Mortgage appeal with Santander- what are our chances?

pinkM23

Hi all first time posting on here and wanted a bit of advice! 

We were recently declined a mortgage with Santander after an AIP. We had our offer accepted on a home £355,000 our deposit was £135,000. 

My husbands career is quite niche & physically demanding. Because of this it has an early retirement age (38) however he has plans in place for when the time comes evidenced by further qualifications. His career is and always has been contract based he has never been without a contract but his current one is ending in June. This is all standard for his line of work and so although many lenders won’t lend to people in his field there are a handful that will- Santander apparently being one of them. 

He has another job offer for when his current contract runs out which Santander were made aware of but we didn’t yet have evidence of this. 

Our mortgage advisor made Santander aware of all of these issues before the DIP and spoke with the BDMs at Santander and they said it’s should be fine but ultimately it’s down to the underwriter. 

Our credit scores are both great, I’m self employed but it’s quite a new business and so i was not able to put it on the application. 

Fast forward 2 weeks and we are declined. Our broker said it was because his contract finishes in June. They had also said they expect his earnings to drop in 10 years so of they were to consider us they will only consider £170,000 loan - which obviously would have been helpful to know before applying! To top it off the house was undervalued by £40,000 which is a whole other issue! 

So we have asked to appeal as my husband has managed to get his new job offer in writing from his employer it’s a much longer term contract (4years) with the offer of a new perminant less demanding role in the company at the end of the contract. Our broker sent this in 10 days ago and we are yet to hear back. I feel like I’m losing my mind waiting! Due to my husbands job and us living in Northern Ireland the only other lender that will consider us is HSBC and also a lower amount meaning we have to find another house. I feel so worried about having the same result I’m just hoping the appeal goes our way. 

What is the usual appeals process with Santander? Will it be the original underwriter? How long does it usually take? I feel like we should have heard something by now but maybe I’m just impatient. 

Sorry to ramble on and thank you if you have gotten this far! I just wanted to know what you guys think are chances are of it going our way? 

Strummer22

I can't really help with the appeal process sorry, but I am curious whether you meant your husband really has a retirement age of 38, or is that a typo?

pinkM23

Strummer22 said:

I can't really help with the appeal process sorry, but I am curious whether you meant your husband really has a retirement age of 38, or is that a typo?

Unfortunately not a typo! It makes getting a mortgage an absolute nightmare 

Hoenir

pinkM23 said:

Our credit scores are both great, I’m self employed but it’s quite a new business and so i was not able to put it on the application. 

Is the mortgage application in your husbands name only? 

JustMe18

Strummer22 said:

I can't really help with the appeal process sorry, but I am curious whether you meant your husband really has a retirement age of 38, or is that a typo?

I suspect could be professional sport...they retire around that age...my husband is a professional ice hockey player

pinkM23

Hoenir said:

pinkM23 said:

Our credit scores are both great, I’m self employed but it’s quite a new business and so i was not able to put it on the application. 

Is the mortgage application in your husbands name only? 

No it’s a joint application however I’m listed as a housewife as they won’t consider my income 

Zoe02

You have made it a bit difficult to be accepted by mainstream bank like Santander. Maybe try a broker.

"husband's retirement age of 38" 
"I’m listed as a housewife as they won’t consider my income" 

K_S

@pinkm23 I've no idea whether or not Santander will consider the appeal as generally speaking mainstream lenders have limited room to manoeuvre on non-standard professions, income types and extra early retirement ages. Unless you have provided additional/new evidence to support income post retirement, I would think it unlikely that Santander would overturn the decision made.

Generally speaking, the last time I did a mortgage for a sportsperson, it was on the basis that he would play until 35 and then transition into coaching (he was working towards the qualifications required to do so) and the mortgage would be based on his projected coaching income and retirement age, not his current income. However, it was with a small BS which did manual underwriting and could consider such non-standard circumstances, not a mainstream lender. The lender also needed evidence of insurance to cover injury, etc. but that will differ based on the specific lender.

If you haven't done this already, while this appeal is going on, I would recommend speaking to an NI mortgage broker recommended by his colleagues in the same field who live in NI.

Alternatively, if you have someone else who might be willing to come on the mortgage as a joint borrower not on the deeds, then a JBSP type mortgage might be an option as well.

I can't imagine that this would be an impossible case to place but the NI element adds an extra restrictive element to it.

All the best, hope you get the mortgage you need!

pinkM23 said:

Hi all first time posting on here and wanted a bit of advice! 

We were recently declined a mortgage with Santander after an AIP. We had our offer accepted on a home £355,000 our deposit was £135,000. 

My husbands career is quite niche & physically demanding. Because of this it has an early retirement age (38) however he has plans in place for when the time comes evidenced by further qualifications. His career is and always has been contract based he has never been without a contract but his current one is ending in June. This is all standard for his line of work and so although many lenders won’t lend to people in his field there are a handful that will- Santander apparently being one of them. 

He has another job offer for when his current contract runs out which Santander were made aware of but we didn’t yet have evidence of this. 

Our mortgage advisor made Santander aware of all of these issues before the DIP and spoke with the BDMs at Santander and they said it’s should be fine but ultimately it’s down to the underwriter. 

Our credit scores are both great, I’m self employed but it’s quite a new business and so i was not able to put it on the application. 

Fast forward 2 weeks and we are declined. Our broker said it was because his contract finishes in June. They had also said they expect his earnings to drop in 10 years so of they were to consider us they will only consider £170,000 loan - which obviously would have been helpful to know before applying! To top it off the house was undervalued by £40,000 which is a whole other issue! 

So we have asked to appeal as my husband has managed to get his new job offer in writing from his employer it’s a much longer term contract (4years) with the offer of a new perminant less demanding role in the company at the end of the contract. Our broker sent this in 10 days ago and we are yet to hear back. I feel like I’m losing my mind waiting! Due to my husbands job and us living in Northern Ireland the only other lender that will consider us is HSBC and also a lower amount meaning we have to find another house. I feel so worried about having the same result I’m just hoping the appeal goes our way. 

What is the usual appeals process with Santander? Will it be the original underwriter? How long does it usually take? I feel like we should have heard something by now but maybe I’m just impatient. 

Sorry to ramble on and thank you if you have gotten this far! I just wanted to know what you guys think are chances are of it going our way?