Broker and failed affordability check

BlueZoo

Sorry for the long post but I need to decide how to handle a tricky situation and I don't want to drip-feed information. Would be very grateful for any quick advice.

I applied for a mortgage with the Post Office (Bank of Ireland) via a fee-free broker. I have now found out that my advisor was taken ill shortly after submitting my application and nobody realised until now (about 10 days on).

Bank of Ireland could find no record of the application but they did credit checks over a week ago. The new advisor from the broker says they wouldn't lend the full amount and came back with a lower amount based on affordability so I'm guessing it failed at an initial step before the full application. The advisor couldn't tell me anything more about the reason and mentioned that there were some things she couldn't find out as she wasn't the one who submitted the initial application.

She is going to call me back after looking into it some more and will prioritise submitting another application but I'm not happy doing another application through them without knowing why the first one failed. The first advisor was confidant that there was a good choice of lenders who would offer the sum we are looking for (just under 4.5 x single salary, 50% LTV, v good credit scores, partner not presently earning and two children). I have since done the Post Office online affordability calculator and it does come back lower (similar to their response) but was very simple with only about 4 questions so maybe the broker used a different one?

There are some things I would expect the lender to want to check (part of my salary is fixed allowances) so is it possible they asked for more information via the broker but then got no response so came back with a lower figure?

Perhaps it will turn out there was a mistake we can fix but, if it did fail fair and square, is there any point letting the broker try again with another lender? The only reason I'm using a broker is to have the best chance of getting accepted first time and having it go through smoothly so perhaps I'm better off applying directly? I have no problem checking criteria and filling in the forms and I'm not comfortable that I wasn't able to track progress directly when the broker disappeared.

Should I be able to find out anything more about the reason for the affordability decision? Any tips on lenders to look at if I go direct? I can see a Nationwide deal that slightly beats the one I applied for and their calculator suggests I could borrow the amount I need for instance. I read their criteria and am pretty sure they will accept my salary allowances with 3 months payslips.

hunt85

Do yourself a favour cut your losses go straight to Nationwide. They are a decent lender and won't let you down. The only reason why affordability might have failed is perhaps because your basic wage is e.g £30000 and you earn £10000 per year commission etc but actually they only use what commission you've earned in the last few months which actually only works out at £2000 per year etc. Any situation like that? I'd definitely bin off these brokers they sound rubbish.

BlueZoo

Thanks. The allowances are a fixed amount related to my role and are open-ended not commission-type but I think the affordability that came back would be consistant with them being ignored...

hunt85

So the broker didn't input them potentially or BOI don't accept them. You can phone and ask Nationwide up front before you do a DIP if they'll accept certain allowances as part of income for example mileage allowance probably wont be accepted as its really a reimbursement not an income. Hope that helps.

BlueZoo

I will speak to the broker today in case there's a simple mistake they can fix, but if not I think I'll try Nationwide direct and call them first about the allowances as you suggest.

Are they reasonably quick at turning things around in general? We've lost quite a bit of time over this already and need to get the valuation done ASAP before booking our own survey & searches.

hunt85

Yes Nationwide are quick they have a new system over the last few months which speeds up the process. I would recommend going through a branch so you have a direct point of contact and advice rather than keying it all online yourself and it taking a good few days before they tell you that certain income is not acceptable etc, a branch advisor could tell you instantly what is and isnt acceptable and check affordability in detail before completing a DIP. Honestly the brokers sound rubbish, they lost your application, cant tell you what the problem is and no one noticed/picked up work when the advisor was off sick? Steer clear!!

ACG

I dont mean to be rude but I would completely ignore Hunt. I am not saying he/she is wrong, but there is nowhere near enough information to decide any lender will do what you need.

The post office calculator is very very simple, it is worrying the broker needed to do a credit check in order to check affordability. The broker should have called up the lender to ask where to enter certain expenditure items in order to get an accurate result. Its also worrying nobody missed the broker for 10 days :-P

Just to be clear, I am not saying you should or should not use a broker, but everything should be checked with the lender BEFORE a credit check takes place. I would speak to the new broker and ensure they will not be doing anymore credit checks on you until they have run any potential issues by their account manager first and checked affordability manually.

kingstreet

I would certainly not describe Nationwide as "quick" at the moment and its new system is creaking under the weight of bugs and other issues which require constant calls for workarounds.

It's down again this Sunday for "planned maintenance."

This is probably my favourite lender and its current service is problematic to say the least.