Refused a mortgage cause new house is too far from work

First_time_home_buyer_2

I also wanted to add that we have made a numerous trips to Sittingbourne area while looking at houses and it has taken us no longer than 1h10min- and that's when we encountered traffic! Without traffic, from getting into the car to arriving at destination it took 55min.

Goldiegirl

I live in Rainham, Kent.

Sittingbourne to London is a normal commute - nothing out of the ordinary all. It's not as if London Bridge is on the other side of London, either!

If I was you, I'd go to a broker, and let them find you a more sensible lender.

I'd ditch Bank of Ireland now - if they are like this at the application stage, they'll more and likely be difficult to deal with when the mortgage is completed as well.

A tip for when you move in - north Kent is well served by commuter coaches - Chalkwell Coaches may be worth a look, and there others too

nomoneytoday

I'd take a picture of Sittingbourne train station on a weekday morning. Hundreds of commuters to London.
Then there's the Kings Ferry (National Express) services 750 and 751 too..

kingstreet

Goldiegirl wrote: »

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.

Bristol.

It's the old Bristol & West HQ from before the BoI takeover.

kingstreet

Was the cost of travelling to and from work listed in your outgoings and if so, did your mortgage remain affordable?

They may relent on the time/distance if you can at least prove you can afford the cost and the mortgage.

Malmo

First_time_home_buyer wrote: »

I also wanted to add that we have made a numerous trips to Sittingbourne area while looking at houses and it has taken us no longer than 1h10min- and that's when we encountered traffic! Without traffic, from getting into the car to arriving at destination it took 55min.

That's not an unusual commuting duration by car. My one way commute is between 55 - 65 mins and this wasn't considered suspicious by our lender. I'd get an independent mortgage broker to find a sensible lender and ditch the BoI. If they were fussing over a much longer commute, say 2+ hrs one-way, then I'd see their point.

Thrugelmir

First_time_home_buyer wrote: »

I work in Debenhams in London

Are you going to continue to work?

Mummyto4kids

I go from derby to london a couple of days per week - the halifax wanted confirmation that this was a long standing arrangement and not a new thing plus that my employer pays travel costs. My train just before 6am was always heaving with commuters as it's only just over 1.5 hours from st pancras and worth it for lower house prices

SteveRadner

I used to live less than 4 miles from my job in central London but wasn't near a train station so at busy times my bus journey would take 1.5 hours. For people in and around London a 1.5 hour commute is not out of the ordinary.

fashionvictim

I work in London and a girl in my team lives in Sittingbourne. Her ticket is also cheaper than mine and I live closer to London.

She doesn't seem to have an issue with the commute.

Why would you drive to central London?