Alexander Hall mortgage brokers

heatherh765

Hi,
I just wanted to warn people about the atrocious service I received from London-based Alexander Hall mortgage brokers. I was referred to them through Foxtons estate agents.
I was trying to get a buy to let mortgage on a flat above a parade of shops which included a fried chicken shop. The mortgage advisor told me this was unlikely to be a problem and went ahead and made the application to The Mortgage Works after I'd up Alexander Hall's (excessive) fee of £500 plus the mortgage company fee.
The mortgage was subsequently refused and when I spoke to the mortgage lender on the phone they told me it was clearly there in their criteria that they don't lend to properties within the same block as catering establishments. Surely the mortgage advisor should have known this and advised me that the application was likely to be unsuccessful.
Alexander Hall agreed to refund me their fee, but not the fee I;d paid to the mortgage company. However, it took them over four weeks to refund me this £500 due to a catalogue of errors in the payments team. :mad:
Considering their fee is quite a lot higher than other brokers in London and they have a swanky office on Park Lane, you would think they would offer better service. My advice to everyone is that if you're looking for a property in London and Foxtons try to refer you Alexander Hall, don't do it! I've received much better advice from other, cheaper, brokers since.

Dave_Ham

It is incredibly tricky to get finance with such a shop operating under the flat.

Given you have received mortgage based services since, if you have managed to secure a mortgage I would be interested which lender?

I do not think their fee is excessive for London, although given their level of service then I can see why you would. TMW were never going to accept this application.

All the best

kingstreet

I believe the adviser and the estate agent are actually the same firm.

Wh05apk

I am not sure that this is within their "published" criteria, however the advisor should have queried this with them first, as such I feel you have grounds for complaint to get your fees refunded, if clearly it would have been declined on application had the full facts been known.

Let_Us_See

Request refund of your valuation fee. This application would never have been successful with TMW.

Let_Us_See

Often the flat above is purchased as part of the ground floor commercial retail unit, and the problem comes when the "above commercial" flat is either separated from the rest of the unit, or the flats are purpose built. Flats above commercial premises ARE mortgageable, but above fast food outlets, off licences, convenience stores (basically, anything smelly or noisey in evening) will be difficult to mortgage.

ACG

Im just going to match everyone elses comments, the advisor should have known this would never have gone through - any costs you have incurred i would be seeking from the broker - they should be checking obvious things like this.

As for the £500 fee, its high based on the service you have received but its not actually a high fee. Most brokers i know charge this as a minimum and were up north where things are generally less than the capital.

heatherh765

It is high compared to the two London-based mortgage advisers I have spoken to since - over £100 higher.

I have had to refer this to the FOA as Alexander Hall won't give me the mortgage application fee back. :mad:

@Dave Ham and Brazuca I have ended up buying a different flat. My circumstances are such that I can only get a mortgage with TMW as I need a Buy to Let mortgage based on rental income. I think other mortgage companies would lend for properties over commercial premises but I guess even they are tightening up now. And it's especially difficult if the premises in question have an catering licence... given the plague of fired chicken shops that are taking over our high streets, this is only going to get worse.
The flat in question in my case was in a well-kept 1930s block of flats with a promenade of shops on the ground floor which included a bakery and a fried chicken outlet. The flat was two floors up and not directly over the catering premises, but apparently TMW won't give a mortgage to anything that's within the same block.

Let_Us_See

You state "My circumstances are such that I can only get a mortgage with TMW as I need a Buy to Let mortgage based on rental income."

The vast majority of BTL mortgage schemes are all based on rental income. Were you told TMW was the only lender able to lend based on rental income?

Stick to your guns and demand refund of all fees, especially as it will cost Alexander Hall more to contest complaint at FOS.

I re-iterate that any decent and experienced adviser, knowing the flat was above commercial premises, should have queried what kind of commercial outlet were in the locality BEFORE submitting an application.

GMS

Let_Us_See wrote: »

You state "My circumstances are such that I can only get a mortgage with TMW as I need a Buy to Let mortgage based on rental income."

The vast majority of BTL mortgage schemes are all based on rental income. Were you told TMW was the only lender able to lend based on rental income?

Probably to do with having insufficient salary. The majority of BTL lenders require a minimum income in addition to the rental income supporting the mortgage

koexelek

Let_Us_See wrote: »

Request refund of your valuation fee. This application would never have been successful with TMW.

If The Mortgage Works did not carry out a survey, they would not charge.
However, if a survey fee has been paid, they will normally "hold back " about £100 of that for just looking at the case, regardless of whether they actually did a survey or not.
If this was the case, I'd be asking for the broker to refund you, as they were negligent in their initial research and advice in recommending a lender who's criteria was not satisfied