Is the mortgage market turbulence getting you down? Have you got a mortgage-related question you need answering? Email in, and we will get one of our experts to reply. Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, has given his advice to a reader below. If you have a question for our experts, email us at money@theipaper.com.
Question: I’ve got a mortgage offer with Halifax, but I can see Lloyds do cheaper deals. Given Halifax is ceasing to exist as a brand next year, can I switch to a Lloyds mortgage without a fresh application? Do they essentially count as the same provider? I’m a bit worried about what the Halifax brand going means for me.
Answer: Not at the moment. Halifax and Lloyds sit under the same group, but for lending purposes they are still separate.
Halifax will keep offering its full range direct to customers until October 2026 and will keep taking new applications through brokers until 2027. Any offer you already hold stands on its own terms regardless.
If you want the Lloyds rate now, that means starting again with a new lender. New affordability assessment, new credit check, new valuation. Nothing from your Halifax case carries across.
