Panicing over online broker giving me bad information?

Dereferenced

Hi,
I've barely started (first time buyer) and I'm getting really quite confused;
I got an agreement in principle from the bank (Barclays) as a quick online thing, saw a really nice house come up, jumped on it and got the offer accepted.
I've got the solicitor arranged and took everything down to the estate agents and that side of things is ticking along.
The problem is I went to see if I could get a better deal on the mortgage, and thinking it would be possibly not as good a deal but a quicker process I tried checking with Habito.
The problem is their system is deliberately opaque - I did upload some documentation but not all their required ones and I've not answered the stock "what is the building made of" type questions yet so no idea if I've technically applied for anything at this stage, if they've been doing any paperwork, if I'm able to go elsewhere (eg. if it would essentially mean I'd be unable to apply via a different broker). They dished out a recommendation of going with Santander which worked out slightly better.

The problem I have is probably quite a common minor one - because of the dates of transferring money into/out of the bank account (into a stocks and shares isa, the statement being the day before payday and I was expecting some money coming in that came through a couple of days later), the last bank statement had slightly less than the deposit amount on it, and NatWest who it's with don't have a way of getting an interim kind of statement, just some random transaction history printouts. By the time I get the next statement showing the money, at that point it'll be just over 2 weeks since I had the offer accepted before even starting with the mortgage application and I'm rather panicing about taking too long (because it's no chain I don't want to be the hold-up).

So I went and asked them what the best course of action would be and the response was that it wasn't required information. Which is daft; Of course it is, it's right on Santander's website that it's something that they require when receiving applications from brokers. so it sounds like they want to start an application without having all the information and then add it later, but I've got some concerns that's actually going to be counterproductive and they're just saying that to get me past the point of no return and I'll be stuck in an endless "just one more document" loop.


I'm slightly confused as to whether I'm at a position where I could switch to another broker, and if they recommended the same deal whether that would become a no-go because of commissions etc., given I told them I'd like to apply just before they become unhelpful with the questions on what would be required to do that.


I'm not sure whether I'm best trying to persist, go to a different broker, or go apply direct to Barclays and accept the difference in cost?

Sorry for the all-over-the-place wall of text, I'm sure it's an absolute storm-in-a-teacup.

muhandis

I'm not sure I understand exactly what Habito are trying to say but to answer your question, there's nothing been done yet that ties you to them.

As a found-offered-accepted borrower, most brokers would bite your hand off if offered your custom. So if Habito can't be bothered, go elsewhere.

Dereferenced

It's not that they can't be bothered as such (the response times aren't bad), it's the depth-of-knowledge seems limited and it's more about hitting some sort of threshold to move me onto the next step on their system than actually putting together an application that's solid.

[Deleted User]

Very few applications with santander require proof of deposit. Have only had 1 or 2 in the last year request that.

However, a well packaged case is the best way to start the process. Having to go back and forth to the client for additional documents should be avoided by packaging your own case well.
Having worked in different companies over the years there are some brokerages that only keep on file what the lender asks for and then ones that require way more than lenders will ever ask for.

Any broker that has been around for a while is bound to run in to a complaint sooner or later and to be honest Id rather over package every case to ensure i have a full overview of what the case is

If this broker isnt giving you confidence that your application is being handled how you expect, move to one who gives you the confidence

scholesfan88

Don't even worry about getting a statement from the account your savings are in, your stressing yourself out unnecessarily. The last statement plus a transactions list would probably suffice, if they even bother asking for it.

Try MortgageGym, alot better than Habito

Dereferenced

Having slept on it, I think the cause of the confusion is that I've not made clear that I don't have a savings account, only the current account and a stocks&shares isa. There's also part of the deposit that is a gift, which is whty I figured it would be checked.