United Trust Bank

newpass331

Does anyone have any experience with UTB for mortgages? I’m just wondering how forgiving they are with sub-prime applicants and what kind of rates they are likely to offer, if anyone has been made an offer through them. I appreciate this depends on individual circumstances but a rough idea would be good.

They have been suggested by a broker but I can’t find much online about them and especially for mortgages. Are they classed as an absolute last chance saloon or would there be other similar lenders, or ones that are even more forgiving than them? Just trying to gauge if there would be other options if they don’t make me an offer.

I have discussed things with my broker but I don’t want to keep pestering so any help would alleviate my worries.

Thank you. 

K_S

@newpass331I've only ever used them for bridging and unregulated lending, don't think I've ever used them for resi.

Lenders like UTB don't do any credit-scoring and once they've had a look at the case and provisionally ok'd it, it rarely falls through after that. So if your broker has run your case past them and they've said that they will consider, more likely than not it fits their offering.

It's hard to give a general comment as it would depend on the details, but I don't think UTB would be absolute last chance saloon. I think that label would be more appropriate to the likes of Together, Norton, etc.

With regulated residential lending, if a lender is willing to lend on terms which the borrower is happy to accept, then whether the lender is a well-known high-street brand or the Bank Of Timbuktu, it doesn't really matter does it. UTB may or may not have a slick online system or a mobile app, etc. but those are all minor things imho.

I had a similar conversation with another forumite that used UTB and was happy with the rate and the experience, hopefully they will chip in with their thoughts. 

stek2008

Hello @newpass331,

@K_S pointed me at your thread after I was picking people's brains about UTB myself a month or two back... 

My partner and I completed purchase of a house with UTB as our lender 2 weeks ago.
We had a rough time with mainstream lenders due to a mix of the house (needing some renovation, not having a damp proof course) and my income is mostly self-employed (limiting the LTV available from some lenders). These factors plus my having some credit card debt meant that our broker had to shop around after NatWest refused us on the grounds of the house, and Santander refused us on the LTV (we were initially trying to get away with 95% LTV so we had more funds for renovating). 

In short, UTB were really thorough and very good.
On day 1 our broker advised us that he deals directly with the underwriters and that they respond to him within 48 working hours of him submitting an application/any extra details that were needed. This was the case for the 3 weeks it took to underwrite our mortgage through to offer.

They work differently to other lenders as they're more sub-prime and don't rely on credit files so much - so expect a few questions that you'd assume they could check themselves... but if you're ok with supplying the info they request (nothing too bruising!) it's just a case of them being very manual on the underwriting. 

We were initially asked for details of our incomes, copies of payslips (3 months worth), bank statements (blacked out other than income lines at broker's advice) for 3 months. 
We were then asked some questions to judge affordability (e.g. you're moving X miles from your current address, how will this affect work, travel costs etc). 

They spent a good while scrutinising my business accounts, and bank statements and asking my accountant for future projections (as I'm self-employed) but then it was all good and we had an offer exactly 3 weeks from starting the process.

The broker arranged the survey (rather than the lender) and they only did this (and charged for this) once everything else had the "nod" from UTB. 

Another friend had a similar mess around with NatWest and ended up with UTB - he was approved a bit quicker in around 2 weeks after a similar process (he was looking to borrow a lot less and had a bigger deposit which is why I suspect he was quicker).

We ended up paying around 2% (4.8%) more than we were quoted from Santander - but with UTB we were on just under 85% LTV rather than 95% for the Santander quote (so likely Santander would have quoted a bit less at that LTV)...  
We are paying a bit over the odds (less so with each % rate rise) but it's a 2-year fix and we'll have sorted the structural issues that put NatWest off by the time the fix ends (but who knows where rates will be by then...).

If the % rates your broker are offering for UTB don't make it a no-deal for you - I wouldn't hesitate to say go for it.
They were a thorough, professional and (compared to others) speedy lender. 

The only other bumps in the road for us were that we had to change solicitor - UTB doesn't have a panel as such but needs you to use a firm with at least 2 partners/directors and one which is SRA regulated. The solicitor we had in place for NatWest was approved by a different body (Conveyancers Association or something similar...). 

Hope that helps but if you have any specific questions shout back and I'll help if I can,

Steve

stek2008

(I should add that we took the UTB route in the interest of speed and not wanting to lose the property - we did have other avenues we could have explored with less sub-prime lenders but they were looking likely to be too slow. (NatWest, or rather L&C the broker, had messed us about for 7 weeks) but it was the speed of decision that ultimately meant we accepted the higher rate.)