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Completing Today!
fealey
Posts: 6 Forumite
I had to post here as I'm so excited! Completing today on my first house.
We went through the HomeBuy Direct scheme, which we've found as an excellent method of home purchase. We're paying less for a mortgage than our rent, and can therefore put money aside to pay off the 27% equity the home builder and government have provided between them within the 5 year interest free period.
To all the critics of the scheme - it suited us. The mortgage is in my name only as OH is still at uni full-time teacher training. It's perfectly affordable, and with OH qualifying within the fixed rate period, we can easily swallow up any increased payments once the fixed rate ends. (Of course, we'll be looking to remortgage on a longer term fixed rate with both of our names for the security it offers)
It hasn't been an easy road however, but we've got there. I wanted to tell my story to give hope to those who have stumbled at the first hurdle of home ownership.
Problem 1. Not on the electoral roll.
Not a problem for RBS for some reason!
Problem 2. A mixture of self-employed and employed income.
I merely had to provide extra documentation as well as the next 2 years financial projection. The underwriter was happy with that
Problem 3. The DREADED DEFAULT.
HSBC had planted a £900-odd default on my credit report. I had to deal with it within a fortnight as to not miss the boat here - RBS had straight declined me, but my IFA said if I could somehow get the default removed (He said very unlikely) then we could go through an appeals process.
As the account was one I considered 'dormant' and had been closed but still had a direct debit set up (absolutely my fault), the account went overdrawn when the direct debit obviously failed, and charges mounted and grew the debt exponentially.
As the account had defaulted, and passed to collection agencies trying to recoup the debt from an old address unsuccessfully (I moved shortly afterwards, thinking the account was closed and therefore not notifying HSBC of my move), HSBC wrote the amount off and issued default proceedings.
As the account was written off, no one at any of their customer service channels, or in branch could help me any further than to tell me who the debt had been passed to.
Once I contacted a collection company called Apex, they couldn't actually find a record of it. Frustrated, I went back to HSBC customer service who essentially told me to get lost.
I wasn't going to take this lying down so angrily wrote a letter to HSBC's chief executive - then counted to 10, ripped up the letter and wrote a calmer, politer yet still assertive version.
Within the day, I had a call from the CEO's office to say the matter would be looked into at the highest level. I subsequently recieved a call from top brass at Metropolitan Collections who explained they had been passed the debt by HSBC (Come on! We all know you're part of HSBC!) couldn't trace me and do anything about it.
Unsatisfied with my unsatisfied default, I went back to the CEO with a cheque for the full amount (thinking we'd win the high court case and I could have it refunded pretty quickly as it was pretty much all charges! D'oh!)
He wrote back saying he'd have the situation dealt with, and low and behold, the same day asked Metropolitan to issue a manual update to the CRAs to remove the adverse information. (The cheque hasn't been cashed yet..!)
Problem Solved!
Problem 4. The Underwriter and Abbey.
Obviously impressed with my tenacity, my IFA launched headfirst into the appeals process with RBS. They had elevated the case to their head underwriter as a. the self-employed/employed mix was odd to them and b. they couldn't believe I'd had the default removed. They requested a copy of my credit report, so I printed one off from Equifax and popped it off, with no default listed (I included a previous report with the default listed to demonstrate the removal)
To our dismay, and shock - We were declined. Although it hadn't shown in RBS' credit scoring system, the printed report showed Abbey having placed an 'arrangement to pay' on my current account around a year ago. This was during the launch of my business and cash flow was tight. On top of this having to deal with the birth of my daughter and an ill OH. My account went overdrawn for a maximum period of a month and was listed as an 'arrangement to pay' - Feeling unjustly treated here, I wandered straight into my local branch, where the snooty old trout of a manager wasn't interested at all and suggested I made allowances in my finances to cover any cashflow shortages. Fair comment I suppose, but the delivery of it wasn't!
Thinking quick action was required, I went straight to Abbey's CEO who passed the case on a customer service manager. They understood the situation, but couldn't change information on credit reports. He did give me a fax number for a department within Abbey that could, and that if I explained my situation, they might consider it. I blindly faxed over a letter to the department with a copy of the offending report expecting nothing. (This must be Abbey's Black Ops department. They have no address, phone number or contact name - just a local-rate fax number!) About a week later, a letter came through the letterbox explaining that as a one-off they would update the 'adverse' information.
Problem Solved
Problem 5 - RBS
Just when I thought everything was going well, RBS decided to pull my application for a full audit (This happens randomly apparently!) Thus delaying my application by a further week, and causing my fingernails to go on holiday via my teeth.
Thankfully, it came back clean as a whistle, and here we are ready to move this weekend.
If you think something adverse is going to cause a barrier to a mortgage, then persevere. By being relentless with those who stood in my way, I got exactly what I wanted.
I would however like to point out that I have entered into a mortgage as I have zero debt and enough cash to afford the payments. (Not masses hence the HomeBuy Direct Scheme!) If you're in my position (earning just under 30k per year, with no debts) and you are sure you can allow for the future, then there is nothing wrong with the HomeBuy Scheme.
To those who think new-builds are overpriced, I've always lived my life with the attitude that something is good value if you find value for money in it. I never buy the cheapest of something, rarely the most expensive, but if i've paid a few bob more than someone else for something and I'm happy with my purchase, then it's good value to me.
We went through the HomeBuy Direct scheme, which we've found as an excellent method of home purchase. We're paying less for a mortgage than our rent, and can therefore put money aside to pay off the 27% equity the home builder and government have provided between them within the 5 year interest free period.
