Santander Refused Consent To Let

loveka · 13 January 2019 at 9:06AM

2 weeks ago I phoned Santander and asked about letting our house. I was told we met all the criteria and we would get a confirmation letter. I was told we would stay on our fixed rate, and then move to a new BTL mortgage if we were still wanting to rent it out at the end of the fix.

Yesterday we got a letter refusing it. The letter says we as we had additional borrowing less than 6 months ago they cannot grant the consent.

The background is that we borrowed an extra £22.5k, in 2 lumps. The first was to fix the roof and to do other smaller jobs. The second was our boiler blew up. It was 31st October we got the second additional sum.

For background the house is worth £475,000. The mortgage is £140,000. We took out a 5 year fix a year ago.

I am self employed, and lost a major contract near where I live. I have been offered a great opportunity 250 miles away. Due to my age and the industry I work in I am unlikely to find anything else near home in the immediate future.

We don't want to sell as we don't know if we will like where we are planning on moving to, also the uncertainty around Bexit.

We have a £6k early redemption charge on the mortgage.

We are now totally stuck. We can't afford to pay the mortgage and rent in the new location. I don't have any income where we are now. We can't afford the redemption fee.

After a sleepless night I could really do with some advice. Thank you.

julicorn · 13 January 2019 at 9:54AM

Have Santander given you an indication of whether they'd grant consent to let after 6 months have passed since your additional borrowing?

Nebulous2 · 13 January 2019 at 9:58AM

You have options - though none of them seem palatable to you. Some possibilities are:-

1. Take up the job and find the cheapest way to live there during the week you can - leaving anyone else at home. So rent-a-room, B&B, caravan, live in your vehicle until you see whether it works out for you. A few months down the road you can reapply for consent to let.

2. Sell, whether you want to or not.

3. Get a buy-to-let mortgage and include the £6k ERC in that.

Every major decision you make in life will involve compromises. There never is the perfect choice. What you need to do is a balance sheet, with pluses and minuses and work out something where you feel for you and your family the positives outweigh the negatives.

If I may be so bold, don't focus on Santanders refusal as the cause of your worries. The major cause appears to me to be that you have a lot of equity in your home, but don't have the income/ emergency fund to match. Choosing or needing to replace a boiler with secured lending shows you are struggling to maintain your lifestyle.

Good luck. Big decisions and changes are never easy, but they can be done.

loveka · 13 January 2019 at 10:51AM

julicorn wrote: »

Have Santander given you an indication of whether they'd grant consent to let after 6 months have passed since your additional borrowing?

No, and that is what I'm wondering! I wondered if anyone here would know

DannyPearce90 · 13 January 2019 at 10:52AM

Steer clear of Santander, they really are the worst.

You do not need to convert to a BTL. You can just ask them for "consent to let". This usually lasts 12 months and is reviewable.

loveka · 13 January 2019 at 10:53AM

Nebulous2 wrote: »

You have options - though none of them seem palatable to you. Some possibilities are:-

1. Take up the job and find the cheapest way to live there during the week you can - leaving anyone else at home. So rent-a-room, B&B, caravan, live in your vehicle until you see whether it works out for you. A few months down the road you can reapply for consent to let.

2. Sell, whether you want to or not.

3. Get a buy-to-let mortgage and include the £6k ERC in that.

Every major decision you make in life will involve compromises. There never is the perfect choice. What you need to do is a balance sheet, with pluses and minuses and work out something where you feel for you and your family the positives outweigh the negatives.

If I may be so bold, don't focus on Santanders refusal as the cause of your worries. The major cause appears to me to be that you have a lot of equity in your home, but don't have the income/ emergency fund to match. Choosing or needing to replace a boiler with secured lending shows you are struggling to maintain your lifestyle.

Good luck. Big decisions and changes are never easy, but they can be done.

I know it must seem like I have some awful chaotic lifestyle, but I really don't! The boiler and roof came at a very bad time.

Nebulous2 · 13 January 2019 at 12:03PM

loveka wrote: »

I know it must seem like I have some awful chaotic lifestyle, but I really don't! The boiler and roof came at a very bad time.

Not at all. You have a lot going for you with a decent job offer and a lot of equity in your home. I was trying to point out that you do have options.

It is very soul-destroying trying to maintain a lifestyle when your income is slipping away, sometimes you need to make a decision however, rather than sitting worrying about it.

I know someone who is out of work, has been offered a contract at £450 a day, and hasn't taken it because of the travel it involves. His cousin who has worked hard all his life, and probably regards £600 a week as a decent wage, cannot comprehend his choice to turn it down - 'because he has to travel a bit!'

We make the choices that suit us, but a big mistake people make is to set so many preconditions that they believe they don't have any choice.

minimike2 · 13 January 2019 at 12:09PM

DannyPearce90 wrote: »

Steer clear of Santander, they really are the worst.

You do not need to convert to a BTL. You can just ask them for "consent to let". This usually lasts 12 months and is reviewable.

Have you actually read the original post?

enthusiasticsaver · 13 January 2019 at 7:12PM

You will have to do as my DH did when we moved from Greater London to Cornwall and you will need to rent a room in a shared house initially as cheaply as possible and live apart from your family until you are certain if the job will be the right fit for you. I think I would then reapply and put the house up for sale if Santander refuse it again and take the hit. You have a lot of equity and hopefully if the job works out ok you wont have a problem getting another mortgage. You may even be able to port your existing one meaning no early redemption fee.

Santander Refused Consent To Let

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