Mortgage broker - ask me anything

NWDave

Hello and can I first thank the author and contributors to this thread - simply superb! Getting straight to it;
Current deal with Halifax expires in December 21 - looking to remortage on a 5 year deal plus if possible! 

Estate Agent Valuation - £490k in writing, based on current sale of similar properties within yards of our own property.
Mortgage balance £292,500k with 18 years and 2 months left to run.
Personal loans of £15k each over 5 years with Halifax.
Better half has CC debt for a further £8k on 0% deals.
No other debt, never ever any missed payments and no CCJ's.
Excellent '999' credit score - no payment holidays etc ever on any loans or mortgage ever. Overpayments made to personal loan.
Joint income of £82k a year.

Question is if we stay with Halifax would mean no credit checks as we have had a mortgage with them for 4 years now - so quite straight forward. However at the moment they are not as competitive as HSBC who we bank with where the advertised rate is 0.94% with £999 fee.

1. Do we try to switch to HSBC? Are they likely to approve or reject based on the above?
2. If we switch I'm told that the £999 needs to be paid to secure the 0.94% rate? Really?
2. Do we stick with Halifax and take the hit with a not so competitive rate but not get pinged for the debt as we have kept all payments in full and on time?
3. Any suggestions I have not considered - other lenders?
4. I'm thinking 5 year deal but maybe should look at longer term rates?


Thanks to all for help in this in advance.

K_S

NWDave said:

Hello and can I first thank the author and contributors to this thread - simply superb! Getting straight to it;
Current deal with Halifax expires in December 21 - looking to remortage on a 5 year deal plus if possible! 

Estate Agent Valuation - £490k in writing, based on current sale of similar properties within yards of our own property.
Mortgage balance £292,500k with 18 years and 2 months left to run.
Personal loans of £15k each over 5 years with Halifax.
Better half has CC debt for a further £8k on 0% deals.
No other debt, never ever any missed payments and no CCJ's.
Excellent '999' credit score - no payment holidays etc ever on any loans or mortgage ever. Overpayments made to personal loan.
Joint income of £82k a year.

Question is if we stay with Halifax would mean no credit checks as we have had a mortgage with them for 4 years now - so quite straight forward. However at the moment they are not as competitive as HSBC who we bank with where the advertised rate is 0.94% with £999 fee.

1. Do we try to switch to HSBC? Are they likely to approve or reject based on the above?
2. If we switch I'm told that the £999 needs to be paid to secure the 0.94% rate? Really?
2. Do we stick with Halifax and take the hit with a not so competitive rate but not get pinged for the debt as we have kept all payments in full and on time?
3. Any suggestions I have not considered - other lenders?
4. I'm thinking 5 year deal but maybe should look at longer term rates?

Thanks to all for help in this in advance.

@nwdave I can't advise you on what to do but these are my general thoughts on some of the questions you've asked.

1. As long as the monthly payments on the personal loans aren't too high, you should be ok with affordablity for HSBC and most other mainstream lenders. You could play around and check for yourself https://intermediaries.hsbc.co.uk/calculator/ 
With respect to the "credit scoring" that lenders will do and the impact of 38k background debt on that, it should be fine for a like for like remo at 60% LTV, but only a DIP/AIP can give you that assurance.

2. You can add it to the mortgage if you'd prefer that. But if you're asking if there's any discretion in HSBC waiving the fee for a product that comes with one, there isn't.

worriedseller2022

How much will being on maternity leave reduce a mortgage offer?

K_S

worriedseller2022 said:

How much will being on maternity leave reduce a mortgage offer?

@worriedseller2022 Assuming that you intend to return to work after mat leave, and your employer is willing to confirm the return to work date and salary in writing (depends on lender, not always required) most mainstream lenders will be happy to take into account the return to work salary for the application. Depending on how long there is to go, some lenders may require proof of savings to cover any period of unpaid mat leave.

worriedseller2022

K_S said:

worriedseller2022 said:

How much will being on maternity leave reduce a mortgage offer?

