Mortgage application rejected.

madgie

Good morning.

Can anyone offer me some information, insight or advice on the following dilemma please.

I am a 61-year-old, single first-time buyer, using the Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB). I have no equity and a small deposit of 10%. I put in an offer on a retirement property, paid the application fee and paid the first solicitor payment to start their searches etc.

I was then informed by my mortgage advisor that NatWest had rejected the mortgage application, citing they would not lend on retirement properties due to the mortgage term - 13 years and probable resale issues.

Now nearly a thousand pounds down, I have had to withdraw my offer on the property, as the advisor says he cannot source any lenders willing to offer a mortgage on a retirement property and I should now look for a non-retirement property.

I am absolutely devastated and feel I will end up in rented accommodation for good. I have no idea what my next steps should be.

Thank you in advance for any advice for me going forward.

Annmarie.

kingstreet

I think the property was never mortgageable with NatWest, nothing to do with the term. Frankly, I don't know who will lend on a retirement property as it's not our market. I would be making a complaint to MAB and asking how/why they considered an application to NatWest appropriate. You may get some of your wasted cost back.

kingstreet

As a matter of curiosity I've just checked our criteria search for retirement property and it has suggested Bath BS, Beverley BS, Buckinghamshire BS, Earl Shilton BS, Principality BS, Together Mortgages and Legal & General. You might want to suggest them to your MAB drone as it took me all of two mins to create that shortlist. Without other criteria to add I can't say how many of them will be a serious option.

madgie

Thank you for getting back to me Kingstreet, much appreciated and really helpful.

Thank you for making me smile (MAB drone) and how interesting that you managed to find so many in a couple of minutes. I will definitely go back to them as suggested and make a formal complaint.
They even mentioned NatWest again, if I decided to go ahead with a non-retirement property. I wonder if MAB are tied to them in terms of making their commission if they use them.

Anyway, thank you again.

madgie

Kingstreet, forgot to ask. Is your beautiful dog a staffie cross? He/she has similar features to mine

kingstreet

madgie said:

Kingstreet, forgot to ask. Is your beautiful dog a staffie cross? He/she has similar features to mine

That was Buddie, our staffie. We rescued him from Dogs Trust in February 2019. Sadly we lost him to cancer in December 2021 at the age of 10. After being without him for three months we couldn't live in such an empty quiet house so we got another staffie, Opie, also from DT in February 2022. He's 7 now.

madgie

I am sorry to hear your Buddie was taken by cancer.
I hope Opie brings you lots of joy for years to come.
All the best.

ACG

Were you advised to start the searches before you had an offer? I normally tell clients to hold off until we have an offer personally. If you did it of your own accord, I think you may need to take the hit on that. 

With regards to the application fee to MAB, I think like Kingstreet says this was unlikely to fit with Natwest anyway so to submit an application to them almost feels like they have thrown an application in on a wing and a prayer but at least they have got a fee from you... I am not saying that is the case, just thats what it feels like from what you have said. 

Like kingstreet, this is not really my bag so I can not add any lenders or even offer any reassurance. That being said, kingstreet is a fountain of knowledge so I would be surprised if some of those lenders would not consider it (although I dont think the likes of together go up to 90%). 

madgie

Hello ACG.

Thank you so much for your response, also very helpful.

I definitely was advised to go ahead and start looking at properties - emails to prove it.

He even said if I wanted to put in an offer on any I was interested in, I should go ahead, then let him know once it was accepted, so he could put the mortgage application in.

Yes, I totally agree with what you both said regarding NatWest, and I do now feel as though the fee was a factor, particularly as he wants to go with NatWest again.

I sent him the names Kingstreet suggested yesterday - still waiting for a response to my email!