Are HSBC Slow

simonrenishawsmith

Our buyer is getting a mortgage through HSBC and we are hoping to move before christmas

However the buyer seems to have taken an age to have applied for his mortgage. Estate agent has chased him today and he said he applied online on monday and is going to hsbc today for a further appt

I dont understand why this might be needed?, do they take documents on at branch, does this then have to go through snail mail or are things done electronically and uploaded?, just a tad worried it seems to be taking a while, and that this will add further delays

When do hsbc then instruct the surveyor?

Anyone with Experiance of HSBC please put my mind at rest

pinkteapot

We remortgaged to HSBC a couple of months ago. We applied online but then had to take original documents into branch. We could have posted them in but we figured it'd be quicker to take them into branch.

However, once we got to the branch it turned out that they would take a photocopy of our documents, certify them, then put them in their internal post to the mortgage service centre.

To be honest, I think moving before Christmas is optimistic as it's less than a month. I once sold a flat with no onward chain to a pure cash buyer who didn't bother with a survey and it still took five weeks. Auction properties must complete in four weeks and buyers have to be exceptionally organised to meet this deadline.

Has your buyer's solicitor ordered the local searches yet? Depending on which council it is, these can take a few weeks to come back.

simonrenishawsmith

Thanks!
Am i right in think though that HSBC wont instruct a surveyor unless they are likely to approve the mortgage?

movilogo

However the buyer seems to have taken an age to have applied for his mortgage

So your buyer was slow! Your title says HSBC was slow.

No idea why buyers do all other things rather than applying for mortgage.

In fact, survey, searches etc. are useless unless mortgage is approved.

pinkteapot

simonrenishawsmith wrote: »

Thanks!
Am i right in think though that HSBC wont instruct a surveyor unless they are likely to approve the mortgage?

I think so. Some lenders survey first, then approve the individual as a borrower. Some approve the borrower then check the house. If I remember rightly, HSBC are the latter, so your buyer's budget, spending, debt etc will be checked before the survey is booked. But this is just going off my best recollection so don't hold me to that. I think that after the survey, it will then be subject to a final yay or nay, checking both sides.

There's also a chance you'll have two surveyors round of course. HSBC will do a valuation survey. Your buyer may upgrade that to a Homebuyers or full survey, or they may pay HSBC to do the valuation and their own independent surveyor to do a report for them. We went for an independent for our last move, so our seller had two separate surveyor visits.

RedSky1974

I've just exchanged (completing tomorrow) and mortgage is with First Direct (HSBC).

They have been exceptional with me, very quick and no complaints at all. They much surpassed my expectations considering the mortgage brokers I spoke to told me to avoid them because they are slow.

It probably depends more on whether the buyers are slow, rather than HSBC being slow.

If the buyers are on the ball with applying, sending off the CORRECT information, responding to enquiries within a day, everything should move quickly

pinkteapot

Our remortgage was incredible - application to completion in less than two weeks! :eek:

We'll be an outlier though as they decided they didn't need to bother doing a valuation survey on the house.

simonrenishawsmith

movilogo wrote: »

So your buyer was slow! Your title says HSBC was slow.

No idea why buyers do all other things rather than applying for mortgage.

In fact, survey, searches etc. are useless unless mortgage is approved.

Sorry that is proberly right, yea it does surprise me to!, the trouble is you cant stop worrying!

Jonesy88

We're applying with HSBC.

We obtained a DIP online and once our offer was accepted booked to see their mortgage person. He took all the details (income/expenses etc) and booked a 2nd appointment for exactly 2 weeks later. Apparently the mortgage decision takes them 7-10 days. Approval was confirmed via telephone about 5 days later.

2nd appointment - signed for the mortgage. Only after this were we allowed to book the valuation.

Next working day - call from the valuation company and paid the fees. They are currently awaiting a date from the seller.

Once the valuation is done, hsbc advise us it's takes approx 3 days for them to receive it and then another 3 days to send out the offer documents.

ytfcmad

Yes they are slow, very slow and ours was just a remortgage, they also cocked a few things up. I complained to the right person and ended up with a case of wine and £400 put into the bank account my monthly payments come from.

binkyb14

I've had an offer from HSBC for the house I'm currently buying. I've found them to be extremely efficient and speedy. Have been impressed as was expecting it to be a real pain in the backside!