6 storey flat with no lift

jamesadean

Despite HSBC offering us a mortgage and appointing solicitors, the surveyor came back and refused lending on the flat we would like to buy because:

"The property is on the fourth floor of a 6 storey building with no passenger lift"

I'm annoyed that this question wasn't asked of us in the first place and why there isn't clearer lending criteria on their website. We've wasted 2 months! Since the decision last week and some extensive Google searching, I found that nationwide actually stipulate the requirement of a lift clearly on their website too.

Is there anything we can do?

:money:

ACG

The problem you have is lenders have underwriting guides. If they listed everything they could and couldnt lend on you would be reading through a 100 page book. I kind of agree this is something that should have been flagged up when you said your looking to purchase a flat though. Did you go through a broker or direct to HSBC? Its probably worth a complaint letter as their processes should be picking up these questions, likewise they should be asking if the property is above commercial premises if thats an issue for them. 6 floors without a lift, i think you may struggle finding a lender.

jamesadean

The odd thing is that our solicitors have charged us for searches AFTER the date they were informed of a negative survey result, which amounted to £300. I will ask for that back I think!

The property is a period building in London, it has 4 floors plus a basement, so it's not actually 6 storeys, but somehow the surveyor has translated it into 6 storeys... maybe the number of flights of steps? Or didn't count correctly.

There are flats in the same block that are selling and no commercial property below. The flat block is also Peabody trust.

How do I go about making a complaint? Would it possibly change our situation?

Surely there's a way to get a mortgage on the place - it's such a great property!

Thanks for the comments and help :beer:

Oh and we went direct under the advice of our mortgage advisor...

Thrugelmir

jamesadean wrote: »

The odd thing is that our solicitors have charged us for searches AFTER the date they were informed of a negative survey result, which amounted to £300. I will ask for that back I think!

Did you request the solicitors to commence work before you had a formal mortgage offer?

jamesadean

The solicitors were appointed by HSBC on the Countrywide panel after we received a formal mortgage offer.

Would any mortgage advisors know which lenders will consider a flat on the 4th floor with no lift?

couponqueen123

you need to ring which the company they will help and also offer free independant advice iv had good advice from them

Thrugelmir

jamesadean wrote: »

The solicitors were appointed by HSBC on the Countrywide panel after we received a formal mortgage offer.

Formal mortgage offers are not normally made until the property has been surveyed.

jamesadean

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Formal mortgage offers are not normally made until the property has been surveyed.

Ummm does that mean the solicitors should not have been involved until the survey was complete either?

It was countrywide that appointed both solicitors and surveyor! Countrywide is the official panel appointed by HSBC to complete the mortgage...

This is ever so confusing, it seems there is no defined process to complete a property purchase!

Does anyone know at all if it`s actually possible to get a mortgage for a flat on the 4th floor with no lift? It`s unlikely one would ever be installed as the building is extremely old!

opinions4u

jamesadean wrote: »

Ummm does that mean the solicitors should not have been involved until the survey was complete either?

On my house purchases I've always instructed solicitors to do nothing until survey is complete and written offer issued.

If there is a need to hurry then my instructions would have been different but I would have risked incurring costs if things fell through.

Does anyone know at all if it`s actually possible to get a mortgage for a flat on the 4th floor with no lift? It`s unlikely one would ever be installed as the building is extremely old!

I think you'll struggle.

anotherginger

jamesadean wrote: »

Ummm does that mean the solicitors should not have been involved until the survey was complete either?

I would have had a solicitor lined up before the mortgage offer, but I wouldn't have instructed them to do anything at all until I had an actual mortgage offer (which it doesn't look like you have).

You can choose whatever process you want, but most people will choose the one where they would lose the least money should it fall through:

Offer Accepted, Apply for Mortgage, Get Mortgage Offer, Instruct Solicitor, Exchange, Complete

jamesadean

Ok, we definitely got an official mortgage offer before the survey. I have the letter dated 2 weeks before the survey happened and then it took over a week to get a further letter to say they were not happy to continue lending on this property!

We consulted a mortgage advisor, worked out how much we could lend, found a property, applied for the mortgage, got an offer, chose countrywide panel who appointed solicitors and surveyor!

I don't understand how we could have gone so wrong!