Halifax AIP & Deposit

Becca250

Hi All

I am a FTB, very new to the process and now wishing I had read far more of this forum before jumping head first into mortgages!

I applied for a AIP online with Halifax (who I bank with). They offered more than what I would be looking to borrow (~15K more) but only with a 10% deposit. When I tried to change their calculator to a smaller borrowed amount, the deposit remained fixed at 10%.

The hiccup is that I only really have around a 7% deposit currently. In hindsight, I should have maybe gone into the branch itself to apply or used a company who could search multiple brokers for a lower deposit. From reading on here I understand that the AIP is likely to have been a soft search, I was just wondering is it worth me going into my local Halifax directly to ask if it's possible for the deposit requirement to be lowered or do I try to find a different bank altogether?

Many thanks for your words of wisdom!

Thrugelmir

When I tried to change their calculator to a smaller borrowed amount, the deposit remained fixed at 10%.

That's because Halifax require that level of deposit. Maximum loan advance is 90% of the purchase price. .

David_White

Halifax do have 95% products however the underwriting process and credit tolerance seems to be a bit stricter.

DBoy1

I also applied for a Halifax AIP online a few weeks ago. The email says 10% deposit, however the result web page did say that the deposit could be reduced if using the HTB mortgages. I called the Halifax mortgage line, who confirmed that a 5% deposit would be available, with the same amount of borrowing as the AIP, as long as we are eligible for the HTB mortgage guarantee scheme.
In the last few days, since they updated their product range, the online calculator seems to only work with a 10% deposit. But I've called them again and they've confirmed that the 95% mortgages are still available until the end of the year, when the HTB MG scheme ends. Check the "current rates" section of their website and it's still there.

amnblog

You are not meeting credit score for a deposit under 10% of the purchase price with Halifax.


You need to find another 3%.


For other options consultant a mortgage broker.

DBoy1

I thought I would call Halifax again to double check this. They said that they never issue a mortgage promise with a 5% deposit. The lowest is 10%.
When you get to booking an appointment and making a full application, if your Halifax credit score is good enough, then the deposit required could be reduced to 5% with a HTB mortgage, if you are eligible.
The phone adviser told me that my Halifax scoring is A1, so there shouldn't be any issue with a 5% deposit. However, the AIP stands at 10%.