Product transfer

Transfer your customer’s existing Halifax mortgage onto a new product simply and quickly. You can also include a term change or a change in repayment type as part of the PT.

• Sign in to Halifax Intermediaries Online and select ‘Mortgage Enquiry’ or ‘Create Product Transfer’.
• For most PTs you will be able to follow our fully online process to produce a mortgage illustration instantly.
• Save and resume – once you’ve produced an illustration you can leave the application and you will be able to resume keying the same day, without the need to cancel and rekey from the start.
• When an offer is produced the new product is secured but you need to confirm online that the customer accepts the offer for the PT to take effect.

If an offer has not been accepted you’ll see the PT tile on the Home screen shows in red:  ’ACTION REQUIRED: Please accept the offer. The Product Transfer will not proceed until the offer is accepted’.

• If you re-enter an offered application you’ll be taken to the ‘Review the offer’ screen where you can accept the offer.
• Once the offer has been accepted no further action is required and the PT will automatically take effect on the date shown, there’s no need to call us to check!

If there is any element on interest only or if certain additional changes are being requested the application will follow a different process because an element of assessment and processing will be required:

• You’ll either be asked to provide a maximum monthly budget for the mortgage payment which is affordable for the customer(s) or full income and expenditure details.
• ‘Budget assessment’ applies if requesting a term extension into retirement, changing the mortgage structure e.g. splitting a sub-account or a revaluation is required.
• ‘Full affordability’ applies for a change in repayment type, a reduction in term on capital and interest repayment or a customer’s anticipated retirement age has changed so the mortgage term is now lending into retirement.
• The application needs to be fully submitted in one go with no save and resume functionality, or you will need to cancel and rekey from the start.
• You will receive an email update when the mortgage illustration is available. Please upload any documents requested e.g. income proof or repayment plan(s) documentation. Once any requirements have been completed we will automatically issue the offer for you. You will then need to access the application online and use the ‘Review the offer’ screen to accept the offer.

A PT can be requested where your client is within the last 4 months of an existing product.

Keying from 4 months the new rate will start after the end of the existing product. This means the new rate is secured in advance and the customer still benefits from the current rate until this ends.

Keying within the last 3 months you can choose the date of effect, to start after the end of the existing product or to start from the 1st of the following month (e.g. if the customer was switching to a lower rate) and any Early Repayment Charge (ERC) would be waived.

Where a mortgage is currently on standard variable rate the PT will take effect the following month.

You are able to request a PT up until the end of the month to take effect from the following month, but if an application is made late in the month and we have any additional requirements or further actions are required we cannot guarantee the PT can take effect from the following month. If a PT is completed in the last few days of a month it may not be possible to update the Direct Debit payment if this is collected early in the month ; the new payment would be collected from the following month.

If a customer has two separate products both ending within the four month (PT) keying window please see ‘Multiple products in the product transfer window’.

If additional borrowing, a further advance, is required as well as a product transfer please see Combined product transfer and further advance. 

If your customer wants to select a new rate for their mortgage but also wishes to make an application for a further advance (FA) this can be submitted as a single application.

Please see Combined product transfer and further advance for more details.

Please note that if instead of a combined PT/FA application separate PT and FA applications are to be requested the first application must take effect before the second application can be keyed as only one FA/PT application can be progressing at any one time.

You can find details of your customer’s existing mortgage information by signing into Halifax Intermediaries Online and selecting the Mortgage Enquiry option on the left hand menu of the homepage.

You can search for your customer’s mortgage using either  their 10/ roll number or by keying the 14 digit format e.g. 10/12345678-09 or 10123456780900.

The mortgage account information is displayed over 4 tabs: Account Details, Valuation Details, Payment Information and Repayment Vehicles plus View Sub Accounts:

• Account Details - mortgage balance
• Valuation Detail - indexed valuation
• Payment Information – current total monthly payment
• Repayment Vehicles – details held of repayment plans if Interest Only.
• View Sub Accounts - select individual sub accounts listed in the ‘Summary of Sub Accounts’ for the balances on each, product details including % interest rates, product end dates, loan terms and current early repayment charge (ERC) details.

HINT: You may want to print or make note of the sub account information so you can refer to this later

In some scenarios action may be needed by you or your customer before an application can proceed. If you submit a case which matches any of these circumstances, we’ll email you to let you know what action needs to be taken:

• Early repayment charges to be repaid.
• Payment arrangement exists.
• Retention present.

There are some instances where we won't be able to proceed with a product transfer:

• Existing further advance in progress.
• Marital dispute indicator recorded.
• Consent to lease in place.
• Retirement home plan.
• Transfer of mortgage property is in progress.
• Property is in possession.

For product transfer (and further advance) applications instead of checking our product guide, or any sourcing system, you need to log into Halifax Intermediaries Online and use Mortgage Enquiry to view the customer’s mortgage.

The Product Finder tab will show the products available for a particular customer :

• The table displays products available to the customer based on their current loan amount and % loan to value (LTV). Sort these products as required at the top of the columns.
• Only use the right hand box for further advances, if a revaluation is required or a part repayment is to be made first. Use ‘Refresh’ to display products based on an updated loan amount/LTV and ‘Reset’ to return to current indexed valuation, loan amount and LTV view.

