Quick Mortgage?

Neato

Hi all,

I suspect I already know the answer to this one but...

We’ve spent years saving up a mortgage and have finally found a house that seems right for us. We’re FTBs, currently renting with a 10% deposit and an AIP.

The seller on the house wants to complete in within 4-6 weeks as he was a developer that got it part exchange and has money tied up in it. To try and meet this, we’ve gone on the offensive and instructed a conveyancer and found a surveyor.

Unfortunately, our stick in the mud seems to be the mortgage. We approached a broker who said we’d need a 15% deposit to get a mortgage now or we’d have to wait two weeks at least with 10% due to COVID, we approached our banks and have joined a queue (that is 2+ weeks long) in one and the other want 15%. Unfortunately, we don’t have the extra 5%. Other banks/building societies we’ve researched do seem to be on that 15% mark.

The mortgage we’re asking for is around 2x our combined annual salaries, so we’re not going for anything overly extravagant but our issue looks to be that we won’t be able to turn this round in time. We’d be willing to pay more if we could find something we might be able to progress quicker. So I guess the question is, is there anywhere else that you knowledgable folk might suggest to look? 

Thank you!

SMR710

10% or 50%... 4-6 weeks at the best of times is adventurous! You're experiencing queues and delays with banks now just to get an application in. Once it's in, then you have bank valuations to wait for, underwriting of your application and the bank needs to review all documentation and raise any enquiries. Then you have to wait for responses to any enquiries to be sent and satisfied. If the valuation or docs throw up any extra requirements the bank wants - damp surveys, building surveys etc you wait for that.
Not to mention all the other things you wait for..  searches, solicitors to process contracts etc. This is not quick at the best of times never mind when banks are working on reduced staff.
I'm not being a debbie downer for you, just being realistic. Once the mortgage offer is in that's just one hurdle.
If the vendor wants 4-6 weeks then he's looking for a cash buyer. Anyone with a mortgage will be extremely hard pushed yo meet his timescale. 

AdrianC

It's not that "they want 15%"... It's the other way round... Most lenders won't lend more than 85%, because property is currently so volatile.

It's to reduce the exposure to them in the event you fail to pay and they need to repossess. And, since you would still owe them their losses, ultimately to you.

iampetesmith

The seller wants to complete in 4 - 6 weeks, but he'll struggle to achieve that with the majority of buyers, if any.

Neato

AdrianC said:

It's not that "they want 15%"... It's the other way round... Most lenders won't lend more than 85%, because property is currently so volatile.

It's to reduce the exposure to them in the event you fail to pay and they need to repossess. And, since you would still owe them their losses, ultimately to you.

Yeah, I suppose I hadn’t thought of it that way! 

Neato

Thanks all - I think these are the answers I was ultimately expecting, but just wanted to check if there were any other avenues we’d missed!

I should add, I think we’d said unless we had cash, we knew it’d be a tough call. I guess we’ll have to do what we can and see what the vendor says!

haras_n0sirrah

Mortgage brokers can get applications in quicker than that. I submitted one today for someone I first spoke to 3 days ago
I will say though that lenders are experiencing severe delays so 4-6 weeks is very tight.

fiision2020

You are having to wait 2 weeks just to get the application submitted. Then there is the underwriting process and valuation (not necessarily in that order). Because of Covid everything is being delayed, mostly due to staff shortages. Even if you were to get the mortgage done quickly there is still going to be delays getting your searches completed by your solicitor.......once again due to staff shortages. Your seller is being completely unrealistic with timescales for a mortgage applicant, even a cash buyer may not be able to complete in under 6 weeks. Have you already paid out money?

Neato

fiision2020 said:

You are having to wait 2 weeks just to get the application submitted. Then there is the underwriting process and valuation (not necessarily in that order). Because of Covid everything is being delayed, mostly due to staff shortages. Even if you were to get the mortgage done quickly there is still going to be delays getting your searches completed by your solicitor.......once again due to staff shortages. Your seller is being completely unrealistic with timescales for a mortgage applicant, even a cash buyer may not be able to complete in under 6 weeks. Have you already paid out money?

No money paid out yet other than a reservation fee to take it off the market.

Sistergold

I viewed my house in February, my seller wanted to complete by April, I told her that was fine by me? We finally completed in July. Well how does someone want to complete by A date? Who controls all those parameters? When a seller accepts a person needing a mortgage and also has a deadline it baffles me! At this point I just say yes we can complete by that date and then we all accept reality as mortgage process, conveyancing, solicitors and other people in the chain take their time to do what they need to do.   

So one way will be to accept the 4 to 6 weeks and try to do it in that time but not be stressed if it does not happen as to be honest it’s not even in your or sellers control. Soon your seller will realise it will complete quicker if they just wait for the process to take its natural course. Even a cash buyer might delay it for one reason or another. 

Many seller come up with all these dates which are in the end forced to be forgotten by realities of the actual processes involved, for the buyer you just play along and try act as quickly as you can. 

Well, just another view. 

SharkMoney

I submitted a mortgage app on Friday and it was approved Tuesday morning. 

You need to ask a broker for which lenders are quickest.