Applying for FTB mortgage tomorrow: DOs & DON'Ts?

alan_partridge

StrawberryTwist wrote: »

Really pleased for you! I expect you're grinning like a Cheshire Cat as you go about your days at the moment!

you're not wrong lol.. after all the doom-mongering, i had prepared myself for every eventuality.. what i hadn't prepared myself for was it being so easy, so i was completely shocked and elated when it all went so spiffingly!

StrawberryTwist wrote: »

I do agree in a sense about this forum being a double edged sword. A lot of the information given on here is a fantastic resource of help, but sometimes I see people posting what may be considered less than "ideal" situations in a quest for help in choosing their next steps and as a lurker I go away feeling depressed and thinking "no hope!" at some of the doom and gloom responses they get, goodness knows how they must feel!

exactly the same here! i had similar conversations with people via PM as a result of posting this thread..

StrawberryTwist wrote: »

It's worth remembering that usually people only post when there is a problem, many mortgages go through without a hitch daily...

exactly - and most people don't research this sort of thing so meticulously, which is why i think we get our knickers in a twist so much! i dare say most people would just think "let's get a mortgage", and waltz into the nearest lender, without any idea of what a credit report even is, let alone that they have 3 of them and that they should be checking them out/cleanin them up/etc. - and yet these mortgages presumably go through by the thousands every day!

StrawberryTwist wrote: »

My husband and I are in the middle of our mortgage application in less then usual circumstances, we do not have a BR to contend with but we still have quite a few obstacles, mainly our address history's etc.. oh and a overdraft! I keep trying to NOT log on here to read right now as I truly believe I could steal your title of the most nervous first time buyer, I'm sending everyone I know stir crazy with my nervous constant chatter haha and reading on here sends my nerves in to formula 1 speed overdrive! So logging in and seeing your fantastic news is really lovely to read!

Good luck with everything and I wish you many happy years in your new home!

thanks very much, and best of luck with your application - i'm sure everything will be fine

kingstreet

droiderm wrote: »

I don't think it's the distribution channels per say.
I have rang them previously direct, and they have told me the criteria is as you undersand it. So, I would suspect it's a branch or two issue (well it's not an issue in this case!).

I think the biggest point of this thread is an EX Br has achieved a 95% mortgage. That's fantastic news for the OP.

There are broker forums, where there appears to be mounting evidence that the kind of practice brokers were accused of five years ago, such as inflating incomes, is routinely being done in branches.

Brokers are turning clients away when they have been declined by a particular lender, for that same lender to agree to the same application details when the borrower goes direct. In addition, some appear to be accepting cases which the FSA would not expect to see possible, due to simple affordability issues and again, they are being accepted by lenders directly.

We don't just have dual pricing now, we have dual underwriting too.

I agree that this is not relevant to the OP's thread and will stop hijacking from now.

alan_partridge

kingstreet wrote: »

There are broker forums, where there appears to be mounting evidence that the kind of practice brokers were accused of five years ago, such as inflating incomes, is routinely being done in branches.

i know this isn't what you were suggesting, but just to clarify - i was so apprehensive about this application that i scrutinised every single detail that the lender took from me and entered into the computer, and everything was correct, legit, and in no way inaccurate or inflated.. this is true of both nationwide and halifax - i ended up going with the latter, as nationwide wanted to wait until january (at which point our Save To Buy account with them would have matured), but it was quite clear that both lenders were quite willing to lend me the required amount without inflating or fabricating anything!

lindsaygalaxy

Thats fantastic! It really gives me hope. Im only 4 and a half years in to my BR. We have bene looking at shared ownership in my partners name only, but now im wondering if we should save a it longer and try in for a 'normal' house in 18months when it will have been 6 years.

alan_partridge

lindsaygalaxy wrote: »

Thats fantastic! It really gives me hope.

thanks - that's the intention!

lindsaygalaxy wrote: »

Im only 4 and a half years in to my BR. We have bene looking at shared ownership in my partners name only, but now im wondering if we should save a it longer and try in for a 'normal' house in 18months when it will have been 6 years.

