Excessive worrying between exchange and completion - Halifax Mortgage

rottcodd

I didn't think the most stressful bit of home ownership would be the time between exchange and completion, but here I am! I have a tendency to over think and over worry. We have about 6 / 7 weeks before we complete, we have already exchanged (this time period was necessary for both the sellers and us for various reasons).

I am terrified that at some point our mortgage offer is going to be withdrawn and then we will lose our deposit, and am just seeking some reassurance about how unlikely this is.

1. I have seen threads of people having their mortgage offer revoked after exchange. How common is this? We have 0 on our credit cards, no loans, no finance etc. 

2. Buying as a couple, I'm also worrying that either one of us gets made redundant before completion. I think my job is quite safe but my partner's company have a tendency to make people redundant. If this happens like a few days before completion, how would the mortgage company find out about this? I know that we would have a duty to tell them, but I would not be able to get the mortgage on my own so this would result in losing a 10% deposit which would destroy us. 

3. I assume Halifax will do a final credit check a couple of days before completion. I guess this is just to generally check nothing major has happened like taking out new credit etc? They're not going to phone up our employers / ask for more payslips etc? 

user1977

rottcodd said:

1. I have seen threads of people having their mortgage offer revoked after exchange. How common is this? 

Can you point us towards any such thread? They generally include a (good) reason why it may have happened. And it is immensely uncommon in any event.

RelievedSheff

That is a long time between exchange and completion but nothing you can do about that now.

Just try not to worry, it is incredibly uncommon for mortgage offers to be withdrawn.

Halifax did not do a final credit check in our case.

nicmyles

It is extremely rare. If it wasn't, no-one would take the risk of buying a home.

I bought my first flat with Halifax and they did no further checks.

I would argue that in the event of redundancy, there is nothing to report until it takes place - six weeks would be a very quick consultation process to result in a final outcome of redundancy.

Really don't worry about this.

london21

Just relax and expect the best.

Not long to go now, nearly at the finish line. 

UnderOffer

If you are a natural worrier then 6 weeks between exchange and completion is an incredibly long time for you to to be anxious for, however as others said try and focus on other things and look forward to your new home. 

I am interested though, did you find it difficult to get buildings insurance for this longer period? Our insurance company seemed to indicate there would be a maximum length of time not exceeding 3 weeks a few years ago when I enquired. 

chanz4

As long as nothing material changes, be fine

ivk

For those who have not exchanged yet, is there anything that can be done to reduce the risk? I find the practice of making the buyer responsible for lender's actions, which are of course beyond buyer's control, risking what typically is a huge amount of buyer's own money extremely unfair. Common or not, why should such responsibility exist in the first place?

user1977

ivk said:

For those who have not exchanged yet, is there anything that can be done to reduce the risk? I find the practice of making the buyer responsible for lender's actions, which are of course beyond buyer's control, risking what typically is a huge amount of buyer's own money extremely unfair. Common or not, why should such responsibility exist in the first place?

As between the buyer and seller, the seller has absolutely no control over the buyer's lender or indeed the buyer's decision to borrow their money in the first place.

What would be the alternative? If the seller took on the risk of the mortgage being pulled, it would be fairly easy for a buyer to throw a spanner in the works of their own mortgage if they wanted to get out of the contract.

If anything needs "fixed", it's having a minimum loss of the contractual deposit, even where a seller doesn't actually suffer any loss.

ivk

user1977 said:

What would be the alternative? If the seller took on the risk of the mortgage being pulled, it would be fairly easy for a buyer to throw a spanner in the works of their own mortgage if they wanted to get out of the contract.

One alternative I can think of is to make lenders responsible for withdrawing offers they issue for reasons that have nothing to do with substantial changes in buyer's circumstances. Withdrawing an offer because the buyer lost their job is perfectly understandable, but lenders having the right to pull out for any reason and carry no responsibility is not.

Another thing that is unfair about the current state of things is how little the seller is responsible for breaching the contract. So in practice it can be something like the buyer risking £40K versus seller's liability of £700.

user1977

ivk said:

user1977 said:

What would be the alternative? If the seller took on the risk of the mortgage being pulled, it would be fairly easy for a buyer to throw a spanner in the works of their own mortgage if they wanted to get out of the contract.

One alternative I can think of is to make lenders responsible for withdrawing offers they issue for reasons that have nothing to do with substantial changes in buyer's circumstances. Withdrawing an offer because the buyer lost their job is perfectly understandable, but lenders having the right to pull out for any reason and carry no responsibility is not.

But so far nobody has even come up with an example of a lender pulling out for reasons other than a substantial change in the borrower's circumstances. And from a regulatory point of view, it would already be hazardous enough for them to do so.

You're certainly not going to get lenders somehow becoming a party to the contract with the vendor.