Accord News
- 27 July - Improved Online Affordability Calculator
- 21 July - Semi-exclusives – larger loan products
- 12 July - Semi-exclusive product withdrawal and launch
- 23 June - Changes to Semi-exclusive Products
- 14 June - Selected Product Transfer Rates reduced
- 2 June - Rates down by up to 0.50%
- 7 May - Accord Product Withdrawal & Launch
- 27 April - Selected product transfer rates reduced
- 19 April - Product withdrawal - 65% LTV only
- 30 March - Changes to Existing Borrower Transfer products
- 12 March - Accord Product Withdrawal & Launch
- 3 March - Service Update and New Criteria Guide
- 24 February - Service update
- 23 February - Change in Lending Decision and Offer validity periods
- 11 February - Existing borrower rates reduced
- 10 February - Service Update
- 21 December 09 - Merry Christmas from Accord Mortgages
- 27 November 09 - Thanks for our 5 Star award!
- 23 November 09 - Portability Top Up & Additional Loan products
- 06 November 09 - Change to Existing Borrower Transfer Products
- 27 October 09 - Changes to Accord Mortgages Online Application
- 19 October 09 - Postal Strike Information
- 12 October 09 - Change to Existing Borrower Transfer Products
- 17 September 09 - Update
- 16 September 09 - Technical Difficulties
27 July - Improved Online Affordability Calculator
Further to your feedback Accord is pleased to announce improvements to our Online Affordability Calculator – making it easier for you get a quick estimate of how much your client can borrow.
We’ve included new sections for applicants who are employed, self-employed and salaried directors. We’ve made clear which of the client’s outgoings and expenditures we would like to know about and we’ve included detailed help boxes to provide you with further information at each stage.
The updated affordability calculator will be available from Tuesday 27 July.
Please note: the affordability calculator should only be used for new business, please do not use the calculator for additional lending, portability or transfer of equity applications. Remember, the Affordability Calculator will only give you a quick estimate of how much your client/s can borrow - it is not an exact amount. Please complete a Lending Decision online to find out how much we will lend to your client (all loans are subject to criteria)
21 July - Semi-exclusives – larger loan products
Accord are pleased to announce that we will be reducing the minimum loan on no fee larger loan products from 9:00am tomorrow – Thursday 22 July.
The product rates and codes will remain the same, however, the minimum loan on no fee products will be reduced to £30,000, the maximum loan will remain at £1.5 million. From tomorrow you will find these products on our website under the House Purchase and Remortgage tab.
Our list of products will be available on our website from Thursday, please visit our product pages on Thursday for the updated list.
12 July - Semi-exclusive product withdrawal and launch
Accord will be withdrawing all semi-exclusive products at 5:00pm today – Monday 12 July, in order to extend the end dates to 31 August.
The same rates will be available at 9:00am on Tuesday 13 July with the only changes being product code and end dates (extended to 31st August). We will also launch additional semi-exclusive products.
Our list of products will be available on our website from Tuesday, please visit our website
www.accordmortgages.com/products for the updated list.
Service Update
We've recently received high volumes of business, and as a result, we are slightly behind in processing applications and with dealing with incoming post.
- For applications - we will email to acknowledge your application as soon as we start processing each case and send updates as normal via MATS email.
- For post – we will email you via MATS to confirm receipt of your post and contact you again once it has been dealt with.
Please note, we are unable to check to see if we have received your case until processing begins, phone calls to check this will only result in further processing delays.
We are working to return to our standard high service level as soon as possible and will keep you updated – please visit our Service Quality section for a daily update on service levels. Your help and co-operation in this matter would be greatly appreciated. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.
23 June - Changes to Semi-exclusive Products
Please note that Accord will be withdrawing the following semi-exclusive products at 5:00pm today - Wednesday 23 June.
- 2 year fixed rate products: product codes - 6635, 6637, 6638, 6639, 6642,
- 2 year fixed Offset products: product codes - 6648, 6649
- 3 year fixed rate products: product codes - 6659, 6664
- 5 year fixed rate products: product codes - 6680, 6681, 6682, 6684
- 5 year fixed Offset products: product code - 6692
- 10 year fixed rate products: product code - 6702
- 2 year tracker rate products: product codes - 10082, 10084, 10129, 10113
- 2 year Offset tracker rate products: product codes - 10095, 10130
All other products remain unchanged. Our list of products will be updated at 5:00pm on Wednesday, please see our product page for the updated list.
Important information about Booking Fees:
- Any booking fee is payable as part of the full mortgage application process and is non-refundable.
- The full mortgage application should not be started unless you receive an 'Accept' Lending Decision. Please await the outcome of referrals as the booking fee is not refunded in the event of a decline.
