Houses

[BeardyFox]

I'm just starting the mortgage application process. I'm using a broker that works for the financial advisors my workplace use. 

My father in law keeps telling us that we shouldn't tell the advisor about all the money we have available because in his words "they always want more". 

For example if we had 30k saved up we should only 'declare' 25k? 

This doesn't sound right but is it a good idea? 

[FoyleFox]

2 minutes ago, BeardyFox said:

I'm just starting the mortgage application process. I'm using a broker that works for the financial advisors my workplace use. 

My father in law keeps telling us that we shouldn't tell the advisor about all the money we have available because in his words "they always want more". 

For example if we had 30k saved up we should only 'declare' 25k? 

This doesn't sound right but is it a good idea? 

I'm not sure on your Father in law's experience for suggesting this, nor do I have any expertise but I'd want to declare everything to find out the maximum that could be borrowed. Just because you can have it, doesn't mean you have to spend it.

Who are 'they' that always want more? 

What happens if you find a perfect house that's a little over the mortgage they've offered, you know you can afford it because of the extra undeclared money but you've no DIP to support an offer? 

An estate agent may try to push your offer up if they know you can afford more but it's up to you to stand firm if your offer is one you're happy with. 

It doesn't sound the right idea to me, I'm not sure if there are any real reasons behind it but he may have some. 

[BeardyFox]

24 minutes ago, FoyleFox said:

I'm not sure on your Father in law's experience for suggesting this, nor do I have any expertise but I'd want to declare everything to find out the maximum that could be borrowed. Just because you can have it, doesn't mean you have to spend it.

Who are 'they' that always want more? 

What happens if you find a perfect house that's a little over the mortgage they've offered, you know you can afford it because of the extra undeclared money but you've no DIP to support an offer? 

An estate agent may try to push your offer up if they know you can afford more but it's up to you to stand firm if your offer is one you're happy with. 

It doesn't sound the right idea to me, I'm not sure if there are any real reasons behind it but he may have some. 

This was my reaction to it tbh. As you say if you miss out on the best possible property by a couple of £k you'd be pretty miffed. 

[DB11]

On 10/03/2021 at 13:37, Leicester_Loyal said:

Woke up to an email this morning saying the vendor wants a Mortgage In Principle arranging before they'll consider my offer. I said surely that's pointless because if they reject my offer it's a waste of everyones time, or I'll have to apply for another AIP for a different amount if I do want to raise my offer. They responded that I could get an AIP for my maximum amount then lower the actual borrowing amount when a price is agreed, so basically they'll know what my financial situation is and try to squeeze as much out of me as possible I responded no chance, you have my offer, let me know if it's accepted or rejected, if it's accepted you'll have an AIP within 24 hours.

This is probably why you keep getting ‘messed about’ by estate agents and not taken seriously. Of course you need to prove you have the funds to back up your offer 

[Leicester_Loyal]

16 minutes ago, DB11 said:

This is probably why you keep getting ‘messed about’ by estate agents and not taken seriously. Of course you need to prove you have the funds to back up your offer 

Maybe.

 

I have been advised by my mortgage broker since day 1 that applying for an agreement in Principle every 3 months would seriously harm my credit rating, so only to apply once I have an offer accepted, as originally I only wanted to live in one area, so houses there were rare.

 

I have always sent proof of my deposit straight over which is 25%, but always told them if an offer is accepted I will have an AIP to them within 24 hours. Whether or not this is the correct advice remains to be seen, as others are now telling me I'll go nowhere unless I have an AIP whilst making an offer.

[KrefelderFox666]

3 hours ago, BeardyFox said:

I'm just starting the mortgage application process. I'm using a broker that works for the financial advisors my workplace use. 

My father in law keeps telling us that we shouldn't tell the advisor about all the money we have available because in his words "they always want more". 

For example if we had 30k saved up we should only 'declare' 25k? 

This doesn't sound right but is it a good idea? 

