Should I wait to take out mortgage

dav363

We have an offer accepted on a new property, move in date is 28th Feb. My question is: should we wait a couple of weeks to apply for the mortgage to see if the BoE drop interest rates at the end of the month (they meet on 30th Jan to discuss) and we potentially get a better mortgage deal.


What I'm not sure of is:
If BoE drop rates, will this immediately translate to better mortgage deals or will there be a lag?
Am I risking not getting a mortgage approved in time before the move-in date of 28th Feb?


We are currently being offered a 5 yr fixed rate deal at 1.9% (85% LTV) which seems pretty good.


Any experienced opinions are appreciated.


Thank you
David

kingstreet

A BOE rate change is unlikely to affect new business rates. Competition has kept rates low to the extent lenders are likely to see a rate reduction as a means of increasing margin, if they can.

foxy-stoat

I would apply now, the searches could take upto 4 weeks to complete so your "move in" date may not be possible if you wait.

csgohan4

You had an offer accepted and you have not applied for a mortgage offer and you are moving in next month??

Normal house buying takes 3 months to conclude

I assume Feb 2021?

If 2020, you wait and the vendor could dump you for someone else who is more serious about buying the house

alex_163163

Even if you apply for a mortgage today, you might not make your ‘move in date’ of 28th feb!
My house purchase took 13 weeks from offer being accepted!
I’m assuming you haven’t exchanged yet seen as though you don’t have a mortgage offer from a lender? So how is your move in date fixed? Is it just a date you are aiming for?
Please be prepared that you might not achieve that date, but fingers crossed all the stars align for you!

dav363

Thanks for the replies everyone, I am going ahead with the application immediately rather than waiting.


Interestingly, my advisor told me that if the rates do drop in February, there is still the possibility to swap providers nearer the time, providing we have an approved mortgage in place beforehand. Apparently the process of switching providers is relatively quick, and the opportunity exists as long as we haven't moved in yet. However, that all sounds a bit risky to me so I'll be unlikely to do this unless there is a significant saving to be made.


Thanks for the heads up regarding timescales, it's a bit of a surprise to hear tbh. Yes the move in date is 28th Feb 2020, this has been agreed as part of the formal offer acceptance on the property (it was originally 21st Feb but the seller wanted an extra week). Both my mortgage advisor and Solicitor agree that we should have this wrapped up by the end of January. I'm in Scotland (should have said that earlier) so I guess that's where the difference lies, but they are both highly reputable firms so I am inclined to believe they know what they are doing. Plus I'm not selling so it should make things easier. Nevertheless I'll be sure to put pressure on to keep things moving just in case.


I'll post an update soon to let everyone know how it went...