Getting seriously P***ed off with Halifax

topbanana1985

Im having a nightmare with Halifax trying to get a mortgage.
Started the process end of feb, timeline so far:
- 'initial disclosure document' on 22nd feb,
- 17th March sent them all requested documents, payslips ect, along with application.
- 'Decision in principle' on 19th March.
- 25th March requested more documents/proof of repayment vehicle (as its interest only) I sent said requested documents that very same day.
- 26th March valuation/survey done on property we want to buy.
- 10th April phoned them to ask progress only to be told 'one of your documents came through fuzzy on the fax and we cant read it, so you need to resend it' (well thank you for tell me! Had we not phoned you, would you have bothered to tell us this?!) I resent said document that very same day, 10 mins after the call to them.
- 28th April Halifax emailed and requested a document I had already sent them a month ago in March, when I told them they already had said document their response was 'oh yeah, so we do, sorry'
- 2nd May valuations/checks done on my repayment vehicles
- 8th May afternoon, told: 'one of the mortgage applicants has had a birthday, we need to decrease the mortgage term by 1 year because of this, you may need to do another/new application, we will look into it and give a response within 16 working hours' (said birthday was 1st May)
- today/9th May heard nothing yet.

Delays all caused by Halifax, we have jumped through all of their hoops only to be delayed and knocked back each time.
I am severely !!!!ed off and very worried that we wont get the mortgage. If we dont get the mortgage not only have they wasted months of our time, but we will also be out of pocket by £500 for the survey and £195 paid to the mortgage broker.

All that was the situation a couple of weeks ago, since then, there has been no progress, We have put in a complaint only for Halifax to ask for yet more documents (some of which, yet again they already have!) and being told, 'computer says no' Does no one have human compassion or common sense any more, or is the entire world now run by computers? I am amazed they remember how to breathe without a computer telling them how to do so.
We fit their criteria, we can afford the mortgage, we have complied with every single one of their requests no matter how silly, sat back and endured their delays, what the hell are they playing at.

Whats even more annoying is Ive been a customer of theirs for years, I currently have a halifax mortgage on the home Im in at the moment, and the monthly payments Im on at the moment are more than what I would be on with the new mortgage.

I am on the verge of losing my dream house, and I have a 40% deposit, only looking to borrow £225,000. Apparently this is too much to ask of a bank who has millions. Any one know of any alternatives to getting a mortgage?

amnblog

It sounds like you applied direct to lender.

Have you asked for the case to be referred to a supervisor or manager?

haras_nosirrah

if you sent them the documents on the 17th march you can't really say you started the process in february

can't you go repayment - this would probably sort out your issues pretty quickly as this is likely to be the main delay. They will be assessing your application affordability as if you are paying repayment anyway

topbanana1985

It was via an advisor and the complaint is currently with a manager (has been for the past week), but still seems to be going no where.

The problem isnt with the interest only/repayment options (so I have been told) the problem lies with them delaying it so much that it passed an applicants birthday and it then took the mortgage term past retirement age, so they had to redo the application at 1 year less, which has now thrown their system out of whack due to the new mmr rules.
So despite us applying in march under the old rules, now because of their delays they have put us under the new rules and they are having trouble putting us through their new system, due mainly to the fact that we have 3 applicants on the mortgage.

Halifax have already admitted that they have delayed it, and given some wrong info, as well as requesting things they didnt need or already had, but yet dont seem willing to correct their mistakes.

haras_nosirrah

are you trying to use all 3 incomes on the application? They will put up to 4 people on the application but accept 2 incomes (3rd with discretion)

haras_nosirrah

this is the interest only criteria - you may want to check you meet it
Repayment plans

The table below shows the repayment plans we accept and the evidence required in each case. It also shows the methods we use to assess whether a repayment plan meets our lending criteria. This information is only a guide. A mortgage offer will only be issued once we have confirmed that the evidence supplied meets our criteria.
Repayment planEvidence requiredAssessment methodEndowment (UK)

Both with profits and unitised plans.
Copy of latest projection statement dated within last 12 months.
Endowment companies will present three growth rates to a customer with the middle one (for example 6%) being the most likely projected outcome. We allow up to 100% of projected amount using the middle % figure.
Stocks and Shares ISA (UK)

Only UK based investments quoted within the FTSE index held in sterling are acceptable

Unit trusts / Open Ended Investment Companies (UK)

Investment Bonds (UK)
Copy of latest statement dated within last 12 months.
We will compare the value of the ISA/OEIC/Investment Bond with the amount of interest only lending required, taking into account the remaining term of the mortgage and future market volatility.
The valuation we will assign to the investment is 80% of the current value which must be greater than £50000
Stocks and Shares (UK)

Only shares quoted within the FTSE index held in sterling are acceptable
Copy of share certificates, nominee account statement or confirmation from a recognised stock broker containing evidence of share holdings together with their valuation.
See Stocks and Shares ISA.
Pension (UK)
Copy of latest projection statement dated within last 12 months.
For the purposes of backing an interest only mortgage, a maximum of 25% of the current fund value with the current value to be greater than £1 million. Where customers are on a final salary pension scheme the lump sum can be used if it is greater than £250,000. Pensions can be combined to reach the £250,000 and there is no need for confirmation of the full fund value.
Sale of other residential property (UK)

