Nationwide DIP question

SephirothX

I got myself a DIP from Nationwide a few weeks back as I am looking to purchase my first home and the process surprised me. I thought the whole point of a DIP was so you could find out how much you could borrow, but it seems not with Nationwide.

During the application process the form asked me how much I would like to borrow - that is a big difference. I have a large deposit and put down that I would like to borrow 78k with a 52k deposit as I was looking at houses with a max value of 130k at the time. I got the DIP and Nationwide said they could indeed lend me that amount.

But what confused me is they never specified how much they would be willing to lend me. I am likely getting a promotion at work in the next couple of months which means a 10% or so pay rise so I have started looking at houses with a max value of 150k because the extra 20k allows me to get something I'm more happy with.

The problem I have is my DIP was based on a figure of 130k and as Nationwide didn't specify a max value the only way I can find out if they will lend me more is to edit my DIP application and do another credit check. This seems ridiculous. I am aware Nationwide do hard credit checks so I've no wish to do that again. I also do want to know how much I can borrow because the calculator on the Nationwide website suggests I can borrow closer to 100k.

Where do I go from here?

Elfbert

I'm afraid I don't know, but I asked and they told me how much they would lend me when I did my DIP with them. So - for future readers - just ask

You never know, OP, you might be able to call them up and ask anyway? They might have it on file even if they didn't tell you.

SephirothX

I went into a branch today and the woman said that Nationwide don't tell you how much you can borrow with a DIP. Just whether they can lend you what you ask for. Which is what I got.

That really defeats the point of a DIP... I'm not going to know how much I'm asking for until I get an offer accepted on a property, and without knowing how much I can borrow I don't know whether the offers I make are offers I can carry through. As such I either have to take another credit hit and risk being rejected for the higher amount, or shoot blind and hope for the best when I make the mortgage application.

Had I known this is how they do things I would never have gotten a DIP with Nationwide. Is it worth getting one with a different bank? Any you'd recommend? I understand some do soft credit checks, which may be better.

SephirothX

What an absolute faff Nationwide are.

I rang up today to see if I could find out and they wouldn't speak to me as I couldn't give a correct answer to the security question of how much I asked to borrow. Turns out they don't care about what is on your DIP. They were looking for the value in my edited application which I never completed because I didn't want another credit check. So I was confused.

I rang up again citing this value and they spoke to me. Apparently they won't tell me how much I can borrow and if I want that kind of information I have to make an appointment with a mortgage consultant who might be able to tell me.

I feel cheated - signing up for a DIP online with a hard credit check which is essentially useless because if I want to borrow anything higher or lower than the amount I specified I have to edit the application and get a new credit check. I don't want to guess because if I guess too high my DIP will get declined.

As such if I want to make an offer on a property over my DIP value I won't have a DIP in place for that amount, and I don't really want to make offers without having a DIP.

Think I'll go to a different bank. Any suggestions?

lcfcstephen

You can always use a broker. They'll give you an idea and having a broker by my side helped me. They will still give a DiP (at least mine did) and was a soft search and gave me an idea of what I could look at.

amnblog

If you had been using a broker in the first place you wouldn't have to keep going in to the branch and the broker would have told you..


1. if Nationwide is the right lender for you
2. if so how much they will lend you
3. how long you have to wait following confirmation of your promotion


There is a common misconception in the market that because lenders offer mortgages they know what they are doing when it comes to mortgage advice.

Typhoon2000

Yes I only got a DIP after having an offer accepted and then the same day I made an application with NW. My broker told me how much I could borrow from NW whilst I was house hunting.
Estate agent didn't need to see a DIP either, just spoke to my broker to ensure I was good for the offer.

kingstreet

Lenders produce certificates for the requested amount because borrowers tell them "if you put how much I can borrow on it, the EA will know what I can go upto."

So, the certificate is issued for the amount you want the EA to know about.

Then, someone comes along and says I want my DIP to say how much I can borrow...

FWIW on the broker DIP accept screen, it tells you both the requested amount and the maximum loan, so we get the best of both worlds.

SephirothX

I didn't think I would need a broker when you can apply for a DIP online as I thought a broker's main job was to find the best mortgage deal for you. I have already done the research on mortgage deals and decided Nationwide offer the best mortgages for my LTV, so I figured I would apply for a DIP for them so I know what kind of houses I should be looking at.

Apparently not and my DIP is worthless for properties above the amount I put in the application. It's a bit silly that I need a third party to tell me how much I could possibly borrow from Nationwide when Nationwide could just tell me themselves.

I might not want the estate agent to know how much I can afford to go up to, but I certainly want to know myself so that I'm not wasting time looking at 150k properties when the max I'm able to get is 140k or less. Certainly it should be up to the borrower whether they pass that detail on to the estate agent or a figure less than that. I mean, my DIP right now says I could buy a house up to 130k and it's quite possible that I go for one around 110k. I've been looking at houses ranging from 90k to 150k.

Typhoon2000

If that's you want then NW have a calculator on their website that's will tell you how much they will lend you.

SephirothX

I have used the calculator and tend to get a figure around 15k more than my DIP, but I thought DIPs were more detailed estimates. It's interesting that different calculators with different banks give different figures, I guess because some are more strict on lending than others.