Mortgage declined by underwriter for affordability

kingstreet

Is there something on your payslips or bank statements not visible on your credit file that could be picked up by UW but not at early stages?

Child care, maintenance, future ground rent/service charges, student loan, employer car lease payment?

RelievedSheff

simon_or said:

Wow. 2 appointments, 3 hours on the phone, countless checks only to be told that you can't borrow what you need and no explanation of why. What a pointless waste of time.

You should most definitely complain. I don't think you'll get more than a token compensation as you have the money to make up the shortfall but still do it.

And next time, use a broker! I don't think I've ever spent more than 15 minutes on a call with my broker for an application. I can never understand why anyone would apply direct, it's such a faff for no gain at all.

We applied direct when we remortgaged.

Took 15 minutes to fill out the online forms and the mortgage was approved in a few of days.

Certainly in our really simple situation with two applicants, two PAYE jobs, no adverse credit and a low LTV,  I would not consider using a broker. They are doing nothing that we can't do ourselves.

Obviously all cases are different though and in some situations then the best choice is to use a broker. We had to when we had adverse credit for example.

simon_or

RelievedSheff said:

simon_or said:

Wow. 2 appointments, 3 hours on the phone, countless checks only to be told that you can't borrow what you need and no explanation of why. What a pointless waste of time.

You should most definitely complain. I don't think you'll get more than a token compensation as you have the money to make up the shortfall but still do it.

And next time, use a broker! I don't think I've ever spent more than 15 minutes on a call with my broker for an application. I can never understand why anyone would apply direct, it's such a faff for no gain at all.

We applied direct when we remortgaged.

Took 15 minutes to fill out the online forms and the mortgage was approved in a few of days.

Certainly in our really simple situation with two applicants, two PAYE jobs, no adverse credit and a low LTV,  I would not consider using a broker. They are doing nothing that we can't do ourselves.

Obviously all cases are different though and in some situations then the best choice is to use a broker. We had to when we had adverse credit for example.

If it's a like for like remortgage and you didn't speak to anyone at the bank that's non-advised so obviously not comparable at all to the OP's situation that of a broker who is accountable for their advice and has access to the whole of market.

They can definitely do things you (by that I mean the average mortgage applicant) can't do yourself (or can't do anywhere as efficiently or reliably) - criteria (banks can often go beyond published criteria), maximise borrowing (affordability calculators dont always give the whole picture), access intermediary only mainstream lenders like Platform, Accord, escalate to BDMs if things go wrong, speak to underwriters prior to putting in an application, etc..

All this only applies if you've got a good broker, otherwise it's probably similar to using a comparison service.

But you're right that there's no need to use a broker if you're happy with going direct.

fanofmse001

Thanks everyone for your time and valuable responses.
Regarding brokers I did try 2 before giving up
1) London and Country: Discussion happened and said will come back with the best deals after comparing whole of the market. 1 week and 2 follow ups later nothing. They eventually did turn up 2 weeks later apologizing for delay by when I had already made my application.

2) Mojo: Discussion happened and broker said Natwest would lend you the exact amount Natwest themselves had said so must have made the exact same mistake! Anyway requested broker to apply and asked if they need anything from me for application as rates were going up said they had everything. Again nothing after 3 days of follow up they wanted xyz documents. So I decided to stick with my original direct application which had better interest rate.

By this time I had managed to check Barclays/First direct and Halifax and found Natwest still the best with due to my B2L complications. Generally everybody brokers/banks/advisors everyone is up to their neck on terms of work and constantly rising rates have exacerbated the situation.

Anyway I managed to find money for most of my shortfall apart from 2.8K which my kind seller agreed to adjust in asking price.
Natwest did agree that it was a mistake from advisor but naturally can't lend more than the criteria permits.
Shockingly they were trying to say I wouldn't qualify for older (better) interest rate as I was making the price change (price less 2.8K) and they will issue the offer with prevalent prices!!!
A complain later they saw sense and I have the offer now.

Appreciate everyone for guidance and would like the thread closed as my case is concluded (fortunately favourably).

fanofmse001

RelievedSheff said:

simon_or said:

Wow. 2 appointments, 3 hours on the phone, countless checks only to be told that you can't borrow what you need and no explanation of why. What a pointless waste of time.

You should most definitely complain. I don't think you'll get more than a token compensation as you have the money to make up the shortfall but still do it.

And next time, use a broker! I don't think I've ever spent more than 15 minutes on a call with my broker for an application. I can never understand why anyone would apply direct, it's such a faff for no gain at all.

We applied direct when we remortgaged.

Took 15 minutes to fill out the online forms and the mortgage was approved in a few of days.

Certainly in our really simple situation with two applicants, two PAYE jobs, no adverse credit and a low LTV,  I would not consider using a broker. They are doing nothing that we can't do ourselves.

Obviously all cases are different though and in some situations then the best choice is to use a broker. We had to when we had adverse credit for example.

I agree this happens to be my logic as well, adding another layer somehow always seem to add complication for me. This time I had a good go at several high street banks directly so now have a good idea of who I would like to deal with next time.

fanofmse001

kingstreet said:

Is there something on your payslips or bank statements not visible on your credit file that could be picked up by UW but not at early stages?

Child care, maintenance, future ground rent/service charges, student loan, employer car lease payment?

Luckily none the advisor made a mistake in applying lending criteria to my bonus.

K_S

@fanofmse01 Glad to hear that it all worked out in the end!

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and coming back to update the thread.

With respect to thread 'closure', as far as I am aware it remains open to help others who may wish to respond, pick it up or ask questions on a similar line in the future. 

fergie_

Sounds like they didn't realise your P60 contained a discretionary bonus. They probably picked it up looking at payslips or checking how consistent your earnings were. The bonus would then not be included or multiplied at a different rate to guaranteed earnings.

The same can happen with state benefits etc where some lenders will ignore them and others will allow a smaller multiple compared to salary etc.

fanofmse001

fergie_ said:

Sounds like they didn't realise your P60 contained a discretionary bonus. They probably picked it up looking at payslips or checking how consistent your earnings were. The bonus would then not be included or multiplied at a different rate to guaranteed earnings.

The same can happen with state benefits etc where some lenders will ignore them and others will allow a smaller multiple compared to salary etc.

Precisely that is what had happened. Luckily I had shared all relevant documentation so there was no confusion of how much/frequently the bonus is paid etc. Based on your comment sounds like it does happen a bit so something to keep in mind to double check with the advisor while affordability is being reviewed..