Halifax Offer Subject to Valuation

abbieno7_2

Hi guys

Probably a dumb question but we are FTB's and have been told by the Halifax (and our broker) that our application has been approved subject to valuation.

This was carried out on Friday and our broker said that no more checks will be carried out at this stage and it is just a case that providing the valuation comes back ok then the offer will automatically be sent out by the Halifax.

We are still anxious though - how long does it normally take for the offer to be sent out by the Halifax after valuation? Does anybody know? Or is it a case of "how long is a piece of string?"
Also, has anybody heard of anything going wrong at this stage?

Thanks so much and apologies for so many stupid questions!!

tigthepig

Hi Abbieno7,

I was in your shoes about a week ago. Its not a stupid question at all. its a scary and emotional process so you've every right to be nervous

The unfortunate thing is that until Halifax hand you the money its not necessarily a done deal. If you have a good credit rating, a good LTV, have provided all the correct info to Halifax, are buying an uncomplicated house (i.e. maybe one that has been mortgaged before) and trust your broker you should be fine.

Mine is a bit of a scary story which we think has been caused by the property we are buying (an affordable new build)- we went through everything, credit checks, valuation etc had a full offer from Halifax (at which point I was elated) only to have the offer retracted (and they wont tell us why).

But please don't be scared by that! I just thought it was worth saying so you know that, while rare, on some rare occasions this can happen. I wish I'd have known!

I was overjoyed- planning the decor and everything and then had it all taken away. So its been a bit of an emotional roller coaster. As house buying is (something which the banks have no recognition of).

So i just want to add a small word of warning, that your much closer when your offer comes (and it only usually takes a couple of days once the valuation has been done), it can go wrong, but its less likely than it going right. Keep your head on and don't let your heart run away with you too much until you have the keys in your hand.

Fingers crossed for you,

abbieno7_2

OMG that has scared me now!! I can't believe you couldn't find out a reason from them! That is so unfair when you got to that stage too!

Ours is a new build and we have a 20% deposit. Guess things can still go wrong then...........

Thanks for your help and I am so sorry it didnt work out for you with them. Good luck in the future

tigthepig

Like i said our situation is rare we believe. So please don't be too scared- just wanted to say cos I think if something does go wrong, its quite hard to deal with once you start to think its going fine

The place we want is on a section 106 agreement, which are inherently tricky anyway, with few lenders saying they will lend on them.

In theory, if you've got as far as valuation the Halifax should be happy with your credit rating (which is usually the biggest problem people have). And if the property is open market there are more lenders available to you and buyers of other properties in the development, so you shouldn't have the problems with density that we've had.

We're looking into the s106 and seeing what can be done to encourage other lenders. I think we may have a bit of a fight on our hands with this one but its worth a try

abbieno7_2

Thanks again and the best of luck to you!

puresilk

Mate

Try not to stress or think about it too much!

BUT, I had my mortgage agreed in principle and then the full mortgage application was accepted. Halifax then wanted to see some P60's, 3 Months bank statements and statements showing salary credits into those accounts, which I promptly provided.

I went ahead and got the valuation done £430 as my broker asked me to.

My broker then spent 3 weeks chasing them up on the 'Offer' which thankgod came through today.

However I would not get the valuation done untill I receive the 'offer subject to valuation first'. As they can say NO at anytime and do not need to give you a reason why, and also the small thought of 'non refundable valution fee' thrown in if they do say no.

melt71

puresilk wrote: »

However I would not get the valuation done untill I receive the 'offer subject to valuation first'. As they can say NO at anytime and do not need to give you a reason why, and also the small thought of 'non refundable valution fee' thrown in if they do say no.

Yes I would also say NEVER get any work carried out such as valuations before getting a definite yes - because they can refuse the mortgage at any point until the official offer has been given. I've had this done to me (I did get a mortgage from another company so don't stress too much!) but the valuation money of £395 was lost! I was fuming :mad:

If you have a mortgage agreed in principal and you have the certificate etc and you haven't lied about anything such as inflated your earnings, you should be fine.

But don't crack open the champagne until it's all official. It's not worth the stress.