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How Long Does A Mortgage Application Take Through A Broker?
Buying a home is the most expensive and exiting process of most peoples’ life, but it can be very stressful too. You may be thinking how long does it takes a mortgage application to approve.
Having an experienced mortgage advisor by your side can make things a lot easier. In this guide we will cover all important information about a mortgage application approval time through broker.
In this guide we will look at:
How long does a mortgage application approval take?
How long does a mortgage application take through a broker?
What is the mortgage application Process?
How long does it take to get a mortgage offer?
How to speed up the mortgage approval process?
How Long Does a Mortgage Application Take?
Most first-time buyers or home movers aren’t sure about the time involved in a property purchase. Mortgage approval is one of the biggest hurdles which makes people stress about the home buying process. One of the most frequently asked questions is How long does a mortgage application approval take? The short answer to that is 2 – 6 weeks. The time taken from submitting your mortgage application to getting an offer can vary, however.
How Long Does a Mortgage Application Take to Approved Through a Broker?
Mortgage applications through a mortgage broker can take up to 2-3 weeks for approval. This is a lot quicker than applying directly to a lender which can take 2-6 weeks as shown above.
Mortgage brokers are extremely efficient in handling paperwork and their expertise helps greatly reduce the mortgage approval time.
The time involved can also depend on how busy the housing market is, but applying for a mortgage through a mortgage broker can be a lot quicker and helps you worry less about external factors.
Mortgage Application Process.
Let’s look at the mortgage application stages involved in a property purchase.
Whether you are looking for a First Time Buyer Mortgage or a Home Mover Mortgage our mortgage application process is aimed to help you gain a better understanding of the various stages in a mortgage.
The mortgage application process can be broken down into the following stages.
1. Getting a Mortgage in Principle.
2. Submitting the full Mortgage Application
3. Property Valuation or Survey
4. Issue of Mortgage Offer
5. Exchange of Contracts
6. Purchase Completions.
1. Getting Your Mortgage in Principle.
The first part of the mortgage process is to know just how much can you borrow? The mortgage in principle tells you how much lenders will lend to you on your personal circumstances. Your estate agent will ask for a Mortgage in Principal if you would like to submit an offer after viewing a property.
When you approach your mortgage advisor, they will ask for the list of documents below to better understand your situation and start the process of getting your mortgage in principle.
Documents for Decision In Principal
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- Latest 3 months of pay slips if you are employed.
- 3 months of bank statement.
- Deposit proof
- Income proof
- ID proof
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Based on the information provided, your mortgage broker will complete the fact-find form including gathering all the necessary information about your income and expenses. Once your Mortgage broker knows your circumstances they will offer you mortgage advice and get the decision in principle from your lender.
A Mortgage in principle does not guarantee mortgage approval. The most common reasons to reduce a loan or declining it altogether are mixed types of income and credit history of the applicant.
2. Submitting the Full Mortgage Application.
After you have a mortgage in principle, you should start looking for a property you want to buy. Once you find your potential home and your offer has been accepted, it is then time to submit the full mortgage application.
In most cases your mortgage application is a continuation of your decision in principle. Your mortgage broker will complete your mortgage application for you and do the required paperwork with your lender.
What documents are required for a full mortgage application.
To verify your income and outgoing expenses, your mortgage broker will be asked for up to date documents from you. Having all these documents to hand helps speed up the process of mortgage approval.
The list of documents needed are:
- Income proof as pay slips for a minimum of 3 months (for employed clients).
- SA302 and a Tax Overview for the last 2 years if you are self employed.
- Applicant ID proof like your passport or full driving license.
- 3 months of Bank statements for your deposit and salary credit.
- Details of the property you are buying.
- Details of the solicitor you will use to do legal work on your house purchase.
Your lender may ask for additional documents such as P60, company accounts or a letter from your accountant. They may want to see 6 months of pay slips or bank statements.
They might also need more information on certain credit issues which may come up on your credit report. After having all the required documents, your mortgage broker will submit the full mortgage application for you.
What Happens After Submitting the Mortgage Application?
Your mortgage lender will carry out all the checks on your income and outgoing expenses, making sure the information provided on the application is correct. Once the initial assessment is done the property valuation is instructed by the lender.
3. Property Valuation or Survey
After the mortgage application has been submitted, your mortgage lender will instruct the mortgage valuation or survey of the property you are buying. Some home buyers choose to upgrade the survey for extra charges. The valuation is carried out by qualified surveyors, and the reason it takes place is because your Mortgage lender wants to make sure that the property you want to buy is worth the value being offered.
The surveyor will check the property’s condition and its surroundings. For example, is the property near a food outlet or a commercial unit? For what prices have nearby properties been sold? These things matter to the lender so they can make sure their money is safe if they were to resell the property.
How long does a valuation takes?
Mortgage valuations are quick, and it will happen in 5-10 days from when the application is submitted. In Some cases, it can be a lot quicker depending on how busy the surveyor company is or if you have a high deposit (then the lender will carry out an automated valuation or desktop valuation).
4. Issuing of Mortgage Offer
Once the mortgage survey is completed, the surveyor will produce the valuation report of the property and send it to the lender. The time taken for a survey report will be around 1-3 days from the date it is carried out, but this does depend on the how busy the market is.
After a successful valuation and assessment of documents, your lender will issue a mortgage offer for your mortgage application. A Mortgage offer timeline is usually 15- 25 days from the mortgage application. It can be quicker or longer which will depend on your particular case. Your mortgage broker and solicitors will receive a copy of the mortgage offer. The Client’s copy is usually sent by post by the lender.
