Mortgage broker - ask me anything

needadvicehere

K_S said:

@needadvicehere I don't know is the honest answer But as a broker I wouldn't expect to go down the Halifax route based on the limited info in your post.

As it's a future job, Halifax is likely to go by the contract and if your basic salary is given as USDxxx / year, then that's likely to be what they consider.

If you're fixed on sticking to Halifax for whatever reason, then I guess there's no harm in asking Halifax if they will be happy with a reference letter.

needadvicehere said:

K_S said:

@needadvicehere I see your point but as far as Halifax is concerned, if your employment contract mentions a salary in USD, your income originates in a non-GBP currency and hence doesn't meet their criteria.

However, it's nothing to worry about. Income (employed, self-employed, etc.) originating in a non GBP currency is not uncommon at all and there are a handful of mainstream lenders that will consider subject to their individual criteria.

For example, HSBC may consider after applying a discount to account for any future currency fluctuations.

needadvicehere said:

Hi all, I'd appreciate anyone's views particularly for those who have had experience of this (especially if you are broker, advisor, BDM or underwriter!)

I'd like to put in an application with Halifax. I reside in the UK and pay UK taxes. I will be joining a prestigious US-based firm who's got a worldwide presence including London. I will be relying on the income of my new job that will be commencing within 3 months. My salary is quoted in USD, however it will be paid directly in GBP. I am confident that my payslip will only show GBP as the only currency.

However, Halifax pre-approvals team have said that they would be unable to consider my future income as it originates in USD. I do not agree with this, given I will be paid directly in GBP (albeit within a fixed range). 

Further, most American-headquartered firms will quote their London-based front office and senior management employees' salaries in USD, but they will definitely be paid in GBP (otherwise how could one survive in England!). The US-pegged salaries are also likely to be subject to a cap/collar (floor/ceiling), meaning the salary will not fluctuate out of the range despite FX exchange fluctuation.

Anyone has had this but managed to get a mortgage from Halifax (or another high street lender)? Doesn't make sense to me if most American-headquartered London firms can't get a mortgage in UK!

Hi K_S, I really appreciate your advice, thank you. Do you think it would make a difference if I can produce a reference letter setting out the fact that my income originates in GBP, since it is a U.K.-registered firm which pays the salary?

That’s very helpful thanks. I’m aware that only HSBC and Santander consider so-called foreign income (though I still disagree that my case is, as the vast majority of American-headquartered firm has this remuneration arrangement for its London-based employees).

Do you by any chance know other lenders who would consider?

K_S

needadvicehere said:

K_S said:

@needadvicehere I don't know is the honest answer But as a broker I wouldn't expect to go down the Halifax route based on the limited info in your post.

As it's a future job, Halifax is likely to go by the contract and if your basic salary is given as USDxxx / year, then that's likely to be what they consider.

If you're fixed on sticking to Halifax for whatever reason, then I guess there's no harm in asking Halifax if they will be happy with a reference letter.

needadvicehere said:

K_S said:

@needadvicehere I see your point but as far as Halifax is concerned, if your employment contract mentions a salary in USD, your income originates in a non-GBP currency and hence doesn't meet their criteria.

However, it's nothing to worry about. Income (employed, self-employed, etc.) originating in a non GBP currency is not uncommon at all and there are a handful of mainstream lenders that will consider subject to their individual criteria.

For example, HSBC may consider after applying a discount to account for any future currency fluctuations.

needadvicehere said:

Hi all, I'd appreciate anyone's views particularly for those who have had experience of this (especially if you are broker, advisor, BDM or underwriter!)

I'd like to put in an application with Halifax. I reside in the UK and pay UK taxes. I will be joining a prestigious US-based firm who's got a worldwide presence including London. I will be relying on the income of my new job that will be commencing within 3 months. My salary is quoted in USD, however it will be paid directly in GBP. I am confident that my payslip will only show GBP as the only currency.

However, Halifax pre-approvals team have said that they would be unable to consider my future income as it originates in USD. I do not agree with this, given I will be paid directly in GBP (albeit within a fixed range). 

