Is this a slow Mortgage lender?

esutg

I made my mortgage app on 21st Feb (over a month ago) through a broker to Clydsdale Bank and currently we are still awaiting an offer. Is this unnaturally slow or am I being given the run around? Here are some pointers:

21st Feb - App sent
28th Feb - Broker request ID, this is sent and verified in 2 days.
7th Mar - Further info requested on source of deposit, reply made within a day.
16th Mar - Asked for bank account for funds for valuation, replied with detail within a day.
Present - No reply since.

My broker says that Clydsdale are extremely slow and are using a 1 week queuing system so any correspondance is sent is only actioned after that timeframe, hence the spread of my above points.

Is anyone else know whether CLydsdale are experienceing this slow problem or is my broker being a bit fishy? I am very concerned because our vendor is threatening to pull out anyday now because not only do they think we are having problems getting a mortgage but the valuation survey has not been instructed over a month after the initial app.

I also cannot get through directly to the bank as they will not talk to me as the app went through a broker.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Clydesdale are a totally manual and rather unusual administrative process - and their solicitors (when you get to that stage), Optima Legal, are diabolical and unable to understand the word 'communicate' let alone do it.

Sounds like a typical Clydesdale case based on my experience with them (although I would always ensure max possible documentation - particularly ID - provided with original application in order to avoid as much as possible the return to the bottom of the queue every time they make a further request).

Jenniefour

Can't comment on your particular lender but in general there are so many checks being done these days by lenders that this length of time is not unusual. And doing survey later because of the checks is not unusual either. Get the agent doing their job - tell them what your broker has said and tell them to laise with vendors, so they are managing realistically the vendors expectations.

WellKnownSid

Our first offer took four months to come through from a major High Street lender, not helped by them losing paperwork and us not having any kind of credit rating so credit scoring had to be done the old fashioned way with references from banks, great grandparents, the pope, etc.

Our vendors were going mental, but they just had to wait as did the estate agent, the solicitors, the removal men, the plumber, the painter and decorator, etc, etc...

Our vendors told us categorically that they would pull out if we didn't complete within two weeks. We completed some 17 weeks after that particular threat...

esutg

Thank you all for the replies. Some hope I gather from previous peoples experience but am annoyed that my broker never mentioned Clydesdale's 'system' and would have misforgivings about going ahead with their recommendation.

It has been very frustrating but apart from banging things against the wall, I do not know what else I can do. I know we have a good credit rating and we tick all of the boxes in terms of affordability and LTV easily.

Will keep chasing the broker and see if I can get them take on the battle with the estate agents.

However my broker has said that because they lumped the booking fee in with the loan I am not liability for it if the deal does fall through. Is this true? Sounds dodgy.

Conrad

esutg wrote: »

Thank you all for the replies. Some hope I gather from previous peoples experience but am annoyed that my broker never mentioned Clydesdale's 'system' and would have misforgivings about going ahead with their recommendation.

Ha, I had my FSA regulatory audit recently and one point they made is that I AM NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION ON THE GROUNDS OF SERVICE!
Don't you just love out of touch robotic jobs worth Government regulators!

cd1986

my latest mortgage took about 16 days from start to finish. I work for myself too so that complicated things a bit. Having said that, the house was a new build so it was easy for them to gain access to do surveys, valuations, etc. The developers were keen to get it done quick as they get more commission is you complete quickly

paint

I applied with the Clydesdale on 21st March via a Broker (submitting all required paperwork (I hope!) - they haven't requested anything else). I gave my debit card details to the Broker on the day of submission for the survey. The survey took place today.

I've been told by my Broker that Clydesdale have a backlog and it could take up to 4 weeks for a decision, but I wasn't aware of the queueing system.

If the queueing system is correct, your Broker has made a c*ck up, and should have ensured everything was complete in the first place. Sorry it's taking so long.

I believe you're correct about the Booking Fee.

esutg

paint wrote: »

I applied with the Clydesdale on 21st March via a Broker (submitting all required paperwork (I hope!) - they haven't requested anything else). I gave my debit card details to the Broker on the day of submission for the survey. The survey took place today.

I've been told by my Broker that Clydesdale have a backlog and it could take up to 4 weeks for a decision, but I wasn't aware of the queueing system.

If the queueing system is correct, your Broker has made a c*ck up, and should have ensured everything was complete in the first place. Sorry it's taking so long.

I believe you're correct about the Booking Fee.

Paint, I would be very interested to know how progress goes with your app. Just to at least know someone is getting through and have some ammunition when I speak to my broker. But yea, it looks like my broker cocked up at the initial app stage and didnt get all the details sent is why I am in this queuing system. Now if there was a way for me to relay this info so Clydesdale do not pay the broker any commission.

Senior_Paper_Monitor

Whoah ! I don't think (other than paint's rather unsubstantiated opinion) that your broker has necessarily "c*cked up".

The only thing I see that indicates he may have made any error is the request for subsequent ID (but even this may have extenuating circumstances).

As to the 'source of funds' issue - the specific questions/requirements of the lender (particularly Clydesdale) in meeting this are often impossible to forward guess and you can only respond to the specific request when it is made (and that will put you back in the queue).

As Conrad states - advising the client on the basis of service levels is a 'difficult call' (I admit we do it, but it also means we have previously had to learn about the lender's current idiosyncrasies to do so - so at least one client gets caught out first!) and Clydesdale suit a small number of clients so many brokers will have had little experience with them (we have only recommended them on 3 cases in the last 2 years).

As to the proposed acion you suggest via Clydesdale - most unlikely to have any result other than they will tell you to proceed via your broker's complaint process (and I don't see anything there that would be supported in terms of a complaint) and it certainly won't speed anything up (indeed the opposite may be more likely).

You originally asked if what the broker told you about Clydesdale was true - it is, they are a 'slow mortgage lender' !

If want further advice on what to do - chase the broker to ensure he/she hasn't got throughly depressed with chasing Clydesdale and ensure h/she is putting maximum pressure on them (I make our BDM's life a misery to get stuff moving with them).

Clydesdale's administration and communication is admittedly a nightmare, but they have some very flexible underwriting/criteria and this comes with some downsides on the due diligence approach they take. I suspect that your broker has taken you there for a specific reason (or two).

paint

Let us know how you get on, estug. I'll let you know how my app goes, too (I expect to get turned down... but that's another matter!).

The fact that the underwriting process is manual (and they might be a bit more flexible as a result) is one of the reasons I applied, and I was prepared (having been warned by my Broker that they're slow) to expect it to take quite a while.

I'd be beside myself in your situation, having heard nothing for a good while now. Have you spoken to your Broker today?