To all the critics of the scheme - it suited us. The mortgage is in my name only as OH is still at uni full-time teacher training. It's perfectly affordable, and with OH qualifying within the fixed rate period, we can easily swallow up any increased payments once the fixed rate ends. (Of course, we'll be looking to remortgage on a longer term fixed rate with both of our names for the security it offers)
It hasn't been an easy road however, but we've got there. I wanted to tell my story to give hope to those who have stumbled at the first hurdle of home ownership.
Problem 1. Not on the electoral roll.
Not a problem for RBS for some reason!
Problem 2. A mixture of self-employed and employed income.
I merely had to provide extra documentation as well as the next 2 years financial projection. The underwriter was happy with that
Problem 3. The DREADED DEFAULT.
HSBC had planted a £900-odd default on my credit report. I had to deal with it within a fortnight as to not miss the boat here - RBS had straight declined me, but my IFA said if I could somehow get the default removed (He said very unlikely) then we could go through an appeals process.
As the account was one I considered 'dormant' and had been closed but still had a direct debit set up (absolutely my fault), the account went overdrawn when the direct debit obviously failed, and charges mounted and grew the debt exponentially.
As the account had defaulted, and passed to collection agencies trying to recoup the debt from an old address unsuccessfully (I moved shortly afterwards, thinking the account was closed and therefore not notifying HSBC of my move), HSBC wrote the amount off and issued default proceedings.
As the account was written off, no one at any of their customer service channels, or in branch could help me any further than to tell me who the debt had been passed to.
Once I contacted a collection company called Apex, they couldn't actually find a record of it. Frustrated, I went back to HSBC customer service who essentially told me to get lost.
I wasn't going to take this lying down so angrily wrote a letter to HSBC's chief executive - then counted to 10, ripped up the letter and wrote a calmer, politer yet still assertive version.
Within the day, I had a call from the CEO's office to say the matter would be looked into at the highest level. I subsequently recieved a call from top brass at Metropolitan Collections who explained they had been passed the debt by HSBC (Come on! We all know you're part of HSBC!) couldn't trace me and do anything about it.
Unsatisfied with my unsatisfied default, I went back to the CEO with a cheque for the full amount (thinking we'd win the high court case and I could have it refunded pretty quickly as it was pretty much all charges! D'oh!)
He wrote back saying he'd have the situation dealt with, and low and behold, the same day asked Metropolitan to issue a manual update to the CRAs to remove the adverse information. (The cheque hasn't been cashed yet..!)
Problem Solved!
Problem 4. The Underwriter and Abbey.
Obviously impressed with my tenacity, my IFA launched headfirst into the appeals process with RBS. They had elevated the case to their head underwriter as a. the self-employed/employed mix was odd to them and b. they couldn't believe I'd had the default removed. They requested a copy of my credit report, so I printed one off from Equifax and popped it off, with no default listed (I included a previous report with the default listed to demonstrate the removal)
To our dismay, and shock - We were declined. Although it hadn't shown in RBS' credit scoring system, the printed report showed Abbey having placed an 'arrangement to pay' on my current account around a year ago. This was during the launch of my business and cash flow was tight. On top of this having to deal with the birth of my daughter and an ill OH. My account went overdrawn for a maximum period of a month and was listed as an 'arrangement to pay' - Feeling unjustly treated here, I wandered straight into my local branch, where the snooty old trout of a manager wasn't interested at all and suggested I made allowances in my finances to cover any cashflow shortages. Fair comment I suppose, but the delivery of it wasn't!
Thinking quick action was required, I went straight to Abbey's CEO who passed the case on a customer service manager. They understood the situation, but couldn't change information on credit reports. He did give me a fax number for a department within Abbey that could, and that if I explained my situation, they might consider it. I blindly faxed over a letter to the department with a copy of the offending report expecting nothing. (This must be Abbey's Black Ops department. They have no address, phone number or contact name - just a local-rate fax number!) About a week later, a letter came through the letterbox explaining that as a one-off they would update the 'adverse' information.
Problem Solved
Problem 5 - RBS
Just when I thought everything was going well, RBS decided to pull my application for a full audit (This happens randomly apparently!) Thus delaying my application by a further week, and causing my fingernails to go on holiday via my teeth.
Thankfully, it came back clean as a whistle, and here we are ready to move this weekend.
If you think something adverse is going to cause a barrier to a mortgage, then persevere. By being relentless with those who stood in my way, I got exactly what I wanted.
I would however like to point out that I have entered into a mortgage as I have zero debt and enough cash to afford the payments. (Not masses hence the HomeBuy Direct Scheme!) If you're in my position (earning just under 30k per year, with no debts) and you are sure you can allow for the future, then there is nothing wrong with the HomeBuy Scheme.
To those who think new-builds are overpriced, I've always lived my life with the attitude that something is good value if you find value for money in it. I never buy the cheapest of something, rarely the most expensive, but if i've paid a few bob more than someone else for something and I'm happy with my purchase, then it's good value to me.
0
Comments
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Well, I hope it goes well and congratulations. I completed on my first time buy friday before last and much like yourself it was not a smooth road, from dodgy solicitors (see Wolstenholmes thread) to mortgage retentions to renogotiated offers I think the whole thing took a few years off my life expectancy ;¬) but got there in the end. The first few days after completion I think I was so exhausted from it all it felt a bit surreal but I'm delighted now. Moved in and started working on getting the house how I want it. It's a great feeling. Enjoy0
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Congrats.
I am buying on HBD scheme and I am just waiting for the flaming thing to be built (currently bricked up to base of the upstair windows).0 -
Ours was held up by the Coach House above the garage...!0
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