In Halifax Intermediaries Online you should check the status ‘tiles’ on your My Applications page, Product transfers tab.

If the Application Status is OFFER ACCEPTED or COMPLETED no further action is required and the application will automatically take effect on the ‘Effective date of transfer’ displayed.

If the Application Status is OFFER NOT ACCEPTED with ’ACTION REQUIRED: Please accept the offer. The Product Transfer will not proceed until the offer is accepted’ means you still need to accept the offer or the PT will not take effect. Access the application in Halifax Intermediaries Online and on the ‘Review the offer’ screen please accept the offer.

If the Application Status is NOT SUBMITTED this means the PT has not been fully submitted and PRE-OFFER could mean the application still needs to be fully submitted or has been submitted and is being processed by our team.

If you have a query on the status of an application which the application tiles does not answer you can contact our support team on 0345 901 3161.

Reminders:

• Mortgage Illustration and offer documents will be available in the Document Store in Halifax Intermediaries Online.
• The Mortgage Illustration Supplementary Information section will show the PT start date selected.
• Once a PT offer has been issued this will not be impacted by any changes to the current product range or % loan to value following any updates to the indexed valuation, but make sure you proceed to the screen stating ‘Offer accepted’ to ensure the PT will take effect as intended.
• Arrears - if a mortgage goes into arrears between the issue of the Product Transfer offer and completion in the month prior to effect, the PT will not be able to proceed until the arrears are cleared. An email will be issued to confirm a letter is being sent to the customer to advise that if the arrears are cleared by the end of the month the PT will still proceed.
• The illustration and offer produced on a future dated PT are based upon the mortgage balance in the month submitted. The procuration fee quoted in the offer will also be based on that balance. Please note that the actual fee which will be paid is based on the mortgage balance at the date of effect. If the mortgage balance has reduced between the mortgage offer and the start of the PT e.g. on a capital and interest repayment mortgage, the procuration fee paid may differ to the amount stated on the offer document.

If your customer no longer wishes to proceed with a PT this can be cancelled at any time before the PT has taken effect, but once a PT has taken effect this cannot be cancelled.

If you wish to change the new product selected on a PT offer, you must first cancel the existing PT application and then key a new application. Only one application for a customer can be progressing at any one time.

‘Completion’ of a product transfer will take place in the month before the new rate takes effect; when a PT has been future dated completion will be early in the month before effect, and if keying a PT to start from the following month completion will take place shortly after the offer has been produced. The customer will receive their completion letter to confirm the exact new monthly payment a few days after completion.

Pre-Completion

On your My Applications page find the required PT tile and click the ‘Cancel’ button. You can then key a new PT application as normal. If the ‘Cancel’ button does not show this means the PT has already completed and a ‘Completed’ status will show on the My Applications page.

Post-Completion

A PT can only be cancelled before it has taken effect. To cancel the PT please complete our  online form below.

We will email you an update within 24 hours of submitting the request. Any new PT application cannot be keyed until you receive confirmation the cancellation has been completed.

Please be aware that if you request cancellation of a PT close to the end of the month, we will endeavour to complete the cancellation so that if required you have time to key a new PT before the end of the month, but we cannot guarantee the time the cancellation process will take if further actions are required.

Cancel a product transfer

If a customer has two separate products both ending within the 4 month product transfer (PT) future dating window two separate PT applications need to be keyed; the first PT for the product with the earlier expiry date and a second PT for the product with the later expiry date. We offer the option for you to select the same new product for both PTs i.e. we will honour the product secured on the first PT for the second PT using the process below:

1. Key the first PT application online as normal. You do not need to advise us at that point if a second PT will be required (unless you are recommending more than one product)*.
2. When the first PT has taken effect the second PT can be progressed.
3. On the Mortgage Enquiry Product Finder you can review the latest PT products that are available for the second PT; if you wish to proceed on a new product rather than using same product as the first PT key the second PT online as normal.
4. If you require the product from the first PT for the second PT, the second PT application cannot be keyed online and you should instead call our support team on 0345 901 3161 to key the PT. When you call advise us you wish to use a product from a previous PT on a second PT application.
5. Our support team will arrange for the product required to be rebuilt and will contact you within 72 hours so they can complete the keying of the PT.
6. When the new illustration is produced you can view this online. You should upload a completed Declaration Form (PDF, 40KB) to confirm the customer wishes to proceed and the second PT will then be offered.

Where the product from the first PT is used for the second PT any applicable product fee would not be charged a second time. If a different product is selected for the second PT then any second product fee that applied would be charged as normal.

*If you are recommending more than one PT product e.g. for the first PT to go onto a 2 year product and for the second PT to go onto a 5 year product, we would ask you do contact our support team at stage 1 above to confirm the product code you wish to secure for the second PT. 

