Precise Mortgages

Precise Mortgages is a UK mortgage lender that does not deal with borrowers directly. Its products are only available through qualified brokers, so there is no branch to walk into and no direct application form¹. It lends across residential mortgages, buy to let and bridging finance, and it also handles product transfers for existing customers whose deal is ending¹.

It is best known for the borrowers other lenders turn down or find awkward: first-time buyers, the self-employed, contract workers, people buying new build properties and people with less-than-perfect credit profiles¹. New buy to let business for new customers is now placed through its sister brand Rely, through an intermediary¹.

Precise Mortgages is a mortgage lender for residential, buy to let and bridging borrowers, and it also offers product transfers to existing customers¹. Its products are not sold on the high street: they are only available through qualified brokers². The same group also runs Charter Savings Bank, which matters for deposit protection limits³.

What Precise Mortgages offers: residential, buy to let and bridging loans

Precise runs three main lending lines plus a switching service for existing borrowers¹.

Residential mortgages are aimed at home movers, remortgages, new build purchases and first-time buyers⁶. The lender describes the range as designed for a wide group, including contract workers, Forces Help to Buy applicants, the self-employed and borrowers with less-than-perfect credit profiles¹. New build lending goes up to 90% loan to value⁶. If you are weighing up how a residential mortgage works, the mortgages guide covers the basics, and buying a home covers the purchase process.

Buy to let mortgages are for landlords, and new buy to let business from new customers is now placed through the sister brand Rely via an intermediary¹. As a condition of the mortgage, adequate insurance covering loss and damage to the property must be maintained throughout the term, though it does not have to be bought through Precise⁷.

Bridging finance is short-term lending for people who need funds quickly: buying at auction, raising capital, refurbishing or converting a property, or covering a gap while a home sells¹. Precise will lend where the property is lived in by the borrower, where the borrower will not live in it, or on an investment property being refurbished⁸. Bridging is a specialist market; Which? lists Precise Mortgages alongside LendInvest, MT Finance, Together Mortgages and United Trust Bank as providers of bridging loans⁹.

Who Precise Mortgages lends to

The pattern across the product range is borrowers whose circumstances need a manual look rather than an automated yes. On the residential side that means contract workers, first-time buyers, Forces Help to Buy cases, the self-employed, new build purchases and applicants with less-than-perfect credit profiles¹.

On the landlord side, Precise lends to buy to let borrowers, and it treats consumer buy to let as a regulated activity under the Mortgage Credit Directive Order⁷. Bridging borrowers are typically owner-occupiers, landlords or investors refurbishing a property⁸.

If you are already a Precise borrower and hit trouble, the lender runs an online income and expenditure form built with Paylink Solutions, for residential borrowers or buy to let borrowers with up to and including three rental properties¹⁰. Buy to let borrowers with four or more rental properties are asked to call customer support instead¹⁰.

Applying through a mortgage broker, not a branch

There is no direct route. Precise states plainly that its products are only available through qualified brokers, and repeats that across its residential, buy to let and bridging pages¹. In practice that means you choose a broker, the broker packages the case and submits it, and Precise underwrites and issues the offer.

That structure has consequences worth knowing before you start. The broker is your point of contact for a product transfer or a new quote, not the lender⁴. Precise can withdraw its rates without notice, and a rate is only secured once it has issued an offer⁴. It also does not accept digital or electronic signatures, so documents such as the Acceptance of Offer must be signed by all borrowers and returned before the offer's valid end date⁴.

Where a certified copy is needed, Precise accepts certification from an authorised person or firm, a qualified solicitor, a bank or building society manager or employee (with a branch stamp), an actuary or accountant who is a member of a recognised professional body, a notary public, a GP or dentist, or the Post Office Certification Service¹¹.

New buy to let mortgages now go through Rely

If you are a new customer looking for a new buy to let mortgage, business is placed through Precise's sister brand Rely, through an intermediary¹. Existing Precise buy to let borrowers continue to be served by Precise for their current mortgages and product transfers¹.

The practical effect for a landlord is that the brand name on a new buy to let application may differ from the one on an existing loan, even though the broker route is the same. Nothing about the broker requirement changes: it is still an intermediary-only process¹.

Fees and charges on a Precise mortgage

Precise does not publish a single fee schedule that applies to everyone, because charges depend on the product and the work involved. What it does say is how the mechanics work.

