Mortgage broker - ask me anything

User19921212

Had an offer accepted but now having serious doubts. House is next door to a takeaway and apparently lenders don't like that, especially as my deposit is quite low at 13%. Which lenders should I approach who may be more lenient, or should I just bail out? Really liked the property, which is newly refurbished and with no chain.

User19921212

I should add that the street is otherwise completely residential, as are all the neighbouring ones, apart from one with a convenience store.

K_S

@user19921212 Couldn't say tbh, depends on the specifics and valuer comments on the day. Assuming that it's a used (not classed as new build) freehold house, in the vast majority of cases, your LTV being 90% or 60% is immaterial.

You could either use a broker - make sure you clearly highlight your concerns upfront so they can speak to the lender and see what they say. The MSE guide here can help you find one https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-mortgages-cashback/#brok

Alternatively, if you want to DIY it - just make sure you explain to the lender before you submit a full application. 

In either case, no one can guarantee an acceptance upfront. Even if the lender is in principle ok with property next to commercial, the valuer instructed (third party independent from the broker/lender) will have the final say based on specifics.

User19921212 said:

Had an offer accepted but now having serious doubts. House is next door to a takeaway and apparently lenders don't like that, especially as my deposit is quite low at 13%. Which lenders should I approach who may be more lenient, or should I just bail out? Really liked the property, which is newly refurbished and with no chain.

Wrexhamed1

Are PIP payments taken into account when calculating mortgage eligibility? One person working minimum wage and one person on PIP + Universal credit

Nailer99

This is a super helpful thread. I’m looking into remortgaging as my current deal ends in July. 2 years ago in the aftermath of Liz Truss most lenders allowed you to secure deals 6 months before the mortgage date, but I saw in this thread a reference to 4-month windows. Has the industry moved back to a 4-month deal window?

K_S

@nailer99

Assuming that you're referring to PTs (product-transfer/product-switch/rate-switch staying with the same lender) and not remortgages (moving to a new lender) -

While some lenders have have indeed moved to shorten their PT windows in the last few months, there's no industry standard as such. Each lender is free to set their own. 

Generally speaking, most lenders will have one of the following windows for PTs - 3 months (eg: Barclays drops to 3 from later this week), 4 months (eg: NatWest dropped to 4 from December) or 6 months (eg: Virgin).

Nailer99 said:

This is a super helpful thread. I’m looking into remortgaging as my current deal ends in July. 2 years ago in the aftermath of Liz Truss most lenders allowed you to secure deals 6 months before the mortgage date, but I saw in this thread a reference to 4-month windows. Has the industry moved back to a 4-month deal window?

Nailer99

K_S said:

@nailer99

Assuming that you're referring to PTs (product-transfer/product-switch/rate-switch staying with the same lender) and not remortgages (moving to a new lender) -

Thanks! That is interesting that different banks have different deadlines for PTs. I was actually referring to both. What is the current status for remortgages? 2 years ago that seemed to be 4-6 months across the board (becoming mainly 6 months). Is that still the case?

K_S

Nailer99 said:

K_S said:

@nailer99

Assuming that you're referring to PTs (product-transfer/product-switch/rate-switch staying with the same lender) and not remortgages (moving to a new lender) -

Thanks! That is interesting that different banks have different deadlines for PTs. I was actually referring to both. What is the current status for remortgages? 2 years ago that seemed to be 4-6 months across the board (becoming mainly 6 months). Is that still the case?

@nailer99

'How early can I secure a remortgage rate to move from lender A to lender B' depends on the offer validity policies of lender B. Every lender is free to set their own offer validity lengths and this hasn't changed much over the past many years.

Generally speaking, most mainstream lenders have an offer validity in the region of 6 months. The form it takes is one of the following in most cases -

- 6 months from full offer date (eg: Nationwide)

- 6 months from full application date (eg: Barclays)

- until product expiry or complete-by date (eg: LBG). The exact length you get will depend on timing but it could range anywhere from 4-8 months.

On top of that some (not all) lenders will allow you to extend offer validity by 2 weeks/1 month/3 months/6 months, or reserve a product in advance, effectively allowing you to secure a rate earlier than 6 months.

To give an example, a client of mine has a fix ending 31 Aug. In the new year she was getting nervous about rates and asked if there's any way to secure a rate in Jan.

I used Nationwide's product reservation https://www.nationwide-intermediary.co.uk/products/reserving-a-product feature to DIP+reserve a product for 90 days, effectively securing a rate more about 8 months in advance.

Around late Feb, I'll check the whole of market to see what her most cost effective options are. If rates have gone up in those 2 months and the reserved product is cheapest, I'll convert the product reservation into an offer, which then gives a 6 month offer validity (plus 15 day grace if needed).

If rates have gone down or stayed the same and there are other cheaper products, I'll recommend the best one at that point in time and go with that.

Nailer99

Thanks @K_S . That's very interesting. I didn't realise that some banks allow you to reserve a rate so early. 

TheLuckiest

Hello! 
We are looking into purchasing a property which has a self contained detached annexe which is effectively a one bedroom detached cottage. 

I've seen a number of threads over the years that this can be problematic for lenders so I do plan on trying to find a reputable local broker. However, I wondered if anyone here had any advice?

The cottage is on the same deeds as the main property but has separate council tax banding.

I've read that nationwide is often a good bet for this kind of property. Our current lender is Santander.

Thanks in advance.