Accord mortgage timelines

COYI123

Hi everyone , just seeing everyone’s experience at the moment with accord and what sort of times are like from mortgage application to offer ? Thanks in advance ! 

K_S

@COYI123 They're taking about 4-5 days to pick up new applications for initial assessment, but it's quicker after that. As per their current published service levels for resi business, app-offer is currently taking on average 12 working days (this would include the time taken for valuation and would include a range of application timelines, some that took 4-5 days and others that went on for a month).

If you look at the ticker on the top-half of this page, it gives that info.
https://www.accordmortgages.com/

To state the obvious, the more queries and to-and-fro there is during underwriting, the longer the process will take.

COYI123 said:

Hi everyone , just seeing everyone’s experience at the moment with accord and what sort of times are like from mortgage application to offer ? Thanks in advance !  

COYI123

K_S said:

@COYI123 They're taking about 4-5 days to pick up new applications for initial assessment, but it's quicker after that. As per their current published service levels for resi business, app-offer is currently taking on average 12 working days (this would include the time taken for valuation and would include a range of application timelines, some that took 4-5 days and others that went on for a month).

If you look at the ticker on the top-half of this page, it gives that info.
https://www.accordmortgages.com/

To state the obvious, the more queries and to-and-fro there is during underwriting, the longer the process will take.

COYI123 said:

Hi everyone , just seeing everyone’s experience at the moment with accord and what sort of times are like from mortgage application to offer ? Thanks in advance !  

They did a hard search on day of application which was 5 days ago , and did an in person valuation 4 days ago , how long roughly do you think from now ? My broker is quite good and has submitted every document and more that he thinks they’ll ever need and they haven’t came back with any questions as of now , is this a good sign from your experience ? Thanks for the help by the way appreciate it 

K_S

@coyi123 I can't really give a useful opinion as it depends on the particulars of your case and what your broker can see on the tracker.

As per Accord's published service levels, as of today they were on the following dates -

Initial assessment - applications submitted on 25 May
Document processing - documents uploaded on 23 May

I wouldn't stress too much if it's a day or two past that, it's just a guide not a target/deadline.

Your broker can see the app tracker - the requirements will either show as received (which means it's in a queue to be looked at) or satisfied. Like so -

COYI123

K_S said:

@coyi123 I can't really give a useful opinion as it depends on the particulars of your case and what your broker can see on the tracker.

As per Accord's published service levels, as of today they were on the following dates -

Initial assessment - applications submitted on 25 May
Document processing - documents uploaded on 23 May

I wouldn't stress too much if it's a day or two past that, it's just a guide not a target/deadline.

Your broker can see the app tracker - the requirements will either show as received (which means it's in a queue to be looked at) or satisfied. Like so -

Thank you this makes a lot of sense now , spoke to broker and they said that it is satisfied , so I’m guessing that’s a good thing , and they also haven’t asked for anything else so hopefully get a offer by this week hopefully 

COYI123

@K_S also if you don’t mind me asking , what are accord like as an overall lender ? 

K_S

COYI123 said:

@K_S also if you don’t mind me asking , what are accord like as an overall lender ? 

@coyi123 As a broker, I really rate them for the following reasons -
- offer mainstream rates (rarely ever top of the table but not too far behind either)
- generous on affordability for mid/high income apps
- flexible I/O criteria
- offer high-LTV mainstream-ish product range (Cascade) for clients with historic adverse
- their underwriters will do their best to use common sense (eg: considering bonus with one year history, variable pay with limited history, limited contracting history, patchy employment history, new landlords, non owner-occupiers, etc.) on good quality cases
- BDMs are very helpful and will go into the details if warranted
- offer BTL top-slicing
- slick and functional broker user interface, etc.
- decent service levels more often than not

They've often come to the rescue for my clients who need to maximise borrowing, high LTV with light adverse, patchy employment history, new contractors, etc.

UnknownKnight

I am also going through the Accord process now.

Offer accepted on 26th October.
Application on 31st October.
Valuation took place today (6th November).

Feeling nervous! I am a FTB looking for 85% LTV.

BLN83

Just about to submit a mortgage application with Accord after a decline from West Brom... Feeling very nervous... Decline was due to valuation and the property being noted as a high flood risk, we also flagged the council search from the solicitor showing this to the broker who advised the lender prior to offer which I think was a mistake .... 

The property is large and on a slope and basically the 5m at the end of the garden and boundary have a stream and this is noted as a high flood risk on the council search. The house is at the top of the slope and 5/6m above the stream and there is no way it could ever flood, has not history of flooding and the council website for the postcode says low flood risk - the flood risk located to end of garden only .... 

Our broker has reached out to Accord and mentioned the flood risk and they advised subject to valuers report and us being able to get standard terms insurance (insurance broker has checked and we can get this without issue) then would be ok to lend ... We have the AIP as well.

@K_S any thoughts on a situation like this ?? nervous about being declined again and losing the perfect dream house.  

K_S

BLN83 said:

Just about to submit a mortgage application with Accord after a decline from West Brom... Feeling very nervous... Decline was due to valuation and the property being noted as a high flood risk, we also flagged the council search from the solicitor showing this to the broker who advised the lender prior to offer which I think was a mistake .... 

The property is large and on a slope and basically the 5m at the end of the garden and boundary have a stream and this is noted as a high flood risk on the council search. The house is at the top of the slope and 5/6m above the stream and there is no way it could ever flood, has not history of flooding and the council website for the postcode says low flood risk - the flood risk located to end of garden only .... 

Our broker has reached out to Accord and mentioned the flood risk and they advised subject to valuers report and us being able to get standard terms insurance (insurance broker has checked and we can get this without issue) then would be ok to lend ... We have the AIP as well.

@K_S any thoughts on a situation like this ?? nervous about being declined again and losing the perfect dream house.  

@bln83 I'm not an expert in this area but generally speaking, there's unlikely to be a huge difference in risk appetite between two mainstream lenders. So if the flood risk is too high for mainstream Lender A, based just on that I would expect a similar outcome from mainstream lender B.

However, setting the decline from West Brom aside, based on what I've seen of properties as a broker, given the details in your post and the fact that you can get insurance at standard terms, I would be surprised if the risk of flooding came up as an issue at the valuation stage beyond a note in the 'Matters for conveyancer' section asking them to assess the risk of flooding as part of the conveyancing process.

If there are any major issues with flood risk that aren't evident, I would expect them to come up during conveyancing through searches rather than at this early stage.

In any case, if you get two declines on the same flood risk, probably best to move on as you don't want to be saddled with a property that's hard to mortgage (and hence hard to sell). Plus with these kind of risks, it might not take a lot to move it from hard-to-mortgage to un-mortgageable in a decade or two.