A standard valuation and assessment fee is payable on application for all residential products unless otherwise stated⁶. All fees include VAT where applicable¹². Some charges are third party costs, and Precise states that it does not determine those and that the amounts can vary⁵. Where a third party charge applies to your mortgage, Precise says it will give reasonable notice stating the amount of the fee, the nature of the works covered by it, and the date the fee will be added to the mortgage⁵.

Fees can also be triggered by changes to the mortgage itself, for example transferring ownership of the property, changing who is on the mortgage, or changing the term⁵.

It is worth setting those against the wider market. Early repayment charges on fixed mortgages can add up to tens of thousands of pounds¹³. When comparing the cost of any deal, the monthly repayment, the fees to set up or change it, the term and the effect of interest rate changes all belong in the same calculation¹⁴.

Switching to a new deal when your product ends

When a fixed or discounted deal ends, the mortgage usually moves to the lender's variable rate unless a new deal is arranged. Precise sends existing customers a letter with personalised rates, called a product quote, approximately three months before reversion¹. That quote is valid for 28 calendar days from issue⁴. If you are already on the reversion rate, your broker can request a quote, which is valid for 14 days⁴.

You can switch products up to three months before your existing deal ends without another affordability check¹⁰. Once the broker submits the product transfer request, Precise says it will be in touch within 5 working days to share progress⁴. There needs to be a clear calendar month between Precise receiving the signed Acceptance of Offer and the transfer completing⁴.

You can change your mind about a product transfer at any point before the day the new product is due to take effect; after that, the account moves to a variable rate in line with the mortgage terms⁴. If Precise does not receive your instructions in time, the same thing happens: the account moves to a variable rate until the transfer takes effect⁴.

The wider rule is similar across lenders. Customers who are up to date with payments can switch to a new deal with their lender at the end of an existing fixed-rate agreement without a new affordability check¹⁵. Lenders typically talk to borrowers about a new deal about 3 to 6 months before the current one ends¹⁶. Remortgaging means switching from one mortgage to another, either a new deal with your existing lender or a new mortgage with a different lender¹⁷.

Overpaying and making changes to your mortgage

Overpayment rules differ by product. On buy to let mortgages, Precise allows lump sum or regular overpayments, but an early repayment charge may apply if the payment is made within the early repayment charge period, and the borrower must confirm the payment is to repay the mortgage and reduce the interest-charged balance⁷. On bridging loans, Precise is unable to accept regular or lump sum overpayments at all⁸.

There is one timing detail worth knowing on fixed rate products: if you make a lump sum overpayment in the last 10 days before the fixed rate expires, and Precise has received the Acceptance of Offer, there is no early repayment charge⁴.

Elsewhere in the market, offset mortgages often allow overpayments, though early repayment charges may still apply¹⁸. If you are on an interest-only mortgage and want to overpay to reduce the balance, you generally need to switch to a repayment mortgage first¹⁹.

Changes to the mortgage itself, such as transferring ownership, changing who is on the mortgage or changing the term, can attract a fee⁵. If you are thinking about porting a mortgage to a new property, the rules and costs differ from a straightforward product transfer, and Which? explains how porting works²⁰.

Struggling with payments: the options and their effect on your credit file

Precise treats the mortgage as a priority debt, and says it has a fully trained and experienced team who will work with you to understand your circumstances and find a manageable solution²¹. Contacting the lender to ask what is available will not affect your credit score, and contacting it will not impact your credit file¹⁰.

What does affect your file is what you agree to. Precise sets out the consequences of each option:

• A temporary interest rate reduction shows as an arrangement on your credit file, which could affect your ability to borrow money in future⁸.
• A payment deferral also shows as an arrangement on your credit file, and interest would still be charged on your mortgage⁸.
• A concessional payment (paying less than the contractual amount) shows as forbearance on your credit file and would increase your arrears balance⁸.

The lender also reports arrangements to credit reference agencies, which could affect your ability to borrow in future⁸. On bridging loans, failure to make monthly payments is passed to credit reference agencies, which may affect your ability to take out further loans⁸.

The same pattern appears across the market. Missed payments go on your credit file and can make it harder to get credit in future and to remortgage²². In Wales, official guidance notes that missed payments could affect your credit rating, making it more difficult to get credit in the future²³. If you are in arrears, your credit rating will be affected and it is unlikely you will get a good mortgage offer²⁴.

Options for clearing arrears include increasing your repayments to clear them, or adding the arrears to the mortgage balance²⁴. Pausing interest and charges, reducing the minimum payment or suspending an account could also impact your credit file²⁵. Debt advice itself does not affect your credit score, though some debt solutions will²⁶.