well, based on my experience (which is, of course, just my experience) i would say that if the BR is the only black mark on your credit history then it might be prudent to wait until that has dropped off.. i found that i literally went from "cannot borrow" to "A rated credit"* overnight when i did so!

i did some preliminary shopping around just before my BR dropped off, and the answer was always "computer says no," but as soon as it hit the 6 year milestone it disappeared, and all of a sudden people were throwing money at me


* i was so worried about my perceived poor credit rating that one of the lenders showed me the result returned when they processed my mortgage application, and it quite clearly said "CREDIT STANDING: A" on their screen, which was a joy to behold

droiderm

I have similar experiences regarding BR dropping off and being "creditworthy again"
The day after my last BR default dropped off (this was after the date of BR) I was accepted for a full Nationwide current account (they offered me a £2750 overdraft - I only took £1000) and as part of that preapproved me for a 7K credit card. What a difference one day makes!

I do suspect with a voluntary reposession as part of my BR (no shortfall) is going to scupper me with Nationwide.

Going to try them for a NewBuy in the next few weeks, but not hopeful. Also have a save to buy account with them, not sure if the underwriting will be any different.

I do feel like Nationwide suddenly "like" me.

For the record I won't be using the overdraft, except for that rare occasion where a direct debit comes out unexpected. And the credit card will be used instead of my current Capital One, for shopping petrol and will be paid in full. I like having no debt

kingstreet

alan_partridge wrote: »

i know this isn't what you were suggesting, but just to clarify - i was so apprehensive about this application that i scrutinised every single detail that the lender took from me and entered into the computer, and everything was correct, legit, and in no way inaccurate or inflated.. this is true of both nationwide and halifax - i ended up going with the latter, as nationwide wanted to wait until january (at which point our Save To Buy account with them would have matured), but it was quite clear that both lenders were quite willing to lend me the required amount without inflating or fabricating anything!

Yes. My comments were not connected to your interaction with a lender.

It merely proves my point that the lender's criteria says something unacceptable to one distribution channel is acceptable to another.

The other issues weren't related to your case.

mortgage_wannabe

I'm really pleased for the OP. I've joined this forum in the last couple of days and highlighted my frustrations about my own situation (I have a 5 year old default for £184). I have been told to not bother applying for a mortgage even though I would have no problem affording it.

Seems as though i'll have no problem the day after the default drops off, which is just crazy in my opinion.

alan_partridge

mortgage_wannabe wrote: »

I'm really pleased for the OP. I've joined this forum in the last couple of days and highlighted my frustrations about my own situation (I have a 5 year old default for £184). I have been told to not bother applying for a mortgage even though I would have no problem affording it.

Seems as though i'll have no problem the day after the default drops off, which is just crazy in my opinion.

if that is the only "black mark" on your credit history, then i would definitely recommend waiting until it drops off.. you've got less than a year left, and you'd be amazed at how quickly that flies by - and it will give you more time to save money & get your affairs in order (which is the situation i found myself in, and thus it made the actual application and purchase process an absolute doddle when the time came)!

don't worry too much about the stories of woe you read on here - whilst there is a mountain of excellent information and some very helpful people here, as others have said it's easy to forget that almost everyone posting is in a pickle of some sort, so it's not necessarily a true reflection of how hard (or not) it is to get a mortgage for most people

Eve1975

This is an interesting. I posted on the bankruptcy forum the other day regarding Halifax and how I was treated.
I went bankrupt coming up 6 years ago so will be off my file this summer. Me and my partner will be looking to buy a house and he should have around £100,000 for a deposit, so we will have a LTV of around 50%. I phoned the Halifax to get a feel of where I stand as a discharged bankrupt. I was told in no uncertain terms as I was not a customer of theirs and was bankrupt previously they would never lend to me and would find it hard to find anyone to lend to me! She was quite rude, and the call actually brought me to tears I am ashamed to say. I put a complaint in afterwards about how she spoke to me.
Your post has given me hope, but I will not be going to Halifax after how this lady spoke to me.