Please help, being led round in circles by Mortgage companies and IFA.

MDE

Hi,

I am absolutely at my wits end and I would welcome any advice that anyone can give me. Let me just say now though, I’m not here to be told that now isn’t the right time to buy etc etc, if that is your contribution perhaps you would be kind enough not to add it to this thread.

My situation is this. I am a key worker, and am trying to buy a property though the MyChoice Homebuy scheme. I have found a property that fits the criteria which is advertised at £136.950.

I had to “sack” my first IFA for being incompetent (her manager admitted she had made numerous mistakes and agreed with my decision to move to a different advisor), and my new advisor secured me a DiP with Halifax for £77,000, which wasn’t enough to purchase the property.

He suggested I should look to consolidate some other debt to reduce monthly outgoings, which I have done, and given him the new figure I will be paying for my consolidation loan. He has now told me that this property won’t be expensive enough. Because the amount I can borrow on the mortgage will now increase due to the increased affordability, this would mean I would need to borrow less than 15% equity from the MCHB scheme.

I am going round in circles, I can’t borrow enough, I’m not borrowing enough….. Everyone tells me something different.

To top it off I have now discovered that, despite assurances from both the IFAS that Halifax used a “soft touch” search for the DiP, which wouldn’t show on my credit file, Halifax today told me that it would show, and potentially affect any future applications.

It seems I’m up against total incompetence. My feeling is that the IFAs aren’t that bothered as MCHB customers don’t pay fees, and obviously the mortgage amounts (and subsequent commission) are comparatively lower due to the equity loan paying part of the purchase price.

I can only use certain IFAs as I have to send in a DiP from one of the approved IFAs, as recommended by the MCHB people.

Does anybody, professional or not, have any advice they can give me. I’m seriously close to giving up altogether at the moment.
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

MDE

maninthestreet

"He has now told me that this property won’t be expensive enough. Because the amount I can borrow on the mortgage will now increase due to the increased affordability, this would mean I would need to borrow less than 15% equity from the MCHB scheme."

A property that isn't expensive enough???

SouthCoast

Where I live the key workers are unable to afford the new build shared ownership flats!

MDE

maninthestreet wrote: »

"He has now told me that this property won’t be expensive enough. Because the amount I can borrow on the mortgage will now increase due to the increased affordability, this would mean I would need to borrow less than 15% equity from the MCHB scheme."

A property that isn't expensive enough???

Ridiculous eh!

Conrad

OP

You need to put yourself in our shoes;

Would you do lots of work (much of which you as a customer wont be aware of), merely on the off chance you will get paid a small commision IF, the client does not pull out?

We all want to save money, but you cant expect that at the expense of others.
I imagine you like to be CERTAIN you will be paid for any work you do.

I would want the client to pay me something up front before I got involved. The Government ministers who state you shouldn't pay a fee - well I'm sure they would not work for nothing in the hope they might get a commision.

Best of luck, but please do not expect lots for no investment on your own part.

If you think this is unreasonable then ask yourself whether you want to come to my house and do a few days work with no GUARANTEE tou will be paid. You might argue that the adviser will be paid if the case goes through, but you would be missing the point - clients all say they will definitely complete, but for all sorts of reasons it often does not come to pass.

MDE

Dear Conrad,

Thank you for your comment. However, the advisors involved have all got involved with the scheme at their own choice- and on the understanding that there will be no fee charged. You may want a client to pay you a fee upfront, which is your perogative, but this would mean that you wouldn't be on of the advisors that MCHB would accept financial assessments from.

I must say that I have taken some offence to the statement "no investment on your own part.". I have done everything I am able, any paperwork requested has been provided immediately, I have consolidated when requested in order to maximise the number of mortgages available etc etc. I can't pay a fee because the advisors involved don't accept fees as part of their agreement with MCHB.

I'm not getting into a debate as to what is or isn't reasonable. The simple fact is, the advisors that have signed up to MCHB have signed up to the no fee idea, therefore they must consider it reasonable.

MDE

Conrad,

You don't appear to be reading what I am writing. I will write it again for you, perhaps you will then understand....

I am tied to using certain advisors, if I use anyone else then the MCHB people won't accept the DiP from them, and I will be back to square one. To quote from the MCHB "Step by step guide" I was sent, "You are, however, required to send us a mortgage Decision in Principal from one of our panel of IFA's".

This isn't a case of I won't pay, I would willingly pay someone to do the work but the only people who are authorised to submit financial assessments etc to MCHB are the same people who have agreed not to charge fees. I am pretty sure it would be unethical for a payment to be made for "other" services when none are being provided.

I wish you the best of luck in making your living and looking after your family, but please understand everyones circumstances are different and we can't all subscribe to your model.

Chris2685

Me and my fiancee are currently in the process of going through the MyChoice homebuy scheme via Catalyst. I also find the IFA's to be a bit slow to respond to anything other than a direct call to their mobile. I can understand that they are only going to receive a fixed payment of commission (if the sale actually does go through), but there is nothing I can do about that.

To answer your question though, I would suggest you look buying a more expensive property, or just fudging your income/outgoings a bit to make it look like you are spending more or less depending on what you need. As far as I understand it, they expect you to take the full amount of the mortgage no matter what, and the equity loan amount will be between 15% and 50% of the final purchase price.

Rather than you finding a property first, you should really have had all of the assessments done on your income, and then looked for a property within that price range.

Once they have approved a certain price with your IFA, they will never need to prove your affordability again.