Halifax Product Transfer

BristolBased

Hi everyone, long time lurker but have just signed up for everyone’s expertise. 

My partner and I bought our house in May. It was a probate property that needed lots of work. We have since done considerable improvements to the property that has added value to the property of around £50,000 according to a local Estate Agent. We had a 2 year fixed deal with Halifax and the plan was to remortgage when this expired. However, our circumstances have changed and as such it is unlikely we would be in a position to do this (partner returning to University unexpectedly). We can still comfortably afford the property and outgoings but income will be reduced in short-medium term. Having done some research it appears that a product transfer could be an option as they may not do the financial checks associated with a remortgage. However, I can’t seem to find any information about whether the property could be revalued to take into account the home improvements and consequently reduce the LTV into the 60-70% bracket from the 80-85%. If anyone knows whether this is possible it would be greatly appreciated.

jamielutz1987

@BristolBased
Afaik, no, it is not possible to do anything other than a desktop/automatic revaluation (which the lender's system does automatically) when doing a product switch/transfer. You are right, there are no income/affordability checks if you choose to do a PT and stay with Halifax.
To get this confirmed, in your place I would contact a broker, as they can do Halifax PTs as well.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but if you bought in May, isn't your fix only up in spring 2022?

BristolBased

jamielutz1987 said:

@BristolBased
Afaik, no, it is not possible to do anything other than a desktop/automatic revaluation (which the lender's system does automatically) when doing a product switch/transfer. You are right, there are no income/affordability checks if you choose to do a PT and stay with Halifax.
To get this confirmed, in your place I would contact a broker, as they can do Halifax PTs as well.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but if you bought in May, isn't your fix only up in spring 2022?

Yes, in March 2022. We were planning on remortgaging then to take into account the improvements. However, with my partner going to university we would like to lock in on a 5 year fixed whilst the rates are low (appreciate they probably won’t rise significantly in the near future). Is there something that I’m not considering that makes this an illogical move? 

kingstreet

You can pay for a drive-by or an internal inspection as part of a Halifax PT.

BristolBased

kingstreet said:

You can pay for a drive-by or an internal inspection as part of a Halifax PT.

Thank you both for your help. Do you know the cost of an internal inspection? 

kingstreet

It used to be £80 for a drive-by and £130 for an internal but that was from a few years ago and is likely to be higher now.

[Deleted User]

Fee for a further advance revaluation is £150 so might be around that level for product transfers as well

penners324

Is the 2% ERC worth it?

amnblog

If you want a higher valuation you need to have increased the floor space through your improvements. Refurbishment without extension is unlikely to result in a substantially higher valuation.