Further, most American-headquartered firms will quote their London-based front office and senior management employees' salaries in USD, but they will definitely be paid in GBP (otherwise how could one survive in England!). The US-pegged salaries are also likely to be subject to a cap/collar (floor/ceiling), meaning the salary will not fluctuate out of the range despite FX exchange fluctuation.

Anyone has had this but managed to get a mortgage from Halifax (or another high street lender)? Doesn't make sense to me if most American-headquartered London firms can't get a mortgage in UK!

Hi K_S, I really appreciate your advice, thank you. Do you think it would make a difference if I can produce a reference letter setting out the fact that my income originates in GBP, since it is a U.K.-registered firm which pays the salary?

That’s very helpful thanks. I’m aware that only HSBC and Santander consider so-called foreign income (though I still disagree that my case is, as the vast majority of American-headquartered firm has this remuneration arrangement for its London-based employees).

Do you by any chance know other lenders who would consider?

@needadvicehere Off of the top of my head, NatWest is another mainstream lender that will consider non-GBP income subject to criteria and applying a discount. Of course given that it's a future job, there'll be other criteria that come into play as well. 

K_S

natalie17 said:

Hi there,

Our fixed rate mortgage is ending on 31 March 2023 with nationwide. We are hoping to move house this year, but, as the expiry is quite near, we will still need to remortgage. The interest rate hike will be quite a blow to our monthly finances, on top of the fact that I am currently on maternity leave (since Nov '22 and planning to take the whole year on a severly decreased income as statutory mat pay kicks in march).

I have a job to go back to and was going to see how things go based on our child as to whether I do return, however, we can't afford the mortgage on just my husband's salary, so it would seem that I would need to go back full-time. If we do move house, I would more-than-likely need to get a new job as my current one wouldn't be very easily workable further away. We'd also need to factor in childcare, so I might not be able to go back full-time, affecting how much we can borrow.

Is it better to move whilst on maternity leave and see what we can afford with my current salary taken into account (even though I'm on mat leave)? It's not a given I'd have to get a new job, so I could honestly say I am planning to go back to work, but what if further down the line, I don't? Does this void anything even if we can still pay the monthly repayments?

Just wondering if you have any other advice for our situation?

Thank you for your help,
Natalie

@natalie17 Quick comments on what options you have for your remortgage with the background of needing to move home soon.

Product-transfer (stay with Nationwide, no affordability, income or credit checks) to a new fixed rate product: Pros being that this route involves no income/affordability/credit checks. Main con being that you will need to rely on being able to port (plus additional borrowing) with Nationwide when it comes to moving home.

Product-transfer to a Nationwide tracker product - pros being that again no income/affordability/credit checks and being a no-ERC tracker product, you will have the choice of the whole of market when it comes to a move. The con being that this is a variable rate and will move up/down in line with any changes in the bank of england rate.

Re-mortgage (change to a new lender) to a fixed rate and rely on being able to port

Re-mortgage (change to a new lender) to a no-ERC tracker rate so you can look at the whole market when it's time to move. Again, you will be exposed to any movement in the bank of england rate.

Maternity - As long as you intend to go back full time, your employer is willing to confirm the same (not required by all lenders) and future childcare costs are factored in, most lenders will be happy to consider your return to work income for the purpose of a mortgage application. If your plans change before completion, you will be expected to inform your lender of the same.

candycain

@ksK_S said:    hi what does two hard searches and two soft mean when application has gone through to santander 

ronjambo

gih said:

ronjambo said:

I've just received a mortgage offer from Nationwide, involving porting my current mortgage and adding about 1.5x again in new borrowing. The ability to port makes Nationwide my best option, the only problem is the rate on the new borrowing in my offer is 4.89% (i.e. their standard rate at the point I submitted my application) and the day after they made the offer the equivalent rate dropped to 4.49%.

Does have anyone have any experience of asking Nationwide (or any other lender) to drop their rate to their new standard after an offer has been made? Will I just have to reapply and go through the whole process again if I want an offer that reflects their current rates? 

We're doing exactly the same - porting our existing mortgage with Nationwide, with new additional borrowing of about the same amount. We originally applied for a 5-year fix in October, and rates have dropped about 4-5 times since then, from 5.64% to 4.59%.  We've updated our offer twice in that time, both times involved just e-mailing the mortgage advisor to arrange a phone call. He then phoned us up, and after 15 minutes we had a new offer issued.  Nothing complicated. 

