Nationwide Mortgage Brokers

Dadavester

Hi all,

First time poster here but have found the information on these forums very useful in the past

me and my partner are FTBs and have been using Nationwide mortgage brokers for our mortgage. I wish we hadn't, normally i would have dealt with it myself but my partner was due to give birth. And as such i didnt want the hassle of dealing with it myself while also having a new baby.

We started the process on 20/1/14 and it is still going on. The broker keeps asking for information saying they need no more then asking more and additional surveys have needed carrying out. While this has been an incredible annoyance the latest piece of information they are asking for has set off alarm bells.

As my partner is now on maternity leave we are being asked for a letter stating that she is going back to work full-time (understandable as the mortgage company, natwest, wants to make sure we can make the payments). However we do not know what hours my partner will be going to work on.

when i explained this to the broker he said "just type and sign a letter saying she is going back full-time as the natwest will never check" when i queried this as basically lying he said "well you don't know what she is going back as and if you say it could be 3 days they might knock the mortgage back"

This has made me very uneasy as, in my opinion, that is fraud and if it was the case that they needed this all along then we have been strung along paid our fees and extra money for surveys to find out that we probably will not be able to have the mortgage.

Can people give me some advice on firstly should we sign this letter(i'm leaning towards no) and secondly if it turns out we can't get a mortgage what recourse we would have against countrywide?

Edit: Mean countrywide not nationwide.

TMSL

Ahh good old Countrywide, telling lies, I would report this to the countrywide compliance officer and lodge a complaint with them, it may also be worth raising with the FCA -(Financial Conduct Authority), the adviser is encouraging you to commit fraud ultimately to hit his/her targets. Shocking

dunstonh

Agree with above comment.

Also be aware that you would be just as guilty if you committed fraud as the person telling you to commit fraud. So, you shouldnt do it.

Dadavester

Thanks! that was my thought as well, hence the hesitancy on my part to just go ahead with what he said.

I cant believe they would tell customers to do that.

It would seem like its complaint time

kingstreet

A decent broker would have asked for the return to work letter which is issued before maternity leave starts as that is now requested by many lenders.

They would go on to check affordability with another dependent and with any subsequent reduction in income to ensure it still fits that lender's affordability model.

betmunch

I couldnt agree more with the people saying to complain to the compliance team about this.

When I worked at Countrywide I made a complaint about my manager and they took it very seriously indeed. In my opinion they are the only department worth a damn in Countrywide mortgage services!

With regards to what you actually put in your letter, I would get the missus to speak with the HR team and discuss her return to work date and what hours she intends to work, then in the letter you can put:

"Applicant intended to return to work on xx/xx/xx and will be working x days a week, this equates to a salary of £xx,xxx."

I would have also checked with the Mortgage Advisor for what figures and dates are going to be acceptable to the lender, but I am afraid I would trust your mortgage advisor as far as I could throw his office!!!

Good Luck

Leon_W

You started the process back in January, at that point your partner was obviously pregnant, so what were your plans then and what did you tell the broker ?

Dadavester

Yes my partner was about 5 months at the time. The Broker asked us what our plans were and we told him it would be between 3-5 days a week with the decision based on childcare arrangements and how flexible my partners workplace could be. Nothing was mentioned about needing this letter at that stage.

When we first applied we worked out mine and my partners yearly income for the coming year, this included my partners drop in income due to SMP and was told this passed the affordability criteria.

The application has had to be "re-keyed" once back at the end of April due to length of time this has been going on (as stated above additional surveys were needed). As i have never worked in this industry or know anyone who does i feel a bit vulnerable, as i have no way of checking if what is being said is normal.

Leon_W

It's because it has gone on so long then. There would have been no need for the letter if it had all completed quickly.


So what hours is she going back on ? All you can do is confirm your intentions.