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TSB Mortgage Review: Pros, Cons & Features
TSB offers a range of mortgages to homemovers, first-time buyers and for remortgaging. Learn more in our TSB mortgage review.
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TSB mortgages: at a glance
TSB offers capital repayment and interest-only mortgages, and fixed-rate and tracker rate options. TSB mortgages can be repaid over a term of up to 40 years and applied for online, over the phone, or at a TSB branch.
TSB allows overpayments on its mortgages but an early repayment charge will be payable on some products if you exceed the maximum permitted overpayment limit. Typically this is 10% of your outstanding mortgage balance, but some TSB mortgages may allow more.
TSB Mortgages
1 to 40 years
£5,000
Capital & Interest; and Interest Only
Yes
No
This mortgage provider is available via our partner, London & Country Mortgages.
Think carefully before taking out any mortgage. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments.
This is our review of a lender and not the products, interest rates, fees or deal terms they offer. Many lenders also offer preferential products exclusively via brokers and intermediaries. This review does not constitute advice or recommendation.
TSB mortgage pros & cons
Pros
- Capital repayment and interest-only mortgages are available.
- TSB offers mortgages at 85% LTV and over.
- TSB mortgages offer the choice of a wide range of mortgage terms, from one to 40 years.
- The minimum mortgage amount of £5,000 is lower than other lenders we’ve reviewed.
Cons
- TSB offers fewer product options than some other lenders.
- You can’t complete a full application for a mortgage online.
TSB mortgage overview
TSB is the tenth largest mortgage lender in the UK and part of the Spanish banking group Sabadell. The bank offers mortgages to first-time buyers, those looking to remortgage or move home, and buy-to-let mortgages to landlords.
TSB mortgages are available for amounts of £5,000 and above, and for terms of between one and 40 years. Customer support is available online, over the phone, at TSB branches or through the bank’s mobile app.
| Product options | Capital repayment Interest-only Fixed rate Tracker 85% loan-to-value or higher |
| Term length | 1 – 40 years |
| Minimum loan size | £5,000 |
| Allows overpayments | Yes |
| Mortgages are portable | Yes |
| Ways to apply | Online, phone, in branch, broker |
| Customer service contact options | Online, phone, in branch, mobile app |
| Fairer Finance customer experience rating | 64% (as at 11 November 2024) |
Where TSB mortgages stand out
Low minimum mortgage amount
If you need a relatively small mortgage, it’s possible to borrow as little as £5,000 from TSB. Some lenders we’ve reviewed set their minimum mortgage amount at £25,000 or even £50,000.
Wide range of mortgage terms
TSB allows mortgage terms of between one and 40 years, whereas the shortest term available at some other lenders is five years, or even longer. Note that a longer repayment period means you’ll end up paying more interest overall.
Choice of application and support options
TSB welcomes applications either online, over the phone or in-person at one of its branches, and then offers access to customer support via the same channels, and through its mobile app.
Where TSB mortgages fall short
Fewer product options than some
If there’s a particular type of mortgage you have in mind, TSB doesn’t offer offset mortgages, discount mortgages, a family mortgage, or green mortgages.
Entirely online applications not possible
TSB lets you get a mortgage in principle online, but, unlike some other mortgage lenders, you can’t complete the entire application process online. A TSB adviser will always contact you over the phone at some point.
» MORE: Best mortgage lenders
Take a look at some of the other mortgage providers we review.
What types of mortgages does TSB offer?
TSB first-time buyer mortgages
TSB offers mortgages for first-time buyers up to 95% loan-to-value (LTV) – meaning you could get on the property ladder with a 5% deposit.
TSB remortgages
If you want to remortgage to TSB, you may not have to pay valuation and legal fees if your home is valued under £1 million. TSB remortgage options are offered up to 90% LTV if your mortgage amount is unchanged, or 85% LTV if you need to borrow more, and are perhaps remortgaging for home improvements.
TSB buy-to-let mortgages
TSB offers buy-to-let mortgages to new and existing landlords up to a maximum 80% LTV. You must be at least 25 years old and earn over £25,000 a year to be eligible to apply.
TSB mortgage features
Repayment options
TSB offers mortgages on a capital repayment or an interest-only basis.
With a repayment mortgage, your repayments cover the interest you owe and pay off some of your original loan amount each month. If you never miss a repayment, your entire mortgage debt, including interest, should be fully paid off by the time your mortgage term ends.
By contrast, interest-only mortgages require that you pay off the interest on your mortgage each month. Instead of paying off your original loan amount as you go, you need a plan in place to repay it in full at the end of the mortgage term. Endowment policies, stocks and shares, investment bonds, pensions, and selling a second home are some of the repayment strategies that TSB currently accepts.
If you are considering an interest-only mortgage, be aware that this type of mortgage tends to be more difficult to obtain than a capital repayment mortgage and often comes with lower LTV limits.
