HSBC switching product experience

lazypanda

Hi All,

2 years ago I was a FTB and going through the process of applying to HSBC for a mortgage. It was lot less painful than I had assumed at first and quicker. Now that we are coming to the end of our 2 year deal in September this year, i wanted to find out and prepare as much as I can before re-mortgaging or switching to another product with HSBC itself.
I hope to stay with my existing provider and part of that is I hope to not have to go through the same process I did whenI first applied for the mortgage - as much as it was not so painful, I want the 'switching' to be easy and over with in a few days if possible!

I have read various stories of Nationwide, Halifax etc. here but nothing much on what it is like with HSBC if you are an existing customer? Is there any of you with this experience recently? Can HSBC sort it out over the phone quickly for example or do they send out someone to value my property, ask me for income proof, credit checks etc like we went through the first time?
I would appreciate if you could share your experience.

Thanks.

ceminem

I have done it online and they used an index linked valuation to estimate the current valuation. It was all done and dusted in a few days. It became active when my fix expired and the new rate kicked in.

coopso24

I did it all over the phone about 9 months ago, Very helpfull and clear no new checks and the valuation was index linked.

lazypanda

Thank you both! Please could you tell me if they did any credit checks, ask for paperwork like income payslips etc? I'm looking at changing my job and wonder weather it will have any impact on it. We can still afford the payments comfortably but I hope not to have to explain too much if (major if!) we have change in circumstances. Thank you

Father_Christmas

I've just switched rate. No checks or anything. You look online, choose a rate and either do the switch online or give them a ring. Either way they'll send you a bundle of paperwork. You sign a couple of forms and send back.

However, you can opt for advice and that gets a bit more complicated. Also if you want to change term etc it is also a bit more complicated. But not sure about this as I opted for no advice.

But my experience was easy and seamless. Also great rates from HSBC too.

lazypanda

Thanks! That sounds easy enough. Phew! I told my husband we will need to start preparing paperwork etc from June onwards for when we come the end of our deal in September. If I get a new job by June then will even be able to provide few months payslip for the new job but glad to know I don't need to worry about that now either.

We will just do online, no advise and select one of the rates that suits us best. Out of curiosity, did you go for 3,5 or 10 years? I'm thinking 5 years fix will be good if we can manage that.

strawberries1

lazypanda wrote: »

Thanks! That sounds easy enough. Phew! I told my husband we will need to start preparing paperwork etc from June onwards for when we come the end of our deal in September. If I get a new job by June then will even be able to provide few months payslip for the new job but glad to know I don't need to worry about that now either.

We will just do online, no advise and select one of the rates that suits us best. Out of curiosity, did you go for 3,5 or 10 years? I'm thinking 5 years fix will be good if we can manage that.

I'm a FTB and wondering about whether to go 2yrs of 5yrs too.

Father_Christmas

lazypanda wrote: »

Thanks! That sounds easy enough. Phew! I told my husband we will need to start preparing paperwork etc from June onwards for when we come the end of our deal in September. If I get a new job by June then will even be able to provide few months payslip for the new job but glad to know I don't need to worry about that now either.

We will just do online, no advise and select one of the rates that suits us best. Out of curiosity, did you go for 3,5 or 10 years? I'm thinking 5 years fix will be good if we can manage that.

I went for 2yr 1.54. My mortgage isn't too big and taking a risk that rates don't rise too much in 2 years. But it's a personal choice. I was tempted by the 5 yr 1.94 too.

RavingMad

There's nothing stopping you clicking on the mortgage options link before your rate is up to familiarise yourself with the process. In fact, you can find out what your current LTV is based on their valuation quite early in the process. I take a look every month to see if my LTV has gone down a point

If you have a joint mortgage with your partner, they'll have to have an account with HSBC so that they can log on and agree to the new product once you've selected it