Halifax house price index and your mortgage options as an existing Halifax borrower.
One of the key parameters that affect your mortgage rate options is the loan to value on your account. This is the ratio of the mortgage balance to the estimated value of the property. The estimated value of your property on the Halifax system is driven by the Halifax House Price Index.
If the Halifax House Price Index falls, your valuation may fall and your loan to value increase. This may push your mortgage account into a new, more expensive set of product options.
The next Halifax House Price Index report is due early in January 2024 and values are likely to be reduced due to current market conditions.
What does this mean for you as a Halifax existing borrower?
The smart approach will be to secure a new Halifax product transfer rate now before any valuation changes. You can secure a new rate up to six months before your current rate is due to end.
Securing a rate now will protect you from adverse valuation changes, or future rate rises.
If Halifax product transfer rates fall between now and when your new rate is due to start, you have the option to pick up the lower rate.
Halifax Product Transfer Rates – Early Repayment Charges
Product & Term
Period
Charges
End Date
2 Year Fixed
1
2% until 31/10/25
31/10/26
2
1% until 31/10/26
5 Year Fixed
1
5% until 31/10/25
31/10/29
2
4% until 31/10/26
3
3% until 31/10/27
4
2% until 31/10/28
5
1% until 31/10/29
2 Year Tracker
1
1% until 31/10/25
31/10/26
2
0.5% until 31/10/26
Overpayment allowances
As a concession, Halifax allows overpayments each calendar year of up to 10% of your outstanding balance without early repayment charges. If you intend to make regular or lump sum overpayments, first check with the lender that you will be within your overpayment limits.
When can I select a new Halifax Product Transfer Rate?
Halifax existing customers can now select and secure a new Halifax Product Transfer rate up to six months before their current mortgage product ends.
Example: The existing rate ends on 31st December, and a new rate can be selected from 1st July
Your current rate ends
The new rate can start
The new rate can start
31st January
1st August
1st February
29th February
1st September
1st March
31st March
1st October
1st April
30th April
1st November
1st May
31st May
1st December
1st June
30th June
1st January
1st July
31st July
1st February
1st August
31st August
1st March
1st September
30th September
1st April
1st October
31st October
1st May
1st November
30th November
1st June
1st December
31st December
1st July
1st January
Our Halifax Mortgage Product Transfer Process
Call our Team, or complete our enquiry form
Once we have your permission we will email you full details of your current mortgage and your new mortgage options.
This information will be outlined clearly on a single page.
You can then consider your options, and we will be available by telephone, text, or email to answer any questions you may have and guide you as necessary.
Once you have advised us of your preferred option, we will generate a formal Halifax product transfer mortgage offer and email it to you for approval.
Points to note
Our Halifax mortgage product transfer service is free of charge
A mortgage product transfer with Halifax does not require:
Credit searches Proof of income Property valuation or visit Legal work
This means a drop in your income since you first took your mortgage will not prevent you from securing a new rate with Halifax.
You can secure a new rate with Halifax up to six months before your current mortgage rate ends. If Halifax offered rates improve before your current mortgage rate ends, we can swap you on to the new, lower rate. If rates increase before your current mortgage rate ends, your secured rate is unaffected.
If requested, we can compare your Halifax rates against options from the whole of the UK market.
A mortgage secured against your home is a regulated product and we will therefore need to gather a little background information in order to progress your rate switch. We gather this information securely online and it will take no longer than 5 minutes for you to provide the required information to us.
Seeing the Bank of England base rate rises?
Worried about your mortgage interest rate rising?
Please note:
If you are on a fixed rate you are currently safe from BOE base rate rises. Currently, arranged fixed-rate mortgages do not rise with the Bank of England base rate, however, rising BOE rates do put pressure on future fixed rates to rise. Tracker rates will rise immediately with the Bank of England base rate
If your mortgage rate is ending within the next six months you should contact us to secure a new rate as soon as possible before your future options become more expensive
Halifax mortgage customers
Existing Halifax borrower?
Looking a Halifax mortgage renewal to a new mortgage product?
Access rates lower than those on your App
Looking for a Halifax 2-year fixed rate? – we can access 2-year rates for you
Looking for the lowest Halifax renewal rates available for a +£250,000 mortgage?
Check with our Team that you are being offered the best Halifax mortgage rate for your needs
7 Great Things about Halifax Product Transfers through A Mortgage Now
We can get you a lower remortgage rate We can access lower Halifax Mortgage rates for larger mortgages that you cannot get directly from the Lender.
We can access ALL available Halifax rates for you We establish your mortgage balance and current property value and let you know all the rates available to you (including two-year fixed rates which are not offered to you when you deal directly with Halifax).
