Virgin Money - Mortgage Offer

dannyg10

Hi all, 

I hope you are all well. 

My partner and I are quite far through the process of purchasing our first home. We had an offer accepted in late January and we were nearing the end of the process when COVID-19 hit the UK fully in mid-March. Things slowed a little after that which we didn't have an issue with, however, last week Virgin Money instructed our L&C mortgage broker to get in touch with us to check to see if either of us has been furloughed. We confirmed this was the case as I have been furloughed and currently sit on 80% of my annual salary. Our broker then shared our updated payslips with Virgin Money just over a week ago and we're now waiting to see if they have any concerns etc. 

Even with my furloughed status our affordability is more than fine, our joint income is around £73500 and we were assessed to be able to borrow around £325000, although our purchase price is only £180500 (We have an offer of a 90% 3 year fixed-rate mortgage as we have a 10% deposit). We have no dependents and the biggest financial outlay we have is £180 per month for my car, so our expendable income is quite high for a young couple in our position.

As you might expect we are a little nervous now, we are so close to completing our purchase and progress was slowly being made again. We are in limbo waiting for an answer from Virgin Money and while we have called our broker for an update every day this week, we have nothing back yet. 

Does anybody have any experience with Virgin Money or is in a similar situation? If anybody can share any advice on possible outcomes, that would be really helpful. 

I guess worst-case scenario is we need to apply for a new mortgage. But ideally, we don't want to be applying for a new mortgage in the current climate, especially when we're so close to completion. Our affordability has changed and even then only slightly, so we're hoping Virgin Money has no obligations to us completing. 

It has been hard to find clear information online as a lot of the information out there tends to be around people applying for payment holidays or new buyers who have not yet started their application, we're in the position of having a mortgage offer from Virgin Money but they now want to review the application because of my furlough status. I can't find any news on social media or via google news about couples in our position having their mortgage offers revoked, so I'm optimistic in that not being the case here.

Sorry for the lengthy first time post, I'm just hoping somebody can offer some objective advice on what we might expect. I guess we will know soon enough either way. 

Thanks in advance, 

Danny

ACG

I think I get the gist, I did not read it all though...

If it passes affordability on 80%, I would not expect there to be any problems. If there was, I would assume the broker will fight your corner. 

According to their website it is taking them 1 working day to assess documents, so I would assume you would have heard by now if there was a problem, pretty poor if that is the case though that the broker has not updated you - https://intermediaries.virginmoney.com/virgin/news/service-levels/

MovingForwards

Is your partner still working or also furlough?
If still working, what's his / her income?
Is his / her income enough to qualify him / her for the mortgage as if s/he was a sole buyer?

Be prepared to find a new lender:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bestadvice.co.uk/virgin-money-not-taking-furloughed-salary-into-account-for-purchases/amp/

ACG

MovingForwards said:

Is your partner still working or also furlough?
If still working, what's his / her income?
Is his / her income enough to qualify him / her for the mortgage as if s/he was a sole buyer?

Be prepared to find a new lender:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bestadvice.co.uk/virgin-money-not-taking-furloughed-salary-into-account-for-purchases/amp/

It does not say whether this is relating to new applications or all applications, so it may not be all bad. 

MovingForwards

ACG said:

MovingForwards said:

Is your partner still working or also furlough?
If still working, what's his / her income?
Is his / her income enough to qualify him / her for the mortgage as if s/he was a sole buyer?

Be prepared to find a new lender:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bestadvice.co.uk/virgin-money-not-taking-furloughed-salary-into-account-for-purchases/amp/

It does not say whether this is relating to new applications or all applications, so it may not be all bad. 

Hey T!
I know, it's one of the few lenders who haven't been very public about their stance, unlike a load of the others.

ACG

I have just checked my emails, I have the one from Virgin re the change to furlough and it says:

The changes to our affordability policy do not impact applications received before today (Friday 17th April 2020).

Thrugelmir

Any indication of when you maybe returning to work?