FTB - Should we ditch Nationwide?

gemaface

Hi all

We have had a lot of bad luck regarding buying our first flat:

Flat #1 - Sale fell through after valued £20k less than asking price.
Flat #2 - Sale fell through after seller demanded £30k more before exchange.
Flat #3 - Sale fell through after vendor suffered personal illness

We have just found flat #4. My question though is whether we should stick with Nationwide? They have been a pain to deal with, regularly losing documents (being sent in and out), there have also been issues with communication (so bad that a manager fast-tracked one mortgage application for us after weeks of promised call-backs failed to materialise) - however we have always gone back to them as they hold a year's worth of our documents.

Now the new rules have come in and we have to wait until May 7th for a 4 hour telephone interview. This seems a little extreme - especially since we have already had mortgage offers from them (2 of which are still valid). This wait has made us think about our other options though...and if we should ditch NW and go with someone else?

We are married and have a joint income of £45,520. I have no debt but my husband has student loans. We do not drive and have no plans for children. We have rented for around 16 years and can manage our outgoings (we are both 35 and plan to work until we die!) The flat is for £235,000 and we need to borrow £164,500. We are looking for a 5-yr fixed rate deal.

We know that all providers are going to be slow going at the moment - but just wondered if anyone had any recommendations for good FTB rates or just a provider who is easier to deal with?

stephenni1971

If you use a good broker they will do all the chasing for you.

A 10 day wait for a 4 hour interview is just ridiculous... as I mentioned on another threas MMR could well be a good thing for brokers and the banks and building societies have gone into ULTRA conservative mode and their systems just can't cope.

There are better 5 year fixes about than NW....

gemaface

The 10-day wait is nothing - they originally offered me the 15th May until they realised I already had an offer from them. As a side-note, when I called up the call centre, nobody knew what department I was supposed to talk too. I was transferred to 5 depts, then sent back to where I started....? Their Twitter account also advised me to call three different incorrect phone numbers. Seems to be a bit of an omnishambles at NW at the moment and it doesn't instill much faith in them.

Any recommendations for good brokers/companies? I've been doing most of the running around myself over the past 9 months and am ready to let a professional take over!

BLUEBIE

I would recommend going through a broker, so stress free.

I met mine on 09/04, got a DIP the same day, full app went in 10/04, valuation booked for 11/04, full offer on 23/04.

And he has dealt with all the paperwork.

Can recommend him if you pm me.

amnblog

All lenders are a pain to deal with. Give a broker the pain.