Mortgage offer

sambaj

Please help, I am about to exchange my contract next week, my mortgage lender is halifax, I work for NHS, someone told me that lots of people lost their deposit as banks are withdrawing offer after exchange due to COVID, I am reluctant to exchange now, can someone advise me, I have been saving for long time and was really looking forward, 

K_S

Post exchange, offers may be withdrawn only for a very few reasons -
- material change in borrowers financial circumstances (made redundant, business shuts down, furlough on low pay, new debt or commitment taken on, etc etc)
- suspicion of fraud

- other significant developments

As a broker I do see and hear about the odd offer being withdrawn, but it's by no means a common occurrence.
But it's a worry that buyers can have and I've seen a lot more buyers insisting on same day exchange and completion, which of course is usually only practical on no-chain or very short chain transactions 

sambaj

I did ask for same day exchange and completio but seller didn’t agree, should I just withdraw completely, 

MWT

sambaj said:

I did ask for same day exchange and completio but seller didn’t agree, should I just withdraw completely, 

That's a decision only you can make, but you are going to severely limit the pool of properties that you can buy if you will only proceed with a same day exchange & complete.

You would seem to be in a low risk employment situation, but again you are the best judge of that, and the rest of the risks are pretty much in your own hands, don't incur new debt or commitments between exchange and completion.

Thousands of people are still following the traditional pattern of exchange then complete a little while later.

You've got to do whatever feels right for you, but I would question the accuracy of the statement that 'lots of people lost their deposit'.

davidmcn

sambaj said:

someone told me that lots of people lost their deposit as banks are withdrawing offer after exchange due to COVID

Who is this "someone", and where are they getting their information from? Have you encountered anybody whose mortgage offer has been withdrawn "due to COVID" (rather than, say, because they've actually lost their job)?

sambaj

davidmcn said:

sambaj said:

someone told me that lots of people lost their deposit as banks are withdrawing offer after exchange due to COVID

Who is this "someone", and where are they getting their information from? Have you encountered anybody whose mortgage offer has been withdrawn "due to COVID" (rather than, say, because they've actually lost their job)?

A nurse at work told me, then I searched on internet so there were some cases where bank withdrew the offer after exchange but that was during first lockdown, 

ACG

In 9 years, I do not think I have ever had an offer withdrawn. 

Offers can be withdrawn and there are no doubt more now than there were last year, but that is because more people are out of work/being made redundant/put on furlough. The key thing that results in offers being withdrawn are a change of circumstance (that could be loss of job or taking out a credit card and buying all the new furniture on credit for example), if your circumstances have not changed then there is no reason for your offer to be pulled.

sambaj

ACG said:

In 9 years, I do not think I have ever had an offer withdrawn. 

Offers can be withdrawn and there are no doubt more now than there were last year, but that is because more people are out of work/being made redundant/put on furlough. The key thing that results in offers being withdrawn are a change of circumstance (that could be loss of job or taking out a credit card and buying all the new furniture on credit for example), if your circumstances have not changed then there is no reason for your offer to be pulled.

Thanks, my circumstances haven’t changed, I m keeping eye on my credit file as well, it’s still the same, I m a nurse so job is still there as well, 

Carl2510

I think you need to calm down. And just think for a minute, you’re in a secure job and have by the sounds of it your finances in place. Stop panicking and just exchange when the time comes.

sambaj

Carl2510 said:

I think you need to calm down. And just think for a minute, you’re in a secure job and have by the sounds of it your finances in place. Stop panicking and just exchange when the time comes.

You are right, I m putting down 25% deposit as well, I just need to stop listening to people,  I stressed at job all day and now at home I m stressing about my mortgage offer, 

enthusiasticsaver

Unless your circumstances have changed (redundancy) there is no basis for an offer to be withdrawn so I don't think you have anything to worry about.