Refused a mortgage cause new house is too far from work

First_time_home_buyer_2

This is so frustrating

My husband and I applied for mortgage with Post Office (bank of Ireland).
We got mortgage in principle and when we went through the full application they assured us we were very likely, if not guaranteed to get the mortgage.

We have now been refused on the grounds the house we have made an offer on is too far for my husband to travel. Driving from home to work during rush hour would take 1.5h however my husband is able to put down his own hours which means he could avoid rush hour by starting at 10am and get to and from work in 1 hour. There is also a direct train that takes 1h but the person who spoke to my husband on the phone thinks it would still take him more that 1.5h each way. The argument was that he is a main earner and he is very unlikely to keep up the traveling for long.
Our mortgage advisor from Post Office was very surprised by this and said to give her couple of days to try to get the case overturned. She did not say how likely it was to happen however she did tell us she had 3 cases overturned this month.
Mu worry is what if they approve it now and then somebody changes their mind later on? Maybe just before we pick up the keys?
Should we try a different lender and go via mortgage broker? This is the only application we've done so far and we have not had any other credit checks.

Thanks everyone for advice!

First_time_home_buyer_2

Just wanted to add they said if we find a house closer to my husband's work they would give us the money. We went a bit further out of London because we could get a lot more for our money. We have seen more than 15 houses in person and countless online and we really love this one, nothing else compares

HappyMJ

You could go back to them and explain that the DWP requires claimants to spend up to 1.5 hours each way to get to/from a workplace

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2283162/Commute-hours-day-lose-benefits-jobseekers-told-tough-new-Universal-Credit-plan.html

As 1.5 hours is the maximum time it would take during rush hour to get to/from his workplace then it is a commutable distance.

How do they know what your husband is willing to do. I would definitely travel for 1.5 hours each way for the right money. Not a minimum wage job though it would have to pay at least £120/day to be worth it.

edit: just noticed you said you live in London. It's very difficult to find an affordable house with some land anywhere within an hour of central London. I'd speak to a broker. Work location and home location should not matter.

AnotherJoe

Should we try a different lender and go via mortgage broker?

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Yes.

ACG

First_time_home_buyer wrote: »

We have now been refused on the grounds the house we have made an offer on is too far for my husband to travel. Driving from home to work during rush hour would take 1.5h however my husband is able to put down his own hours which means he could avoid rush hour by starting at 10am and get to and from work in 1 hour. There is also a direct train that takes 1h but the person who spoke to my husband on the phone thinks it would still take him more that 1.5h each way.

You could go on to qjump.co.uk and take a screenshot of the train journey on there? It confirms the train time.

Also you could go on google maps at 10am and show the trip on there and how long it takes?

Goldiegirl

Just out of curiosity, where is your husband's office and where do you want to live?

Generally a 1.5 hour journey to and from work is not unusual in the London area.

Don't know where the bank of Ireland underwriters are situated, but if they're not in the south east, perhaps they don't understand about typical commutes around London.

amnblog

This should have all been dealt with prior to application.

The disadvantage of going direct to Lender and poorly trained/inexperienced staff.

I suspect you will need a new lender and a broker.

Kynthia

That's bizarre as I know lots of people who commute 1.5 hours each way in London, including myself for the last 12 years. I'd talk to an independent mortgage broker.

Floxxie

I used to commute from Leicester to London and used to leave home at 6 and arrive at work at 8.45. I wasn't the only one, the train was full of people!

audigex

Rather him than me - but 1h30 is by no means an unusually long commute. It's on the long side of things, sure, but well within "what normal people do on a regular basis".

That said, I had a commute of just over an hour and lasted less than a year before I started looking for another job, I couldn't stand it... although that could be the terrible road I had to drive.

Has your husband had any history of doing a commute of this length? If he can show he's done it for a couple of years before now, that may help, but if not then I'm sure you can find a lender who won't care.

First_time_home_buyer_2

Thank you all for your comments!
We feel a lot better about this now and have not lost hope we can still get our dream home

We have lived in London for 10 years but for the quality of life and a bit of a quiet time my husband is willing to commute. It is a well paid job and he's been with this company for nearly 10 years now and is not thinking of changing jobs soon.
Before we decided where we are going to move we took commuting into consideration and it's what we are willing to do.
We have emailed our mortgage advisor with all the info on trains and driving including screen shots last night. My husband works in London Bridge and the house is in Kent, Sittingbourne.

I work in Debenhams in London and many of my co-workers travel 1.5h to work and for a lot lower wage! We know this is not uncommon commute but as one of you mentioned the undertaker may not realise what the average commute in London is.
We will wait until next week if if they do not change their decision will use a mortgage broker.

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