Nationwide customer of 19 years - How good are they for mortgages? Switch accounts or not?

tld2004

Hi

I'm new to the forum and after some advice please.

I'm a self employed contractor working in the City. I've been a customer of Nationwide for the past 19 years (account opened when I was a child) and continue to use it as my main Current account for bills etc. I have a large lump in savings with Nationwide, ready to buy first home next year.

I've noticed that some banks are offering some very generous rates on current/savings accounts and I'm considering switching banks to take advantage of this.

Being self employed, I don't suppose I will be eligable for a mortgage with Nationwide, but will mortgage brokers/mortgage companies consider my 19 year history with Nationwide a positive?

If yes, then I'll keep my Current account with Nationwide, but transfer a chunk of my savings out to a better standalone savings account.

If no one seems to think my loyal custom with Nationwide will have any positive impact on mortgage applications, I'm happy to consider switching banks altogether.

If the latter, I was thinking about a HSBC or Barclays Premier account - What are people's thoughts on these? Are any of these premium accounts worth it? They claim to have some 'benefits', like introductory rates etc, but how true are they?

Happy to hear your thoughts.

Thanks in advance

csgohan4

no, loyalty no longer pays, in fact it may harm you if you have a negative history with them such as a missed payment

Thrugelmir

tld2004 wrote: »

but will mortgage brokers/mortgage companies consider my 19 year history with Nationwide a positive?

Has no bearing on whether you'll repay the mortgage without incident. Nationwide do offer a Help to Buy ISA that may earn preferential brownie points when it comes to applying.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Have you checked Nationwide website:
https://www.nationwide.co.uk/guides/news/articles/2016/05/mortgages-for-self-employed

"If you're applying for a Nationwide mortgage, we require self employed applicants to have accounts for 2 years. Check out our mortgage application proofs guide for more information."

Other banks will have similar requirements. So all depends on how long you're SE/ contractor/limited company. If you're using limited company, you will need two years of accounts.

There's no need to move accounts. If you want different or better one, just open it.

sal_III

Actually Nationwide are rather great with Self-employed and generally have good rates. If you don't plan on using a broker, I would suggest you ask them first.

The "premier" accounts benefits are not worth a dedicated switch IMHO. They are OK as "incidental" benefits if you already have the account.

Your longstanding relationship with Nationwide has no bearing on your mortgage application success or rates, regardless of the Lender.