Looking for some STW wisdom…

I’ve seen a house I’d like to make an offer on before selling my house.

I have a decent cash deposit but just based on my basic salary I’m a bit short on what they will lend me.

They won’t take into account I own my current house outright and will be able to pay off most of the mortgage when I sell. I also get a fair amount in bonuses/stock which they won’t consider.

So on paper based just on my salary it looks like a very high salary to loan multiple, but in reality it should be a very safe bet for them.

Are there any mortgage companies that still use humans rather than computers to calculate max loan amounts?

Remortgage current house and buy other one with cash?

Remortgage current house and buy other one with cash?

Thanks for the tip, will look into this, would need to remortgage my current house for 20% higher than its actual value for this to work, so not sure if they would do that?

Have you tried John Charcol or a smilar mortgage broker?

Bridging loans were designed for this situation.

Highish risk though, if you’re at all delayed in selling your house the interest gets scary.

Best advice, go and see a mortgage broker. They’ll have dealt with this situation many times.

The banks concern is you say you’re going to sell your current house but what if you don’t / won’t / can’t after they’ve leant you the cash…

Second all the broker suggestions. I just remortgaged via a broker and they managed to dig up a mortgage with my current bank, lending more than the bank would lend me as a direct customer, at a much better rate.

London & Country for reference. Very happy with their service considering it cost me nowt.

You must be very confident you can sell your house quickly !

Out of interest why do you want to make an offer before selling yours? Chains are what house moving is all about.

Also, nothing stopping you offering and if accepted then put yours on the market and aim to exchange and complete on both together as per the norm.

Of course there may be a reason such as the seller wants a very fast completion, I understand that, but most people buying and selling accept things can take a little time.

And as Hels mentions, what happens if yours is stuck on the market rather longer than you expected?

Am I wrong in thinking that if you haven’t got the funds agreed in principle you can’t make a formal offer anyway.

@martyn-no you’re quite right. We were hit by that one…

Thanks guys,

It would be chain free if I could stump up the cash straight away and I think I’d get it for a better price and secure the sale rather than having to wait to sell mine.

I could cover the mortgage if I didn’t sell mine especially considering my misses will get a job when we move and the extra bonuses I get (typically 30% of my salary), I’m not that far away from the max they would lend just based on my basic salary.

Called London and country and they were pushing towards a bridging loan, I think the issue is mortgage companies don’t really want people to take out a big lucrative mortgage then pay 90% of it off after 3-4 months as they are working on the basis you’ll pay them lots of interest for the next 25 years.

Looks like I’ll probably have to sell mine first, but a bit of a risk I’ll lose the house I’m after.

It’s not that at all. They’re cautious in case you don’t / can’t sell your house.

Most mortgages only tie you in for 5 years max so you can remortgage away from the current lender easy enough so it’s nothing to do with tying you in.

As I mentioned above this is where bridging finance comes in. The clue is in the name and is a perfectly valid, long established product.

The risk comes off you haven’t sold within the period of the bridge (generally 6-12 months).

Unfortunately mortgage companies don’t work of I might still my house within x months and when we move Mrs Muncher might walk into a job.

They lend based on your current circumstances.

Am I wrong in thinking that if you haven’t got the funds agreed in principle you can’t make a formal offer anyway.

Anyone can make an offer, it’s up to the vendor whether they accept it. Generally now, most vendors would expect you to be under offer, if you already own a home and have the funds (at least in principle) in place though. Making an offer in England doesn’t really mean anything – it doesn’t even show any real commitment nowadays. People pull out all the time.

I got our buyers to at least show a little commitment but getting the survey done quite soon. Some people put offers in on multiple properties, just to hedge their bets.

I think the issue is mortgage companies don’t really want people to take out a big lucrative mortgage then pay 90% of it off after 3-4 months as they are working on the basis you’ll pay them lots of interest for the next 25 years.

That’s why they have early repayment charges.