- In the event of a product withdrawal, a full mortgage application must be completed (ONLY if an 'Accept' Lending Decision has already been received) and the booking fee paid to reserve the product before 5:00pm on 23rd June.
- Processing of your application will not commence until the booking fee is paid.
14 June - Selected Product Transfer Rates reduced
We are pleased to announce that as of Tuesday 15 June 2010, Accord Mortgages will be reducing rates on selected Existing Borrower Transfer products by up to 0.60% . In addition end dates on all existing borrower products will be extended to 30 September.
The current EBT products will be withdrawn at midnight on Monday 14 June and the new products will be available at 9:00am on Tuesday 15 June.
The new product guide will be available on our website from Tuesday.
2 June - Rates down by up to 0.50%
We’re delighted to announce rate reductions across the majority of our products:
- 2 year fixed rates from 3.14% - down by up to 0.35%
- 3 year fixed rates from 3.64% - down by up to .0.45%
- 5 year fixed rates from 4.19% – down by up to 0.50%
- 85% LTV 2 year trackers from 3.69% - down by up to 0.30%
New 10 year fixed rates
- From 5.24%
- 75% and 85% LTV
- £995 and £1995 fee options.
- Large loan products with no fee also available.
New 3 year trackers
- From 2.94%
- 75% and 85% LTV
- £995 fee.
- Large loan products with no fee also available.
Other information:
- End dates on all products remains at 30 June.
- 3 year Offset fixed rate products withdrawn and not replaced.
- Reductions to selected 2 year trackers.
Product withdrawal will be at midnight tonight (except for products that remain unchanged).
New products will be available from Wednesday 2 June.
Affordability – important note
- Accord Mortgages uses affordability to assess borrowing during our lending decision process. Please note that sourcing systems use income multiples to give a guide – which can give very different results. For an estimate of how much your client(s) can borrow, please visit our online affordability calculator.
7 May - Accord Product Withdrawal & Launch
We will withdraw all Accord Mortgages Semi-Exclusive products at midnight on Monday 10 May. New products will be available from Tuesday 11 May.
New products
Large Loans
We're delighted to announce competitive new 2, 3 and 5 year fixed rate and 2 year tracker large loan products:
- 2 year trackers start at 2.84% for 75% LTV, 0.50% completion fee.
- 2 year fixed rates start at 3.59% for 75% LTV, 0.50% completion fee.
- No booking fee.
- Completion fee: no fee and 0.50% fee options.
- Minimum loan £750,001.
- Maximum loan £1.5m at 75% LTV or £1m at 85% LTV.
- Offset options at 75% and 85% LTV.
New offset products
We’re also increasing the availability of offset products in the range in recognition of the fact that these continue to be a popular choice due to low interest rates for savings:
- Available without incentives – House Purchase & Remortgage.
- Options with incentives for House Purchase only and Remortgage only.
- Fixed Rates at 75% 85% LTV, 2, 3 and 5 year.
- Trackers at 75% and 85% LTV, 2 year only.
Other changes:
- End dates on all products extended to 30th June.
- 80% products withdrawn and not replaced.
Important note:
Accord Mortgages uses affordability to assess borrowing during our lending decision process. Please note that sourcing systems use income multiples to give a guide – which can give very different results. For an estimate of how much your client(s) can borrow, please visit our online affordability calculator.27 April - Selected Product Transfer rates reduced
We are pleased to announce that as of Tuesday 27 April 2010, Accord Mortgages will be reducing rates on selected Existing Borrower Transfer products by up to 0.40%.
The new product guide will be available from Tuesday 27 April – Download the current guide now
19 April - Product withdrawal - 65% LTV only
Accord will be withdrawing selected semi-exclusive products at midnight tonight, Monday 19 April - this will only affect products at 65% LTV. All other semi- exclusive and exclusive products will remain unchanged and will still be available.
Important information about Booking Fees:
- Any booking fee is payable as part of the full mortgage application process and is non-refundable.
- The full mortgage application should not be started unless you receive an 'Accept' Lending Decision. Please await the outcome of referrals as the booking fee is not refunded in the event of a decline.
- In the event of a product withdrawal, a full mortgage application must be completed (ONLY if an 'Accept' Lending Decision has already been received) and the booking fee paid to reserve the product before midnight on Monday 19 April.
- Processing of your application will not commence until the booking fee is paid.
30 March - Changes to Existing Borrower Transfer products
As of Wednesday 31 March 2010, Accord Mortgages will be extending the end dates on all Existing Borrower Transfer products to 30 June. The EBT product codes will also change, however all other product details including the product rates and fees will remain unchanged.
The new product guide will be available from Wednesday 31 March – Download the current guide now.
