Referred For Further Checks Before Mortgage Application Can Be Completed

kaziz

I obtained an agreement in principle from Halifax on Monday. I asked them to go ahead with the valuation of the property that I am interested in today and the mortgage advisor who am I dealing with said that the mortgage needs to be looked over by someone in head office and it'll take 3-4days for them to get back to him. He said he didn't want to take the valuation fee in case they needed some additional information from me. All that was requested on the agreement in principle was the last three months payslips. Can anyone shed any light on the situation?

Many thanks

kingstreet

You apply for an agreement in principle (AIP). It tells you how much you can borrow and the likely status requirements.

You find a property and make a full application. The original data is checked against the AIP data to ensure everything tallies. Any new data is taken into consideration and your credit score is then set.

An A pass means there will be no documents required. A B pass means three months payslips and bank statements will be required if the loan to value (LTV) is high.

A C pass means all the documentation has to be produced regardless of LTV.

When you submit a full application, the decision may be "refer" as some of the data may not match up exactly, or something may simply require a human eye.

You should also bear in mind your credit score will fall one level if you are buying a shared ownership or shared equity property. This cannot be identified at AIP but is picked up on full application. This could mean you fall from a C pass to a refer or borderline decline.

I would not expect Halifax to do anything further until a decision to proceed is made. Your valuer will not be instructed until then, safeguarding the money you will have to pay for it.

kaziz

Thank you for your reply.

I'm just a bit confused as far as I am aware the mortgage application hasn't being completed and it's gone for further checks already? I was expecting this after doing the application but not before?

I guess it's just a case of waiting to see what happens next week when the head office get back to the mortgage advisor.

kingstreet

After you have an AIP, the only next step is a full application. You can't take fee payment details until you hit the submit button for the full application.

It's done electronically now. You simply build on from the AIP screens using the extra property, product and solicitor's details. There's nothing to sign either, so you might not even be aware it's been done.

kaziz

We have given details of the property we intend to buy but no details of solicitor as we have yet to arrange one.

I guess the application has been done by what you've said.

Thanks again for the input.