Definitely tell your mortgage advisor about everything you have in and out, let them have the right picture of your situation to give you the best advice.

 

It is within your right to tell them that you have x amount of savings/deposit but would like to keep 20% (or whatever amount) and he can tailor his advice. At the end of the day, the mortgage advisor should assess your situation as well as any preferences and goals you have financially to ensure the mortgage (and any other protection/insurance) is right for you. There is plenty of legislation around protecting you as a customer.

 

So just be honest, it's in your best interest.

Edited 13 March 2021 by KrefelderFox666

[Milo]

2 hours ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Maybe.

 

I have been advised by my mortgage broker since day 1 that applying for an agreement in Principle every 3 months would seriously harm my credit rating, so only to apply once I have an offer accepted, as originally I only wanted to live in one area, so houses there were rare.

 

I have always sent proof of my deposit straight over which is 25%, but always told them if an offer is accepted I will have an AIP to them within 24 hours. Whether or not this is the correct advice remains to be seen, as others are now telling me I'll go nowhere unless I have an AIP whilst making an offer.

AIP’s are soft search only, to my knowledge  - no impact on credit score. 
 

If you think about it, it would be kind of nuts that applying to a bank for a mortgage would affect your rating with that bank! 
 

Maybe shop around for brokers?  We had 3 on the go at the same time in the very early stages, before we committed to one. 

Edited 13 March 2021 by Milo
Typo

[Costock_Fox]

5 hours ago, BeardyFox said:

I'm just starting the mortgage application process. I'm using a broker that works for the financial advisors my workplace use. 

My father in law keeps telling us that we shouldn't tell the advisor about all the money we have available because in his words "they always want more". 

For example if we had 30k saved up we should only 'declare' 25k? 

This doesn't sound right but is it a good idea? 

Yeah I’m not sure on that either. He might mean they will try to cross sell you things but as far as your property goes tell him how much you are putting down for the deposit otherwise you risk not getting the house you want.

[Unabomber]

Had someone offer £10k over the asking price today but they need to sell. The market is just mental atm,

[Leicester_Loyal]

5 minutes ago, Unabomber said:

Had someone offer £10k over the asking price today but they need to sell. The market is just mental atm,

Has been for a while. I bid over 5k the asking price this week and was told 3 others have done the same, so will have to up my offer tomorrow. Will probably end up going 8-10k over asking price, just want to get a house now and get it sorted.

[FoxesDeb]

13 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Has been for a while. I bid over 5k the asking price this week and was told 3 others have done the same, so will have to up my offer tomorrow. Will probably end up going 8-10k over asking price, just want to get a house now and get it sorted.

Where's the one you're offering on? I know you widened your search area recently.

[Unabomber]

17 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Has been for a while. I bid over 5k the asking price this week and was told 3 others have done the same, so will have to up my offer tomorrow. Will probably end up going 8-10k over asking price, just want to get a house now and get it sorted.

Just buy mine then everyone’s a winner 

[Leicester_Loyal]

8 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

Where's the one you're offering on? I know you widened your search area recently.

Braunstone Town. Yeah, was just looking for Syston but honestly I'd move anywhere now, just want a place of my own.

 

5 minutes ago, Unabomber said:

Just buy mine then everyone’s a winner 

I fear they'll find bodies under the patio in years to come

[Unabomber]

16 minutes ago, Leicester_Loyal said:

Braunstone Town. Yeah, was just looking for Syston but honestly I'd move anywhere now, just want a place of my own.

 

I fear they'll find bodies under the patio in years to come

Just adds to the character 

[Sly]

We’re changing estate agent this week. Served them notice 2 weeks ago. 

 

I tried to call ours and book a viewing last week ...... didn’t get a cal back, might explain a few things. 

[Strokes]

On 11/03/2021 at 02:58, Leicester_Loyal said:

What's Cosby like as an area? Any advice welcome

It’s a really pleasant village with a great community. The pub has regularly live music, the takeaways are pretty decent.

