 Mortgage Market Review and the soon to be effective EU wide Mortgage Credit Directive.

uncreative

Thanks Malmo, so far we have:

1) Checked all 3 CRA's and information is correct.
2) Since March 2015 we have paid the balance off in full on one cashback credit card and the CRA's show this in the payment history (Cashback is sitting at £173!)
3) All other debt is now paid off and settled as of February 2015
4) Demonstrate that we are saving on average £2,500 a month
5) Using YNAB as a budgeting tool
6) Got all our payslips etc and P60's in a folder

Queries I have are:

a) I have 5 CC's with a combined £54,400 limit and an overdraft of £1,000 that I have not used for over a year - Do I keep this or shut some of them?
b) My wife has literally no credit at all, her CRAs show a catalogue and 2 store cards that are settled over a year ago and no longer open. Is this a good thing? should she apply for a CC or something just to start getting some "ticks in the proverbial box"
c) We received a £35,000 lump sum to pay off debt of £38,000 in January 2015 so is this technically a gifted deposit?

Thanks

ACG

If your are planning on buying within 6 months stick where you are.
If you are planning on buying after that then just pick the bank you would most prefre to go to. Dont worry about what their mortgages are like as anything can change in 6 months and you would (or should) just apply to whoever is best for you at the time.

Having a bank account with the lender you are applying to will make very little difference, certainly very little in such a short space of time.