lift open market shared equity scheme

Abcynthia

A lot of the stuff you have to send is really stuff you would have to supply for a mortgage - Wage slips, Tax credits forms, Proof of residency etc They send you a list now of everything to send along with it. I would just get anything you think might be relevant to hand as it is best to send photocopies of them with your form.

I have some bad news though - We were at an independent adviser yesterday and he was saying Halifax are changing their approach and as of the 9th of September will want a 5% deposit from yourself on top. This has really annoyed us as we want to use them and that also may make us rush!

We have a second viewing at the house we really like tonight

Abcynthia

Oh and to answer JewishPrincess

No you don't have to have a mortgage in place but you will need what the lenders call an agreement in principle along with 2 quotes from other lenders

weesie81

oh no i am so upset we were using halifax, there is no way we can have a 5% deposit that defeats the point of this scheme does it not?
we have an agreement in principle already does that make any difference do you think?

totally gutted now :-(

weesie81

have rang the lovely lady who we saw at halifax and she is calling me back tomorrow she had not heard anything about it.

fingers crossed x

JEWISHPRINCESS

Asking for a deposit totally defeats the purpose of the scheme. Surely there must be more lenders who will help with zero deposit.

Goodluck Weesie.

I have been looking at properties (jumping the gun a bit I know) and everything is so expensive. I thought property prices were menat to have fallen.

iscrimger

JEWISHPRINCESS wrote: »

Asking for a deposit totally defeats the purpose of the scheme. Surely there must be more lenders who will help with zero deposit.

Goodluck Weesie.

I have been looking at properties (jumping the gun a bit I know) and everything is so expensive. I thought property prices were menat to have fallen.

Prices have fallen however some of them are creeping back up in certain area's as the demand in those area's has gone up. Other area's are seeing prices fall further because there are a lack of interest.

I had several lenders tell me I would need a deposit for my share also, I haven't heard anything about Halifax starting this. I to have a Mortgage Promise from Halifax valid until November so I'm not sure where this puts me, I'm carrying on as normal - I may be applying before 9th Sept for my mortgage so I might make it if this is the case.

You are required to send your last 4 payslips with your application for the scheme, the do accept copies. I sent 4 originals along with my previous tenancy agreement and they keep them, I'm guessing until the sale is completed. I have copies of these for my mortgage application along with my P60 and a years worth of payslips in excess of this.

Once you are accepted into the scheme and before you complete the sale of a property you are required to confirm your ID. The solicitor acting for you on buying the property will be required to verify your ID. I can't remember what they require - I think it's a driving license/passport and some bills, credit card statements etc. The usual things.

You cannot get a mortgage 'in-place' if you do not know what property you are buying. You cannot decide to buy a property until LinkHomes or the relevant social landlord has agreed you can make an offer on the property.

You cannot instruct your solicitor to make an offer until they have checked the details of the property to make sure it meets their requirements. Once approved you will then have to get the mortgage sorted... and then finally make the offer.

Abcynthia

Let me know how you get on with the lady at Halifax because then I'll know whether we should listen to this adviser lol

weesie81

have heard back and she says as far as she knows there have been no changes / intended changes to the criteria but however has told me she will ring me if this does turn out to be the case.

my mortgage in principal does not count for anything she said, if the criteria changes then it would be the case we would require a deposit and like previous poster has said you cannot apply for mortgage until lift scheme have approved the property you intend to buy.

this has got me very worried

iscrimger

Abcynthia wrote: »

Let me know how you get on with the lady at Halifax because then I'll know whether we should listen to this adviser lol

I'm guessing these 'advisers' are actually brokers who will try and find you the best mortgage deals. They will then charge you a fee for this - so I'm guessing they'll be more inclined to offer you a good deal that also gets them a good return.

Everyone is going far too far into the quotation process for this scheme. You are merely required to approach lenders and get a quote of how much they could in theory lend you based on your income. A Mortgage Promise or similar is a more in-depth look at what you could be offered based on your outgoings & income. You do not need to be selecting a lender or rates yet. I'm not even sure you have to stick to the lender used in your quotation.

Also be wary that some estate agents are using the LIFT open-market scheme to get rid of properties that aren't selling.

Abcynthia

I do need to be finding a lender as if you read above I have been accepted for the scheme and have found a house. I got my quotes and promise months back. I didn't go for any specific ones I actually wanted to go to I just went to lenders who actually accept the scheme. And we have other issues affecting which mortgage is available to us because my partner is in his 6 months probation period at work so it has narrowed things down for us. This is why Halifax was helpful to us. I think I will just phone and speak to the Halifax mortgage adviser that gave us our "in principle" just now.