Terms of Business:
Documentation:
All Policy Documents will be forwarded to you as soon as practicable after we receive them. If there are a number of documents relating to a series of transactions, we will normally hold each document until the series is completed and then forward them to you.
Risk warnings:
THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT.
Cancellation rights:
‘In most cases you can exercise a right to cancel, by withdrawing from the contract recommended to you. In general terms you will normally have a 30 day cancellation period for a pure protection policy and payment protection contracts and a 14 day cancellation period for all other policies. Additionally, in most instances you will not be able to exercise a right to cancel a mortgage contract, unless the contract is concluded at a distance (i.e. no face to face advice), at which point you will have a 14 day cancellation period. Finally, any contracts arranged at your explicit consent (normally referred to as “execution only”) do not provide cancellation rights.
The start of the cancellation period will normally begin, for pure protection policies, when you are informed that the contract has been concluded or, if later, when you have received the contractual terms and conditions. In other cases, the cancellation period will begin on the day the contract is concluded or, if later, the day on which you receive the contractual terms and conditions. Instructions for exercising the right to cancel, if applicable, will be contained in the relevant product disclosure information which will be issued to you.’
Data Protection:
Your personal information is very important to us. We will endeavour to take all due to care to protect this information. We would like to highlight below a few matters relating to your information that you should be aware of: Some services are provided to Saxon Mortgage Services by third parties such as processing business or obtaining compliance or regulatory advice, which warrant the disclosure of more than just your basic contact details. You agree that personal information held by Saxon Financial Solutions may be disclosed on a confidential basis, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, to any such third parties. You also agree that this information may be transferred electronically, e.g. email and you agree that ourselves, or any such third party, may contact you in future by any means of communication which we consider appropriate at the time. Our data protection licence No Z9726855
Product Providers and Lenders may administer your policy, any existing policies you may have with them and provide other services, from centres in countries outside Europe (such as India and the USA) that do not always have the same standard of data Protection laws as the UK. However, they are required to put a contract in place to ensure that your information is adequately protected, and they will remain bound by their obligations under the Data Protection Act even when your personal information is processed outside Europe.
Your Consent:
This is our standard client agreement upon which we intend to rely. For your own benefit and protection you should read these terms carefully. If you do not understand any point please ask for further information .You authorise the transfer of information, on a confidential basis when warranted between any such third parties. You acknowledge that the Terms of Business Letter will come into effect from the date of issue and I acknowledge receipt of the Initial Disclosure Document (IDD) .
By submitting this information you have given your agreement to receive verbal contact from us to discuss your mortgage requirements.
Income:
Before we proceed we must be able to verify your income.(Certain finance does not require verification.)
If employed at least your last pay slip, at application we may need 3 months and a P60. (Different lenders view overtime, bonuses and allowances differently therefore we need a full and clear breakdown)
If self employed the only totally acceptable proof of earnings is a copy of your SA302 from the Inland Revenue. Some lenders will accept an accounts letter or certified accounts. NB. not ALL accountancy qualifications ore acceptable to ALL lenders. (F.C.A and A.C.C.A are the most recognised)
Mortgage fraud:
Where mortgage fraud is suspected, resulting in us not preceding with the application our fee will still be charged at the rate that would have been applicable if the mortgage had completed.
Where a lender suspects mortgage fraud and declines the application our fee will still be charged at the rate that would have been applicable if the mortgage had completed.
Be aware that the data protection act, and client confidentiality do not apply in cases of mortgage fraud and we would be obliged to hand over all documentation to the relevant authorities.
Mortgage Valuation / Booking Fees;
Where a mortgage is selected that requires a booking fee or Valuation fee to be paid to the lender before the lender has agreed to provide the mortgage, clients should be aware that if the lender does not agree to the application this money is non refundable by the lender. We will advise you if this is the case with the lender you have selected, but you should also refer to the key features document fees section.
With booking fees you need to advise us of any financial history that may cause a lender to decline your application.
We also need to be made aware of any structures / installations that may affect valuation i.e. Communication Mask. Power Pylons, Electricity sub-stations, Mining activity. Also any issues that may affect buildings insurance i.e. flood risk etc.
Regarding valuation fees it is very important that the figures you give us are as accurate and as realistic as possible to avoid the possibility of the property being valued lower than you need for a particular mortgage (beware a mortgage valuation is lower than an estate agents market appraisal).
If a lender is chosen that requires a valuation fee to be paid, once the valuer has been instructed then that money is non refundable regardless of whether the application proceeds.