If you are struggling, free and impartial help is available from StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice, and from your local authority's money advice service. The debt guide sets out the options and your rights.

When a borrower dies: what the family needs to do

Precise asks to be told as soon as possible. As soon as it is notified of a death, it updates its records, but until it receives the death certificate or interim death certificate, all correspondence it sends will be in the name of the deceased¹¹.

The documents it needs are an original or certified copy of the death certificate or interim death certificate, the name and address of the personal representatives if known, and confirmation of who will be managing the estate²⁷. Certification is accepted from an authorised person or firm, a qualified solicitor, a bank or building society manager or employee (with a branch stamp), an actuary or accountant who is a member of a recognised professional body, a notary public, a GP or dentist, or the Post Office Certification Service²⁷.

What happens next depends on how the property is held. If it is registered as joint tenants, Precise updates the mortgage account to the sole name of the surviving account holder, checks the direct debit details and sends the remaining account holder a confirming letter²⁷. If the property is registered as tenants in common or in the sole name of the customer, Precise needs to know who is handling the estate, the name and address of the person dealing with it, whether a solicitor has been appointed, whether a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration has been issued, whether there is a will, and the status of the bank account the mortgage payments come from²⁷.

Under the regulator's rules, where a lender knows or becomes aware that a consumer is deceased, it must take all reasonable steps to communicate instead with a personal representative of the estate or the beneficiaries²⁸.

Two related points are worth knowing. If the person who died had any cash or assets, the case is referred to the debt team²⁹. And if the mortgage is being paid through a Support for Mortgage Interest loan, a partner who lives with the borrower can usually inherit the loan with the home, but anyone else who inherits must repay it immediately³⁰. Where an estate is insolvent, debts are paid in a set order: secured creditors first, then reasonable funeral, administration and testamentary expenses, then preferred and preferential debts, then unsecured creditors, then interest on unsecured loans, then deferred debt³².

Complaints and the Financial Ombudsman Service

Start with Precise Mortgages. Bridging customers can write to PO Box 6075 Wolverhampton WV10 6TD or call 0800 781 8558⁸. Customer support is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, except Wednesdays when it opens at 9.30am⁵.

If you are not satisfied with the response, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at complaints about financial difficulties affecting your ability to repay your mortgage. That includes complaints about mortgage arrears and charges, not being able to change or move your mortgage or take a payment holiday, and repossession, whether before possession takes place or after it has happened³³. The service also handles complaints that a lender applied unfair charges such as arrears fees, legal costs and field agent visit fees, refused a concession such as a temporary switch to interest-only or a term extension, is unfairly trying to repossess, will not help when payments are unaffordable, or is harassing a borrower about arrears³⁴.

On rates, the ombudsman gives examples including delays arranging a new mortgage or interest rate that led to a higher rate, lenders not telling borrowers their interest rate product was ending in time, inability to arrange a new interest rate, and lenders not offering new interest rate products to mortgage prisoners³⁵. It also deals with complaints about early repayment charges from consumers who believe a charge is unfair³⁶, and with valuation and survey complaints, where it may ask for the report or survey, the mortgage application form, information about the types of inspection available, the lender's instructions to the surveyor, and builders' reports and estimates for repairs³⁷.

The ombudsman's remit is wider than mortgages: it covers consumer credit complaints including payday loans, the affordability of lending and the quality of goods bought or hired with credit³⁸, and banking complaints such as account closures, disputed transactions, IT failures and problems with switching services³⁹.

How money with Precise Mortgages is protected

Precise Mortgages is a mortgage lender for residential, buy to let and bridging borrowers, and it also offers product transfers to existing customers¹. Its products are only available through qualified brokers, not on the high street². The same group also runs Charter Savings Bank, which matters for deposit protection limits³.

The same group also runs Precise, Exact Mortgage Experts and Charter Savings Bank³. That matters for deposit protection: money held across those names counts towards a single limit, not separate ones. Charter Savings Bank states that eligible deposits are protected up to a total of £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme⁴⁰. Mortgage lending itself is not covered by the FSCS in the same way deposits are; the protection for a mortgage borrower comes from the regulator's rules and the ombudsman rather than a compensation limit.

Precise is a member of the Finance and Leasing Association and follows the FLA Lending Code, which applies to loans secured by a second mortgage on your home⁸. Consumer buy to let lending is subject to the Mortgage Credit Directive Order⁷.