Why apply for mortgage before the searches and survey - EA is pushing...

Fly_Baby

Hello. We had an offer accepted on a house but being FTBs we really want to be sure that everything is absolutely OK with it because we don't have any experience of owning the property and potential problems.

Now we have to arrange the survey and searches. I cannot be sure that it comes out fine, with the house being old and the vendors not willing to budge on the price further in case some problems come up. So I wanted to have the survey done first and then apply for the mortgage, in case I need to pull out because I would then lose the mortgage application fee, waste a credit check, etc.

But the EA is pushing me to do it all at the same time. Are they right?

kford224

The mortgage is more important and there is no point (in theory) putting an offer on a house that you may not get a mortgage for!!

With ours, the mortgage company did their survey and we followed it up with a full survey that concentrated on areas they had flagged up.

Fly_Baby

kford224 wrote: »

The mortgage is more important and there is no point (in theory) putting an offer on a house that you may not get a mortgage for!!

With ours, the mortgage company did their survey and we followed it up with a full survey that concentrated on areas they had flagged up.

Good idea.

So does it mean that any house is actually surveyed twice - first by the mortgage lender and then by our surveyor? We too wanted a full structural survey.

With regards to the mortgage, we are borrowing less than 3 x joint income and have a 25% deposit so I think we are safe - whereas the survey is far less guaranteed.

kford224

Fly_Baby wrote: »

Good idea.

So does it mean that any house is actually surveyed twice - first by the mortgage lender and then by our surveyor? We too wanted a full structural survey.

With regards to the mortgage, we are borrowing less than 3 x joint income and have a 25% deposit so I think we are safe - whereas the survey is far less guaranteed.

Yes effectively I suppose, although apparently the mortgage survey can be very 'basic'. The mortgage process can be very drawn out though so I would get cracking with it as soon as possible to show the sellers that you're serious - a full survey can be arranged within a day or two if need be You don't want to pay out for a survey and then the mortgage company ask for something to be inspected that perhaps wasn't covered initially as you'll end up paying twice. I think some mortgage companies let you arrange your own, but best to wait to see how they do things (depending on who you go with).

I know you said the sellers won't budge on the price, but if a survey brings back problems then they may be more inclined.....very few buyers are going to want to continue to buy it at the same price if it needs work and they may have no choice but to reduce the price if they want to sell it.

danielley

If you have a read of this thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3112552 you will see that getting a mortgage can be a long drawn out process.

My searches etc took days; my mortgage has took weeks and there is no reason for it to, its just that the mortgage companies are quite slow at times.

I think it used to be the opposite way around, that the searches took longer, but it seems to have switched.

evoke

If I were the seller i'd refuse to sell and find a buyer who had the dosh waiting. Have you got solicitors on the case?

This is a classic example of why so many deals fall through because of FTB's not doing things properly. Your EA is correct. Sort the mortgage out.

System

There is no guarantee you will get a mortgage approved. No point in spending on surveys, searches etc before you know for sure you can actually buy the house.

nomoneytoday

The mortgage offer will have a time period, so if house 1's survey shows it falling down you can usually use the funds on house 2

kford224

Walcott wrote: »

There is no guarantee you will get a mortgage approved. No point in spending on surveys, searches etc before you know for sure you can actually buy the house.

That's a very good point. We thought we were home and dry and then our first AIP was refused. We were really gutted and it made us really nervous about applying elsewhere! The second one was fine though . Different lenders have different criteria

smcqis

When you say searches etc do you mean solicitor searches etc?

We are FTBs an applied for mortgage day after offer accepted an mortgage company doing valuation all within week 1. Im waiting to hear from this valuation before deciding if i need homebuyers report. In the meantime the EA has requested vendors solicitor to forward contract for sale and documents of title to my solicitor. I intend to contact solicitor on Monday to see if this have been received.

Is this correct way to do things? Though I dont know what next step is when solicitor says he received them, what should I be asking, any advice is very welcome...

kford224

smcqis wrote: »

When you say searches etc do you mean solicitor searches etc?

We are FTBs an applied for mortgage day after offer accepted an mortgage company doing valuation all within week 1. Im waiting to hear from this valuation before deciding if i need homebuyers report. In the meantime the EA has requested vendors solicitor to forward contract for sale and documents of title to my solicitor. I intend to contact solicitor on Monday to see if this have been received.

Is this correct way to do things? Though I dont know what next step is when solicitor says he received them, what should I be asking, any advice is very welcome...

Once your solicitor has been through them they'll forward copies to you to read through and sign. They'll also list anything they have queried