Existing customers with LTV <80% being refused 3.7% rate

J

Jkrnax

Registered User
Messages
20
moved from this thread where PTSB has announces that it is reducing the SVR for new customers only to 3.7%

My wife and I borrowed €20k from family and paid it off our PTSB mortgage last year to bring us just under 80% LTV. We applied to KBC for a switch but they knocked us back due to taking a 3 month repayment holiday in 2009 whilst I was in between jobs. This is despite us making a €6k lump sum repayment when I found work a month after the repayment holiday. This illustrates how fussy institutions are (no big surprise there).

Almost a year on, I reckon we're still just under 80% LTV and that the repayment holiday will have dropped off of our credit status (I believe financial institutions hold 24 months of repayment history, sort of X's and O's.) We'd now have a clean slate.

Any advice on who could get us away from PTSB now ? I am considering moving all accounts (except mortgage of course) to BOI and at some point in the future applying for a switch with them.
 
Hi JK

A few things. The three month payment holiday was within your terms and conditions, if I am not mistaken. The mortgage agreement allows PTSB borrowers to take up to two holidays of 6 months each? So it should not be noted on your credit record unless you took it without agreeing it with them first.

You should demand to be put on the lower rate. If they refuse, you should make a public song and dance about it.

There is no justification for charging you and others 5.2%. You could easily highlight the inequity of this.

Brendan
 
Can anyone give me a checklist of what a person needs to do to switch mortgage provider?
eg. Do I need to get a valuation done? Do I need to involve a solicitor?
What banks to approach / avoid. What are the costs involved. problems? Risks?
Currently my mortgage is approx. €116K - House value may be €150-€160k. Remaining term is 172 months. PTSB Variable rate of 5.19%
 
YoYo said:
eg. Do I need to get a valuation done?
Click to expand...

Yes.

YoYo said:
Do I need to involve a solicitor?
Click to expand...

Yes.

YoYo said:
What banks to approach / avoid. What are the costs involved. problems? Risks?
Currently my mortgage is approx. €116K - House value may be €150-€160k. Remaining term is 172 months. PTSB Variable rate of 5.19%
Click to expand...

Looks like you are well under 80% LTV. You should be able to walk into most banks and get an indication of what they would offer. But why not go to PTSB first to ask to move to their <80% LTV rate.
 
Jkrnax said:
In a similar note.

We applied to KBC for a switch but they knocked us back due to taking a 3 month repayment holiday in 2009 whilst I was in between jobs. This is despite us making a €6k lump sum repayment when I found work a month after the repayment holiday. This illustrates how fussy institutions are (no big surprise there).

Almost a year on, I reckon we're still just under 80% LTV and that the repayment holiday will have dropped off of our credit status (I believe financial institutions hold 24 months of repayment history, sort of X's and O's.) We'd now have a clean slate.

Any advice on who could get us away from PTSB now ? I am considering moving all accounts (except mortgage of course) to BOI and at some point in the future applying for a switch with them.
Click to expand...


In the same boat myself, but have not taken up the 6 months offer yet. I will certainly check out the credit status issue as I want to move my SVR in 2013 away from PTSB. That could seriously impact my plans.
 
Hi Fiskar,

As Brendan suggested, I reckon there would have been no blemish on our credit status as the repayment holiday was pre-approved by PTSB. However as part of the switch application I submitted two years mortgage statements to KBC and they would have seen the 3 month repayment holiday clearly on the statement. Hence the knock back.
 
Jkrnax said:
Hi Fiskar,

As Brendan suggested, I reckon there would have been no blemish on our credit status as the repayment holiday was pre-approved by PTSB. However as part of the switch application I submitted two years mortgage statements to KBC and they would have seen the 3 month repayment holiday clearly on the statement. Hence the knock back.
Click to expand...

Question, if you have 2 properties and wish to switch one mortgage, do lenders look for mortgages statements (over 2 years) for both properties or the one being switched. This is an open question to everyone as it decides the option for me.
Do lenders have a common database or can they see your repayment history on the ICB (Irish Credit Bureau website) ?
 
Swyper,

I rang PTSB and aked to be moved to a >80%LTV rate. Told it was only for new customers.
 
YoYo said:
Swyper,

I rang PTSB and aked to be moved to a >80%LTV rate. Told it was only for new customers.
Click to expand...

If I were you, I'd be going into a branch rather than dealing with call centre staff who have no discretion in these matters and just parrot what they've been told to say. If you can, try to get some time with the other high street banks to see if they are even entertaining switchers. If your income is good, then you should be one of the customers that the banks would be happy to take on. If you have other options, then that will also help your case with PTSB, as they will want to hold on to their better credit risks like you instead of being left with a concentrated pool of NE pre-defaulters.

