BTL mortgage: Freelancer Financials or Contactor Financials

[CChann]

We probably submit a minimum of 70 mortgage applications a month to Halifax. It is currently taking us an average of 24 hours to get a mortgage offer after the valuation report has been sent to the underwriter. Some of the larger loans (£300K plus) are taking 48 hours.

But we're constantly chasing the lenders and pushing them. If a broker is not proactive and on top of things it can take a week.

John Yerou
MD of Freelancer Financials

I have been unlucky ,I'm sure CF has tens of applications and not enough people and its impossible for them to chase every application so I think they wait for the vendor to come back themselves, mine only had some progression as I complained in this forum

[ChimpMaster]

I have been unlucky ,I'm sure CF has tens of applications and not enough people and its impossible for them to chase every application so I think they wait for the vendor to come back themselves, mine only had some progression as I complained in this forum

That's the difference I found with FF - they will chase the lenders regularly and whenever you write to or call the broker they will always answer and give you an update. Service well worth paying for.

[CChann]

That's the difference I found with FF - they will chase the lenders regularly and whenever you write to or call the broker they will always answer and give you an update. Service well worth paying for.

Learnt my lesson,just called halifax up myself and they mentioned "they need my contract which is extended this month" which I have sent to CF three times

[wilko123]

I've used FF and my experience was as follows:

1. Polite and decent to deal with, generally.
2. Worked to find me the best deals according to my circumstances.
2.1 Didn't investigate/look into some particular details which delayed matters extensively almost resulting in me losing the property.
2.2 Main contact went on holiday and didn't really brief the admin person left to take care of things.
3. Didn't seem as interested once the fees had been taken even though I didn't end up taking out one of the mortgages and paid for both.

Would I recommend them? Yes, but i'd also recommend you do your research first and if you know which mortgage providers you are going for, find a broker who deal with them and doesn't charge you a fee.

[Daventry]

The estate agent has advised to give another week to the seller and then go back to viewing flats if he doesn't reply.

If the market worked as it should, he would have to cover the cost of my solicitor and mortgage fees

[Daventry]

Well the estate agent has now advised to view more flats this week.

Have called Halifax to ask how to proceed and they say they can't help me because the account is managed by my broker - CF.

CF say that if I buy another flat in the same building then I have to start over and go through the whole process again. Even worse - the original offer wasn't affected by MMR and took 9-10 weeks. So I reckon this time it'll take 6 months despite them saying Halifax are taking 3-4 weeks.

If I have to start over and send again all the documents including passport, proof of address, etc I'd rather switch broker.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

[Mark McBurney@CMME]

Well the estate agent has now advised to view more flats this week.

Have called Halifax to ask how to proceed and they say they can't help me because the account is managed by my broker - CF.

CF say that if I buy another flat in the same building then I have to start over and go through the whole process again. Even worse - the original offer wasn't affected by MMR and took 9-10 weeks. So I reckon this time it'll take 6 months despite them saying Halifax are taking 3-4 weeks.

If I have to start over and send again all the documents including passport, proof of address, etc I'd rather switch broker.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Changing property will certainly mean a new offer, but what they ask for is generally just an update of the documents that you provided with the original app. They will need a new valuation of course which will cost money and could take a week or two to carry out, but in terms of your documentation it should really only be a refresh of your docs, so perhaps the last three months bank statements/payslips etc. Unlikely that they will ask for new ID as, although it's a new property, it isn't actually a wholly new application. Although I grant you, the implication of pre and post MMR could be an issue with ID etc.

Halifax average between application and offer is 3/4 weeks at present, that is true.

As CF to speak to their local BDM and get confirmation of the docs needed to submit a 'Change of Application', that should give you a good idea of what is needed etc.

Good luck.

[Dark Black]

In defence of CF, we've had several abortive attempts at buying a property over the last few years (pulled out each time for various reasons), finally achieving our goal last November. During that time I've found CF to be for the most part, very helpful (and very patient ).

Yes, sometimes I did have to chase a bit, but again for the most part they always returned calls (usually within a couple of hours). I would use them again and also be happy to recommend to others (I don't work for them btw!)

[NickNick]

Well the estate agent has now advised to view more flats this week.

Have called Halifax to ask how to proceed and they say they can't help me because the account is managed by my broker - CF.

CF say that if I buy another flat in the same building then I have to start over and go through the whole process again. Even worse - the original offer wasn't affected by MMR and took 9-10 weeks. So I reckon this time it'll take 6 months despite them saying Halifax are taking 3-4 weeks.

If I have to start over and send again all the documents including passport, proof of address, etc I'd rather switch broker.

Has anyone been in this situation before?

Yes.
Tried to buy a house, got the sale agreed, mortgage took so long that the vendor got cold feet and the sale fell through. Heard about another one a few doors up and fairly quickly agreed to buy that one instead only this time MMR had kicked in so we had to start the process again.
It was through CF and took about 6 weeks the second time, I forget how long it took the first time round.

[Splif]

Same here

Hi All,

Had an abortive attempt at the beginning of the year and tried again at the beginning of August, which is still going on. Poor communication, representative requests for information from different people and not being able to do their sums are just some of the criticisms.

Had used them way back with no issues but despite complaining the first time and giving them a second chance it's been just as rocky this time around. Haven't completed yet!

I'm in the market for a buy to let in the new year - won't be using them.....