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The six month rule
Npadgham
Posts: 15 Forumite
Hi all,
Me and my husband have had a real uphill battle in the last year trying to buy a family home for us and our two young boys. We are onto our fourth (and hopefully final) property.
None of the prior purchases fell through due to us so we're feeling more than a little weary of it all. To make matters worse we decided to sell our house (completed Aug 13) and 'temporarily' move in with my husbands parents. We had a good cash buyer and thought being chain free would put us in a good position. This arrangement was only meant to last for 2-3 months at most but 6 months on we're still here.
Luckily it's all been fine and they have a big house with plenty of space for us but I'm sure you can appreciate how tired I am of living under someone else's roof.
Anyway onto my actual question:
The house we are currently buying was bought by the previous owners in Oct 13 as a run-down 2 bed bungalow. It's since been/is being extended to a 3 bed chalet and having a complete refurb (new windows, heating system, kitchens, bathrooms, everything). We love it so much!
We are due to complete on 7th April (STC etc) and exchange ASAP. Our solicitor advised us that as the property had been owned for less than six months she would have to inform our lender (HSBC). They subsequently asked for details of all the work being done which was sent back to them on Wednesday.
We'd never heard of this six month rule before and we're now worried that for the sake of 2 weeks we're going to lose our mortgage offer. Six months is on 23rd April.
Does anyone know how likely it is that HSBC will be happy to continue?
I know we could wait until 23rd and then complete but our current deal expires on 15th April which would mean not only losing preferential rates but also a £1,000 arrangement fee.
Any advice welcome!!
Me and my husband have had a real uphill battle in the last year trying to buy a family home for us and our two young boys. We are onto our fourth (and hopefully final) property.
None of the prior purchases fell through due to us so we're feeling more than a little weary of it all. To make matters worse we decided to sell our house (completed Aug 13) and 'temporarily' move in with my husbands parents. We had a good cash buyer and thought being chain free would put us in a good position. This arrangement was only meant to last for 2-3 months at most but 6 months on we're still here.
Luckily it's all been fine and they have a big house with plenty of space for us but I'm sure you can appreciate how tired I am of living under someone else's roof.
Anyway onto my actual question:
The house we are currently buying was bought by the previous owners in Oct 13 as a run-down 2 bed bungalow. It's since been/is being extended to a 3 bed chalet and having a complete refurb (new windows, heating system, kitchens, bathrooms, everything). We love it so much!
We are due to complete on 7th April (STC etc) and exchange ASAP. Our solicitor advised us that as the property had been owned for less than six months she would have to inform our lender (HSBC). They subsequently asked for details of all the work being done which was sent back to them on Wednesday.
We'd never heard of this six month rule before and we're now worried that for the sake of 2 weeks we're going to lose our mortgage offer. Six months is on 23rd April.
Does anyone know how likely it is that HSBC will be happy to continue?
I know we could wait until 23rd and then complete but our current deal expires on 15th April which would mean not only losing preferential rates but also a £1,000 arrangement fee.
Any advice welcome!!
0
Comments
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It is to do with money laundering regs. The lender will carry out an investigation and this will take time and may slow the process, but it does not necessarily mean that the mortgage will be refused.
Kingstreet or one of the other brokers may be able to give you a steer re how HSBC are likely to deal with this, but I'm afraid it may be just one of those times when you have to take a deep breath and wait it out.
There is a similar thread here
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4680861I'm a retired employment solicitor. Hopefully some of my comments might be useful, but they are only my opinion and not intended as legal advice.0 -
No idea what HSBC policy is, sorry.
This may also be classed as a newbuild, if it's been renovated/converted and a lower max LTV applied. This could be a problem on a high LTV case.I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.0 -
Sorry to hijack...
We purchased the rest of our shared ownership property, does this count in the 6 month rule if we wanted to then sell on?0 -
That would depend on the lender being used by the purchaser. They would need to check that lender's policy.Sorry to hijack...
We purchased the rest of our shared ownership property, does this count in the 6 month rule if we wanted to then sell on?
There are so few lenders willing to accept former SO property, they won't have a big pool of lenders to go at.I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.0
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