@worriedseller2022 Assuming that you intend to return to work after mat leave, and your employer is willing to confirm the return to work date and salary in writing (depends on lender, not always required) most mainstream lenders will be happy to take into account the return to work salary for the application. Depending on how long there is to go, some lenders may require proof of savings to cover any period of unpaid mat leave.

Thank you. Will childcare costs significantly impact the borrowing amount?

K_S

worriedseller2022 said:

K_S said:

worriedseller2022 said:

How much will being on maternity leave reduce a mortgage offer?

@worriedseller2022 Assuming that you intend to return to work after mat leave, and your employer is willing to confirm the return to work date and salary in writing (depends on lender, not always required) most mainstream lenders will be happy to take into account the return to work salary for the application. Depending on how long there is to go, some lenders may require proof of savings to cover any period of unpaid mat leave.

Thank you. Will childcare costs significantly impact the borrowing amount?

@worriedseller2022 It depends on the specific numbers, how long the term can be, borrowing requirements, etc. But generally speaking, for most people childcare costs do impact the max borrowing.

You could try playing around with a few lender affordability calcs to see what kind of impact it has in your particular circumstances. Good luck!

https://online.accordmortgages.com/public/mortgages/quick_enquiry.do

https://nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/calculators/affordability-calculator

Zizzi86

Hi
Would you be able to advise if our situation is feasible. 

We have seen a property in Scotland to purchase which is 300 miles from where we live currently. If my partner gets a job offer letter but I stay down here to live with a friend until I can find work would we be able to get a mortgage based on mine and his salary?

Pinonze

Hi All,

Question for anyone thats familiar with HSBC mortgage application.

Made an application 26th August 2021. Valuation Done. 
Submitted all documents to HSBC 29th August.

Not heard anything since and HSBC keep saying waiting for underwriter to review case. 

Got an update today from the broker saying 

Its in Pre Offer Underwriting Stage. !!!!

Whats does that mean? Has it taken this long to get to this stage?

Its a straight remortgage with no additional borrowing. Geez!!!

Anyone understand what this means Pre offer Underwriting is this a good sign? When it gets to this stage has the initial underwriting been done?

Please what are your thoughts? 

K_S

Pinonze said:

Hi All,

Question for anyone thats familiar with HSBC mortgage application.

Made an application 26th August 2021. Valuation Done. 
Submitted all documents to HSBC 29th August.

Not heard anything since and HSBC keep saying waiting for underwriter to review case. 

Got an update today from the broker saying 

Its in Pre Offer Underwriting Stage. !!!!

Whats does that mean? Has it taken this long to get to this stage?

Its a straight remortgage with no additional borrowing. Geez!!!

Anyone understand what this means Pre offer Underwriting is this a good sign? When it gets to this stage has the initial underwriting been done?

Please what are your thoughts? 

@pinonze It's a bit odd that a like for like HSBC remo applied for 5+ weeks ago hasn't had a decision yet. Afaik, they haven't been particularly busy the last couple of months and their service levels have been inside a week at most. Of course this is assuming that the broker has been proactive and responded to any underwriting queries in a speedy manner.

Nothing out of the ordinary about your income, credit profile, etc.? 

I can't really add anything useful other than your broker is best placed to get to the bottom to understand what exactly is holding up the underwriting. Good luck!

Northern_Line

Hello. I've got a slightly unusual question. Recently applied with Natwest via a broker. Application went in about a week ago with valuation booked for this week. Off the back of it, I've noticed 8(!) hard searches have been submitted by Natwest. 7 of these happened on the 1st October. They appear under NWIS - Natwest introductory services.

I've got my broker to follow up on this and Natwest are saying they would have only done one. Broker is saying in any case they don't have issues on my side, they're just waiting for Equifax to provide a hard copy of my partners credit report as part of the application process.

Is this heard of? I'm a bit worried about this many search negatively affecting my ability to secure credit moving forward and I'm a bit confused as to why they would run so many and then say they haven't given the search is marked as Natwest on my report.