Being put at risk of redundancy just before exchange. Should we notify Natwest?

Wantabeautifulhouse

We have a mortgage offer with Natwest which expires in February.

My wife's income was used when applying for the mortgage. 

We received the news that my wife's employer is giving notice of redundancy and that my wife's position is at risk. She will only know in 30 days if her position is being made redundant after the consulting period. 

We were hoping to exchange and complete in October.  Everything is ready to go.

Extremely bad timing!

Do we have to inform Natwest even though she still has her job? 

At this stage, my wife still has her job and she may keep it. We are just in Limbo for the next 30 days.

We have to exchange and complete in Oct or we will lose the house. 

We are in an extremely good financial position and don't need her job to pay the mortgage.

user1977

Wantabeautifulhouse said:

Do we have to inform Natwest even though she still has her job? 

I would say yes if she's in a pool being considered for redundancy. I mean, I presume that would mean a different answer to earlier questions about the permanence of her employment?

Neilos9

Speculation, i would say not....

Brie

I didn't when we were looking to move. 

In fact i was already in line for redundancy when we applied but was confident that they would offer me another role somewhere within what is admittedly a very large company.  I didn't lie.  I told them what my salary was and what it had been in the past.  I knew that if I was made redundant that I'd get something approaching a year's salary and would very likely find a job within that 12 months.  Granted I'm an optimist but I think that's what helps me stay employed.  

For your wife....so you'll exchange in the next couple of weeks while she is still employed and not being made redundant.  And after you exchange she will know if she's being made redundant and will know what payout she might get if she doesn't manage to find another role in the company.  And if she doesn't it will be a couple of months later perhaps before she actually leaves.  Not a problem in my opinion.

Wantabeautifulhouse

user1977 said:

Wantabeautifulhouse said:

Do we have to inform Natwest even though she still has her job? 

I would say yes if she's in a pool being considered for redundancy. I mean, I presume that would mean a different answer to earlier questions about the permanence of her employment?

Yes, the affordability is a non issue now. The mortgage was offered.

I feel it is so unfair. She is still employed and may remain employed. She will be employed when we exchange and complete.  Technically our current circumstances did not change. 

Such bad timing!

If anyone in the mortgage industry has an opinion, it would be much appreciated. 

nottsphil

You will have to sign a mortgage contract with NatWest this month. Have you found out if it will include any clause confirming your wife's permanent employment status?

Wantabeautifulhouse

nottsphil said:

You will have to sign a mortgage contract with NatWest this month. Have you found out if it will include any clause confirming your wife's permanent employment status?

We already signed everything and did not date anything in middle Sep. Honestly, I don't even know what the contract says exactly. Even if it does say something about employment, she is still employed currently and may remain employed in the future. 

This is so unfair

housebuyer143

Wantabeautifulhouse said:

nottsphil said:

You will have to sign a mortgage contract with NatWest this month. Have you found out if it will include any clause confirming your wife's permanent employment status?

We already signed everything and did not date anything in middle Sep. Honestly, I don't even know what the contract says exactly. Even if it does say something about employment, she is still employed currently and may remain employed in the future. 

This is so unfair

I would just say nothing until you have more info. If you want to complete on a house with redundancy looming and are confident you can pay the bills then do it. 
NatWest are not going to know at this point and you might scupper your offer for no reason at all 

road2ruin

For me the question is can you afford the mortgage if your wife loses her job and you’re reliant on your income for a while. 

Personally I wouldn’t say anything as you risk your lender wanting to restart the process especially when your wife may not lose her job etc.