Where we have proceeded on an application based on your assessment of the value of the property should the valuation not meet this figure we will endeavour to have the decision reviewed if there are sufficient grounds. If this is not successful and you decide not to proceed our fee will still be payable, we advise basing your assessment on the purchase price of similar properties as listed via the land registry rather than an estate agent open market appraisal, if you are relying on a estate agent’s “guesstimate” we would advise using a working figure of 10 to 15% less than their optimistic “guesstimate”. We would also advise objectively in your comparison, the house next door may have sold for a certain figure but has that property a new kitchen, new bathroom and generally higher decorative standard. This is particularly important where you are raising funds to refurbish your property the fact that this is the reason for the advance would mean that you have to be cautious with your valuation. The valuer will base their figure on the property as it is at the time of their visit not what it may be worth after refurbishment.
Valuation fees;
Where you are purchasing a property the standard mortgage valuation is only there to give the lender a value of the property, we strongly advise having a “homebuyer” report which will give you a report on the general condition of the property. For older or non-standard construction a full structural survey may be desirable.
Buy to let / Commercial mortgages:
Any advice or recommendation that we offer to you regarding buy to let mortgages / commercial mortgages is limited to the arrangement and suitability of the mortgage, and not related to the project as an investment. In addition caution regarding the value of the property, caution is also required when assessing the prospective rent. Do not rely on letting agents optimistic “guesstimate”
Protection against purchase / sale not completing:
We are not liable for any cost or loss should the transaction not take place, we recommend that either a insurance policy is put in place to cover your expenses or use a solicitor that incorporates this cover in their conveyancing package.
Using lenders own solicitors:
Be aware that when using the lenders own solicitors these solicitors are acting on behalf of the lender. Whilst this may be acceptable for remortgages where you know the history of the property, we would strongly advise you to appoint your own solicitor who will be acting on your behalf where a purchase is involved.
Credit history:
Credit history is all the negative events within the last 7 years or ever in the case of IVAs or bankruptcy irrespective of whether the issue has been resolved this does not preclude you from obtaining a mortgage, but we need to know the full circumstances before the application is made.
Mortgage offers:
Mortgage offers are usually valid for a maximum of 6 months (Some lenders 3 months). Should you not complete within the offer period it will be necessary to reapply. This can range from supplying the latest wage slips / accounts, to a new full application. If the lenders criteria has change the revised application will have to meet these new conditions particularly affordability / income multiples. This is particularly important where we have chosen a lender due to their flexibility in accessing income.
If you suspect that you will not complete within the offer period we would advise not paying an arrangement fee to guarantee a particular rate or deal, rather for you to apply for a standard variable rate mortgage and then pay an arrangement fee and agree a rate or deal when you have a definite completion date. We would also advise that where possible any fees are added to the mortgage rather than paying for them upfront as these could be lost if the mortgage does not complete.
(You can usually pay into the mortgage an amount equal to the added fees immediately the mortgage completes thereby not increasing your borrowing)
We would advise against signing contracts where the completion date is outside of the term of the mortgage offer, as you are contracted to complete without a valid mortgage offer in place this could result in the loss of your deposit typically 10% of the purchase price. If a suitable mortgage offer was not available although we would always endeavour to source a suitable mortgage, we can only offer mortgages that are available at that time.
PRC. (Preformed Reinforced Concrete);
When arranging funding for non-standard construction properties, where the intention is to repair the property thereby increasing its value and mortgage ability. We are only advising on the mortgage, your decision as to the viability of the project should be based on the surveyors report and your own knowledge of your property and the area you live in. You have the added security that the builder can only be paid once a mortgage has been completed. We would advise that your contract with the builder reflects the fact that you are not liable to pay for work that was instructed to bring the property up to a standard required to raise a mortgage if that work is not to the standard required by the lenders.
Decisions in Principle:
We will obtain a decision in principal to lend from the lender as a first step it is important to be advised that at this stage the lender is treating the information give by you as fact, failure to disclose any relevant information could have serious implication at a later stage. Example full breakdown of income / expenditure and credit history. (Credit history is all the negative events within the last 7 years irrespective of whether the issue has been resolved this does not preclude you from obtaining a mortgage, but we need to know the full circumstances before the application is made).
Mortgage Sum Assured:
We advise having a sum assured greater than the mortgage to take account of any Early Redemption Penalties and other fees and cost necessary to clear the mortgage.
Client Money:
Saxon Financial Solutions are NOT permitted to handle client money except for General Insurance products. We cannot accept a cheque made out to us (unless it is in respect of an item for which we have sent you an invoice) or handle cash.
Disclosure of charges/fees:
A fee will usually be charged for arranging a mortgage, this depends more on the complexity of the case than the amount.
Where a application is accepted as a standard application and subsequently credit history or any other facts come to light (that the applicant should reasonably be aware of) that require a change of lender then a higher fee will be applied, as we are having to resource and submit to different lenders.
Our aim is to have all relevant information at the start of the process to enable the quickest and most efficient service.
All charges/fees will be fully disclosed to you. These will be disclosed in summary form before we undertake any work for you. The precise charges relating to any recommendations we make will be.
