I like to write reviews on ciao about whats good and bad from a users point of view. The reviews a...
I like to write reviews on ciao about whats good and bad from a users point of view. The reviews also include different perspectives and comparisons ive experienced with other products and life experiences.
Member since:02.06.2001
Reviews:37
Members who trust:3
I went to see a mortgage lender who was supposed to represent most of the lenders on the market. I was offered a ridiculously low borrowing amount and hastily started looking elsewhere. I looked on the net and quickly found that I could easily get £5000 more than was offered earlier. I then saw a recommendation for Intelligent Finance. I was advised that they were offering a very good mortgage deal by the Tesco.com mortgage supermarket and again in the Sunday Express. This led me to look into what the catches were. The low interest rate was a 1.5% reduction for 6 months then payments would return to normal at the variable standard rate of 6.1% The mortgage had no booking fee, no Lenders arrangement fee, no mortgage Indemnity premium, and a remaining fee of £150. The loan had no Loan conditions such as early redemption penalties or conditional insurances and the only problem I encountered was that the solicitors dealing with Intelligent Finance have to be listed on their board of approved solicitors. This meant I had to bypass a solicitor who quoted me a very good price and go with another who was slightly more expensive.
I went ahead and applied to see what amount of money I could borrow and I was very pleased to see a difference of over £11000 maximum borrowing amount compared to the first mortgage advisor I`d visited. I felt like the cat that had got the cream, and knew I was onto a nugget when close relatives were asking questions like "dont you have to go and ask the bank manager politely?" and saying "Isn`t your mortgage running smoothly"
I must say the process has been quite smooth so far and the attitude has been very good from all the staff Ive dealt with at IF The interest saving from purchasing this loan over a similiar offer from another provider is approximately £10000. The other firm were also near the top of the mortgage list in both the Tesco supermarket and the Sunday Express financial paper.
I feel I can say Intelligent Finance offers the customer a market leading rate and a smooth service. I am very happy with the service and I might even tell them that but I thought it best to let the consumers on Ciao know first. I am still a little cautious about them although the Halifax backs them so I shouldnt be too bothered. I dont have any other accounts with them as yet, but if I should need a loan or savings account Im sure Ill check them out.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I have been meaning to look into changing from my halifax current account to an IF account, I might inquire about how much of a mortgage they will give me...I can't go on renting forever! Great op. Jo :)
sylviesinc 30.10.2001 19:41
Very good op. My daughter is looking for her first mortgage. I will recommend that she try IF, after reading your experience.Sylvie
Advantages: Online service makes managing your money easy and offset mortgages can make significant savings Disadvantages: Cumbersome online facility, drawn out and error prone application procedures and poor customer service
Advantages: Pay off mortgage early, save thousands in interest payments, low interest rate, tax-free savings Disadvantages: they can be a bit picky about who they'll take on
Oct 30th, 2001
very helpful by (100%):