» MORE: Interest-only vs. repayment mortgages
Mortgage rates
TSB currently offers both fixed-rate and tracker-rate mortgages. With a fixed-rate mortgage the interest rate you pay is fixed for a period of time – usually two, five or perhaps 10 years. For the duration of your fixed-rate deal your monthly repayments are guaranteed to stay the same. The benefit is that you have certainty over the amount you must pay each month.
At the end of your deal, you may decide to remortgage to a new mortgage deal. If you don’t, you’ll automatically move onto one of TSB’s standard variable rates (SVR) – which one depends on the mortgage you’re leaving behind, but it has the potential to rise or fall, and may be higher than your previous rate.
If you opt for a TSB tracker mortgage the mortgage rate you pay automatically tracks movements in the Bank of England base rate. This means your monthly repayments could go up or down, depending on what the Bank decides. Before taking out a tracker mortgage you should think carefully about the level of monthly repayments you could reasonably afford if rates were to increase.
» MORE: See current mortgage rates
Loan-to-value ratios
TSB currently offers mortgages to first-time buyers and home movers up to a maximum 95% LTV, meaning there are options if you have a 5% deposit. If you’re remortgaging to TSB and don’t want to borrow anything extra, mortgages are available to a maximum 90% LTV. And if you’re remortgaging but with additional borrowing, the maximum LTV is 85%.
» MORE: Why your LTV is important for a mortgage
Mortgage offers
At the time of writing a mortgage offer received from TSB is valid for 180 days. During this time, the mortgage rate you’ve been offered should not change. If you are struggling to complete within this timeframe, TSB may allow an additional four weeks for completion to take place, on request.
Making overpayments
It’s possible to make overpayments at any time on a TSB mortgage but it’s important to be aware that early repayment charges may apply on some mortgages. Where this is the case, the maximum you can usually overpay each year before an early repayment charge applies is 10% of your outstanding mortgage balance, as calculated on 1 January of that year. Some TSB mortgages may allow you to overpay more.
Always check the terms and conditions of your mortgage before making additional payments. If you want to overpay your mortgage you can make a lump sum payment or increase your regular monthly repayments.
» MORE: Mortgage overpayment calculator
Paying off your mortgage early
You’ll need to request a redemption statement from TSB if you want to pay off your mortgage early. This will show the amount you need to pay to completely clear your mortgage, including any early repayment charges and other fees that may apply.
Porting your mortgage
If you already have a TSB mortgage and are moving home you may be able to take your existing mortgage with you. You’ll need to contact TSB if you want to port your mortgage in this way. Be aware that there may be instances where an early repayment charge applies.
Customer support
There are a number of ways you can contact TSB if you need customer support, including by phone, online and in-branch. Live chat is also available to existing customers but only during certain hours on certain days if you log in to mobile banking using the TSB mobile app.
Mortgage calculators
The TSB website has a handful of mortgage calculators that can help you find out how much you may be allowed to borrow and get an estimate of monthly repayments.
» MORE: Our mortgage calculators
Customer ratings
TSB receives a customer experience rating of 64% from Fairer Finance in relation to mortgages. This means the bank sits joint 8th out of the 22 lenders it has reviewed. The overall rating reflects how happy borrowers are with the lender, the trust that they have in the brand, and how the lender deals with complaints. How clearly lenders explain their products and the simplicity and clarity of the documents they give to customers are also assessed.
This information from Fairer Finance was correct as of 11 November 2024.
» MORE: Do I need mortgage advice?
TSB Mortgage FAQs
TSB receives an overall customer experience rating of 64% from Fairer Finance in relation to mortgages, placing it joint 8th out of the 22 lenders that were assessed overall. As at 11 November 2024, the top-rated lender, Nationwide, received a rating of 73%.
If you’re a first-time buyer or moving home the smallest deposit you need to get a TSB mortgage is 5% of your property’s value. If you’re remortgaging to TSB from another lender without increasing the amount you’re borrowing, you’ll need at least a 10% deposit.
This is our review of a lender and not the products, interest rates, fees or deal terms they offer. Many lenders also offer preferential products exclusively via brokers and intermediaries. This review does not constitute advice or recommendation.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet UK, we base our reviews and our ‘Best’ pages on the results of surveys we undertook about what was important to people who use these products. This allows us to look at products impartially of any commercial arrangements we have and fairly rate the products on the same set of criteria.
Best means our ‘Best’ and is based only on what products we have aligned to our surveys, which form the basis of our reviews and ratings. This means that there will be other products on the market that we have not included in our ‘Best’ pages. Best does not mean it’s best for you, nor does it mean the ‘cheapest’.
Our reviews may display lenders’ rates. This additional information has not been included in our evaluations but is still very important when choosing a product. Rates offered can depend on circumstances, amount and term. Always check details before proceeding with any financial product.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible, but there will be products not included on the market. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability for your financial circumstances.
While we try to provide you with accurate information, the providers can change the terms of their products at any time, therefore it is advisable to check the terms before you proceed.
You can view our full review methodology here.