Mortgage features

See our FAQs for help on managing your mortgage.

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  • What are product incentives?

    From time to time we might offer mortgage products with incentives. These are special offers that make some products more attractive than others. Not all incentives are available to all customers and not all incentives are available all the time.

    For some incentives, you’ll need to have another product with us, such as your main current account. If this is the case, we’ll say this so in the ‘Flexible features' section of your Mortgage Illustration.

    The interest rate for products with incentives might sometimes be slightly higher than for products without incentives. So you need to consider if the incentive is more important to you than the slightly lower interest rate you might get with a product without the incentive.

     

     

    Remortgage Switcher Service

    Where we offer our Remortgage Switcher Service, we’ll choose your conveyancer to deal with the basic legal work needed. We won’t charge you for this or for the property valuation.

    If you choose your own conveyancer, they must be on our approved panel. You’ll need to pay for their services yourself.
     

    What’s included in our Remortgage Switcher Service

    What's not included in Remortgage Switcher Service

    What’s included in our Remortgage Switcher Service

    The valuation and the fee for the legal work done on our behalf.

    What's not included in Remortgage Switcher Service

    Any legal advice or additional services you want the conveyancer to provide.

    If you’re in Northern Ireland, you can’t ask our conveyancer for advice or additional services. You must instruct a different conveyancer.

     

     

    Contribution to household bills

    If we offer to contribute to one of your household bills, for example your council tax, you’ll need to complete a form and return it with your first bill when your mortgage starts. This must in the name of at least one of the people named on the mortgage. You must ask us for the money within six months of the mortgage starting. 

    Once we’ve received your form, we’ll send the money direct to your service provider and let you know when we’ve done it. But you remain responsible for paying your bills.

    When you move into your new home, you must contact your service provider to discuss how you want to pay your bills.

     

     

    Cashback

    If we offer cashback as an incentive, your Illustration and offer letter will tell you how much it‘ll be, how we’ll send it to you, and when we’ll pay it.

    Sometimes, we offer cashback as a reward for opening  or holding a particular type of account with us, such as a current  or savings account. This will also be shown in your Illustration and offer letter. 

  • It’s sometimes possible to take your current deal with you to a new mortgage. We call this 'porting'. Your Illustration and offer letter will say if any of your deal is eligible for this.

     

     

    What does porting mean?

    Porting means taking a deal and the early repayment charge (ERC) with you to another mortgage with us. You might be able to take the deal and ERC to the new mortgage for the amount you currently owe on that deal. 

    If you’re borrowing more, you’ll need to have a new deal for the extra amount you borrow.

    If you’re borrowing less than the amount you owe on the deal and the offer you have for your old mortgage says there’s an ERC, you’ll have to pay an ERC on the difference.

     

     

    When will I not be able to port?

    You can only take your deal to a new mortgage if your offer letter says you can.

    The deal can only be taken to a new mortgage while the deal rate period(s) applies. You can’t take your deal once you’re paying interest at the lender variable rate that applies to that part of your mortgage.

    We’ll decide whether to offer you a new mortgage based on our lending policies at the time you apply. If we don’t offer you a new mortgage, you can’t port your deal. You’ll also have to pay any  ERCs that apply, if you repay your existing mortgage.

     

     

    What if I start my new mortgage before I repay my existing mortgage?

    If you plan to sell your current property, but can't take out a new mortgage and repay your existing mortgage at the same time, you can ask to have two mortgages with us for a short time.

    We’ll only agree to this if we think you can afford the monthly payments on both mortgages. You might be able to take your existing deal on the new mortgage. You’ll have to transfer your existing mortgage to the lender variable rate that applies until the sale is complete and you’ve repaid the mortgage in full.

    This might not always be available, so please ask when you apply for your new mortgage.

     

     

    What if I repay my existing mortgage before I apply for a new mortgage?

    If you sell your property but aren’t ready to buy another one yet, you’ll need to repay your existing mortgage. You’ll also have to pay any ERCs that apply. However, if you apply for a new mortgage with us within three months of repaying your existing mortgage, you can take your old product rate with you to your new mortgage.

    Once your new mortgage has started, you can apply for a refund of the ERC. This is a concession and might not always be available, so please ask about it before you sell your property.

  • What are early repayment charges (ERCs)?

    We offer different types of mortgage deals with different interest rates, terms, and conditions. Some mortgages have charges for repaying all or part of the mortgage back within a certain time. We call these early repayment charges.


    To see if any ERCs apply to you, you can check your mortgage statement or offer, or you can call us.

    If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can contact us using the Relay UK service. There’s more information on the Relay UK help pages. If you’re Deaf and a BSL user, you can use our BSL SignVideo service.

     

     

    Are there any exceptions?

