Diary of a remortgage - Neil and Verity Smith, from Glasgow

Neil_and_Verity_Smith

Aim- To secure the most competitive interest rate and a mortgage deal that was very flexible. To ensure we didn’t fall on to our existing lender’s standard variable rate.

Result- Woolwich tracker at 0.18% above BoE base rate for term. No early redemption penalties and the facility to make overpayments.


30th July First phone call to London and Country- 5.15pm. The adviser conducted a ‘fact find’, to establish our situation and the type of mortgage we required. Lenders have different lending criteria, so it was important to disclose details such as the loan-to-value of our mortgage, our income and the mortgage term. Our adviser was then able to find us the perfect mortgage deal, based on this information.
30th July 7.30pm- Adviser rang back with a formal mortgage recommendation: Woolwich term tracker, 0.18% above BoE base rate. Very flexible, with no early redemption penalties and the facility to make overpayments. It was exactly what we were looking for.
31st July Received an email with further details about the mortgage product and a Key Facts Illustration attached. It was all clearly explained and the adviser gave us his direct contact details, in case we had any questions.
1st August Information arrived in the post- a formal recommendation letter explaining why our adviser chose that particular product, as well as the Key Facts Illustration with all the small print about the mortgage. We had been with our existing lender for more than 10 years, but when we checked with them they couldn't offer anything near this new rate. We decided to go ahead.
6th August At a pre-arranged time we went through the application over the phone and submitted the information to Woolwich instantly. They came back with an ‘agreement in principle’, which set the ball rolling…
7th August Received a ‘Welcome’ letter from London and Country explaining the next stages of the remortgage. Woolwich were processing the application and would let our case manager know what we needed to send in.
16th August London and Country sent a request for ID documents.
20th August We received an offer from Woolwich. Our adviser reminded us about the rate check service, whereby London and Country check to see if this is still the best deal for us.
The Woolwich mortgage was still the most suitable, so we agreed on a completion date.
Our current deal had an early repayment charge until October, but we were able to keep the new offer for up to 3 months. When the early repayment charge expired, our new mortgage was in place to start the following day. We’re glad we avoided the SVR!


 

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