FAQs | Selina Advance

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About Selina Advance

Pricing

Eligibility for Selina Advance

Applying for a Selina Advance

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About Selina Advance

What is a Selina Advance Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and how does it work?

What is a Selina Advance HELOC?

Selina Advance is the first Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) in the UK, introducing a flexible and affordable way to finance an upgrade to your home, car, holiday – or whatever you choose - sooner.
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A HELOC is a facility secured against the equity you have built up in your residential property (the “security property”). It is specifically designed to offer homeowners easy access to flexible and fair finance for larger purchases.
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Selina Advance is a product of Selina Finance Limited which is a company regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

How can I use my Selina Advance HELOC?

With a Selina Advance HELOC, you can use your funds for many different purposes.

You can choose to upgrade your home with a new kitchen or extension for your family to enjoy, put down a deposit on a second home or trade up your car to the next model.

Many customers also choose to use their funds to pay for school fees or treat themselves to a special holiday.

You can also use the Selina Advance HELOC to consolidate existing loans. If you are thinking of consolidating debt, you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.

How much can I borrow and for how long?

The Selina Advance HELOC offers funds from £25,000 up to £1 million, depending on the equity you have built up in your security property, over terms from 5 to 30 years.

What happens after the 5 year flexible period?

After the 5 year flexible period, if you have any outstanding balance, it turns into a typical loan that you simply pay back until the end of the term. If you wish, you can pay back more at any point in time, without fees or penalties.

What advantages does it have over remortgaging?

There are several advantages over remortgaging.
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The first is that you never pay early repayment charges. Most banks charge for remortgaging and additional borrowing on your mortgage. The Selina Advance HELOC is simply a secured facility that sits alongside your mortgage without having any effect on its repayments.

Another advantage of the Selina Advance HELOC is its flexibility. You can drawdown funds up to your credit limit in the first 5 years and you will only ever pay interest on the amount you've withdrawn. You can also overpay as and when you wish without ever incurring additional charges.

Used responsibly, a HELOC can provide you with valuable advantages. However, you should consider the possible impact on your ability to secure additional borrowing against your home. As this is a secured loan, if you fall into financial difficulties, your property could become repossessed and sold to repay the debts.

Pricing

What is the rate? Are there any fees? Do early repayment charges apply?

What rate and fees apply?

You can choose between a fixed and variable rate. Your personal advisor will assist you to ensure you get the right product for you. The Selina Advance HELOC minimum rate is 5.95%.

However, to get an idea of how much borrowing will cost you, it is more sensible to look at the APRC.The APRC is a percentage which represents the annual cost of borrowing against a security property and includes the interest rate and any other fees. It allows customers to compare different products available on the market. Please note the APRC you receive will reflect your individual circumstances.

*Representative example: A Selina Advance HELOC of £50,000 drawn out in full over 25 years at a variable rate of 5.95% would result in 300 monthly payments of £327.00. The total cost after 25 years is £98,100.00, which includes £48,100.00 of interest and a £995 product fee added to the balance. APRC: 6.15%.

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Is there a product fee?

Yes. A one off £995 product fee applies to the Selina Advance HELOC.
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You have the option to either pay it up front or add it to the balance of your facility and pay it back as part of your monthly repayments. This product fee is included in the APRC.
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There are no hidden costs, recurring fees or early repayment charges (ERCs). In most cases, there are no property valuation costs unless we need you to commission a RICS valuation (in-person valuation) instead of an AVM (automated valuation model).

Can I repay early?

Yes. We want to offer you maximum flexibility, which is why we don’t charge you for making early repayments. Whether you want to repay in part or in full, during or after the 5 year flexible period, the choice is yours and there are never any extra costs.

What do repayments cover and how are they made?

Repayments are made monthly by direct debit and cover both capital and interest.

Can I change my repayment amount?

Yes. You can always pay more than your monthly repayment without incurring any penalties. Those adjustments will change your monthly repayment amount but not the duration of your term, unless you repay in full.

Eligibility for Selina Advance

Do I meet the eligibility criteria? What are the security property requirements?

Who is eligible for a Selina Advance HELOC?

The Selina Advance HELOC is specifically designed for homeowners.

To be eligible to the Selina Advance HELOC, you will need to be on the title deeds of the security property title and:

Add your spouse as a co-applicant (if applicable)
Be a permanent UK resident with at least 3 years of address history
Have a personal income of at least:

£22,500 per year for individual applications

£30,000 per year for joint applications

Have a good credit history. Each applicant must individually meet our credit history requirements.

What are the basic security property requirements?

To be eligible to the Selina Advance HELOC, your security property needs to:

Have a minimum value of £100,000
Be owned by you (and your co-applicant, if applicable) for a minimum of 6 months
Be within a 85% maximum Combined Loan-to-Value (CLTV): your outstanding mortgage combined with any other loan secured against the security property including the Selina Advance HELOC facility should not exceed 85% of the value of your security property
Have a minimum internal floor space of 35 square metres / 377 square feet (a one bedroom apartment is typically larger)
Not have more than 25% used for other purposes than residential

Your security property can be your main or secondary residence.

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How do you value my property?

We use an automated valuation model (AVM). By asking you a few questions, we will be able to provide an accurate valuation.
This service is completely free of charge.

Occasionally, an AVM is not able to provide a valuation of your property in which case we may need you to commission a RICS valuation for which there will be a small cost.

Which credit profiles do not qualify?

We do not lend to customers who have a poor credit history, or had any of the following issues:

More than £500 of CCJs cumulative value in the past 36 months
Bankruptcies or IVAs in the past 36 months
Credit arrears in the past 12 months
Criminal conviction

Applying for a Selina Advance

How do I apply? What documents do I need to provide?

How do I apply?

A hard credit check is only conducted once your full application is submitted.

1 - Get an instant quote in less than 2 minutes. We will perform a soft credit check (without any impact on your credit score).

2 - You will then have the opportunity to continue and submit your application on our online portal. There, we will ask for further details about you, your co-applicant (if applicable), the security property, your credit commitments and household expenditure. This will take about 30 minutes to complete.

3 - Your personal advisor will contact you to discuss your application and make a product recommendation, free of charge. They will also collect any required documentation from you and answer any remaining questions.

4 - Our underwriters will review your application and make a decision. All being well, we will then provide you with an offer and a legal charge. Once these are signed, we can release the funds.

What are the supporting documents?

During the application process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification check requiring an ID/Passport and a proof of address. You will also need to upload a proof of your income and bank statements.

Help and contact

How can I contact Selina Advance? How can I make a complaint? What if I miss repayments?

How can I contact Selina Advance?

To get more information about the Selina Advance HELOC, you can visit our page or email us at hello@selinafinance.co.uk.

If you've already submitted an inquiry or if your application is in progress, you can contact your advisor via email or call on 020 3608 5788.

If you would prefer to send something by post, please see our address below:

Selina Finance

14 Hanway Place

London W1T 1HD

How can I make a complaint?

Customer service is important to us. If you have a complaint about anything, we’d like to hear about it straight away, so we can try to put it right for you and improve our service.

Please visit our complaints page.

What happens if I miss repayments?

If you cannot make your regular payments, please contact us as early as possible. We will discuss your situation and agree the best way forward, given the challenges you are facing by exploring multiple options.

Our priority will always be to find the solution that is best suited to your circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

About Selina Advance

Pricing

Eligibility for Selina Advance

Applying for a Selina Advance

Help and contact