12 March - Accord Product Withdrawal & Launch
Accord will withdraw all products at 5pm today. We apologise for the short notice, this is to help manage our service levels, which as you may know are not currently to our usual high standard.
New products will be available from Monday 15 March and feature rate cuts of up to 0.65% for fixed rates. Additionally, to improve access to product information, the semi-exclusive range will be published on our website.
Main changes to semi-exclusive range:
- No fee products will not be replaced.
- A number of products with incentives will not be replaced.
- Products with 1% cashback also being withdrawn and not replaced.
- All remaining fixed rate products will be reduced by up to 0.65%.
- New 3 and 5 year fixed rate products at a range of LTVs.
- End dates extended to 30 April.
Remember to visit our website from Monday 15 March for full details of the semi-exclusive range.
Important information about Booking Fees:
- Any booking fee is payable as part of the full mortgage application process and is non-refundable.
- The full mortgage application should not be started unless you receive an ‘Accept’ Lending Decision. Please await the outcome of referrals as the booking fee is not refunded in the event of a decline.
- In the event of a product withdrawal, a full mortgage application must be completed (ONLY if an ‘Accept’ Lending Decision has already been received) and the booking fee paid to reserve the product.
- Processing of your application will not commence until the booking fee is paid.
3 March - Service Update and New Criteria Guide
We’re currently dealing with high volumes of business – and this is affecting our service to you, so we’d like to tell you about two new developments which should help.
Daily Service Levels Update
To keep you informed, the home page of our website is updated daily with our current service levels for dealing with post, Lending Decision referrals, processing applications and telephone waiting time.
We are doing everything we can to get our service levels back on track and it would help us if you could refrain from calling, as dealing with your query will further delay our processing.
If your case is within our current service levels as shown on the website homepage – please be patient. We are dealing with business in order of receipt – we’ll be in touch via email as soon as we start processing or we have reviewed your Lending Decision. If your case is outside our service levels or extremely urgent, then please do get in touch.
We’d like to thank you for placing business with us and we appreciate your patience and support.
Launch of online Criteria Guide
Following feedback from many advisers, a great new development that we hope will help reduce your need to call is our online Criteria Guide. This contains much more information in greater detail than we have published before.
Criteria topics are in A to Z order – simply click on the double arrows to open topics and sub topics to read more. There’s also a search facility – please do read the tips on the web page to help you get the best results.
If there is anything you would like to see covered that is not shown in the new guide, please contact your Accord Sales Advisor.
View Accord’s criteria now!
24 February - Service update
Due to large volumes of business, we’re currently experiencing the following delays:
- Lending Decision referrals - up to 48 hours behind
- Processing applications - up to 72 hours behind
- Incoming post - up to 72 hours behind
We would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling to check receipt or progress of your case as this will lead to further delays. All items are being dealt with strictly in order of receipt.
We will keep you updated via email as soon as processing begins or we have reviewed your lending decision.
We appreciate your patience and understanding during this busy period and thank you for your continued support.
23 February - Change in Lending Decision and Offer validity periods
As of 23 February 2010, all new business mortgage offers will be valid for a period of 90 days. In addition, all new business lending decisions will be valid for a period of 30 days.
11 February - Existing borrower rates reduced
As of Friday 12 February 2010, Accord Mortgages will be reducing the rates on selected Existing Borrower Transfer Products by up to 0.80%, end dates will be extended to 31 March.
The new product and criteria guide will be available online from Friday 12 February.
10 February - Service Update
Following the launch of our latest semi-exclusive product range, we’ve received high volumes of business over the last week. As a result, we are slightly behind in our processing of applications and AIP referrals.
To help us process your application and deal with referrals as quickly as possible, we would appreciate it if you would refrain from calling to check receipt or progress of your AIP / application.
- For AIP referrals – we will respond via email as soon as possible.
- For applications - we will email to acknowledge your application as soon as we start processing each case and send updates as normal via MATS email.
Please note, we are unable to check to see if we have received your case until processing begins, phone calls to check this will only result in further processing delays.
We are working to return to our standard high service level as soon as possible and will keep you updated. Your help and co-operation in this matter would be greatly appreciated. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued support.
21 December 09 - Merry Christmas from Accord Mortgages
Tuesday 29 December - Wednesday 30 December:
Telephone lines are open between 9:00am - 5:00pm
Thursday 31 December:
Telephone lines are open between 9:00am - 3:00pm
Friday, 1 January 2010 & Saturday 02 January 2010:
Office closed
27 November 09 - Thanks for our 5 Star award!
We're really delighted at Accord Mortgages, that for the third year in a row, you have awarded us 5 stars at the Financial Adviser Service Awards.
