How long does a mortgage application take?
Many people decide to get a mortgage agreement in principle before they apply for a mortgage. Lenders will ask for some basic information and perform a credit search so they can provide a figure that they would be able to lend ‘in principle’. This isn't, however, a guarantee that you’ll be offered a mortgage but it can be useful to show estate agents that you’re serious about buying and may speed up your application once you’ve found a property you want to buy.
Completing the mortgage application itself shouldn’t take too long, typically a couple of hours, but you’ll need to make sure your finances are in order and you can find all the information you need. In order to assess your reliability as a borrower and how much you can borrow, lenders will want to know the following about you;
• How much your outgoings are, including things like childcare and pension contributions
• What your income is, including any bonuses or overtime
• ID to prove your identity and current address
• Details of the property you want to buy
• Your estate agent’s and solicitor’s details.
You’ll need to be able to provide evidence of income and be able to demonstrate you can afford the mortgage as part of your application.
How long does it take to get a mortgage offer?
Once the lender has reviewed all your information, performed a credit check, and has all the supporting documentation they require from you, they will then want to arrange a valuation of the property you are buying. The length of time this takes will depend on the type of valuation. If they come to the house and inspect it in person, then it could take a couple of weeks or longer for them to produce the report. However, there has been a rise in what is known as ‘Desktop valuations,’ where they use the postcode, pictures and other sale prices to value the property. Desktop valuations are more likely to be done when someone is buying a standard house, made of a standard construction, in areas with similar properties, such as new build housing estates. Because this valuation is done remotely, it speeds up the process considerably.
After the lender has reviewed the valuation and is happy with it, they should at that point be able to approve your application and formally offer you a mortgage. Generally, we’d expect it to take about 15-20 days, but more complex cases, applications where the lender requires further information, or even when the property market is busy and lenders have high volumes of applications to work through, can mean applications take longer to process.
What can you do to speed up your mortgage application?
Having documents to hand, getting them to your mortgage broker quickly, and communicating regularly with your broker can all help speed up your mortgage application. Making sure you’re prepared before you start the process by getting hold of payslips and P60s or your self employed accounts and tax returns will only help smooth things along.