Incidentally, if you can somehow move, and PTSB starts losing customers like you, then they are left with that concentrated pool. The resulting concentration of bad debt provision needed would put upward pressure on the rates charged to NE SVRs. Michael McGrath will have a sore hand from all his w***ing.

I said "writing".
 
I will take your advice and call in to a PTSB branch.
Switching could be a problem. Income is not great. Been employed again for 1 year after a 2 year period of unemployment. Contract is not permanent. Paid the mortgage all through the period of unemployment except for 3 months where we went interest only.
I don't think we are that attractive to another bank!
 
YoYo said:
I will take your advice and call in to a PTSB branch.
Switching could be a problem. Income is not great. Been employed again for 1 year after a 2 year period of unemployment. Contract is not permanent. Paid the mortgage all through the period of unemployment except for 3 months where we went interest only.
I don't think we are that attractive to another bank!
Click to expand...

Best of luck with that.
 
YoYo said:
I will take your advice and call in to a PTSB branch.
Switching could be a problem. Income is not great. Been employed again for 1 year after a 2 year period of unemployment. Contract is not permanent. Paid the mortgage all through the period of unemployment except for 3 months where we went interest only.
I don't think we are that attractive to another bank!
Click to expand...

Keep us posted on how you get on please. Same boat shortly myself
 
YoYo said:
I will take your advice and call in to a PTSB branch.
Switching could be a problem. Income is not great. Been employed again for 1 year after a 2 year period of unemployment. Contract is not permanent. Paid the mortgage all through the period of unemployment except for 3 months where we went interest only.
I don't think we are that attractive to another bank!
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, maybe the one person in permanent employment could swing it for you and having an 80% LTV is in your favour. There are cheaper mortgages than PTSB, some banks are lending, and want to lend to the right customers so you have to find out those banks, but there is a cost to switching so factor that in.
 
Just left a meeting with a PTSB 'Financial Advisor' and was refused the LTV <80% as I was an existing customer with a 20 year unblemished credit history! I have no other loans and and a net income of over €3000 per month. My LTV on my loan is between 50% and 55%. Needless to say I am now actively looking at switching my mortgage. I got the impression that PTSB is a bank in freefall and will soon be a 'Zombie Bank' like Anglo. The staff seem to be totally unmotivated and uninterested while they wait for their redundancy notice.

BTW I have been actively emailing my local labour TD on this issue and apart from a 'stock' political answer to 'look into the matter' he has been totally useless.
 
Having recently threatened to move all of my PTSB accounts unless changed to the 3.69% rate , I received this response from my local branch assistant manager last week.

"I had a look at your mortgage and I agree with you that the interest rate charged to your loan over the last six months was very high. You’re probably aware that the bank reduced our Standard Variable Rate to 5.19% at the end of December. While the decrease was welcome there’s no getting away from the fact it is still significantly higher than the recently announced Variable Rate for new mortgages of 3.69%.

I disappointed to report that there’s nothing I can offer at present to reduce the interest rate charged to your loan. Overtime I’d hope that our Standard Variable Rate will decrease further but, alas, I have no guarantee that this will occur.

While I’d regret to see you move your accounts from ptsb I do accept that if we can not match the rates our competitors are offering you will have little option but to give the matter serious consideration.

I have brought your concerns to the attention of our Customer Relations Dept.

I’m sorry that I can’t be of assistance on this occasion. "

Positively today BOI have pre-approved us for a switch @ 3.55%. Will be getting the application into their underwriters early next week. Fingers crossed. The BOI mortgage lender said that they are open for PTSB switchers, whilst AIB are not.....80-90% ltv was mentioned, for new/existing customers.
 
Inspired by Jkrnax, I contacted BOI today about switching.
Alas I am an 'undesirable'.
They told me that they would want to see a net monthly income that would leave us with a minimum €2000 in the bank after the mortgage is deducted plus an additional €200 per month for each of our dependents - in other words €2400 of net income after mortgage.
 
We have put 4K away since early November - we don 't do anything as a family and have no holidays booked for this year (which is a pity because I have three young children) but we have to keep a very tight reign on things. All our shopping is done in Northern Ireland as it's a lot cheaper, the only part of our wages going into Ireland's economy is domestic bills, mortgage and fuel. It's going to take a couple of years, but I reckon by the time we have 20-25K together I will be able to get out of this SVR through approaching another bank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top