Mortgages, flats and such

Blotto17

Hi, I had a consultation with a mortgage adviser over the phone. She assessed my income and how much I could potentially be entitled to borrow. When I got off the phone I saw an email from her company saying congratulations I have earned myself an agreement in principle which expires in a few months. Nothing was mentioned about an agreement in principle over the phone. Is it just taken for granted that that is what the outcome would be at the end? And to view a property do I just show the estate agent a copy of said email?

I wanted to put down a large deposit  over 50% but she kept giving me quotes for how much I could get with a 20% deposit. Am I being paranoid or is it more in her favour for me to put down a lower deposit? 

It looks like it will be an apartment that I will be buying. What are the things to watch out for with buying apartments? Is leasehold really such a bad thing? And what happens when a lease runs out and you’re still living there? 

gwynlas

She is expecting you to apply for a mortgage through her and the larger the mortgage the more they earn, There is nothing undeerhand about this. You can look at properties without showing EA agreemeent in principal but they might imply that you also see their mortgage advisor. You need to read the threads for first time buyers on the forum regarding what properties to view and questions to ask. Having such a large deposit makes you a great candidate for loans and you should probably see a whole of market mortgage advisor before deciding who to give your business to.

housebuyer143

gwynlas said:

She is expecting you to apply for a mortgage through her and the larger the mortgage the more they earn, There is nothing undeerhand about this. You can look at properties without showing EA agreemeent in principal but they might imply that you also see their mortgage advisor. You need to read the threads for first time buyers on the forum regarding what properties to view and questions to ask. Having such a large deposit makes you a great candidate for loans and you should probably see a whole of market mortgage advisor before deciding who to give your business to.

Nothing underhand? Advising someone to take a larger loan than they want to get better commission seems underhand in my opinion.
You get better rates normally if you have 40% deposit.

eddddy

housebuyer143 said:

gwynlas said:

She is expecting you to apply for a mortgage through her and the larger the mortgage the more they earn, There is nothing undeerhand about this. You can look at properties without showing EA agreemeent in principal but they might imply that you also see their mortgage advisor. You need to read the threads for first time buyers on the forum regarding what properties to view and questions to ask. Having such a large deposit makes you a great candidate for loans and you should probably see a whole of market mortgage advisor before deciding who to give your business to.

Nothing underhand? Advising someone to take a larger loan than they want to get better commission seems underhand in my opinion.
You get better rates normally if you have 40% deposit.

The OP doesn't seem to be saying that the adviser was trying to persuade the OP to take out a bigger loan.

Just that the adviser was quoting for an 80% ltv rather than a 50% ltv.

If anything, that would suggest that the adviser was was encouraging the OP to buy a cheaper property with 80% ltv, instead of a more expensive property with 50% ltv.

But I guess it was just a misunderstanding.

kingstreet

An extra £20k on the loan would increase the proc fee by about £65. Hardly worth it.

Blotto17

I didn’t take it as underhanded, I was just wondering what the motivation was. I actually had that kind of happen to me before. Another advisor was encouraging me not to put such a large deposit down as it would mean it would be more left over for me to buy things for myself!? 

For me, I want the smallest monthly payments as possible therefore I could buy what I want for myself with the rest of the wages that I would be saving every month. I could keep saving and try to buy cash but I think I’ve taken enough years off my life with all the extra shifts I’ve been doing. And the house prices just keep creeping up the more I try to get near to them.