    Where ERCs apply, you can make overpayments of up to 10% of the amount owed as of 01 January without being charged. If you pay more than 10% over the year, we'll only charge you on the balance 10%.

    Here is an example:
     

    Amount you owe on 01 January: £50,000

    Your overpayment allowance: 10%

    This means you can pay up to £5,000 per calendar year without any ERCs.

    If you pay more than your overpayment allowance:

    Amount you overpay: £8,000

    Amount you pay over your overpayment allowance: £3,000

    Your ERC rate: 5% 

    Total ERC payable (£3,000 x 5%): £150


    If you’d like to know your overpayment allowance, you can request it here or call us.

    Keep in mind: We can change our yearly overpayment allowance at any time, so please check before you make any overpayments. 

    We’ll always give at least three months’ notice before making any changes to your overpayment allowance.

     

     

    When do we charge them?

    You’ll be charged if you do any of these:

    • Pay more than your yearly overpayment allowance.
    • Pay off your mortgage or specific sub-account in full before your ERC term ends.
    • If you’re on a fixed rate and you switch to a new mortgage deal early.
      Keep in mind: An ERC could be payable up to and including the last day of your deal.

     

     

    The ERC will be calculated and applied on the date we receive your payment or you switch to a new deal. 

    It might be best to wait until your ERC rate ends or changes before you make a payment. For example, your latest offer letter or redemption statement could show your ERC rate will go down on 01 July. If you make your payment on 30 June, you’ll have to pay the higher rate for that date.

     

     

    Why do we charge them?

    When you take out a mortgage with us, we expect it to be paid back over its full term. There’s a cost to us if some or all of the money we lend to customers is paid back early. ERCs are designed to compensate us for this cost.

     

     

    How is it worked out?

    The amount you’ll be charged will be based on:

    • your ERC rate
    • whether you repay all or part of the mortgage
    • the amount you owe when you make the payment.

    The amount you can be charged is set out in your offer letter and Mortgage Illustration. It can also be worked out like this example:
     

    Amount you owe on your mortgage: £10,000

    Your ERC rate: 5%

    ERC payable (£10,000 x 5%): £500

    This means if you paid your mortgage off in full, the ERC would be £500.

    You won’t have to pay any ERCs if you move home and can transfer your current deal to your new mortgage, known as porting.

  • What are overpayments and how do I make one?

    An overpayment is where you make an extra payment on top of your normal monthly mortgage payments. They can be one-off or regular. 

    Making regular or one-off overpayments to your mortgage goes towards reducing your mortgage balance, meaning you’ll owe less and have less interest to pay. 

    You can make as many overpayments as you like, but you might have to pay an early repayment charge (ERC) for doing so.

    How do I make a one-off overpayment?

    How do I make a regular overpayment?

     

     


    How do I apply my overpayment to a specific sub-account?

    If you make any overpayments, we'll apply them across all sub-accounts in the same way we normally do with your normal monthly payments unless you tell us otherwise.

    When you make an overpayment, you’d usually put your 14-digit mortgage account number, plus an extra ‘00’ on the end, in the payment reference section. However, to make an overpayment to a specific sub-account, you need to replace ‘00’ with the two-digit sub-account number in the payment reference field. 

    For example:
     

    Mortgage account number: **************00.

    To overpay a sub-account, use the two-digit sub account number instead. 

    New payment reference: **************02.

    If you’re making an overpayment by phone, you’ll need to speak to us if you’d like to apply your overpayment to a specific sub-account.

     

     

    What are underpayments and can I make one?

    An underpayment is where you pay us less than your normal monthly mortgage payment. 

    You can only make an underpayment if you’ve made an overpayment of the same or larger amount. This is because we’ll use your overpayment balance to cover the amount that won’t be paid. 

    If you need to make an underpayment to your mortgage, please call us.

    • We’ll tell you the amount of your overpayment balance available to use.
    • We’ll change your Direct Debit for the time you want to underpay.
    • You’ll need to build up a new overpayment balance before you can underpay again.
    • You'll still be charged interest on your mortgage balance while you make any underpayments.
    • Your future monthly payments might also increase.

    We’ll use your reduced balance after any overpayments whenever we work out a new monthly payment for you. 

    Once we’ve done that, you’ll need to overpay again before you can underpay.

  • Need to take a break from all or part of your mortgage payment?

    What are payment holidays?

    A payment holiday is when you take a break from paying part or all of your normal monthly payment, but you haven’t made any earlier overpayments against which you can underpay.

    How do I get one?

    Find out how to apply

  • If you don’t have a buy-to-let mortgage, you’ll need to ask for our agreement to rent out your home.

    Find out how to rent out your home, the conditions that apply and how to cancel an existing consent to lease agreement.

Mortgage basics

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