Not enough time to think

frugglewump

We recieved our mortgage offer in the post yesterday morning and the paperwork says that the offer is valid until the 14th January. The surveyor hasn't even visited the house yet!

As it's a victorian terrace we paid for the full building survey and the surveyor's appointment is midday tomorrow. Given the Xmas period I very much doubt we'll get the report until 4th Jan so that's only 10 days to look at the report and get quotes for any work that may need doing. WHat do you think are my chances of extending the offer if I phone the bank and point out the timescale?

The mortgage advisor will find out over the phone isf the valuation matches our offer on Thursday, but that's not enough information for us to sign & return the forms.

[Deleted User]

There must be a mistake, usually mortgage offers are valid for 6 months! What lender is it? Give them a call in the morning.

Ian_W

I'd have to agree with Van on this, the mortgage offer is usually valid a lot longer than that, I thought 3 months but it's a bit since I dealt with one.

I'd speak to the adviser and ask them to get the lender to extend.

Debras_Angel

It's defo 6 months and maybe they mean they need the signed copies back for the agreement in principal as you do normally sign them. Just did it recently and faxed it back so that might be an option, if time is tight.

HTH

Debs

AndrewSmith

There really must be a mistake.

1) The mortgage offer will be valid for much longer than 4 weeks. As posted above it is usually between 3-6 months.

2) If you have received the mortgage offer, the Mortgage Valuation will be included within that offer somewhere. The lender cannot and will not issue a formal mortgage offer before knowing if the property is valued at least as much as you are paying for it. The mortgage offer will be based on the results of the valuation of the property, Therefore I cannot understand why the advisor has to find out the value over the phone on Thursday. My initial thoughts would be that what you have received in the post is in fact a 'Mortgage Promise'. This would firstly explain why the lender does not know the value of the property yet, and also why the 'offer' is only valid for 1 month. Read it carefully, a full mortgage offer should be on average 12-18 pages long, and include the property details and valuation.

3) Regarding your building survey, once the surveyor has visited the property call his office and ask him to go over his views from his visit on the phone with you. He can then highlight any major problems to you, to allow you to begin contacting any specialists to obtain work quotes.

In the 12 years I have been arranging mortgages I have never seen a mortgage offer issued before a valuation has been given, and only lasting 1 month.

Call your advisor and ask him exactly what you have received.

Hope this helps.

Andy

frugglewump

I've just checked all the paperwork that arrived to see if it's an AIP or a mortgage offer and the 2 bits I think are relevant are quoted below.

From the covering letter: "We are pleased to enclose the offer document for your loan application. If you wish to accept this offer please return one entire document to us, having signed the final page."

From the offer: "If you accept this offer you will not have the right to change your mind and withdraw from the Agreement after the mortgage is drawn down."

I definitely think I need to call and get this clarified.

AndrewSmith

Hi,

Definately. Do not sign anything until you know exactly what is going on, why it's only valid for such a short time, why you have not been told the value of the property, and the results of the building survey.

Hope this helps

Andy

frugglewump

According to the helpdesk it is the full offer and is subject to the valuation. They request it back so fast in order to speed up paperwork after the valuation. I pointed out that I asked for a full building survey and they said I am still allowed to pull out at any point up to exchnage of contracts.

The actual mortgage offer is valid for 3 months.

This makes a certian amount of sense but I still can't find anywhere in the offer that says subject to valuation or that it si anything other than the full final offer - if it did I wouldn't have been as concerned.

Tim_L

It's a sales tactic - placing pressure to agree to a deal in a short period is a classic way of locking someone in. Probably it indicates it's not a brilliant deal too. Have you checked around with brokers?

AndrewSmith

At the end of the day, sign nothing until you have seen your survey.

Even if you do sign yu are still not legally bound until exchange of contracts when the money is requested by the solicitor.

Pop some details up here and we will have a better look for you.

Andy