Why is my buyers mortgage offer taking so long?

beeah13

Partner and I are 12 weeks into a sale with no chain either side. All searches, enquires etc. were completed over 4 weeks ago. EA contacted us mid-May to say buyers had applied for their mortgage (I’m not sure why this wasn’t done sooner) and a desktop valuation had been completed so they wanted to try and move by end of May. Few days later EA told us they needed an in-person valuation which was completed on 21/05. Since then the buyers financial advisor has been saying they are expecting the mortgage offer ‘by end of the day tomorrow’ every time we call. Start of last week they said the lender had needed more payslips so the offer was coming through Tuesday. Then on Wednesday still no offer and told that their file had been pulled for a random audit and they would have news in 4 working days (yesterday). Spoke to EA this morning and now FA has said the lender (and other lenders apparently) are experiencing a glitch in their systems and there is a 10-day backlog. No update on the outcome of the audit. 

It may all just be a case of bad luck but we are finding the whole thing very odd, especially because the FA has been saying he is expecting the offer. I don’t understand why it’s now going to take 10 days if the underwriters have written out the offer. EA says there’s nothing we can do and if we don’t have any news by 23/06 we should offer an ultimatum. They assured us that the FA wouldn’t lie because he is part of a professional body but we have asked if we can get something in writing from him to explain the delays. 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this or has any advice on what to do apart from spend another 10 days waiting? Does anybody know anything about these apparent system glitches happening with mortgage lenders?

veronikamoneva

yes, that's unusual for the lender to still be doing affordability checks even after valuation done, 12 weeks is a long time to wait for a mortgage offer, I've waited 6 weeks, from offer on the house accepted, to receiving a formal mortgage offer, with the valuation done as the last thing. Not sure if you can speed things up from your end, but it's definitely worth nudging solicitor for frequent updates. Hope all ends well soon  

njkmr

the buyers didn't let the mortgage offer they had run out did they?
If they had an offer it can be for so many months , and if it runs out they have to apply again from scratch I think.
It happened with a property I sold, and it delayed things for months. 
Not sure if they will tell you it has run out but worth asking.

housebuyer143

When my buyers offer took 12 weeks it was because it was with an adverse lender and they were asking lots of questions. 
He didn't get it in the end though and the sale fell through. 

beeah13

Sorry should clarify that the whole process so far from accepting their offer to now has taken 12 weeks. They didn’t apply for their mortgage until about week 7 when everything else was already done and then valuation was done on 21st May. It’s just frustrating that we keep being told different things as an excuse for not having the offer. 

housebuyer143

beeah13 said:

Sorry should clarify that the whole process so far from accepting their offer to now has taken 12 weeks. They didn’t apply for their mortgage until about week 7 when everything else was already done and then valuation was done on 21st May. It’s just frustrating that we keep being told different things as an excuse for not having the offer. 

They either have something unusual, so limited company, bad credit, strange deposit source etc and it's taking time to verify it all, or they are having problems and don't want to tell you yet. 

beeah13

housebuyer143 said:

beeah13 said:

Sorry should clarify that the whole process so far from accepting their offer to now has taken 12 weeks. They didn’t apply for their mortgage until about week 7 when everything else was already done and then valuation was done on 21st May. It’s just frustrating that we keep being told different things as an excuse for not having the offer. 

They either have something unusual, so limited company, bad credit, strange deposit source etc and it's taking time to verify it all, or they are having problems and don't want to tell you yet. 

This is what we suspect. One of them has their own company and they’re also renting out another house, so think their finances are likely complicated but their FA keeps saying there’s no issue with the actual mortgage and our EA has seen proof of funds etc. EA are saying they trust the FA because he wouldn’t be allowed to lie since he’ll be with a professional body but my gut feeling is that something is off. Not sure what else to do but wait though! 

ReadySteadyPop

Go to one of your other offers?