Mortgage Lender - Natwest or Santander

[united4ever]

Hi, Offer accepted but the buyer has urged me to get the bank to do the Survey ASAP to show commitment.

Seems like both Natwest and Santander will provide me with the mortgage I require at similar interest rates.

Do any of you know which one might be the quicker/more efficient one to deal with. I do have a Santander branch 2 minutes from my house and used to bank wit them....but does doing it in the branch make things any easier than through the call centre?

Also, If possible I would like to borrow about 20k more than I require to do an extension after we move in. Is this something Banks are agreeable with these days. Basically I have 90k from my sale and will be purchasing at 250K so £160k required to buy the house but I would like to borrow more to fund the extension. What are your thoughts?

Having recently gone through the mortgage process with Santander, I would recommend you avoid them at all costs. Despite having a decision-in-principle from them, it took so long for them to process things that we missed our entry date. It was 6 weeks, and our mortgage advisor did escalate our case with their mortgage manager, but we still missed the deadline through no fault of our own & had to rearrange at considerable cost/inconvenience.

Ps mortgages are done through Santanders mortgage centre, not the local branch. It does not have a phone number where you can contact them for updates, or complain. So you're left in the dark. Very poor service.

Natwest are more flexible and efficient. Maybe use a mortgage broker if you need a quick deal?

I wouldn't trust Santander with it. Based on some dreadful service I had a few years ago with a credit card. Very poor service.

Go to an independent mortgage adviser, they will be able to streamline the process and they will also know which lenders are the quickest (Santander can take 6 weeks just to give you an appointment). A good broker will also liaise with the Estate Agent to confirm you are getting a mortgage etc. In fact, a good broker will keep liaise with all the other parties saving you a lot of hassle.

PM if you need a recommendation.

No problems with Santander here, I would recommend them. You also get 1% back on mortgage payments (up to 1000) a month if you have a 123 bank account.

In regards to the additional borrowing, I think you have to be with them for six months before they will lend you more (but that is pretty standard) and it will depend on what LTV they will allow you to have.

We have no problem with Santander, have been with them years.

Our buyers are using Santander and wouldn't recomend them

banks. We have just renewed through santander. Process started 19 may, underwriters approved last week and valuation Survey being done next week. Theyare also doing our homebuyers survey, but you could organise this yourself separately sooner to appease your buyer.

They have an online system ti submit documents and will email & text progress alerts. There is a phone number to call and I was given a named contact after my interview.

Think all banks are taking longer while the new processes bed in, I'm sure you could ask each for an indication of how long it'll take to get an interview

We have just used Santander and it was a complete nightmare.

It took 8 weeks and constant chasing to get anywhere.

Also our Santander would not do mortgage applications in branch, it all had to be done on the phone and there was a 2 week waiting list for the first phone appointment.

have you tried any of the few remaining building societies? They have some pretty good rates and generally offer a more personal service

Thanks, can anyone tell me what is cheaper in the long run 3.59% with a £995 fee or 3.89% with no fee?

Over how long?

www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator

Thanks all, Also, I have a MIP from Natwest which I want to pursue. Can I now use a mortgage broker to make a full application using the same reference number etc for that mortgage or will the NatWest not like this since they would then end up paying the broker?

I would appreciate having a broker on my side to help with the full application and do a lot of the chasing etc. Also, i used this broker for two sales that previously fell through so she deserves the comission in the end.

Just used Santander and it was dreadful. So slow.

If you want £20k for an extension then reduce your deposit to £70k and keep the £20k in the bank until you need it. That means you need to borrow £180k which gets you where you want to be. The loan to value ratio is £180k/£250k = 72% which should be acceptable to most lenders.

Doing it this way is cheaper than taking out a separate home improvement loan later.

Don't forget to allow also for stamp duty, legal fees and moving costs.