HSBC application - anything more i can do?

twobuckchuck

Hi all,

Just in the process of trying to buy my 1st house, thought i had it under control but starting to panic a bit now and just want a bit of help.

Offer accepted for full asking price of £165k

I am using the agents solicitors at the request of the seller to hurry the process along as they are buying chain free.

I have applied for an HSBC lifetime tracker 80% LTV (132k) that will be 2.49% above Bank Of England base rate for term of mortgage. I have 45k of savings so more than enough to cover everything including the 33k deposit.

I am panicing about 2 things:

1) I have had to send in my last 3 months Lloyds bank statements and am worried that i was in my overdaft at the end of last month (£900 in overdraft of £3500 for 5 days) mainly due to car breaking down. 5 weeks earlier though i had transfered £2400 from my current account to a savings account.

2) Should i have gone into a branch to try and get them to sort the application out, and have them fight my corner. Can i do this tomorrow even though i am not a customer and have sent my application in. Should i try and swith my current account to them?

I am just woryying because i keep reading how slow HSBC are with application and the seller wants everything to go quickly, so if i get refused i could lose the house.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

John

CloudCuckooLand

Don't worry about those things.

The really important things to worry about are that you are letting the buyer and their EA dictate which solicitor you use, when it should be someone solely interested in protecting your interests.

And that you have agreed to pay full asking price.

dimbo61

HSBC will require a valuation survey on the property and if they think its worth less than £165K then you drop your offer !!
Check all the paperwork from the agents solictor very carefully!

twobuckchuck

Thanks for the replies

I was worried at first about being asked to use the agents (Haart's) solicitors but must people i have spoken to say the only thing to worry about is that i am paying over the odds. If that is the main problem then i am not too concerned if £250 is the difference between doing the deal or not.

As regards to paying the asking price, my needs are relatively specific. 1 bedroom property with very secure garden for dog and close to proper rural areas to walk dog but within 5 or so miles of work in north west London. I know full well i am probably paying over the odds but as I’m not planning on moving any time soon I feel it is a great property. There was also a lot of interest in the property so i feel at worst i am paying 5k over the 'true' value. What the valuation says is a different matter!

Any more thoughts appreciated, mortgage refusal is still my big concern!

Thanks

John

shimano

I agree with worrying more about your choice of solicitor.

Aspiration

Stay close to lease/freehold as in my experience this is the biggest headache with flats!! Good luck with the valaution

twobuckchuck

OK, are there any specifics to worry about then??

It is a ground floor leasehold maisonette with 100 years left. It is 1 of 4 in what is effectively a semi detached house.

Thanks

John

Aspiration

That was the big thing i had problems with the quantity of time left on the lease, usually when they get down to 75/80 years banks will not lend against them. you usually can renew the lease from the freeholder but i would find out if that has ever been discussed, and try and get an idea of what the price would be. My flat (5 yrs ago) was valued at £110k, and to remew the lease from 79 years to 999 years they wanted £12k, this wasn't an issue as i had planned that into negotiations but def ask the question. It is a common thing in property but as a buyer you'd want to get as much info as possible. How are you feeling about it all, your title implies a bit nervous???

twobuckchuck

Aspiration,

Thanks for the reply, I love the house and it seems perfect for my needs (and more importantly the dogs) which is why i have no problem paying over the odds for what suits! Obviously if it is valued at less I may try and renegotiate but I believe someone else offered very close to the asking price.

From what i have read a 100yr lease seems fair. I obviously expect the solicitor to tell me whether they think there will be any problem extending the lease and how much it will cost. Should they definitely be able to find out?

I'm all systems go, just worried about getting turned down for a mortgage and having to re-apply elsewhere. It is not getting a mortgage that worries me, i just don’t want HSBC to take ages and then refuse the application delaying the process.

I have a feeling that when the seller says they are keen to move quickly, their timescale probably is different to mine. i.e. I'm trying to do everything i can as quickly as possible but they probably mean they just don’t want it to drag on for months?

Thanks

John

shimano

Is it share of freehold?

Aspiration

Any update from the mortgage company yet??