Over the last year, Accord has been totally focussed on developing closer relationships with our selected key lending partners. We have deepened our understanding of how our partners' businesses work. We've also identified ways of optimising opportunities to our mutual advantage. This has involved adapting our processes, constantly reviewing the service that we provide and ensuring our people are developed and supported to make every experience you have of Accord an exceptional one.
We are also delighted that we have been in a position to develop our product range and offer selected partners exclusive products tailored to meet their customer needs. We've also made a range of competitive semi-exclusive products available.
Here's a quick reminder of some of the great reasons to use Accord:
- Sales Team - our award-winning, field and telephone based teams are on hand to give your business top priority.
- Case Managers - our dedicated, experienced processors contact you at the start of each application. You'll deal with the same person from start to finish.
- Underwriters - you can speak to the person who is making the decisions about your case.
- Award winning online technology that makes it simple to apply.
- We're part of one of the biggest building societies in the country - the Yorkshire.
Thanks again for your business and your continuing support, we really do appreciate it.
06 November 09 - Change to Existing Borrower Transfer Products
We're delighted to announce that we have improved the rates on our fixed rate transfer products. All products have been withdrawn and replaced as of 6 November:
- All fixed rates have been reduced by 0.15%
- All fixed rate end dates have been extended to January.
The new product guide is available on the Accord Mortgages website to view now.
23 November 09 - Portability Top Up & Additional Loan products
With effect from midnight on Sunday 22nd November we will be withdrawing the following products, these will be replaced with new products on Monday 23rd November:
Additional Loan - the following Trackers For Term will be withdrawn:
Product codes: 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966
Portability Top Up - the following Trackers For Term will be withdrawn:
Product codes: 1956, 1957
Please click here to download the new Existing Borrower Guide on Monday 23rd November
06 November 09 - Change to Existing Borrower Transfer Products
We're delighted to announce that we have improved the rates on our fixed rate transfer products. All products have been withdrawn and replaced as of 6 November:
- All fixed rates have been reduced by 0.15%
- All fixed rate end dates have been extended to January.
The new product guide is available on the Accord Mortgages website to view now.
27 October 09 - Changes to Accord Mortgages Online Application
From Tuesday 27 October, there will be some new questions on the Accord Mortgages online application form (paper forms will be updated at a later date).
- Terms into retirement
- Interest only - repayment of capital
Terms into retirement
As a responsible lender, it is important for Accord Mortgages to determine that any mortgage loan remains affordable where the term extends into retirement.
Any mortgage which extends into retirement may pose a risk that once a customer retires and their income reduces, mortgage payments may become either difficult or impossible to maintain.
To ensure that this risk is understood and managed, we will now collect the following information online:
Applicant’s anticipated retirement income
and
The retirement strategy - you will be asked to select one of the following options in the event that your client’s retirement income is not sufficient to meet their mortgage repayments:
- Sell this property and downsize
- Sell this property and move in with relatives
- Sell a second property
- Use expected inheritance
- Make regular overpayments to repay capital
- Sell this property and move into rented accommodation
Interest only - repayment of capital
It is also important that we establish how your client plans to repay the capital where the loan is interest only and it is clear that the repayment vehicles in place will not be sufficient to cover the capital. The options you will be asked to select from are:
- Sell a second property
- Sell this property and move into rented accommodation
- Sell this property and downsize
- Make regular overpayments to repay capital
- Sell this property and move in with relatives
- Use expected inheritance
- Use investments and / or savings
19 October 09 - Postal Strike Information
The postal strike needn’t affect your business with Accord:
- Incoming – we’ll accept certified copies of original documents via fax or scanned copies via email. (The copy must have a signed and dated statement by the adviser that it is a true copy of the original.)
- Outgoing – we will continue to use the post for non-urgent business. For cases with an urgent deadline for completion, please discuss this with us and we will fax a copy of the offer to you. Please note that this is for urgent cases only
12 October 09 - Change to Existing Borrower Transfer Products
We're delighted to announce that we are improving the rates on two of our transfer products
As of close of business today we will withdraw the following 2 year fixed rates:
- 5.49% (product code 6249)
- 5.59% - Offset (product code 0882)
These will be replaced with the following from Tuesday 13 October:
- 5.34% 2 year fixed rate at 75% LTV, product code 6269
- 5.44% 2 year fixed rate Offset at 75% LTV, product code 0902
The new product guide will be available on the Accord M
ortgages website from Tuesday.
17 September 09 - Update
We are pleased to confirm that the technical problems we were experiencing on 16 September have now been resolved and normal service has resumed. We apologise for any delays caused.
16 September 09 - Technical Difficulties
We are currently experiencing technical difficulties with issuing lending decisions at AIP stage. We are working to rectify this and will update you once the problem has been resolved. We apologise for any delay caused.
