Halifax mortgage review

The first part of the application process is to get a Mortgage in Principle (otherwise known as a Decision in Principle or Agreement in Principle). Having one shows that, in principle, you’ve got the financial means to buy a property up to a certain value.

Trussle can provide you with a free Mortgage in Principle quickly.

The amount you can borrow from Halifax will depend on your financial circumstances. You can use our mortgage calculator to find out how much you could borrow.

There are plenty of borrowing options available with Halifax, and - depending on your circumstances - you could be eligible for additional borrowing. Certain rules apply - for example, your payments must be up-to-date before you submit an application.

If you don’t complete the purchase of your property within six months of applying for your mortgage with Halifax, your mortgage offer will expire.

If it looks like you won’t be able to buy your property in time, you might be able to apply for an extension. Otherwise, you’ll have to reapply from scratch.

Halifax will check your credit score before they offer you a mortgage - this gives them an indication of the level of risk involved in lending to you and ensures that they lend responsibly. There’s also the possibility that Halifax may do an additional credit search after the mortgage offer.

Lenders can do this at any time leading up to the exchange and completion of your property to ensure no changes in your circumstances have occurred since the mortgage offer was granted.

Halifax require a valuation on the property you choose. This helps them to make a decision on your application.

If Halifax are happy with the details of the valuation and they’ve completed all the underwriting and affordability checks, they’ll produce a mortgage offer - usually within a few days.

Yes, Halifax will release your mortgage funds the day you take ownership of the property. So you should be able to pick up your keys and start moving in immediately.

The date you complete your purchase will need to be agreed between your solicitor and the seller’s solicitor. This will happen after you’ve signed a contract and paid your deposit for the property.

Halifax doesn’t set a standard date for first payments. They’ll contact you shortly after they’ve released your mortgage funds to let you know when to pay your first instalment.

You’ll be able to pay by Direct Debit, standing order, or by using a debit card. Debit card payments will need to be handled over the phone or in branch.

It depends whether you want to pay off your mortgage early or simply reduce your monthly mortgage payments, as well as what type of mortgage you have with Halifax.

Whatever your circumstances, it’s best to check the terms of your own mortgage deal. If you have any questions, get in touch with Halifax directly.

Halifax will let you know you need to change your mortgage. You may then be able to switch to a new deal online, as long as:

• you don’t need any advice

• you don’t need to change your mortgage size

• you aren’t changing your mortgage term

• you don’t have an interest-only mortgage

In all other circumstances, you’ll have to call Halifax, or visit a Halifax branch, to move over to a new deal. If you don’t remortgage to another deal, you’ll drift onto their Standard Variable Rate (SVR) deal which usually increases your monthly payments.

There’s a chance you’ll be able to get a payment holiday with Halifax, as long as you’re eligible.

To apply for a Halifax mortgage holiday you’ll need to contact them first. They have a payment holiday policy and will assess your application against their criteria before making a decision.

With Halifax, you might be able to take a product with you to a new property (this is often referred to as ‘porting’). Your Mortgage Illustration and mortgage offer letter from Halifax will confirm whether this is possible.

If you’re buying a property which requires you to borrow more money, this may be possible depending on the lender's affordability calculations and credit search. If you’re successful in borrowing more from the lender, this is known as a 'top-up' to your existing mortgage and your mortgage will be in two separate parts with different end dates to the initial product.

Talk to your broker to confirm whether it’s better to port your existing mortgage deal across to a new property, or if you could save money by switching to a new lender.

Yes, meaning you can view your mortgage balance and interest rate online at any time.

Before you can use the Halifax online banking portal, you’ll need to register. As well as viewing your current mortgage balance, you’ll be able to see all of your sub-account balances for an in-depth breakdown.

Just buildings insurance, to cover the bricks and mortar of your property, plus any fixtures and fittings.

They recommend you also take out contents insurance, but they don’t require you to. You’ll often find contents and buildings insurance included in a single package.

Halifax have no requirement for customers to take out life insurance or critical illness cover.

It may be possible to get a Buy To Let mortgage with Halifax, but you’ll need to meet their criteria to be eligible.

Halifax only offer deals which are self-financing, meaning the income you generate when you rent out the property has to cover the repayments.

If you’ve already got a mortgage with Halifax, you might be thinking: “Did Halifax add PPI to my mortgage?”

Historically, Halifax did sell PPI to mortgage customers, but they stopped doing so in July of 2010. So there’s no chance you’ll be sold Halifax mortgage PPI alongside your mortgage if you chose Halifax today.

PPI pays out money to help cover monthly repayments on a loan, credit card, or mortgage if certain events prevent you from making payments yourself. The events covered depend on the terms of the PPI. If you think you were mis-sold PPI by Halifax, you can follow their PPI complaints process.

You can call Halifax on 0345 850 3705 to speak to one of their mortgage experts. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am - 4pm. If you want to talk to someone face to face, you'll need to book an appointment at your local branch.