Ownhome interview questions

succuba5

Hi

I have got a telephone interview for the Ownhome/places for people scheme. I'm just wondering what sort of questions they are going to ask and if there is anything I need to have to hand during the call.

I'd really appreciate it if someone who has been through this could let me know what to expect.

Thanks so much

Jellibean_2

Having done this just recently you will find the questions are along the following lines......

Who will be purchasing the property?
Who will be living there and their ages?
Your national insurance number.
What your occupation is and if you have ever owned a property before?
Have ever defaulted a credit agreement?
Do you have CCJs?
Have you ever failed to make a mortgage payment?
What is your income?
How long have you been with your employer and what type of employment is it?
Do you have a deposit?
Do you have savings to cover the cost of purchasing a home? etc etc

Once you have gone through this without any issues they will let you know if you are successful.

Then they will ask what and where you want to buy, giving you a ceiling price for the type of property you are interested in and the amount you will need as a minimum on a mortgage.

Subsequently giving you a reference and details of the specialist team at the bank who will arrange the mortgage for you.

Would suggest before calling the bank you have a look at the mortgage options on the bank's website. The bank will arrange to call you back at a convenient time and give you a list of details you will need to have to hand.

Then when they call back they begin the mortgage arrangements over the phone.

Hope this is of some help and good luck!

Jellibean_2

P.S. Would suggest you have a pen and paper to hand when you get the call as there are a few things you will need to take down.

Maseillo

I've done this recently and agree with Jellibean! They were really nice when I spoke to them - the guy was lovely and really helpful. it did take a while to go through all the information and you will need a pen to write stuff down! I was told we had qualified and a reference number would be posted to us - I was so impatient though so asked if I could continue with the mortgage application with the bank before i got the number in the post! They said they didn't think so and a few minutes later he called back and said "you sounded eager to go ahead so I've managed to get your number for you" and so I got it on the phone! I know - a couple of days wouldn't have made any difference but I was so happy to get through that stage I was eager to know whether we would get through the co-op stage (which by the way took nearly an hour on the phone to get through!!)

SJ x

sjaypink

ive never heard of this until this thread, so googled it. interesting. other half has a default with co-op though, so i dont know if theyd refuse us whilst other lenders wouldnt?

anyhow good luck with your application, and thanks for potentially giving us another option!

succuba5

Thanks for all your help!
I've just had my phone interview bumped up to next week!

Maseillo

Good luck - hope you get through! Everything has moved really quickly for us since we had our phone interview. Both the co-op and places for people have been really fast at doing stuff. We had our phone interview in the evening on 17th September, and we exchange tomorrow!

SJ x

workshy1980

Hi there, I've posted before about Ownhome as I'd like to use it to buy somewhere early next year. Couple of issues raised by the OP that trouble me slightly and I wonder if any of you can advise. Sorry, don't want to hijack your thread, just an aside.
First, one of the questions is "have you ever defaulted on a credit agreement". Well, I did, 2 yrs ago, to the tune of about £130. Is this going to prevent me from qualifying?
Second, the q about length of time with employer, I am about to start working for the LAS as a trainee paramedic, having been in my previous job about 2 yrs. Will it be a bother that I am new to my employer?
Thanks for any advice and good luck to all with your new homes
K x

felcher

Like the previous poster, i don't mean to hijack this thread but i've only found out about Ownhome today, so if someone could possibly answer this question for me it would be greatly appreciated:

on the Ownhome website it says that you can only purchase a vacant property, and although it isn't clearly stated, the website suggests that they will only fund a property that 'they' feel meets your needs. So, my question is: what exactly are the restrictions on the properties they will help with? Are you not allowed to purchase a house that someone is living in, while trying to sell it? And if you are a childless couple they won't let you purchase a 2 or 3 bedroom house? That doesn't make sense.

Oh, and i did phone Ownhome and speak to one of their advisors but she was unsure of the answers too, and told me she would find a colleague who did know and get them to call me back. No one called!

Cheers.

Maseillo

Not sure about the default payments and how that would effect the application - you would have to see, although it's not for a huge amount. As for changing employer I don't know if that would matter either (sorry - not much help am I?) I changed my job about the same time as my application although it was with the same company - just a different position and different pay. I had to send in a letter from my employer stating my new position and my new wage - because although I sent in my last 3 months payslips they didn't show my new wage. I then had to send my first payslip with my new wage on (I'm paid weekly so luckily this didn't add much time on!)

When it says you need to buy a vacant property it means that it will be vacant on completion - ie that the people in there now are moving out. They are basically saying that you can't buy somewhere that has a tenant in there that is going to be staying there for any time after you've bought it. They have guidelines as to what they feel meets your needs. They let you know how many bedrooms you can have - which is 1 more than you actually need. So if you are a single couple you could buy a 2 bed. I have 2 children so I could buy a 4 bed. They will then let you know what they think the average price of a home that meets your needs is in your area and tell you that you can't go above that price. For us an average 4 bed home came in at just over £300,000!!! He said when he told me that that he didn't expect we'd go anywhere near that amount anyway as our budget according to earnings wouldn't go that high! So they arn't too stingy on their requirements.

The people who answer the phone at ownhome don't seem to know a lot - the people who call you back for your interview are the ones with the knowledge! So if you do have an interview make sure you take their name and direct line number so you can get through to them if you need to call back and not just to the people on the ownhome number!

Good luck!

neverdespairgirl

felcher wrote: »

. So, my question is: what exactly are the restrictions on the properties they will help with? Are you not allowed to purchase a house that someone is living in, while trying to sell it? And if you are a childless couple they won't let you purchase a 2 or 3 bedroom house? .

(1) By "vacant" I think it's almost 100% certain they mean "vacant possession on completion". That means you get an empty house when you buy it, rather than one with tenants in situ.

(2) Most of these schemes allow the number of bedrooms you need plus one. So a couple could buy a 2 bed place, and a couple with one child, 3 beds.

There have been some other threads on this scheme - have a read through, I suggest?

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1077693

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1220735

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1080137

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1142301

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1106847

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1093305