Time between mortgage offer & completion - what can go wrong?

littlesparkles

We have a mortgage offer from Nationwide (confirmed in August and valid until January). We are buying a new build which should be complete by December (and our contract allows us to back out if we cannot get a suitable mortgage if after this date).

Our financial position will be exactly the same (in all likelihood) and we are putting off a car purchase so that our credit ratings are not affected by extra credit.

What can go wrong? I have read a few things suggesting nothing is certain so I would prefer to be prepared. Is the lender likely to refuse the mortgage for any reason?

xmissx

Nothing is certain when buying, it could fall through at the last hour unfortunately!

My partner and I are first time buyers so this is all new to us, i'm sure there's other forum users that have far better knowledge than me, but from what i have read the lender can withdraw your mortgage offer for a number of reasons.

They can check your credit rating and if it has altered due to a new loan or credit you have taken out since the mortgage offer was made they may withdraw.

If they find that the information you supplied wasn't entirely true they may withdraw.

If there lending criteria changes and you no longer fit in with it they may withdraw.

Redundancy/job less would force them to withdraw.

It's a very stressful process, and when putting down a 10% deposit which is transferred to the sellers solicitor on exchange you will be liable to pay that to the seller if your mortgage was withdrawn for any reason. Not sure if this also applies to new build properties.

You can only feel at ease once you have the keys to your new home in your hand in my opinion.

Good luck!

harvey115

Brazuca wrote: »

Nationwide has withdrawn their offer on my case. Just this week! And no circumstances changed at all!
Apparently their reason is that we failed credit scoring - but our credit score is excellent - never ever a missed payment, etc. and nothing changed at all since application and mortgage offer.

Totally frustrated and upset as since we had an offer (and not only decision in principle) we started did searches, had to pay solicitor etc.
God knows what went wrong!

I contacted AskNAtionwide on Twitter and I am awaiting a (convincing) reply.
They asked me 2 working days to reply, so I should hear from them today. :-(

I believe you are confusing your refusal with the above question by the OP.

From what you have said it seems like you had a DIP/AIP from Nationwide and when you applied in full your application was refused on 'Credit Scoring'. You did not get a written offer after your full application.

This is not what the OP is refering to. This thread is refering to concerns between the time of written mortgage offer in hand and the date of completion which in NewBuild houses is a norm.

I have recently completed a NewBuild purchase myself with Clydesdale and my offer was only valid for three months from the time of issuing. I completed 20 days before it expired.

You are right to avoid anything that could change your credit history i.e. getting a car on a loan, or in fact any other type of loan. I would even avoid opening any new credit account i,e, bank account or credit card etc. If your situation remains the same and the financial situation of the lender is also in good health you should be fine.

As for the backup, if you are going through a broker, they will do the work and should be aware of any issues earlier then you. However if you are going direct, I would suggest you keep your eyes open to the market and get in touch with a good broker if anything goes wrong. As brokers will be able to guide you to the right lender with the right criteria.

By the way you are in a good situation, you can back out if you cannot secure finances on completion. Not many developers do this, so you do not have anything to lose so you should not stress.

Best of luck...

blargh

Brazuca, that sounds absolutely outrageous! I'd be going mental at them about this...

harvey115

Brazuca wrote: »

I told them that they had copy of my passport and they responded:

"I have checked the application and we do not have a copy of the passports on file. As a goodwill gesture I can offer a refund of the £99 booking fee to close the complaint.
If you are still not happy with this I will escalate this"

I responded:
"£99 doesn't cover the £1,000 that I had with solicitor, and doesn't even cover the own Nationwide valuation which was £400!

I went in person to Nationwide and I was there when the person uploaded all the details in the system, including the copy of passports, and have email from her confirming that everything was uploaded!

Thanks,"

You should go to the same branch as the same person yo spoke the first time to get this rechekced. Although looking through decline/refusals it may not be possible to get your application reconsidered because mortgage applications once declined are not something other colleagues overturn. However if the right people are approached that might be possible.

Best of luck.

BoracicLint

I agree that sounds completely ridiculous, are you certain nothing has changed since the mortgage offer...perhaps another search has come up on your credit file since then which has invalidated your previous offer?

harvey115

BoracicLint wrote: »

I agree that sounds completely ridiculous, are you certain nothing has changed since the mortgage offer...perhaps another search has come up on your credit file since then which has invalidated your previous offer?

That does not effect.

Lenders sometimes do double check usually near the time to completion to make sure that the borrower still has a good credit history. They are not that concerned about the searches as much, they are looking for new credit agreements/loans if anything has been applied.

I think when the lender checked credit history again with a change in name they got completely different results maybe of a completed different person. This could be one of the reason. However this is only a guess and you should speak to the in branch advisor you submitted your application with.

Best of luck.

littlesparkles

Oh my goodness that is really worrying. I am quite anxious in case our offer is withdrawn for any reason. Yikes. Please update to say what happens. Has anyone else had this happen? So basically I could sell my current house and then not be able to buy the new one after all? I could cry...

littlesparkles

What were the amendments to the lease?

harvey115

I would suggest that you speak to a broker straight away and forget about nationwide. First they have big delays and almost impossible to overturn a mortgage decision. To avoid your deal falling through just get in touch with a good broker and hopefully you should be able to complete your purchase.

Make sure you mention everything regarding Nationwide as well to your broker.

Best of luck

harvey115

Brazuca wrote: »

Thank you all for the support.
The amendment to the lease was changing it from 80 years to 99 years.
On the valuation report, hey put "approx. 80 years", and then on the mortgage offer it was also written 80 years.
But the lease is 99 years, and the solicitor contacted Nationwide to ask them to update their records.

What silly things!

Imagine how competent people are dealing with these cases...