Hi there, just to clear things up - this thread isnāt to announce anything super new. At the start of the year we wrote a blog post with our plans for 2019, which included exploring mortgages.
Weāve now added that to our official roadmap, which links here. So this is the place to follow along for updates as we get them.
I take your point, but it doesnāt appear that these Mortgages will be a Monzo product and more an integration with brokers.
Also with things like Monzo Plus/ Business/ ISAs - they all tackle different customers and likely to have their own teams working on them and getting them ready.
Theyāre definitely in the test phase and so Iād rather see a lot of stuff being tested to see what sticks than only 1 or 2 things that my not apply to me being really looked at.
Also, by the looks of that picture @nexusmaniac and what @cookywook has suggested, we might not be looking at the ābestā mortgage rates out there, but a more seamless and customer-friendly way of re-mortgaging at the end of a fixed rate, or when BoE Base Rate changes. This could eventually save Ā£1,000s over the course of a mortgage - i.e. arguably a better incentive than a 0.25% better fixed rate product.
This is very much a sweeping generalisation, but itās too early to expand on it right now
I feel this will work best for those people who might not be as āon itā when it comes to the mortgage side of things.
For me (and a lot of others I know), the 1 or 2 hours of āhassleā sorting out the mortgage for the next 2/3/4/5 years (whatever it may be), is 100% worth it, if the alternative is a more expensive monthly rate.
With something that is likely to be peopleās biggest expense, that extra 0.25% can really make a difference.
I guess comparisons could be made with the āMonzo Loansā feature - Likely not the best rate on the market, but itās easy to use.
That being said, if Monzo are simply ārecommendingā a broker, then youād hope the rates would be market leading (in as much that a broker should have access to these rates).
Oh 100% it was designed to be - it is hard to quantify anything at the moment so I was trying to make an overarching argument for why this may be beneficial.
I think it could also work for people who are āon itā as well as shortening the process and being able to do it with (hopefully) good brokers and not having to go through some faff (even If you want to do it) is surely helpful?
Oh definitely, but if you could secure say, a 0.20% better rate and the actual process has been shortened and you are reminded about the end of term etc - I see a real value here.
I agree here, the advantage of creating a more seamless process does need to be backed by a good rate.
Having used Habito for my last renewal, Iām all for a low friction, web/chat based application process.
I might not have got THE cheapest deal, but it was pretty damned good and I didnāt have to spend an hour and a half face to face with an āadvisorā to justify why I wanted to add 5k to the balance (the proposal I was threatened by with Nationwide!).
Now if you could find a way to sack off the conveyancers too Iād promise to never look at another bank! #monzogamy (coining that if no one else has)
I emailed some feedback about the mortgages test a few weeks ago. I have a mortgage broker who is pretty hot on reviewing our mortgage options, but I always check to see what is available on the market so I would use a mortgage comparison feature. Especially if it is really easy to use.
One idea to help mortgage management would be to assist with managing mortgage over payments and the calculations of how much you could save on the mortgage term by over paying say a fixed amount e.g. Ā£25 extra a month or a set percentage e.g. 10% (the maximum I am allowed to overpay). I think if people realised by paying a little extra they would clear their mortgage years early and save Ā£Ā£Ā£ then more people would do it.
It could be as simple as collecting details about your mortgage in the app and they showing tips or a calculator tool when you look at the details of your monthly mortgage payment DD or SO, then when mortgage product renewals come around you already have the details of the existing mortgage for a comparison.
I agree with the concept of āif people knew about overpayingā¦ā but would mortgage lenders line up to work with Monzo if in the same app there were instructions on how to not pay your lender Ā£1,000s?
I get that thereās nothing stopping anyone overpaying (if the Ts&Cs allow) but itās not usually written out as part of the setāup.
Had the same problem with my amex a couple weeks ago and they donāt do ISA or mortgages so I donāt think its a Monzo issue and more of a ASDA trying to stop fraud issue.
Possibly not but it certainly fits with monzoās mission to āmakes money work for everyoneā. Money saving expert has a mortgage comparison tool and an overpayment calculator, granted they are separate tools. I just think it could be a way for monzo to demonstrate they are looking after their customers that have a mortgage, even if they havenāt bought the product through the monzo mortgage comparison service.
I have mixed feelings about mortgages in Monzoā¦ in my experience the stress and paperwork is less about the finding a mortgage or the application but more about the conveyancing process: that is an industry that is definitely ripe for innovation, there is far too much asking for the same information again and again.
Having said that the savings to be made by being on the optimal mortgage product are massive compared with other switching services for utilities which at best save only a few hundred pounds a year.
Maybe instead of offering mortgages, monzo could become, or team up with, a broker.
All the necessary documents could easily be stored in app so that the customer wouldnāt need to reproduce everything at the end of every fix period. The only question i see is around security of those documents.
Weāve always stayed with halifax, which has been fine, but the current provider can always charge a little more for the convenience of not switching and going through all the paperwork again
Well as an Independent Mortgage Adviser /Broker - I hope it doesnāt take off too much! However the last couple of mortgages Iāve done have been quite difficult and fairly complex. Any kind of robo advice just would not have worked!
At end of the day if computer says no you need human intervention!
I used Habito recently to get my mortgage and it was very simple and I went from application, valuation and offer in only 4 working days (application to Habito on a Friday, Habitoās application to Atom Monday, Atomās valuer visited the property and sent the valuation to Atom on Tuesday, got my mortgage offer Wednesday). Canāt say much better than that. All electronic and online and I would rather do that than long telephone calls to brokers/mortgage companies or having to visit in person.