Can't you get a mortgage on a property that recently sold?

Mortgage_Moog

I have just read on an old thread on here (from 2011) that mortgage lenders won't give someone a mortgage if the property they're buying hasn't been lived in for at least 6 months by the current owners. Is that correct?

I bought a property in August 2016 and I'm planning on moving in summer 2017 so this won't really concern me as I'll have been here around 9 to 12 months. I didn't know this though and I'm trying to grow my knowledge of the whole property market.

AnnieO1234

This is a good article on why the 6 month rule was imposed:

http://foxdavidson.co.uk/blog/6-month-mortgage-rule/

kingstreet

Mortgage_Moog wrote: »

some mortgage lenders won't give someone a mortgage if the property they're buying hasn't been owned for at least 6 months by the current owners

That is now quite accurate.

Mortgage_Moog

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

This is a good article on why the 6 month rule was imposed:

http://foxdavidson.co.uk/blog/6-month-mortgage-rule/

Thanks but that I can only see that article talking about buying/selling/buying/selling within 6 months. If you were to just sell and go into renting and the buyer was trying to take out their first mortgage, would the 6 month rule stop them?

I get why it was brought in but it seems unfair on someone who bought and then changed their mind or had to move for work etc.

ReadingTim

You really need to specifically articulate your query if you want a proper answer, as you're currently mumbling half-remembered gobbledegook from half a decade ago.

Are you asking:

can the same person mortgage or remortgage a property less than 6 months since that property was last mortgaged or remortgaged?

or

can a different person mortgage a property less than 6 months since that property was last mortgaged or remortgaged?

or

will some lenders refuse to lend against a property which has been uninhabited for more than 6 months?

If you can't even ask the question properly, what hope does anyone have of giving an answer?!?

AnotherJoe

Mortgage_Moog wrote: »

Thanks but that I can only see that article talking about buying/selling/buying/selling within 6 months. If you were to just sell and go into renting and the buyer was trying to take out their first mortgage, would the 6 month rule stop them?

Yes because they would be buying a property that was bought less than 6 months previously

I get why it was brought in but it seems unfair on someone who bought and then changed their mind or had to move for work etc.

Many things are unfair, for example the extra SDLT on 2nd properties catches out people in divorce / separation type situations where they really dont have a second home in the terms that were envisaged when the law was created, they've been caught up as innocent bystanders. Many years ago i moved into a newbuild and the people who moved in next to us put their house up for sale within a week, new job. This was well prior to the 6 month rule though.

At least, as that article says, there are some lenders who will make an exception.

Riggyman

At least some lenders will provide a mortgage on a house that is being sold again within six months. They may just want to know why.

My current house was damaged by a fire, sold to a developer, repaired/re-decorated and then bought by me, all within 6 months. Mortgage provider (Newcastle Building Society) happy with that.

Mortgage_Moog

After reading into the law about this I have found it stated on several law sites that "any new buyers mortgage cant complete until at least 6 months after the date of the original purchase.".

Seeing as it takes 2 to 3 months to complete the mortgage application then it looks like in reality you could sell after around 3 or 4 months.

kingstreet

Mortgage_Moog wrote: »

After reading into the law about this I have found it stated on several law sites that "any new buyers mortgage cant complete until at least 6 months after the date of the original purchase.".

Seeing as it takes 2 to 3 months to complete the mortgage application then it looks like in reality you could sell after around 3 or 4 months.

There is no law.

It's a rule some lenders choose to apply, where some don't.

FWIW the lenders who do apply it may not accept an application until the six months is up, so it isn't only about completion.