• A PT would be available but you can’t key this as there’s a previous PT application which is yet to take effect e.g. if when you key a PT a second product isn’t yet within the 4 month future dating window, but when it enters that window you can’t key a second PT as the first PT hasn’t yet taken effect:

- Please contact our support team when the second PT would normally be available to key and confirm the product code that you wish to secure. That product would be from those currently showing available for the customer on the Mortgage Enquiry Product Finder.

- When the first PT has taken effect if you want the product you had previously identified for the second PT (and called us to secure) you should call our support team for them to key the PT as above.

• A PT would be available but you can’t key this as there is a further advance (FA) application which has not yet completed:

- Please contact our support team when the PT would normally be available to key and confirm the product code that you wish to secure. That product would be from those currently showing available for the customer on the Mortgage Enquiry Product Finder.

- When the FA has completed if you want the product you had previously identified for the PT (and called us to secure) you should call our support team for them to key the PT as above.

• At the point a FA application is keyed a PT is available but the intention is to key a separate PT application after the FA has completed; this is so the PT will take effect at a later date, rather than automatically taking effect from the 1st of the month after the FA funds are released (as would on a combined FA/PT application).

- When the FA has completed if you require the product from the FA for the PT, the PT application cannot be keyed online and you should instead call our support team on 0345 901 3161 to key the PT.

For mortgages where there is an element on interest only we need to ensure repayment plans are in place.

If the full interest only amount is covered by valid repayment plan(s):

• Complete the Repayment Vehicles screen with full details. The application will follow the budget assessment process.
• Where the repayment plan is Sale of Mortgaged Property (SOMP), cash or bonus income details need to be collected as a minimum income requirement applies.
• You will need to upload repayment plan(s) documentation.

If the full interest only amount is not covered by valid repayment plan(s):

• Complete the Repayment Vehicles screen with full details of any valid plans held even if they are insufficient to cover all interest only lending or ‘None’ if no acceptable repayment plans are held. The application will follow the full affordability process.
• You will need to key income and commitment details but there is no requirement to submit any verification documents. We will calculate if the customer could afford to transfer any amount to capital and interest repayment. If the customer cannot afford to transfer any amount to capital and interest repayment the PT can proceed with the mortgage remaining on an interest only basis. If the customer could afford to transfer all, or some, of the mortgage to capital and interest repayment it will be the customer’s choice if they choose to do so and the PT can proceed either way.

If a customer’s mortgage has less than 2 years remaining on interest only and they do not have an acceptable repayment plan any request for a PT application would need to be made through our End of Term team and you will be unable to arrange a PT for the customer. The customer must call the End of Term team themselves directly on 0808 145 0378. This team are a specialised department who will have a detailed discussion with the customer on their income and expenditure, what assets they have etc. before going on to the customer’s options.

Some options could include converting all/part of the account to a repayment mortgage, giving the customer some time to market and sell their property, if that is what they want to do and as a last resort considering a term extension where a balance is outstanding at the end of the term. 

Term changes – if the term is extended past a maximum working age of 70 please upload a Maximum Working Age Form. If the increased term is lending into retirement the application will follow the full affordability process ; current and retirement income details will need to be keyed and income verification documents uploaded.

Repayment type changes - converting to interest only or increasing the interest only amount is acceptable with valid repayment plan(s).  Converting from interest only to capital and interest repayment or reducing the amount on interest only is possible where the change is affordable. You will need to key income and commitment details and upload income verification documentation and repayment plan(s) if now applicable.  Please also see the section on Interest only for more information on PTs where any element of the mortgage is currently on interest only.

A product transfer (PT) usually involves transferring the full mortgage balance on to a new product, but the customer may sometimes want to repay part of their mortgage and just transfer the remaining amount to a new product.

If a new product is selected for part of the mortgage balance the amount that is not included on the new product will revert to standard variable rate at the end of the current product and the customer can then repay this amount with no early repayment charge (ERC).

To key a PT on part of the mortgage balance:

1. On the Product Transfer Fact Find screen select ‘Yes’ to the final question ‘Does the customer wish to change the structure of their loan or is an external appraisal of the property required?’ (Question does not display on interest only mortgages)
2. On the ‘Existing Sub Account Details’ screen key the amount to be applied to the new product and the new product code
3. On the split sub account/’New Sub Account’ screen key the remaining balance with the current product code ; this is the amount that will revert to variable rate after the end of the current product
4. Please allow 24 hours after submission but then please call our Refinance Team on 0345 901 3161; please confirm with our team how much is to be transferred to the new product and the balance which will revert to variable rate so they can complete the keying of the PT on your behalf
5. When they produce a mortgage illustration please carefully check the amount showing on the new product is correct
6. A PT offer will then be available for you to view online, and you should accept the offer for the PT to take effect.

In this scenario the PT must be starting after expiry of the existing product, and you would not have the option within the last 3 months to choose for the PT to take effect earlier.

If the customer(s) believe the indexed valuation figure holding is not accurate e.g. because of property improvement works carried out, they can request a new valuation assessment. The valuation type used could be an external appraisal or remote valuation and the customer cannot choose the valuation type to be used. There will be no charge to the customer for the assessment.