I need to have a rant about my mortgage application experience

fedup12345

i would love to hear some opinions on what you think, how I can deal with this mentally etc 

in 2021 I applied for a mortgage with Halifax through a broker. Rejected 

I’m self employed and I only had one year accounts, I chose to not persue it and left it

on the 08/05/2022 I decided to try again as I have more evidence. My broker reccomended Halifax (different broker) I said No. I wasn’t happy to go with them because they had already rejected me last year and I know I don’t match their criteria. He persuaded me to go with them and I said fine go ahead and try.

4 months later and They have made my life a complete hell
they are a fast lender to deal with and get back to info quickly but they have come back to me and asked me the most stupid questions and even asked to see payslips from previous jobs 4 years ago 

the underwriter said they were happy to lend me 90k and then a week later they changed their minds and declined the application.

my broker appealed it and they reconsidered, my 1st year as LTD has just gone and I have the accounts for it so 1 year sole trader and 1 year LTD but I’ve hit breaking point and I refuse to waste a single second on this situation with this lender after the hell they put me through , how would I know they don’t change their mind again after they give me an offer? 

I’m going to a specialist self employment broker on Tuesday and he will put a application in somewhere else for me, it’s going to be a subprime lender

why do lenders treat self employed like this, if I was employed for half a year I would have probably got the mortgage 

I just don’t know how much I can take, I’m doing this on my own and I’m confused why there are so many issues, my deposit  is 30% , I only need a 90k loan and it would have been only £360 a month so affordability isn’t an issue either , they obviously just don’t like me lol ?

ACG

Your broker has recommended a lender who needs 2 years trading but can as an exception consider one years accounts. 
I do not understand why your broker has gone to Halifax.

Personally, I would have gone to a little building society who allow one years accounts as standard. I do not understand why the broker went to Halifax in the first place or why their plan B was kensington. Halifax was not impossible, but in the current climate with rates going up, I think it is better to pay a little more to secure the deal as the alternative (as you have found) is to apply, get rejected, waste time and rates have gone up anyway. And Kensington being plan B, assuming no other issues beyond one years accounts, I think that is just wrong. 

fedup12345

ACG said:

Your broker has recommended a lender who needs 2 years trading but can as an exception consider one years accounts. 
I do not understand why your broker has gone to Halifax.

Personally, I would have gone to a little building society who allow one years accounts as standard. I do not understand why the broker went to Halifax in the first place or why their plan B was kensington. Halifax was not impossible, but in the current climate with rates going up, I think it is better to pay a little more to secure the deal as the alternative (as you have found) is to apply, get rejected, waste time and rates have gone up anyway. And Kensington being plan B, assuming no other issues beyond one years accounts, I think that is just wrong. 

I’m assuming they gave them the most commission and he wanted to chance it? He was a free broker.  But has messed up my mental health in the process. What can I do about this, shall I complain about it to the broker firm? 

Technically it didn’t get rejected, I could have maybe got it but really low chance and I don’t feel happy to stick with them and keep trying after they have wasted so much of my time

I don’t know where my broker on Tuesday is planning to go yet. 

I have 1 year sole trader and 1 years ltd now, profit decline in my second year though so that can me a issue but still an amount where there should be jo affordability issues 

snowqueen555

How did you find your broker? In my experience when I contacted 6 brokers for my mortgage, only 2 made an effort.

ACG

Halifax do not pay the most, but in any event most lenders pay around the same. Halifax can be an easy lender to work with if all goes well. 

I think that is what it comes down to, your broker has probably gone with what he/she thought would be the easiest lender. Sometimes it does not quite work out. 

fedup12345

ACG said:

Halifax do not pay the most, but in any event most lenders pay around the same. Halifax can be an easy lender to work with if all goes well. 

I think that is what it comes down to, your broker has probably gone with what he/she thought would be the easiest lender. Sometimes it does not quite work out. 

I told him this. I said to him they rejected me a year ago why would they accept me now and he was adamant to go with Halifax I’m absolutely gutted. 4 months of my life wasted I feel no one around me understands what I am going through too 

fedup12345

snowqueen555 said:

How did you find your broker? In my experience when I contacted 6 brokers for my mortgage, only 2 made an effort.

Long story to be honest. So at first I was buying a new build and the building site reccomended me their broker so I just went with them as they seemed nice on the phone which is important to me. I have had snotty brokers in the past, the new build fell through and I chose a new old house and just decided to stick with them. I’m gutted 

[Deleted User]

The brokers you see as snotty could be the most experienced and will find you the deal you need - don't judge others, don't be intimidated by successful people.

ACG

[Deleted User] said:

The brokers you see as snotty could be the most experienced and will find you the deal you need - don't judge others, don't be intimidated by successful people.

But they may not. In either event, if you do not like the broker, ditch them. 
There are no shortage of brokers, some you will gel with others you wont. I know I will never win every enquiry I get, people are usually more interested in our fees and if we are whole of market but it is also important you trust your broker and feel you can speak to them as it can get stressful and complicated. 
. 

kingstreet

Halifax is happy to consider those one year self-employed. As a newbuild specialist in such circumstances we would probably want to try Halifax first, specially if the LTV is 90% and/or there are cash incentives.

simon_or

snowqueen555 said:

How did you find your broker? In my experience when I contacted 6 brokers for my mortgage, only 2 made an effort.

Not all brokers are created equal, and while there is no dearth of brokers, good ones aren't that easy to come by. So if you find a good one, keep them for life.

Good brokers are worth their weight in gold, mine has saved me thousands of pounds over the years, prompted me to think about different aspects, really really matched my needs to lenders (as a partly self employed person, I had no idea that I could get a 38 year term with multiple mainstream banks in my 40s), helped me navigate through previous adverse issues, unravel the mortgage complications arising from perfectly sensible limited company tax planning, etc.