Nationwide Mortgage

the_wrat

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer and also new to this thread. I just wondered if any one had some advice/experience of using nationwide as a lender?

My girlfriend and I had an offer accepted on a maissonette about the 20th Jan 2013. We are using Countrywide Mortgages after a referral by a friend (won't be my friend much longer!) who found us a good 90% LTV mortgage with nationwide. Our application went in around the 25th and I received confirmaiton texts form the lender confirming receipt of application and a further text asking me to book in a valuation 2 days later. This is where the process became unstuck. The valuation came back saying there were signs of movement in the property and we'd need a structural engineers report. My broker was "unable" to get a hold of the valuation report so I contacted NW myself - no problem there. However, we had a building survey done and there was no movement. We have passed all credit checks etc and it's now sitting with the underwriters who are waiting for the valuation company to rework their valuation based on the building survey. There's been no further texts since notification of valuation survey booking.

My problem is - this has so far taken 7 weeks! Is it my FTB naivite or should it not take this long? Aside from my broker dragging his feet, does it really take nationwide 48 hours to send paperwork internally? I'm getting pressure from the estate agents and worried about the vendor putting the property back on the market. Additionally, I'm expecting a retention to be put on the mortgage as the survey highlighted some roof repairs that needed doing as a "Category 3".

Am I tearing my hair out for no reason and this is normal? Or should I switch broker & lender? Apologies for the "War N Peace" thread but thanks for any help

kingstreet

Are you buying a Countrywide property and using a Countrywide mortgage "adviser?"

If so, they should be running around sorting this for you. You are paying them a fee and they are getting about 0.35% commission from the lender.

I can't say how long such a thing should take, as every one is different.

Crashandburn

No excuse for poor communication from the Broker.

However, doesn't matter which broker sent this case in, it sounds like the surveyor has caused the issue and is no doubt adding to the delays.

I would find out who did the survey and contact them direct. You need to see if they have seen all the reports from the lender and signed them off. Might be Esurv.

You could call the broker and ask him to chase the surveyors or indeed call them yourself.

Nationwide are notorious for dragging out the most simple of processes

kingstreet

Countrywide manages all Nationwide's survey business, from its office in Swindon, near Nationwide HQ IIRC. AFAIK the rule about the surveyor being independent of the selling agent no longer applies.

Countrywide selling
Countrywide arranging mortgage
Countrywide surveyors
Countrywide conveyancing?

the_wrat

Thanks for the advice folks. It's not a Countrywide property, we are using the broker on a reference from a friend (I since found out that said friend is due some money as a "finder's fee" but as I am new to this, I went with it). We had a building survey done and this came back with a few cat 3 issues - none of which related to the initial issue in the valuation. There's been a general lack of communication from the broker and having told us, after having sent our survey to Nationwide, that our valuation had been accepted and was being sent to the underwriters, it now turns out that the underwriters have asked the initial survey company (Countrywide Surveys I believe) to rewrite the valuation. 7 weeks and counting; I'm wondering what's going to come first: the vendors pulling out or Christmas.