Intelligent Finance - it appears to be (Intelligent Finance)

Member Name: Big Blue

Product:	Intelligent Finance
Date:	24/10/01 (642 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hassle free, Fully flexible, Good rates

Disadvantages: None

Before writing I was torn between the full-blown opinion and a short opinion because I don't actually have a lot to report. However, after a bit of thought I decided that this was actually a good thing when sorting out a mortgage – not having much to report means that nothing was complicated or went wrong – definitely a good thing. In fact the whole process was completely painless.

Having decided to buy a property and then immediately disappearing to the States on business I called a friend (who fortunately happens to be a Financial Adviser) and informed him that I had 28 days in which to exchange - this was on a Saturday afternoon.

My requirements of a mortgage lender were wholly unrealistic, or at least unrealistic in one product from one lender, or so I thought. I wanted a lender that wouldn't tie me in, offered interest only mortgages and leant large multiples of salary. I also wanted a lender that took a sensible view on existing outgoings rather than the normal approach of annualising the monthly figure, subtracting that from the starting salary and then multipying from this new salary.

A couple of days later my Financial Adviser rang and told me about Intelligent Finance – having never heard of them he informed me that it was the Internet arm of the Halifax which all sounded reasonable (the power of brands!). At the same time he took down all my necessary personal and financial details and in my absence completed the application on my behalf. I had a call from him shortly afterwards (it was the Wednesday I think – just 4 days after realising that I needed a mortgage) to say that the mortgage had been approved.

When I came back the following week all I needed to do was sign a few documents and supply evidence that I was who I claimed to be, utility bills, proof of salary, the usual suspects. Although Abbey National did its best not to provide a bank statement IF came through and confirm
ed my mortgage offer to my Adviser by fax on the day that I had to exchange. The official mortgage offer documents turned up a couple of days later in the post.

All-in-all, completely painless. The best bit is that I have a reduced rate for 6 months (this has already fallen twice and I do not complete until Feb. when the house is ready). After the first 6 months (when the introductory rate goes up) I am free to go shopping for the best deal again. They have also covered my valuation fee and will be giving me 200 quid towards the legal fees - Nice!

I have got all the details about the various jars, current accounts and everything else that can go with it but as I plan to move lender after 6 months I can't really be bothered to change banks and so cannot comment on these services but it seems to make sense if you plan on staying with them for a while. The nice thing here though is that you have the choice between the latest trend in fully flexible ‘all-in-one’ style mortgage or the more traditional approach – whichever suits you best.

As for the mortgage all appears to be absolutely spot-on so far and I know of at least 3 others whose Financial Advisers have recommended IF in the last couple of months – they, like my Adviser, seem to be saying that it is one of the best deals around at the moment.

As a final point I should point out that this was the right deal for me and although it appears to have been rushed I did know a bit about the various mortgages and options open to me before I put the call in to my friend. Having done a little homework I had a fairly clear idea of what I wanted from my lender and had a some idea about what was actually going to be possible – I just wasn’t expecting to get it all in one place.

You might find these sites useful if you want to do a bit of research on mortgages www.motleyfool.co.uk & www.thisismoney.com

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