Mortgage with first direct?

[PianoPants]

Hello,

Looking at mortgages as a first time buyer. I do most of my banking with first direct, has anyone had a mortgage with them? If so, what checks do they do? I have an old current account I no longer use but used to use it for betting and would rather no disclose.

And how are they generally?

Thanks in advance.

If anyone could talk me through the general process that would be as there's so much conflicting info online depending on the lender.

We had our mortgage with FD, we took the longest time product and then overpaid it, you can't finish the product before the end date, but you can get the monthly payment figure down to what we call comedy levels.

Just before we cleared ours on the due date, our mortgage was £5 a month.

After being a mortgage slave for so long, it used to make us laugh.

Most lenders have the same processes for first time buyers, and few have any incentives for existing customers, so don't feel tied to First Direct. The current account you have (as with all credit accounts - loans, cards, overdrafts, some utilities) will show up on a credit check but not your transactions, that said if all are run well you might not even know they've been checked.

Lenders will want to see ID, proof of who you are and where you live. P60s and wage slips. Deposit and where its coming from.

Make a few telephone appointments if you need to run through any details, lenders don't bite - and you're under no obligation until you sign on the line.

Exciting times OP - have you found somewhere you like yet?

Oh wow, that's amazing £5 a month 😂. How was the application process if you can remember that far back? Did they want to check other accounts etc.?

We are midway through an application with First Direct as FTB. So far they've been easy to speak to and happy to help with queries.

Happy to answer questions :-)

In terms of looking at accounts, some lenders ask for statements from current accounts for the last 3 month's. My husband and I needed to do that with our joint current accounts and our own current accounts for one mortgage with the Halifax.

Thanks all for your help.

@Muppetry76 we have and it's very exciting/daunting. Thanks for your advice. Going to speak with a few lenders on Monday. We do have a mortgage in principle but still unsure of a lot of the ins and outs.

@shiveringwiggles I'm going to give first direct a call. Did they check statements from other accounts you hold?

Nope, they asked for statements from my main current account at the beginning of the application but nothing else (so far!)

If your old current account is HSBC they will be able to see that as they are the parent company.

That's so exciting! I remember getting my first mortgage and it was super exciting.

DH and I took out a FD mortgage in February and have found them incredibly helpful, professional and of course most importantly had the best deal for us. Do they have a product that for you is the most competitive? Don't feel you need to take out a mortgage with them just because you bank with them.

The process for us was really smooth - I actually completed the initial application to start the remortgage process (from HSBC) when I just started maternity leave. From memory it was very straightforward in terms of what info was required. We then had a telephone consultation with an advisor when I was a week post partum (DD came a few days early) and they were really patient with us whilst we got ourselves sorted with info and answered the million questions I had for them clearly. Providing bank statements was easy, you can give permission for them to access your relevant bank statements electronically (they even do cross institutions) so you don't need to pfaff about going to your bank and getting statements printed and sent off. I would say that of all the experiences of remortgaging over the past 13 years that this one was the easiest and smoothest. I would recommend them but only if they have the best deal for you.

Good luck with your first home buying experience! Hope it all goes well.

Just to add, we hold a few current accounts (each of us have our own current account and then a joint current account plus I have another personal one for "play" money) and they only asked to see statements from each of our main accounts (where our salary goes into).

@shiveringwiggles we started the mortgage process with first direct last week and so far it's very slow (to be expected) how is yours coming along?

@InDreamland thank you for all the info! Really helpful. How long did it take?

@PianoPants it took in total approximatel 4-5 weeks from the initial application to completion. We may have done it slightly faster if DD hadn't decided to join us earlier than expected.

Sorry, I should add though that it may have been more straightforward for us and therefore quicker because we moved our mortgage from HSBC which is their parent company plus our LTV is under 10% so guessing the affordability checks maybe easier (that is just a presumption on my part though). It all went through before lockdown so maybe covid has impacted on how fast things are moving now.

I think you're right @InDreamland. We have been advised due to covid that it could take up to 9 weeks. I feel so impatient!

Go to a mortgage broker, not to your bank. This is a huge investment so there's no point being loyal

@PianoPants it's ticking along, but very slowly! We applied around the 22nd/23rd of July and have had a credit check since then/have sent all requested paperwork. The earliest available appointment was 1st September (!!) so we're still waiting for the next stage. The longer I wait, the more nervous I get!

@shiveringwiggles my husband phoned FD tonight and got a cancellation for tomorrow morning. Just sheer luck. So if you're sick of waiting, call them and ask them to check cancellations.

@InDreamland see after the first conversation with the mortgage advisor... What happens next usually?

@PianoPants ahh, congrats! I actually phoned this afternoon around 4pm and checked for cancellations- there were none. Your husband clearly has excellent timing, haha!

I'll keep checking

@shiveringwiggles definitely keep trying, it really gets the ball rolling! Good luck.

@PianoPants we received a document outlining all the details of the product we discussed and wanted to proceed with. We then provided all documentation they asked for I think - can't remember now if that was done before or after the call as we were in the crazy newborn bubble. I think they did an online check on our house valuation too. Then once we signed to confirm we definitely wanted proceed it went through pretty fast. Once we had it set up we then had to get a standing order set up for the monthly payments as oddly they don't do direct debit like all the banks we've had mortgages with in the past.

sorry hit post too soon.

Fingers crossed it moves quickly for you.

Hello,

Back with an update. So for anyone who has a mortgage with first direct, how long did final checks take? We got a text this morning saying the valuation was back and is good so they're conducting final checks. Thanks!

@PianoPants ooo, good news!

If you don't mind me asking, what did they ask about in the affordability section of the phone call? Was it in depth?

We're (probably needlessly) panicking!

@shiveringwiggles not really in depth - just asked about salary and outgoings and had to upload evidence of payslips. I guess it's different depending on your mortgage amount and deal but because we bank with them they really didn't go in depth. Hope that helps.