HSBC mortgage application - broker - child benefit

Millsey89

Hi All, 
We are in the process of selling our house and buying another, our mortgage broker submitted our full application to HSBC on the 9th April. He rang us again on 14th to say he had an update, a desk top valuation had been completed and was fine and that all documentation such as pay slips, bank statements etc had been sent to them.
Today he called and said that between us submitting our application 11 days ago and today, HSBC have now removed child benefit as an addition to incomes?! 
Thus affecting our affordability and making us just over £6,000 short of what we need to borrow. 

Is this something a bank can do just like that? 
Or has there been an error broker end and we have been fed a white lie to save face? 

I have been reading the HSBC faq's and in there it states that the only benefit that will be considered is one that is guaranteed for the term of the mortgage e.g DLA...
We have applied for a 34 year mortgage, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that we arent going to still be receiving child benefit when our children are 30 odd. 

[Deleted User]

You are right.   Child benefit has never been allowable for HSBC if the mortgage is longer than it will be claimed for.   Sounds like a little white lie

Thinking outside the box though, HSBC have in the past allowed me to reduce childcare costs in line with the child benefit amount as the childcare costs arent going to be around for full time of the mortgage.   It was very much a goodwill thing and outside of policy but if you have childcare costs then might be worth a try.  

Either forget it and move on with the broker for another solution.  Or copy and paste the criteria you found and ask for an explanation for the lies.  I would be tempted on the 2nd option but thats cause I dont like dishonesty.  Wouldnt actually gain you anything though in the long run
Also, HSBC are only on a 2 day turnaround for documents to be assessed.  Sounds like the documents werent sent off for a while after application

Thrugelmir

Millsey89 said:

We have applied for a 34 year mortgage, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that we arent going to still be receiving child benefit when our children are 30 odd. 

Did your mortgage broker include this benefit as income? 

Millsey89

I presume so? 
As he said on the phone that because of the coronavirus HSBC have now removed child benefit as an addition to both of our salaries. Therefore bringing our affordability and the amount they will lend us down by 6k... 
He also said HSBC have given us 5 days to find the missing 6k to be able to get the mortgage offer... 

I rang HSBC mortgage department myself, they said that there has NOT been any changes to child benefit inclusion in applications. So it has proven that we have been lied to by our broker, which is actually really upsetting! 

We dont really know where to go from here :-( 

[Deleted User]

Ask for a copy of your mortgage application if you want to see what was included.  Its your data so you have every right to see it.  HSBC produce a nice concise pdf where you can see what incomes have been used on the application. 
If it doesnt have benefit income then thats not the reason for the change in affordability.   If it does have benefit income then it shouldnt have been used.  Broker made an error, they should just own up to it. 

What have they suggested as the next step? New lender?

Millsey89

Deleted_User said:

What have they suggested as the next step? New lender?

He said in the same phone call yesterday, that he suggests we find the 6k ourselves, borrow from family as getting it from a loan will impact our credit file and mortgage application... 

He said there arent any other lenders about that are doing desk top valuation for up to 85% LTV. So we need to stick with them... 

We have lost all trust in him, it is not the first mistake he has made, numberous in fact, everything from the spelling of our names, to current mortgage redemption fees, our ages. He even selected a different product from HSBC to what we had agreed :-(  i have to triple check EVERYTHING he sends us and more often than not i have to bounce it back with discrepancies to ammend... 
We have also already paid his broker fee... 

Is there any way we can cut him out of this and carry on with our application with HSBC directly? 

[Deleted User]

No the application is tied to each advisor but nothing stopping you cutting him out and then approaching hsbc directly.  Or another broker who may be able to make the numbers work. 
Have you tried putting the numbers in to the calculator yourself?
http://www.intermediaries.hsbc.co.uk/calculators/affordability-calculator.html

Do you have childcare costs? 

Do you need to do a desktop at 85% ltv?  Can you not just wait for the valuers to get back out again? Unless you are right at the end of the legal process then you shouldnt be in a mad rush to get it sorted.  Maybe a lender who does take Child Benefit would make the numbers work and then just park the application until a valuation is done?

Dreamingandimpatient

Millsey89 said:

Deleted_User said:

What have they suggested as the next step? New lender?

He said in the same phone call yesterday, that he suggests we find the 6k ourselves, borrow from family as getting it from a loan will impact our credit file and mortgage application... 

He said there arent any other lenders about that are doing desk top valuation for up to 85% LTV. So we need to stick with them... 

We have lost all trust in him, it is not the first mistake he has made, numberous in fact, everything from the spelling of our names, to current mortgage redemption fees, our ages. He even selected a different product from HSBC to what we had agreed :-(  i have to triple check EVERYTHING he sends us and more often than not i have to bounce it back with discrepancies to ammend... 
We have also already paid his broker fee... 

Is there any way we can cut him out of this and carry on with our application with HSBC directly? 

I really suggest you move brokers!!  Shame on him