I do miss it to be honest.

[Costock_Fox]

10 minutes ago, Strokes said:

It’s a really pleasant village with a great community. The pub has regularly live music, the takeaways are pretty decent.

I do miss it to be honest.

Had many a lock in in the bulls head. Every week was just a case of leave when you want haha

[Strokes]

1 minute ago, Costock_Fox said:

Had many a lock in in the bulls head. Every week was just a case of leave when you want haha

It was still like that when I lived there a couple of years back.

Really good boozer.

[Samilktray]

Does anyone have experience of buying on the shared ownership scheme? Is it as much of a ball ache buying through that compared to what some of the people in this thread have gone through recently 

[Strokes]

2 hours ago, Samilktray said:

Does anyone have experience of buying on the shared ownership scheme? Is it as much of a ball ache buying through that compared to what some of the people in this thread have gone through recently 

My mum has just bought through it.

It is a little bit more troublesome as the amount of people looking to purchase, to the amount of available homes is even worse than the regular market.

Once you get an offer accepted it seemed to be no different really.

Edited 14 March 2021 by Strokes

[Webbo]

2 hours ago, Samilktray said:

Does anyone have experience of buying on the shared ownership scheme? Is it as much of a ball ache buying through that compared to what some of the people in this thread have gone through recently 

I bought our first house that way. Don't remember it being especially complicated. 

[TiffToff88]

2 hours ago, Samilktray said:

Does anyone have experience of buying on the shared ownership scheme? Is it as much of a ball ache buying through that compared to what some of the people in this thread have gone through recently 

My last home was shared ownership. It was a new build and we were the first buyers so it wasn't so complicated, but selling it on was an absolute nightmare. Our chain almost collapsed because the housing association (PA Housing - formerly ASRA Housing) that owned the other part of our house were being ridiculous. Causing delays at every opportunity and they were very hard to get in contact with for anything throughout our time with them. Don't get me wrong... They got us on the property ladder but in hindsight I would have preferred to take an extra year or so saving up for more of a deposit so I wouldn't have to go down that route. Afterall, if you don't plan on staircasing, you'll be paying off a mortgage for 25-35 years and after that time you'll still only own a percentage of the house

Edited 14 March 2021 by TiffToff88

[Otis]

59 minutes ago, TiffToff88 said:

My last home was shared ownership. It was a new build and we were the first buyers so it wasn't so complicated, but selling it on was an absolute nightmare. Our chain almost collapsed because the housing association (PA Housing - formerly ASRA Housing) that owned the other part of our house were being ridiculous. Causing delays at every opportunity and they were very hard to get in contact with for anything throughout our time with them. Don't get me wrong... They got us on the property ladder but in hindsight I would have preferred to take an extra year or so saving up for more of a deposit so I wouldn't have to go down that route. Afterall, if you don't plan on staircasing, you'll be paying off a mortgage for 25-35 years and after that time you'll still only own a percentage of the house

And pay rent on the other half but with non of the benefits of renting. All repairs are down to you even though you only own half of it.

Personally I'd avoid it.

[Big Dave]

3 minutes ago, Otis said:

And pay rent on the other half but with non of the benefits of renting. All repairs are down to you even though you only own half of it.

Personally I'd avoid it.

I think a lot depends on the age of the property and potential to purchase the remainder.

If it is a new house with a good warranty, and you can incrementally purchase more of a share, I can see the benefits. I agree, if it is an older property and you cannot purchase more of a share, I think you really need to do your homework.

[spacemunky]

Thinking of selling my condo. I awake sometimes and imagine the market crash.

 

Haven't done anything to it in the 7 years I've been here, so not sure if it's worth doing any upgrades or selling it as is.

 

Paid 220K(Canadain bucks) and it would sell fast for double that now, without me doing anything to it(other than cleaning it ).