How early can I apply?

Vincenzo

Hi everyone,

I have a mortgage deal coming to an end in November this year. I am keen to avoid paying the SVR for any period at all.

I am concerned that I may have a planning issue (I converted a garage which did not nee planning permission but I suspect the surveyor may note this and cause me underwriting problems).

Anyway - how soon before I want the new mortgage to begin can I apply? Ideally I would want at least 2 months, in case I need to sort out the planning issue. Is this realistic?

Thanks.

UK007BullDog

If I were you sort out the planning issue as fast as possible as it could take months. You will definately need to sort it if you ever wanted to sell.

If you remortgage with the same lender then no worries. If you go to another then yes you might have a problem there. The lender will want to know if the conversion was made to building standards. So you will need the paperwork from the council to prove this was the case.

fletch14

Hi

Have you applied to Building Control? They enforce the building regulations & are a separate department to planning.

You would have definitely needed Building Regulations approval (they send a surveyor out to inspect the work).

This would cause you problems as without building regulation approval the work is classed as "unauthorised" and potentially you could end up in court!

If you don't have it, get in contact ASAP with them. They can carry out regularisation of it, but this could take several weeks.

Hope it helps x

JF77

Yeah, I'm getting my garage converted at the end of March and I was advised by Building Control at my local council to apply for Building Regulations Approval which I have done and, they will be coming to inspect throughout the work.

Good Luck.

Vincenzo

Yes, the work has been certified by building regs. I avoided paying for a certificate of lawful development as I think it is a con. It costs the same amount as a planning application. So effectively you have to pay whether you need planning or not.

What I am really after is a take from a mortgage broker/underwriter on how this is treated? I am concerned that while I know I did not need planning permission most surveyors will cover their backs when they do the mortgage val by advising the lender to seek confirmation of planning permission. The underwriter will read their comments and ask me for documents which I cannot provide. Also the original lending was for a 'house with integral garage' - no longer the case, so it is bound to come up!

What I really would like to find out is:

1. How soon before I need the mortgage can I apply and have a survey done? (to give me time to sort out any problems - in theory it only take 6 weeks to get the certificate). I will be borowing more than the original amount so even if i stay with my current lender they will want to do a survey.

2. Anyone have this or similar problem in the past?

I may just have to bite the bullet and pay the money for the lawful dev. cert. but I really would rather not. I pay enough council tax as it is!

Vincenzo

Hi again - I could really do with an answer on this.

Any mortgage brokers out there? What is the earliest I can apply for a mortgage and have a survey done, before I want the mortgage to actually start?