Halifax mortgage application

MarkT1

Hi all, I currently have a mortgage application going through with Halifax, all seems to be going okay so far, I have been told that I have been accepted subject to valuation by my broker, I just have a quick question, does anyone know the lead time on the valuation? The payment was taken on the 20th May and getting a bit concerned I haven't heard from them yet. My broker has said that they are busy and waiting for someone to be available however I am just a bit concerned that it seems to be taking quite a while. Also, is it a good sign that they have taken the valuation fee already?

Thank you very much for any help.

kingstreet

Valuation fee is debited at submission of application.

Ring Colleys (LBG in-house survey firm) and ask them what's happening;-

0345 602 2222

http://www.colleys.co.uk/

MarkT1

Thank you very much, I will ring them tomorrow and ask when I am likely to get the valuation done, is the delay something you would be concerned about, or is it just one of the waits with the application process?

Let_Us_See

In my part of the country Colleys' valuations as quite quick. Agree with Kingstreet, phone Colleys and provide the postal code of your property, and they will confirm if it has been completed, or the date it is booked. Apart from this they will not disclose any other information.

kingstreet

We don't know if Colleys are short of surveyor time in your area, or they are having difficulty making an inspection appointment.

Ask the selling agent if they have had a call for access. The answer will tell you which issue applies.

MarkT1

Thank you for your response, hopefully they are just busy and struggling to get an appointment booked. I am buying directly from my landlord (no estate agent) so the access should be booked via myself as I am currently living in the house I am hoping to purchase. I am off work for a couple of weeks, so there will be no issue with gaining access once I have heard when they want to come and assess the property.

MarkT1

Spoken to them and they have nobody available and they don't for the foreseeable future although the person is going to try to chase it up with their manager as it has been waiting for quite a while now, they don't have a problem taking the money though! Is it worth forgetting about the home buyers report and just getting the standard valuation done?

kingstreet

The valuation fee is payable on submission and is nothing to do with Colleys.

For a long time now, we've been recommending you have only the mortgage report and valuation done by the lender surveyor and have any extended inspection done by a surveyor of your choice.

This is because corporate survey firms like Colleys have fewer surveyors who can do more in-depth inspections.

Contact broker/Halifax and ask them to do mortgage report and valuation only.

MarkT1

Thank you kingstreet, it would seem I have been mislead by my broker then as they recommended the homebuyers report, I will contact them again and see if that would make the process a bit quicker, I only have 9 working days left until I am back at work so if it is not within the next two weeks I won't be available until the end of June. Thank you for your help!

Edit - spoken to them again and it wouldn't make any difference on the type of survey, they don't have anyone available at all so got to wait and hope a cancellation comes in before next Thursday otherwise the survey cannot be done for quite some time.. What a nightmare!!

kingstreet

Your broker should be contacting their Halifax BDM and asking what Colleys are doing to sort this. If they don't have cover they should panel it to another firm which does.

MarkT1

The broker has spoken to them and they have tried the panel with no luck as well, the broker is going back to Halifax today to try to get it moving, but they haven't heard of such a delay for quite some time. Does Halifax only use Colleys or could I try to find a surveyor? Or even try to find a surveyor who works for Colleys? Thank you for your help.