We bought our present home 4 years ago and like many people in the same position, we now have a house that is worth more than we could afford today. Of course, this means we can't afford to move to anywhere bigger. So of course it would be nice to free up some of that equity, without changing my monthly payments and for no more than an hour or so of my own time. And you can...
I called Intelligent Finance (I know you can do it all online, but - and this is something that I want to stress - I.F. make this absolutely idiot proof) because I wanted to get the application right first time. A very pleasant lady walked me through the whole thing in about 20 minutes. On a Sunday afternoon. I needed to call her back about one piece of info that I could not lay my hands on immediately and left a message for her to call back - which she did within 15 minutes even though her shift had actually already ended. On a SUNDAY! Terrific.
Unlike previous mortgages (Halifax in-branch advisor, and prior to that a mortgage through a broker) this whole experience, last December, went as smooth as silk. All the documentation was very clearly laid out and well explained, we simply signed here and here, witness signed there also, and popped it back in the envelope provided and posted it.
We selected the date of the mortgage transfer (23rd December - which is exactly when it happened) and it all did exactly what it said on the tin.
In addition, we had both our current account, and our joint (bills) account transferred over, with all the standing orders and direct debits, and our salary instructions - without a single hitch.
Can it get any better? I was also pleased that when I asked for the remortgage, topping up my borrowings by some 50,000 - not only did they accept but told me I could have another 38,000 as well, but I did not need to make up my mind right now, the offer was there for the taking for the next 12 months.
10 out of 10 - it was a pleasure and I can't recommend it enought!
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Comments about this review »
Ratchev 06.03.2004 01:20
good review, pt
mwl1 03.03.2004 09:24
Almost too good to be true...
tyllwyd 02.03.2004 22:49
You haven't mentioned the basic idea behind IF - which is that your savings offset your mortgage balance. Do you have to transfer your current account to them as well? Do they calculate mortgage interest on a daily basis?
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: Friendly service, quite low rate, offset, good if your self -employed Disadvantages: Very stressful at the beginning of application but forgot about that now
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
Mar 2nd, 2004
very helpful by (31%):
helpful by (66%):
somewhat helpful by (3%):
