Habito find 1 lender only for scottish flat 10% deposit

MattyBenwah

Hi all,

   We are a couple of FTBs who recently got an offer accepted for a flat in Scotland (so freehold) with a 10% deposit ready. We're using Habito as brokers who seem to be struggling to find lenders for us to apply with. This is apparently because nationwide and virgin money only lend 85% minimum on flats in larger tower blocks (property is 7 floors but no cladding issues/material). The remaining lender Accord would not lend based on credit check (our scores are good but possibly hit by no prior credit cards etc to show past evidence of paying back a loan). Remaining option is scraping around to up our deposit to 15%

However, I am finding it hard to believe that there is only 1 lender we could apply with and am wondering whether it is worth ditching Habito as a broker to look elsewhere (e.g. somewhere scotland or Edinburgh focused). Maybe this is simply the landscape of lenders at the moment but any insight would be appreciated from forumites.

Thanks in advance!

[Deleted User]

It would be worth using a proper broker, rather than the likes of Habito. Look for local recommendations.

Bear in mind though that a credit check doesn't mean looking at your credit scores (no one ever sees those but you). They'll look at your credit history and circumstances, so make sure you've reviewed your files to understand potential issues, on top of your thin history.

K_S

MattyBenwah said:

Hi all,

   We are a couple of FTBs who recently got an offer accepted for a flat in Scotland (so freehold) with a 10% deposit ready. We're using Habito as brokers who seem to be struggling to find lenders for us to apply with. This is apparently because nationwide and virgin money only lend 85% minimum on flats in larger tower blocks (property is 7 floors but no cladding issues/material). The remaining lender Accord would not lend based on credit check (our scores are good but possibly hit by no prior credit cards etc to show past evidence of paying back a loan). Remaining option is scraping around to up our deposit to 15%

However, I am finding it hard to believe that there is only 1 lender we could apply with and am wondering whether it is worth ditching Habito as a broker to look elsewhere (e.g. somewhere scotland or Edinburgh focused). Maybe this is simply the landscape of lenders at the moment but any insight would be appreciated from forumites.

Thanks in advance!

@mattybenwah Which lender is it, a specialist one? It's unlikely to be just the '7 floors' aspect that limits you to one lender as there are others who will consider lending on 7 storey blocks in Scotland. However, all these lenders will have other criteria as well. With high-rise flats, there are a lot of property related aspects that can come into play such as ex-council status, whether or not there's a lift, any deck access, construction type, mandatory EWS1 requirement, etc.

Having said that, volume brokers generally don't have the time or inclination to call around and do the legwork on non-standard requirements so might well have offered you the most straightforward option that they're confident of getting you to offer, especially since the case didn't pass Accord's credit-scoring at 90% LTV.

If you aren't happy with the rate/product, then it's definitely worth getting a second opinion. Good luck!