A few things to consider:
- I noticed one person on another thread did say that their conveyancer charged each time their mortgage offer was updated, so that might be something to check. Not an issue in our case.
- Our advisor did mention that if we were doing updates more than 90 days after our decision in principle, then affordability checks would need to be done again, i.e. sending through latest pay-slips. 
- Our advisor also said the valuation of the house we're buying is valid for 90 days, so again making changes after that point would require us getting a new valuation. 

We're now 90 days beyond our DIP, and close to the 90-day point from our valuation. As our completion is still about a month away, we just decided to go on a fee-free tracker in the end, with a view to switching to a fixed deal shortly after we move (hoping that they might drop again before then, or at least not rise). Rates for "existing members switching" had been lower than "existing members moving" up until yesterday's change, which had been a further reason for us deciding to do this.

Thanks. That sounds promising.

Quick follow-up question - when you say "mortgage advisor" was that the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application or was it the person who helped you submit the application (assuming you went through the "with advice" route direct with Nationwide)? 

They are two different people for me and I got a very blunt and unhelpful response from the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application so I'm wondering if I should get back in touch with the person who helped us with the application.

Thanks in advance!

gih

ronjambo said:

Thanks. That sounds promising.

Quick follow-up question - when you say "mortgage advisor" was that the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application or was it the person who helped you submit the application (assuming you went through the "with advice" route direct with Nationwide)? 

They are two different people for me and I got a very blunt and unhelpful response from the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application so I'm wondering if I should get back in touch with the person who helped us with the application.

Thanks in advance!

It was the mortgage advisor who helped us submit the application. 

There is a different "mortgage advisor" listed on our application, however we have never spoken to them. Good luck!

ronjambo

gih said:

ronjambo said:

Thanks. That sounds promising.

Quick follow-up question - when you say "mortgage advisor" was that the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application or was it the person who helped you submit the application (assuming you went through the "with advice" route direct with Nationwide)? 

They are two different people for me and I got a very blunt and unhelpful response from the "mortgage adviser" listed on the application so I'm wondering if I should get back in touch with the person who helped us with the application.

Thanks in advance!

It was the mortgage advisor who helped us submit the application. 

There is a different "mortgage advisor" listed on our application, however we have never spoken to them. Good luck!

Ok. Good. I was hoping that was the case - I've just emailed them so fingers crossed they are more helpful!

joshparker1911

Currently looking at discount v tracker mortgages. Tracker seems relatively easy to understand as it tracks the interest rate but with the discounted they track the SVR of the specific lender. Is there any correlation between BOE interest rate and SVR or is it different based on each individual lender 

K_S

joshparker1911 said:

Currently looking at discount v tracker mortgages. Tracker seems relatively easy to understand as it tracks the interest rate but with the discounted they track the SVR of the specific lender. Is there any correlation between BOE interest rate and SVR or is it different based on each individual lender 

@joshparker1911 There may be some correlation and is dependent on the individual building society, but it's unlikely to exactly track the BOE rate every time. Very very generally speaking, based on past history (may or may not apply going forward and will not apply to every BS) the increase/decrease in SVR is usually slower both on the way up and when going down. 

Have a look at one BS' recent SVR history

https://www.suffolkforintermediaries.co.uk/blog/base-rate-and-our-svr/

joshparker1911

K_S said:

joshparker1911 said:

Currently looking at discount v tracker mortgages. Tracker seems relatively easy to understand as it tracks the interest rate but with the discounted they track the SVR of the specific lender. Is there any correlation between BOE interest rate and SVR or is it different based on each individual lender 

@joshparker1911 There may be some correlation and is dependent on the individual building society, but it's unlikely to exactly track the BOE rate every time. Very very generally speaking, based on past history (may or may not apply going forward and will not apply to every BS) the increase/decrease in SVR is usually slower both on the way up and when going down. 

Have a look at one BS' recent SVR history

https://www.suffolkforintermediaries.co.uk/blog/base-rate-and-our-svr/

Very useful info thankyou very much