Mortgage advisor has stopped communicating

pjw1592

Hi all!

I started the process of buying a property in July. I have been using a mortgage broker who was recommended by my brother, and he started the mortgage process in mid July.  

There have been a number of issues with paperwork, but in the last month or so, the mortgage broker has gone silent. I have been asked for urgent updates from my solicitor and the developer, and I have had no response to emails. My phone calls are put through to voicemail, and text messages (he told me he was happy to receive WhatsApp messages) have been seen and ignored. 

I am now extremely concerned. I rang NatWest to get an update on the mortgage myself today, asking if I could take charge of the rest of the process, as his communication throughout the process has been pretty poor. Unfortunately they said I would lose my valuation fee and would have to start a new application which would mean another credit search, which would adversely affect my credit rating. They also informed me that the last they heard from my mortgage broker was early in November. I have tried contacting his business partner in recent weeks but have also had no luck. 

Does anyone have any advice? I’m in limbo, and this is causing me real concern.

Many thanks for your thoughts!

princeofpounds

What is the status of him and his company on the FCA register? Have you tried reaching them in an anonymised manner, e.g. posing as a new customer?

What do you need him for if you are already part way through the process with NatWest? At a certain point, they no longer have any involvement.

A second credit search is not a huge deal, but you should only do it if you do not want or cannot pursue your current deal.

pjw1592

princeofpounds said:

What is the status of him and his company on the FCA register? Have you tried reaching them in an anonymised manner, e.g. posing as a new customer?

What do you need him for if you are already part way through the process with NatWest? At a certain point, they no longer have any involvement.

A second credit search is not a huge deal, but you should only do it if you do not want or cannot pursue your current deal.

Thanks for your reply! They are approved by the FCA. I haven’t tried posing as a new customer. That is a good idea; because if the time sensitive nature of my application now, I’m not sure I have time. I’m a little panicked by the entire thing now. 

Essentially, this broker started the application off for me. I contacted NatWest today and they said I wouldn’t be able to finish the process without him, unless I started a new application entirely, which they said may harm my credit rating due to another credit check being carried out. He has been liaising with the developer (albeit very poorly, hence the 5 month wait since the application began, and still no offer!)