Kensington mortgage offer extension due to local search delay- Help!

SlinkyEm

Hello guys, I could really do with some advice.
We got a mortgage offer in September 2020 which was amazing as it’s taken a long time to get to this stage. 

We are just waiting on the local search, everything else has been fulfilled, however with Covid causing massive delays with the local search’s we have been given an approximate date in early March for it to come back. We are applying for an extension but this extension is only valid until the 8th of March and the local search is approximately due back a few days before this. 

I’m panicking as Kensington said the max offer date is the 8th of March, but I don’t know if that means we would still be able to get another extension but we’d have to apply again? I’ve tried asking my broker and she didn’t know. Our circumstances are exactly the same if not better as I am now off furlong so this won’t affect it. I desperately don’t want this to fall through just for the sake of some red tape local search! 

I’d really appreciate any help xx

K_S

@SlinkyEm From memory, unless you've exchanged by March, when this extended offer expires, you will need to go through a fresh app. - income assessment, credit checks, new product, etc. If your circumstances haven't deteriroated since the application, it's probably only a matter of how long a fresh application takes.

With regard to the time being taken for searches, some of my clients have taken out a search delay indemnity to speeden things up. Not all lenders will accept it but it may be an option worth discussing with your solicitor. This kind of policy is designed to help the property transaction proceed by providing an alternative to waiting for the searches to come back. I never knew of it prior to covid, but it's apparently more popular now. It's cheap as chips so how useful it is if something goes wrong is anyone's guess!

SlinkyEm

K_S, 
I’ve read different things about Kensington’s extension policy but it’s got me confused, initially my broker said they review it on a monthly basis but this isn’t the case with ours, then I heard they can extend the offer for 6 months but this could be wrong. 

Is it a good sign that they have already done two hard checks again on me and my husband, they also want to confirm some small details too regarding our income and to check if we have money to cover first mortgage payment etc

blogger201719

Are you saying you already got the offer extended before or this is first extension? If so what did they ask for offer extension? Our offer is due to expire 6/2/21 and we do not have a definite completion date. 

SlinkyEm

blogger201719 said:

Are you saying you already got the offer extended before or this is first extension? If so what did they ask for offer extension? Our offer is due to expire 6/2/21 and we do not have a definite completion date. 

   No we have never had an extension, it’s purely because of COVID as our town is the worst performing for
   Local search times in England which is diabolical.
   Have you asked your broker for an extension? As I think that’s the step you might need to take if your 
   Waiting on for information back, how many things are you waiting on?