Mortgage broker - ask me anything

frowner

Our fixed term is coming to an end, with £80k left on the mortgage and £80 in savings is it wise to pay it off in full now or take another fixed. Broker has also mentioned tracker or offset but struggling to understand the best option for us so any feedback very much appreciated.

dingo

I live abroad but am moving back to the UK very soon. I was hoping to speak to a mortgage adviser but have seen that we should not do this via the forums. Can anyone recommend an adviser? Apart from the form filling, phone calls etc, are there any advantageous deals that can be got through a MA? Or can we get the same deals ourselves? For example, I did a calculation via the Nationwide site. Can I assume that any AIP will be the same whether done by me or a MA? Living abroad might make it easier for me to use a MA though which I am happy to do.

kingstreet

The majority of lenders have a set minimum period back in the UK before they will lend. This can be as long as three years. A small number will lend with a shorter period but you will have restricted options. That's why you need a broker's help with this.

Nationwide criteria, as an example;-

We'll consider applications where:

• your client's a UK national working abroad and their family (ie spouse and children) will remain in the UK as occupiers. It's expected that the spouse will be a joint borrower.
• if your clients can provide a full UK address history for the last 3 years. And they can satisfy our current ID policy, proof of residency requirements and underwriting criteria.

dingo

Good to know. I am retired (so is my wife). We have had bank accounts, credit cards etc in the UK for the 10 years that we have been abroad. I have had soft credit checks done plus been through various mortgage calculations via lenders where they have asked my addresses for the last 3 years (I have used my son's addressess for all this). Would that count? However, I am not on the electoral register.

london21

I have an appointment on Thursday, Would it be better to go for 2,3 or 5 years re-mortgage?

around 65% LTV 

2 years 5.59%

3 years 5.49%

5 years 5.12%

Was going to go for 2 years but reading on the BBC website "IMF says UK faces five more years of high interest rates"

Iiyama

My son started the police in June of this year. It’s a police degree apprentice position with three years in job training. He is looking to get a mortgage. 

Around July this year he found a property and was offered a mortgage. However, the property fell through. He has found another property.

However, I've since been told that he may be limited to who he can get a mortgage through due to the training/apprenticeship police officer role. As it may not be considered a permanent job as potentially he could fail at any point in the training?

is this true? I would have thought a mortgage lender would consider the police a secure position.

K_S

Iiyama said:

My son started the police in June of this year. It’s a police degree apprentice position with three years in job training. He is looking to get a mortgage. 

Around July this year he found a property and was offered a mortgage. However, the property fell through. He has found another property.

However, I've since been told that he may be limited to who he can get a mortgage through due to the training/apprenticeship police officer role. As it may not be considered a permanent job as potentially he could fail at any point in the training?

is this true? I would have thought a mortgage lender would consider the police a secure position.

@Iiyama I don’t know of this specific program but generally speaking - if the contract he’s on is a fixed term one (even if that term is 3 years long), some lenders will assess it differently to a permanent contract. So depending on the details it is possible.

However, if he has access to even just one of the large lenders (Halifax, Nationwide, etc etc) it doesn’t really matter because their rates are all competitive and while he may or may not get the ‘best’ rate available at the time, it’ll still be close enough to not matter too much.

If he’s had a mainstream mortgage offer before, I’m sure he’ll be fine the next time around, all the best.

taylor86

After making a mortgage application and submitting self employed income docs, will I receive an update prior to paying for the valuation?

theonenonly

I've received varying levels of what banks can lend me, even 2 different amounts from Nationwide's Helping Hand, one a lower amount going through the broker Habito, and more when going directly with Nationwide, even when inputting the same information. How comes?

E.g.

• L&C, DIP of £273,000, but after speaking with the broker on the phone he crunched some numbers and I'm apparently unlikely to get more than £248,000.

• Habito, £250,000, but able to get £286,000 via Nationwides Helping Hands over 40 years.

• Nationwide Helping Hands (applying directly), initially offered £268,000 non Helping Hands. When I asked for Helping Hands and what I can be offered, they gave me a DIP of £306,000.

K_S

theonenonly said:

I've received varying levels of what banks can lend me, even 2 different amounts from Nationwide's Helping Hand, one a lower amount going through the broker Habito, and more when going directly with Nationwide, even when inputting the same information. How comes?

E.g.

• L&C, DIP of £273,000, but after speaking with the broker on the phone he crunched some numbers and I'm apparently unlikely to get more than £248,000.

• Habito, £250,000, but able to get £286,000 via Nationwides Helping Hands over 40 years.

• Nationwide Helping Hands (applying directly), initially offered £268,000 non Helping Hands. When I asked for Helping Hands and what I can be offered, they gave me a DIP of £306,000

@theonenonly If the question is - what is the most that I can borrow from a mainstream lender - then only one of the above can be correct.

For the same requirement (term, fix length, LTV, property type, etc.) and same information input (age, income, credit commitments, etc.), there should be no difference in the HH max borrowing irrespective of whether you go through a broker or direct. They *should* be based on the same NW HH affordability calculator.
https://www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/calculators/affordability-calculator