Agreement in principle

lindsay_clayton

hello,

i am looking to get a mortgage and have been doing online research about deal and rates and the rest. Today i went into halifax bank to see them personally, they said they can do an agreement in principle. When i asked if this would affect our credit rating the advisor said it would make a mark on our account and that going to lots of banks and getting agreements in principle isn't a good idea.

Is this right and should i just compare interest rates online or should i go into banks as well?

amnblog

Why Halifax?

What other Banks are you considering?

ACG

You researched deals and ended up at Halifax? I dont think I have ever recommended halifax based on cost.

Halifax is a soft footprint meaning it will only show on your report to you and halifax, but there is no point obtaining multiple DIPs, one is enough.

dalehitchy

I have gone through a mortgage advisor and he stated that halifax only do a soft search and it doesnt affect your credit rating but certain lenders will do a more in depth search and will appear on your credit report.

When you start applying for various forms of credit it will show on your report and it doesnt look good, so therefor will affect your credit rating.

amnblog

So, it appears the focus is not having a hard search done, not identifying the most suitable lender and product.

lindsay_clayton

yes we didn't think halifax was the best deal it was just one of the ok ones and has a local branch to check what we mortgage we could actually get. i was more concerned about the footprint on credit rating. I posted another question about Coventry BS who seem to have the best deal with their Flex for term rate, its crazy low even though its a variable it seems too good to be true. The other best deal i found was the nationwide 2 year tracker!

amnblog

Are you not interested in finding your most suitable option?