Halifax in a shock withdrawal of its 1% cashback mortgage incentive for first-time buyers only giving a few hours for full application to be submitted.
I was very disappointed to read an email timed at 4 O’clock this afternoon notifying us that Halifax for Intermediaries was to pull its very popular 1% cashback mortgage incentive for first-time buyers as of this evening. Yeah not much notice. That’s what I thought as well.
This is going to be a major blow for many perspective buyers as the 1% cashback up to £2500 was a great incentive to enable first-time buyers to get on the property ladder. Although Halifax’s introducing a new range my doubts are they will certainly not be as competitive as its current suite of products. My guess is they have been hammered with too many applications due to this incentive, and they are looking to reduce their business, but the manner the have made this decision is certainly questionable.
It’s especially disappointing as the lender only gave brokers and applicants a few hours to submit full mortgage applications.
This is particularly blow to everybody involved and shows a clear lack of understanding from the lender as to what needs to happen before they see a mortgage application. What they need to know is many applicants are still in the middle of gathering the whole range of documentation needed to fully comply with the lenders and the regulators clear guidelines on evidence support an application this often can take days or even weeks and by given everyone a few hours they have undermined the whole process.
On the 26th June Halifax will issue its revamped range of products without the 1% cashback but will have some incentives such as fees-free deals and refund of valuation.
All decisions in principle will still be honored, but will have to be put on the new range of products, meaning new sets of quotes will need to be issued to existing clients. As far as we are aware, no criteria changes have taken place so prospective applicants should not worry about losing their approval.
For more information on our mortgages including the new Halifax Mortgage range call us on 020 7993 2044 or complete the enquiry form on this page.
Author: Payam Azadi
Payam Azadi is a partner at Niche Advice who are whole of the market Independent Mortgage Brokers. His role is very much focused on Property financing both on residential and commercial lines.