You can reserve your new deal with us – now You can reserve a new Halifax mortgage product up to six months (changed from 90 days on 5/12/22) before your current deal ends. If your new Halifax rate is lower, we can even transfer your product early, saving you money.
You can switch quickly We can get your new mortgage remortgage product offer secured within hours in most cases.
There’s no credit check A Halifax product transfer is available regardless of your recent credit history.
Changes in your circumstances are not a problem We can arrange a Halifax product transfer even if your income has dropped or one borrower has stopped working.
There’s no need for a house valuation We obtain a valuation of your property from Halifax, the same day, at no cost.
We can arrange a re-mortgage if more appropriate If the rates offered to you by Halifax do not suit you, we can place you with a more competitive lender.
Interest Only?
If any part of your Halifax mortgage is on an interest only basis. We can still arrange your new Halifax mortgage rate for you. The process is a little more complex, but you will not notice as we manage those complications for you. All without any Broker Fees from us.
Halifax offers product transfer rates with and without product fees. On fee-charged mortgages the product fee is typically £999. The product fee may be paid upfront or added to your borrowing.
Why pay a product fee to Halifax?
The mortgage interest rates on fee-charged products can be considerably lower than the interest rates on products with no product fee. Therefore, for certain borrowers, your saving on interest when using a fee-paid product can easily outstrip the cost of the fee.
Simplified example: Borrowing is £200,000 fee is £999, the difference in interest rate between the fee and no fee rate is 0.2%. Over the term of a five-year product, you could be saving 0.2% per year in interest, over five years that totals 1% interest saved.
1% of £200,000 is £2,000, making the saving twice the cost of the £999 fee.
Why you should deal with a Broker?
There are a number of factors that can affect whether a fee-charged product is better for you. Factors such as:
Your borrowing level
Your mortgage term
Overpayments
Therefore, making a decision on whether to use a fee-charged product can be complex and is best left to an experienced and regulated mortgage broker. This is not a call that Halifax want you to make without the proper advice, so they offer lower-interest products only via approved and regulated mortgage brokers such as A Mortgage Now.
Are you aware that you may have the option to ‘port’ your current mortgage property when you move in order to avoid paying an early redemption penalty? Halifax will allow you to take your current mortgage product with you and apply it to your new mortgage with any additional borrowing set up alongside a new rate.
Call us now for help with moving home.
Halifax mortgages with balances under £100,000?
Halifax does offer a set of new rates for mortgage borrowers with balances under £100,000. However, we do not usually assist in these cases.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible for Halifax Product Transfer switch:
You must be an existing Halifax residential mortgage client
Your mortgage account must be up-to-date with no history of arrears
You must be currently on a product with a product end date in the next 90 days
Halifax ‘A’ Numbers Product Transfers
Have you a Halifax mortgage account number starting with an A?
Example A/36575884-3
Have you been told you need to go in Branch to make a Product Transfer?
This is no longer the case and our team can assist you online.
Eligibility
You must be an existing Halifax residential mortgage client
Your mortgage account must be up-to-date with no history of arrears
You must be currently on a product with a product end date in the next 90 days
Halifax Mortgage product transfer rates – lending bands
Halifax product transfer rates are priced across lending bands and loan to values.
Lending Bands
£0 to £99,999
£99,000 to £249,999
£250,000 to £7,500,000
Loan to value Bands
Up to 60%
Up to 75%
Up to 85%
Up to 95%*
Up to £120%*
* these products are designed to assist Halifax mortgage clients who are close to, or drifting into negative equity. 120% loan to value is not available for new borrowers.
Halifax is part of the Lloyds Banking Group and has the biggest market share on mortgages in the UK. Halifax mortgage pricing is sometimes the most competitive in the market, but they do not seek to win business purely on price. Flexibility of their underwriting criteria is a key reason why many people use Halifax for their mortgage. Below we outline some of the key points to note when considering Halifax as your mortgage provider.
Halifax underwriting – key benefits
Age
The maximum age at the end of the mortgage term with Halifax is 80 years. Where an applicant expects to take a mortgage beyond their retirement age, or age 70 (whichever is earlier), the lender will need to be confident that the applicant can support the mortgage on their proven retirement income. The minimum age to obtain a mortgage with Halifax is 18 upon application.
Concessionary purchase
A concessionary purchase can be considered by Halifax, but only when the original owner moves out immediately on completion. The vendor can be a close family member or a landlord.
Forces Help to Buy scheme
Funds from a Forces Help to Buy scheme can be used in conjunction with a Help to Buy scheme purchase.
