The Question
I am a first-time buyer and I have been waiting for five months for the solicitors to complete the work. I had my mortgage offer in December but I am worried it will run out. How long will it last and what should I do if it expires?
Anthony’s Answer
I’m sorry you’ve had that experience, it does sound like a longer time than usual to get the work finished by a solicitor.
Your average time between the mortgage offer and completion by the solicitors is usually six to eight weeks.
If your mortgage offer expires you usually don’t have to worry, you’re able to speak to your broker if you went through one and they will contact the bank to get it extended.
Frustratingly, every bank has different terms of conditions in regard to how long their offer lasts, it is usually between 90 days and six months.
The important thing to note is that the Bank of England has lowered the base rate (the overall lending rate that determines the cost of credit card, loans, and other finance). So, your new offer could reflect those new rates. Whether rates have increased or decreased, you could pay the new rate that the lender has applied.
Lastly, the lender could do another affordability check if it’s a residential mortgage because a higher rate costs more. If it’s a buy-to-let mortgage, they’ll have to make sure the rental income is at the right level to still make the mortgage offer viable.
In all cases, check with your mortgage adviser or bank to get it extended.
Meet our expert…
Anthony Wright is a specialist development broker at Always Wright Mortgages Limited and every day he helps clients to obtain the best mortgages to finance their dream home, second home or buy-to-let portfolio.
With four years’ experience in mortgages working with the UK’s top banks and being multi-award winning broker he is ideally skilled to answer YOUR questions. If you have a query about any aspect of your mortgage send us a message in the comments below or email kate.saines@emap.com
