Thats a bit of a dramatic title isnt it?! Would another broker do this for you?
Last week we had a mortgage that completed. But this goes back to the application…
The application went in fine, affordability was a little tight but we got the numbers to stack up. The underwriter reviewed the case and proceeded to instruct the valuation.
This is where things started to go wrong
The surveyor made a comment that there was subsidence and that a structural survey should be carried out.
The customers had a structural survey carried out and it confirmed that although there had been some movement, it was down to a rotten wooden beam – a load bearing beam, so it was quite important and it would need to be fixed at some point but it was not an immediate problem.
The mortgage offer was issued. Thats good I hear you say?
It was, until we reviewed the offer and under special conditions it advised that the “subsidence” would need to be fixed at some point, although they were happy to let the mortgage complete.
The problem here is the word subsidence.
If you have ever tried to get a mortgage on a property with subsidence you will realise how difficult and/or expensive it is. This is a problem because there is no subsidence.
What did we do?
We thought we were being reasonable. We called the mortgage lender and asked them to remove the paragraph as it was not relevant (we both had a structural report confirming no subsidence).
I fully expected them to say “oh yes, our mistake. We will reissue the offer.” – nope! They advised it needed to remain to cover themselves as there had clearly been movement as per the report.
The movement had happened above the ground (first floor!). Subsidence is below the ground. Movement can be caused by subsidence, but not all movement is subsidence. As is the case here.
We asked them to change the word subsidence to movement – they refused!
This is where the fighting began
I asked them to refer it up to a manager – the manager bizarrely stuck with the original underwriter.
By this point I rang up again and the person on the phone said “oh its you, we all know about this case” – I felt a little honoured that my name had gone around the office for being a PITA! But at the same time, I was fighting for the right outcome for our clients.
By this stage I asked to speak to the managers manager – I was told thats not possible. So I used one of my favourite lines… “Could you give me the details for your complaints department please.” Very passive aggressive.
Ah just one moment please, let me speak to a manager…
The manager called me back, she was lovely and understood why I was doing what I was doing and advised she would go and speak to the head of risk.
The outcome
Just over a day later she came back and they agreed to change it from subsidence to movement.
It might not sound like much, but it would make a huge difference getting insurance and also if a claim was ever needed to be made. The word subsidence tends to hand around like a nasty smell.
It took nearly 2 weeks to get this issue resolved, I lost count of the number of calls. I took on the BDM (who was on my side in fairness), the underwriter, the underwriters manager, I would have taken on their manager but he/she is too important to speak me.
It was only when I threatened to make a complaint and got hold of someone helpful that things changed – but I would have gone to every person in the building to get this result as it was the right one and it was important.
Would your broker do that for you? I would like to think the answer is yes. But I think in reality most wouldnt.