Due to valuation and verification requirements this is restricted to properties within the UK.
Completed interest only - other residential property form and, if the mortgage lender is outside Lloyds Banking Group, a copy of the latest mortgage statement dated within last 12 months.
We will check the ownership of the other residential property and assess its value (Ownership of the other residential property must be in the same name as the applicants). We will compare the equity available in the property with the amount of interest only lending required. Current equity within the property must be over £50,000. We will use 80% of the current equity value of the property to support interest only lending. Please note that there is a minimum greater than £50,000 equity requirement for each individual property being used to support Interest Only lending.
Sale of other Residential Property (not yet purchased) (UK)

Due to valuation and verification requirements this is restricted to properties within the UK.
Property details, Acting Solicitor to confirm intended ownership of the second property, details of any loans to be secured against this property (Property valuation and land registry search carried out by us if needed).
We will confirm the intended ownership of the second property prior to offer on the new mortgage / further advance. Current equity within the property must be over £50,000. We will use 80% of the current equity value of the property to support Interest Only lending. Please note that there is a minimum greater than £50,000 equity requirement for each individual property being used to support Interest Only lending

topbanana1985

No only the 2 incomes are currently being used for it (25k and 22k)
The repayment vehicles (buy to let properties) have all been valued and accepted, we have received a letter confirming this also.

we spoke to Halifax last week and were told, 'as its gone beyond an applicants birthday and it will take him pass retirement, we need to either reduce the mortgage term or provide retirement income evidence, which ever option you pick, you are still eligible to borrow £225,000'

We opted for reducing the term by 1 year, and thats where the majority of problems have arisen.

But my main gripe is, its due to Halifaxs delays from the beginning, that its gone beyond this birthday in the first place. If Halifax had got their finger out and been competent from the start (rather than asking us for documents/payslips we had already given them, which they admitted to) then we wouldnt have been passed said birthday and we would have had our offer.

Funny_old_game

You seem to think it's a god given right you should have a mortgage.

Whether they are to blame or not, your in MMR world. Complaining may get you a couple of hundred quid, but not the loan.

There seems to be an issue around the application otherwise as others have stated it would fly through.

What are the ages of ALL applicants on the mortgage and when does the state say when they can collect their state pension.

topbanana1985

Not a god given right, but to be told that we shall be receiving the offer and then the very next day being told, 'oops, sorry, we cant give you the offer yet because an applicant has had a birthday, we have to make a change now'

Why does 1 year (in reality 2 months, since we started in march and the birthday was in may) turn it in to such a complicated thing. Surely its a simple case of adjusting the mortgage term, which is exactly what they told us, only now to delay it further.

If we had been told from the out set that we did not qualify or we are not going to be given an offer, then we would not have wasted alot of time and money, having been told several times that the next step is for it to go to offer and have them turn around and say 'actually, we need this document now, then we can make the offer' (even though several times they have asked for documents that we have already given them) When we tell them, said requested documents have already been given to them, the response is 'oh yes, so you have, we do already have them'. By doing this, it has wasted weeks, I cant imagine it being that difficult keeping a few documents together, especially for something such as this.

ages are 59, 62 and 29 (partners parents helping us to move back closer to our families, as Im self employed without 3 years accounts and partner has recently changed jobs, thus not been there quite long enough to 'meet criteria 100%' so his parents are the main applicants)

Halifax stated we could go up to the age of 70 without having to show retirement income (the 62 year old is all ready retired and in said retirement income, yet they keep requesting 'anticipated retirement income' for him. How can we anticipate the income he is already receiving. On top of getting us to reduce the mortgage term so that it doesnt take him beyond the age of 70. We originally asked for 8 year mortgage which was going through fine besides asking for documents they already had. FIL was 61 when we started, he then turned 62 just a day before we were told we should receive the offer.
We were then told if we reduce the mortgage term to 7 years, we can go back to the point of offer and still be able to borrow the required amount.

We have done everything they have asked, at no point at all have they told us we dont meet any of their criteria.
And we are still waiting since we havent been given an offer, but also still not been told that we do not meet their new rules/criteria.
They seem quite happy to keep us stringing along.
If they would just tell us, 'yes' or 'no' at least we will know whether we can relax a little or move on, rather than keeping us in limbo.

haras_nosirrah

225k over 7 years based on a stress test of around 7% they are going to be judging whether you can afford a mortgage of around 3400 a month (I know it is interest only but they base affordability on repayment). What incomes are you using?

Funny_old_game

haras_nosirrah wrote: »

225k over 7 years based on a stress test of around 7% they are going to be judging whether you can afford a mortgage of around 3400 a month (I know it is interest only but they base affordability on repayment). What incomes are you using?

Hey presto.....thanks. The minimum term is probably more than 7 years and is deemed unaffordable.

Once the figures are out it becomes clearer.