The Money Thread...

[Glowy69]

I've worked for them for a while. And the results we get back are we are a lot stricter with out checks and really try to stick to the fair lending policy.

Also some banks only check one of the credit file companies. Which could be why some people get accepted with banks that don't do full rigorous checks. Nationwide check all 3 as far as I'm aware.

[mrspax]

I've worked for them for a while. And the results we get back are we are a lot stricter with out checks and really try to stick to the fair lending policy.

Also some banks only check one of the credit file companies. Which could be why some people get accepted with banks that don't do full rigorous checks. Nationwide check all 3 as far as I'm aware.

How do you square that circle? Have you worked for a wide variety of lenders and done underwriting yourself at each? In any case, the way the market moves - ie quickly - even if you had, your experience of a particular lenders underwriting risk scoring strategy would be likely defunct.

Sorry, but this seems somewhat anecdotal. The financial press (meaning journalists that report on consumer items - not the likes of the FT) generally make a good case that it's a different lender for different people's circumstance.

I find it frustrating when people take mortgages based on recommendations from friends/family/acquanintances purely based on these kind of anecdotes. It's not giving people the full picture.

[Minto]

In Glowy we trust.

[Glowy69]

[jamcc]

Rumour has it that Halifax will bring back the "stamp duty on purchases between 125k-250k paid by Halifax for first time buyers" deal for the third year in a row.

With stamp duty changes (long overdue) it's not so beneficial at the lower end of the price range but still a pretty good deal at 180k upwards.

A lot of customers moan that banks like halifax will lend to then but we won't. We do just have stricter conditions I suppose.

Halifax are probably the most flexible big lender there is. They'll even lend to customers who are non EU citizens without indefinite leave to remain on a 5% deposit. You know you're strawberry floated when even Halifax won't lend to you.

Sorry to but in and not read your conversation from the start but are you talking about other loans or mortgages? For mortgages, I'd say the likes of Nationwide and NatWest are probably the most lenient.

Natiowide are nowhere near the most lenient mate.

I'm talking more about property surveys and the properties that particular providers will lend on. Are you talking about the mortgage applicants themselves?

[Glowy69]

Yeah the applications, sorry dude.

[Grumpy David]

Nationwide still wouldn't be the most flexible lender on acceptable properties at an acceptable LTV. Halifax would still win that. Except for the 70 year lease remaining at application criteria they are generally willing to look at pretty much any property.

[jamcc]

Yeah the applications, sorry dude.

No apology needed. It wasn't obvious that I was talking about properties and not applicants. I was being weird.

Nationwide still wouldn't be the most flexible lender on acceptable properties at an acceptable LTV. Halifax would still win that. Except for the 70 year lease remaining at application criteria they are generally willing to look at pretty much any property.

Oh really? I've just had an application on a flat above a bar rejected. May have to give Halifax a go. Thanks.

Actually my friend got a mortgage on a basement flat below a nail shop with Halifax.

[Grumpy David]

Lenders who go above commercial will almost always say "subject to surveyor comments we will consider above commercial" however whether that means above a bar is another matter! You could always ring someone like Colleys surveyors and ask if they would consider it since they typically do mortgage valuations for Halifax.

Natwest have a decent little niche for above commercial, probably better than Halifax for it.

[BTB]

Finally decided to switch from Natwest to First Direct.

Got my new card and the switch should be happening on the 18th. Then wait for my free £125

[Poser]

Had a letter through yesterday from Tesco bank confirming that my loan was paid off. That's two that have finished in the space of two months, leaving me £410pcm better off.

It's the first time since 2001 that I've had no personal loan hanging over me. It really is a slippery slope. Anyway, it's all good now. I have some CC debt to take care of (interest free), but beyond that, I'm now clearing £1,500 a month in disposable. Sorry i fthis sounds like bragging at all, but honestly, it's taken me a very, very long time to get here.




On the flipside, I have no savings, no pension, and I'm 36. I don't trust pension products; I'm starting the process of trying to invest/save some cash. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'd probably profile myself as cautious/defensive at the moment, but beyond that, don't know where to start.

Any advice (beyond 'start saving')?

[Death's Head]

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Yes, get a pension.

[Poser]

I dunno... I had a wealth management client in my last job and he did a good job of convincing me that pensions were pretty gooseberry fool.

[Death's Head]

I dunno... I had a wealth management client in my last job and he did a good job of convincing me that pensions were pretty gooseberry fool.

Do you think that most companies would provide them if they really thought they were gooseberry fool?

[Poser]

Would companies that make money from pensions, provide pensions? Yes, I think they would.

What do they offer the consumer? Your cash gets locked away so you can't access it, the APRs are shite, and there's a chance you won't get your money if the fund collapses. I know nothing's guaranteed, but I feel like there has to be a better way.

[Death's Head]

Sorry, I didn't mean companies who provide pensions, but companies who employ people and provide them with a pension.

You aren't going to get as much with a saving/investment plan as for most pensions, your company will contribute a similar amount to what you pay in.

[Poser]

Here's a piece I my former client wrote for the Telegraph, which touches on pensions.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... -bomb.html

Confidence in pensions has been eroded to the point that people feel uncomfortable locking their own money away for decades, only to have the rug pulled from beneath them with rock bottom annuity rates at the end. Successive chancellors will have tinkered with those same pensions beyond recognition along the way and the end result is greater uncertainty in retirement, not less.
To make matters worse, we have begun automatically enrolling employees into pensions and I fear that this will make the problem even worse. Instead of encouraging people to take a greater interest in saving for their retirement, they have been led to believe that their employer is taking care of it for them. We need less complacency, but I fear we have created more.

Maybe I've been brainwashed slightly by doing this guy's PR for a year or so, but everything he said about pensions seemed to ring true to me.

Despite all this, I'm still a bit lost when it comes to knowing what to do with my own cash.

[mrspax]

Is a 'wealth management consultant' another name for a poor financial advisor.

Unless you want to play the stock markets, and want to ignore the massive tax benefits of investing in a pension and having that grow at as low a risk as you wish, get a pension. Seriously mate at 36, you are 15 years too late. Sorry to be blunt, but it's an absolute no brainer.

Your client's piece seems to be about confidence in them going down. I understand that, but don't take that to think there are any better vehicles for saving for your retirement - unless you like high risk.

And as DH said, employers MUST (if they are a certain size) add in your pot on top of your own contributions now. Extra money!!!

[Death's Head]

ignore the massive tax benefits if investing in a pension

I forgot about the tax saving! I just quickly knee-jerked to "not having a pension".

[Poser]

Is a 'wealth management consultant' another name for a poor financial advisor.

I don't know, I don't think I said that, did I? I did say 'wealth management client' to cover the general area in which they worked, but actually they were a tech firm. The fastest-growing finance/tech firm outside London...

Re the 'high risk' thing, I dunno, I don't think sticking money, long-term, in a managed fund seems like that high-risk.

Something like this:

http://www.tpllp.com/wp-content/uploads ... AL0813.pdf


I dunno. I might get a basic pension product (I have a tiny pension pot from a few years back, but stopped paying into it when my employer went under) and then look into some slightly flashier investments as well.