Gifted deposit from family
Gifted deposit is acceptable to Halifax from blood relatives or family by marriage or civil partnership, or between common-law partners or cohabitees. They will not consider gifted deposits from friends, employers, landlords, or cousins.
Halifax and ‘mortgage prisoners’
Halifax will consider applicants classed as ‘mortgage prisoners’ for remortgage applications. This applies to borrowers who found themselves with a mortgage lender that is no longer active and able to offer new rates. Provided the applicant party’s credit score, Halifax can still accept the application even if affordability does not fit provided:
it is a remortgage of the main residence with no additional borrowing
maximum borrowing is 75% of the property value
the new monthly payment must be no more than 5% higher than the current payment
the mortgage cannot be on a shared equity or shared ownership scheme
the potential borrowers must not be in financial difficulty*
*financial difficulty means failing current commitments of expenditure but not managing day-to-day control, overspending, overcommitted financially or over-indebted.
IT Contractors
Income from IT Contractors can be considered by Halifax where there is a 12-month history and six months of the contract remaining, or a two-year history as a contractor.
Multiple applicants
Halifax will accept up to 4 applicants considering a maximum of two incomes.
Professional sports people
Halifax will consider lending to professional sports people who have at least 12 months of employment with more than six months of their contract remaining. Where applicants are nearing the end of their likely careers the lender will want to satisfy themselves that monthly payments can be met should the career be ended abruptly due to injury.
Rental Income
Rental income can be used to offset the cost of buy-to-let mortgage payments but will not be added in to support affordability.
Remortgaging and raising capital
Halifax will consider remortgaging and raising of capital up to 85% loan to value.
Affordability and self-employment
Halifax currently offers slightly less unaffordability where one applicant is self-employed. Applicants who own less than 25% of the business will not be considered self-employed for lending purposes and will be underwritten as employed.
Second Incomes
Halifax can accept income from a second job or self-employment provided they can satisfy themselves the client can sustain both forms of income.
Zero Hour contracts
Halifax will consider applicants with zero-hour contracts once they have a 12-month history.
Halifax underwriting – points to watch out for
Bankruptcy
Halifax will not consider applicants with a history of bankruptcy registered within the past six years.
EWS Forms
Halifax will require an external wall system form (EWS 1) where any building has a potentially combustible planning system. Full will need to confirm that there are no significant quantities of combustible materials or defects requiring remedial work. The valuer will advise where an EWS 1 form is required. Buildings up to 6 stories or 18 m in height technically do not need at EWS 1 form but it may still be requested.
Ex-Pats
Halifax does not accept applications from expats.
First Time Buyers
To be eligible for a first-time buyer product with Halifax at least one applicant needs to have not previously had a mortgage or purchased a property either in the UK or abroad.
Interest only
Interest-only mortgages can be obtained with Halifax, but there are some strict criteria for eligibility. In particular joint applicants must have a total income of £150,000 of a single applicant a total income of £100,000. (Existing Halifax interest-only mortgage account holders are not subject to these criteria to continue on interest-only) Where the sale of a mortgaged property is to be used as a method to repay the capital on the mortgage must be a minimum equity of £300,000. Lending up to 50% loan to value can be considered interest only with the remaining element up to 75% loan to value taken on a capital repayment basis. Lending into retirement is not possible on an interest-only arrangement.
Halifax lending limits
Halifax will lend up to £500,000 with a 5% deposit, and up to £750,000 with a 10% deposit. Borrowing over £1 million will require a minimum 20% deposit and a 30% deposit for borrowing over £2 million. Maximum lending on remortgage of unencumbered policies will be 85% loan to value.
Lodgers
Up to 2 lodgers in the property are accepted provided they are sharing living accommodation. Income from lodgers is not included in affordability calculations.
Non-standard construction
Properties of non-standard construction can be considered and will be assessed on their own merits by the valuer. For example, precast concrete buildings may need to have undergone repair to be considered acceptable.
Lending on second homes
Halifax will consider lending on second homes up to 75% loan to value. Occasional letting of the second home can be considered but if more than four months per year it will be considered the buy-to-let and treated accordingly.
Halifax and self-build lending
Halifax will consider self-build lending but will need to schedule and cost of works, full planning consent, and appropriate insurance for construction. Halifax customers cannot put their existing mortgage product into a self-build. Maximum loan to value for self-build is 75% and loan size is up to £1 million. Halifax will release the funds in a maximum of five instalments, normally at the following stages:
purchase of the land
completing the foundations
construction of walls-to-wall plate level
roof complete
build complete
Halifax and leases
The minimum remaining lease term for a Halifax application is 70 years.
Minimum valuation
The minimum property valuation for Halifax applicants is £40,000
Mortgage Product Transfer with another Lender? – click below
