Kensington Mortgage company (kmc) review

obay

So a lot of people are using Kensington so wanted to shed some light from someone who is using them and someone who is about to leave them.

Over the last 2 years, I've been using KMC to fund my house purchase, whenever some other bank didn't allow me to have with them (it would've been better if they did! That's for sure!). I'll detail the progress that we had to endure while we are with them.

When we found the property we spoke to a mortgage broker with the estate agent who couldn't place us with a bank because of my credit problems in the past (4 years into a default). for £152. No one would touch us, our broker suggested Kengsinton to us and we proceeded to set up an application with them.

Our product was 4.84% fixed for two years, £804.33 per month on a £152,599 mortgage with a £1299 complete fee. Excluding the £400 valuation. We also paid £30k in total for deposit/solicitor fees.

From timescale, it took us 8 weeks to complete to get an offer with them, during that time KMC did a valuation at week 4 or 5. It then took a further 4 weeks to complete on the house, with KMC being very fast on the way forward (which really was the only time). the solicitor drew down the money very quick from them and we exchanged/completed on the same day.

Then we moved in on the 11/11/2016.

We then skipped forward a few months where I started overpaying the mortgage by little amounts every now and then, we eventually got to £5k on overpayments and they dropped us to £775.10 per month due to this, without question they allowed us to do this.

With the high-interest rates and the high monthly payment, this was perfect for us as we continued to put the extra £30 or so back into the mortgage every month.


We've never missed a payment with KMC at all, we've overpaid, and they even allowed me a 6 week payment holiday (once I paid the month off bear in mind - I had £400 worth of credit in my KMC account they asked me to make up the remaining and they give me 6 weeks off as a result)

The most important thing to remember when dealing with KMC they are looking for you to default on the mortgage payment to repo your house, if you are late, they whollop a lot of fees onto you and make it unbearable, a lot of horror stories online are about people being in arrears and falling behind on payments and them not helping you.

They are a high risk lender, they cannot let you simply be 1/2 months late without penalty that is not their business model - They are solely out there to help you get onto the ladder, if you fail with them, they definitely make it easy to repo the house - cause you issues, etc.

However, I've never been late so it's nothing wrong with me.

In closing the account it's been quite easy, just remember they don't give you a three-month grace on the redemption figures, they will still charge you up until the day your redemption date is.

At the end of the day, KMC's business model is simple, they will lend to you, with no problem however if you fail to keep up with your payment they will not work with you, they will instruct solicitors are the earliest possible time.


The customer services are actually very helpful and on more than one occation they have really helped us out. I'd give them 9/10 for help.

In all, I think al the grief they got is partly down to people missing payments, not keeping up to there agreements.

Just like us, when we finish with them on Monday, they helped us build our credit record, they gave us leeway to do so. We've now had a mortgage offer from Principality which is at 2.2% fixed for 5 years, at a payment at £577 per month saving around £280 per month alone.

It goes to show as with anything, you keep up with your repayments you get to keep and improve your entire financial situation as with us.

I just want to reiterate, they're not a bad company, they do exactly what they say they do, give you a mortgage on a high interest term, high deposit amount and let you build your history to be able to remortgage properly.

I hope this helps with anyone who may be seeking a mortgage from KMC - just remember they offer no protection like any other banks do. at the first opporunity they will involve solicitors... (as from the horror stories I've read).

Thanks.

davidmcn

obay wrote: »

just remember they don't give you a three-month grace on the redemption figures, they will still charge you up until the day your redemption date is.

Not sure what you mean by a three-month grace? Lenders normally charge you up to the date they get your money.

obay

davidmcn wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by a three-month grace? Lenders normally charge you up to the date they get your money.

ah, when we were working on remortgage a lot of the KPI's (i think that's what they are called) was you can remortgage for free 3 months up to date. It's the only thing that's really annoyed me with KMC.

ACG

The 3 month grace is if you remain with the lender. If you want to move away they will hold you to the end of the deal.

Also Kensington do not want you to default, no idea where you got that from. Unlike a bank who needs to keep a good reputation to sell ISAs/bank accounts and insurance, kensington probably do not molly coddle you because people go to them out of necessity. Also, ALL lenders will charge you if you go in to arrears as far as I am aware (that includes your new lender)

obay

ACG wrote: »

The 3 month grace is if you remain with the lender. If you want to move away they will hold you to the end of the deal.

Also Kensington do not want you to default, no idea where you got that from. Unlike a bank who needs to keep a good reputation to sell ISAs/bank accounts and insurance, kensington probably do not molly coddle you because people go to them out of necessity. Also, ALL lenders will charge you if you go in to arrears as far as I am aware (that includes your new lender)

Never personally been in arrears so I wouldn't know at all. Always kept a credit on the account. But what you said is true, maybe I should've worded it a slight bit better. but this is excatly what I meant!

ROBOT555

Did you have Kensington on one of your credit reports? I have been with them since November 2017 and don't have them on a credit report. I am worried that when my fixed 2 year comes to an end and I want to move lenders to get a better rate that I will fail the credit checks.

ACG

There are 3 credit agencies (equifax/experian/callcredit), your mortgage may not be reported with all 3.

ROBOT555

I have checked and there isn't anything on there.

MortgageMamma

I don't see the point of this post all it says is Kensington are for people with impaired credit and previous account conduct is not taken into account when you get into arrears - which would be the same with any lender. Kensington are not bad to deal with and last time I used them they were really fast, had an offer out within a fortnight which is good going for a specialist lender. Well done on getting yourself moved over to Principality though, they are a good lender who are easy to deal with (but slow!)

jasperconran

we are currently going through a mortgage with kensington and its been very stressful I must say lol. We are on week 4 (I cannot include 2 weeks as we were waiting for tax overviews etc) and we are almost there!! so frustrating as my hubby earns flipping well!! underwriters ,we are told, have to just check figures (even though accounts were accepted!!) and we are now waiting in the queue as it were lol. we were due to exchange in about two weeks time and really want kensington to hurry up! as no survey been done yet!

I swear I am never moving again lol!

Thrugelmir

jasperconran wrote: »

I swear I am never moving again lol!

Then make a resolution never to have to use KMC again. Power is in your hands.