Woolwich AIP....sort of?

marlasinger

Hi,

I have just got off the phone with a Woolwich Mortgage Advisor, and am very confused, as it didn't go as I had expected.

I was enquiring about a mortgage in principle, and she said she couldn't give me a definitive amount that we could borrow until we have had an offer accepted on a house, but just a rough idea.

She asked what sort of values we were looking at. I said around £130-140K. She asked for my salary (single income - £25K), and amount of deposit we had (£30K), and then said that we 'should be ok' with that, as they usually lend 3-4 times salary, sometimes up to 5 times. It just seemed a bit vague. I expected to tell her our details (debts, earnings, deposit), and that she would do some kind of credit check, and then come back with a concrete upper limit of what we could borrow. She just seemed to give me the same information I can get for myself using Woolwich's online calculator.

So, is this our AIP? What information are we supposed to provide to an estate agent if they ask for proof of our AIP? I thought we would be getting something in writing.

Also, I enquired about the PAML, and was told that it couldn't be used for our joint application because my husband doesn't bank with Barclays. Is this correct?

Is this the standard way all AIPs are done with Woolwich, or would it be worth us popping into a branch for a face-to-face meeting?

Thanks,
marlasinger

luckyfool

Thats not an agreement in principle, thats a rough rule of thumb adviser saying that all being well subject to credit score etc you might be ok.

It might be a policy they have of not offering direct customers a credit searched agreement in principle without a property in place, or it might just be a lazy adviser you have.

IFA's and Broker's have access to Woolwich systems to get you a proper credit searched aip so you might be better in this instance approaching a whole of market broker to get an aip done and then you get a proper agreement in principle.

PAML - my understanding is that at least one of the applicants has to have a Barclays account (not both), so this appears to be wrong as well.

marlasinger

Thanks, luckyfool.

I rang Woolwich the next day, and spoke to someone who was a bit more helpful. They told me that it didn't matter that my husband didn't bank with Barclays, as far as the PAML was concerned.

I'm going to pop into my branch to see if I have a PAML; if not, then we will see a broker.

JA1000

AIP not worth the paper it's written on - go into branch they will sort it out, good luck getting hold of number to book an appointment.

India just don't understand!!!

luckyfool

marlasinger wrote: »

Thanks, luckyfool.

I rang Woolwich the next day, and spoke to someone who was a bit more helpful. They told me that it didn't matter that my husband didn't bank with Barclays, as far as the PAML was concerned.

I'm going to pop into my branch to see if I have a PAML; if not, then we will see a broker.

Brokers have access to a PAML phone number which they can call with your permission to determine if you have one in place. All they need is your main sort code, account number, and of course permission.

cheers.

luckyfool

JA1000 wrote: »

AIP not worth the paper it's written on - go into branch they will sort it out, good luck getting hold of number to book an appointment.

India just don't understand!!!

What are you on about?

The "aip" the branch has given her isn't an aip. A credit searched aip given either by direct Woolwich staff or through a broker is pretty solid. i.e. In my experience 95-98%+ of accepted Woolwich aip's will go through to offer (subject to client being able to backup income etc), whereas about 25% of aip applications are declined.

Seems like a pretty sensible thing to do to spend 15 minutes getting an AIP one way or the other rather than wasting your time with a full application if its not going anywhere.

herbiesjp

What is important about Woolwich AIPs, and the application, is that your broker fully understands their affordability calculator, and makes sure that you fit criteria on that basis.

Speaking to their BDM, problems arise when mistakes happen when using this affordability calculator - then assuming this is correct, you then need to get a high enough score to get the mortgage amount agreed.

If this is all ok, and you can provide the supporting documentation then you should be ok.

An AIP is really only useful if you have a property in mind - it is not a good tool if you are just trying to find out what you can borrow, as your requirements may change, figures may change, and then the AIP may not be right for you in that situation.

Very rarely are there problems after an AIP in my experience, as long as they are done at the right time, and the applicant fits criteria.

luckyfool

herbiesjp - I think there is a strong argument for many people to get an AIP at the outset before they start looking so that they know for sure that they meet the criteria and pass the credit score with at least one lender before they get too far down the road. This would be especially important for people looking at higher loan to values, needing an income stretch, or who might have had blips in their credit in the past. If you have a 40% deposit, a+ credit, and need to borrow 2 times joint employed income then of course an AIP is probably unnecessary.

herbiesjp

Agreed

I always get an AIP for my clients in order to avoid any nasty surprises.

However, for me personally, it depends on the client situation and how far down the line they are, as to when that AIP is applied for.

marlasinger

luckyfool wrote: »

Brokers have access to a PAML phone number which they can call with your permission to determine if you have one in place.

Thanks, luckyfool. We've just come back from the branch. The advisor wasn't there, but our details have been passed on, and apparently he will call back today. I shall ask about the PAML then.

luckyfool wrote: »

A credit searched aip given either by direct Woolwich staff or through a broker is pretty solid. i.e. In my experience 95-98%+ of accepted Woolwich aip's will go through to offer (subject to client being able to backup income etc), whereas about 25% of aip applications are declined.

This is what I am after - a credit searched AIP - but the Woolwich advisors I have just spoken to so far say different things. I have been told they don't provide AIP, but then I was told by one of the staff that she was 'pretty sure' they provide something in writing.

herbiesjp wrote: »

What is important about Woolwich AIPs, and the application, is that your broker fully understands their affordability calculator, and makes sure that you fit criteria on that basis.

I've looked at their Affordability Criteria, based on their site (ie. £715 in disposable income left over, after mortgage payments). It looks ok for us, but I'm guessing there's probably more to it than that.

herbiesjp wrote: »

An AIP is really only useful if you have a property in mind - it is not a good tool if you are just trying to find out what you can borrow, as your requirements may change, figures may change, and then the AIP may not be right for you in that situation.

There are a couple of properties that we are interested in, on the market at £129K - £135K. We are just waiting to know if we can borrow the amount we would need (about £100K) before we get our hopes up and start doing viewings.

herbiesjp wrote: »

Very rarely are there problems after an AIP in my experience, as long as they are done at the right time, and the applicant fits criteria.

This is good to hear! Hopefully when this mortgage advisor calls me, we can get something sorted!! :T


marlasinger

JA1000

An AIP is just the motions most lenders will do it as a matter of course, but don't let those people out there think it is done and dusted once you get this, it is just the first hurdle and is not a guarantee.