Finance

[craig1975]

Hi

Since the HSBC has withdrawn funds for training (apart from OATS and CTC) as far as I am aware, can I ask how are people, with the exception of well-off parents, saved up etc, affording pilot training?

Has anyone found a new provider of finance?

Any help would be gratefully received

Cheers

Craig

[RichardThacker]

Hi there,

I found out HSBC have closed there funding for FTE a few months ago too. According to my father they have stopped all funding in fact. In regard to getting funding elsewhere, you could try the Spainish Banks if your interested in FTE. Give FTE a call and speak to Mary Sanchez, she is very helpful. Im joining FTE on the 10th October as a self sponsored alongside BA Citi Express and would highly recommend joining.

The loan by HSBC was quite an unefficient way of paying for the loan though, the interest amounted to a great deal. Your parents would have needed to guarentee your loan, so why not get one through them now via their security and pay them back? You can get a interest free advance on a mortage loan until your employed and then pay it off. The risk for your parents would be the same as if you had an HSBC laon.

Hope this helps

Richard.

[davepearsall]

I would like to go to oxford or CTC but would still struggle to find the extra to the 50K that would be needed.

If you come from a poor background and your parents are unable to help (which my mum is) are there no other options?

Obviously i could work and earn the extra but I think I would be about ready to reite then!!

[PSF2J]

Having worked in flight training, bar career development loans from the government, HSBC was the ONLY bank will to provide assistance. Sorry.

[ask26]

I'd agree with one of the other posts. I too couldn't afford anything other than re-mortgaging my mothers house and so I'm off to FTE as well - their rep is as good as any other in the business, having been to CTC, OAT and FTE I was genuniely the most impressed by the facility they have to offer.

You can also get the full course paid for with BBVA at European interest rates which for those of you in the know means that it's less than the Bank of England, I'm being charged 3.8% and you still get an 18month gap in payments, a better package than HSBC and you go to Spain!!

[BlueRobin]

BBVA??? Ask, could you please expand on your last point about finance? I'm sure all here would like to know who to speak to.

A Euro loan could indeed make sense given the historically stable interest and sterling exchange rates.

[ask26]

Yeah no problem. As you know to get funding to pay for training if you don't have any saved you really have 2 options.

i) Get a big loan
ii) Take out a mortgage on someones property

Modular

The only option I found in terms of loans is HSBC Professional Studies Loan up to £25000. The interest rate on that is about 6.7% and you get an 18month deferred period where you make no payments.

Both

For either integrated or modular you could take out a mortgage if you can against a parents home and take out a bit extra than what you really need from which you can make payments for about 18 months so that it essentially acts as a loan with a period where you are making no payments. Interest rates typically about 4.8%.

Integrated

CTC (well almost integrated)
They have an agreement with HSBC up to £60k which will pretty much cover the cost of training but you will have to add a bit of your own money to cover a PPL or Foundation Training as they call it in their brochure and some living expenses.

OAT
HSBC will do up to £50k but the remainder estimated £20k for their APP course you have to find on your own - to be fair the interest charged by HSBC and the fact they secure it against a home anyways means I would consider the mortgage option in this case anyway.

Cabair
I think HSBC will also go up to £50k but as I didn't apply to them I'm not sure.

WAAC
Well they are in negotiations with HSBC to also offer the £50k but as their first course only starts January 2006 at the moment you have to find your own funding for that.

FTE
HSBC doesn't at the moment offer a loan with them, but in a separate arrangement the school has got a provider www.bbvauk.com BBVA a big Spanish bank that will cover the costs up to €98000 which is what I have been approved for that also covers the JOC part as well.

In terms of how to get it, well I'd first fly over to FTE on Ryanair for their free assessment with accom included. Then if accepted you apply for a loan with an alomst identical off-the-shelf business plan to that of OAT.

The T's & C's are as follows (bit detailed):
10 years to pay off with an optional 18 months deferral period.
Interest Rate - depends on on what you are securing the house

"The loans we provide must be secured by suitable guarantees, for example a Bank Guarantee issued by your present bankers for the full amount of the loan, or a First Legal Charge or Second Legal Charge over a property located in the U.K., provided the equity is considered acceptable by the Bank.

The rate of interest would be:
Base Rate + 1% if the loan is secured by a Bank Guarantee, or Base Rate + 1.75% if secured by a mortgage on property.

There is also the option of a loan in Euros. In this case the interest rate would be Euribor + 1% or Euribor + 1.75% respectively as above."

In simple language the Euribor Interest Rate is 2.132% so if yo secure against a house in Euros you pay at €3.882% which is better than any of the others and comparable to a Student Loan rate.

I hope that is all clear but as far as I was concerned this route via FTE/BBVA offers a way of finding the full cost of funding if you cannot afford to get money elsewhere like you need to with OAT or if you aren't successful with CTC.

In summary
HSBC loan - 6.7%
Mortgage - 4.8%
BBVA loan - 3.8%
On a loan the size of which we are talking that makes a big difference.

[jetgirl_99]

My own personal plan to finance my training is a complicated and frightening one...
Parent doesn't own home, so no help there, so I'm planning to work for the next couple of years and save a bit but am buying a house with my best friend, with a view to it becoming the security for a loan at OAT, would have to rent my share of the house whilst i was training to cover the mortgage costs.
All quite scary really, but i'd never be able to save the 60k+ required.

Has anyone looked at the career development loans available? I know its only around 8k but could cover accomodation costs whilst training. A friend of mine has just been given this loan for a theatre and film make-up course, so if you can get it for that, surely flying would qualify.