Mortgage approval to completion time is 6- 8 weeks. Your solicitors usually start the legal work on your purchased property once they are instructed to. The longest part in conveyancing is the local authority searches which take around 4 -5 weeks.
The timeline for freehold houses and leasehold flats can be different. A leasehold property will normally take longer to complete due to the complicity of the matter.
5. Exchange of Contracts
The Solicitor working on your purchase case usually finishes the local authority searches in the first few weeks. Depending on the searches and the information form provided by the seller, your solicitor will raise enquiries if they are not satisfied. After receiving the mortgage offer and satisfactory responses from the seller, solicitors are finally ready to exchange the contracts.
Your solicitors will prepare the contact and, when all the parties involved are happy on the exchange and completion date, your solicitors will exchange the contract.
6. Purchase Completions.
Finally, you are near to completing the purchase. After the exchange of the contract your solicitors will do all the arrangements to request the funds from your lender and ask you to send the deposit money to your solicitors’ account. The exchange to completion may take 1 week to 4 weeks. The date is agreed in advance by the seller and buyer on the exchange of the contract.
On completion you can collect the keys from the estate agent at the property.
What Slows Down a Mortgage Application?
How Long Does It Take to Get a Mortgage Offer?
Your Mortgage offer can be approved in 2- 4 weeks after submitting the full mortgage application. The time taken to issue a mortgage offer can depend on how busy the lender is, how soon property survey was booked and completed and when documents were sent to your lenders. Any additional information required by lenders is provided on time will reduce the delay in issuing mortgage offer.
How to Speed Up the Mortgage Approval Process?
Simply put, working with mortgage brokers can speed up your mortgage approval process. Having a good experienced mortgage broker on your side can save upto 2 weeks in the mortgage approval process.
Mortgage brokers know the lenders’ requirement well. They will find the best lender who is the most likely to approve your application. They will keep all the paperwork ready for the mortgage underwriting, while using their expertise to guarantee a swift and smooth process. Additionally, If you are using the solicitors recommended by your mortgage broker then they can effectively communicate with the conveyancer in case of any issue.
Choosing a fee-free mortgage broker to work on your case is a win-win situation for you. Like what you’ve read? Well, If you’re in need of a mortgage or looking to remortgage, we can help you!
Our experienced mortgage brokers offer impartial advice suitable to your situation and will make sure the whole mortgage process goes smoothly.
Get in touch with us for your mortgage.
What Slows Down a Mortgage Application?
Sometimes, the mortgage process can take longer than expected. Here are some if the common reasons for this:
- Incomplete paperwork or missing information to support the mortgage application.
- Property valuation issues like undervalue or property related information.
- Complex financial situations like income from more sources or even credit history issues.
- Slow responses from lenders, especially during busy housing market periods
Working with a mortgage broker means they can spot these issues early and do everything to speed up the process.
Some of the Complex Mortgage Applications That Often Take Longer
Mortgage applications can take longer because of the circumstances. These types of mortgage applications just need a bit more paperwork and expertise to get mortgage approval.
Self-Employed Applicants
Self-employed applicants often experience the most extended processing times when it comes to mortgage approval. That’s because lenders require extra reassurance about income stability and future affordability of the business and applicants.
Clear business bank statements are essential along with business accounts.
Irregular income or seasonal trends may need additional information to support the case.
With the right documents, a mortgage broker can present your income to your lender in order to get mortgage approved quickly.
Applicants With Credit Issues
Not having clean credit history doesn’t mean a declined application, but it may lead to more checks from lender side. The lender will want to know the credit history about past missed payments, defaults, or CCJs. Sometime lender may asked for a bigger deposit.
Brokers who specialise in adverse credit know which lenders are open to these cases and how to package them for quicker mortgage approval.
Buyers of Unusual Properties
Flats above shop and near fast food or properties with short leases tend to raise more questions when applying for the mortgage.
Many lenders won’t consider them at all, which reduces the lender options.
But Mortgage broker can match buyers to the right lenders who deal with these properties.
What Slows Down a Mortgage Application?
Sometimes, the mortgage process can take longer than expected. Here are some if the common reasons for this:
- Incomplete paperwork or missing information to support the mortgage application.
- Property valuation issues like undervalue or property related information.
- Complex financial situations like income from more sources or even credit history issues.
- Slow responses from lenders, especially during busy housing market periods
Working with a mortgage broker means they can spot these issues early and do everything to speed up the process.
Some of the Complex Mortgage Applications That Often Take Longer.
Mortgage applications can take longer because of the circumstances. These types of mortgage applications just need a bit more paperwork and expertise to get mortgage approval.
Self-Employed Applicants
Self-employed applicants often experience the most extended processing times when it comes to mortgage approval. That’s because lenders require extra reassurance about income stability and future affordability of the business and applicants.
Clear business bank statements are essential along with business accounts.
Irregular income or seasonal trends may need additional information to support the case.
With the right documents, a mortgage broker can present your income to your lender in order to get mortgage approved quickly.
Applicants With Credit Issues
Not having clean credit history doesn’t mean a declined application, but it may lead to more checks from lender side. The lender will want to know the credit history about past missed payments, defaults, or CCJs. Sometime lender may asked for a bigger deposit.
Brokers who specialist in adverse credit know which lenders are open to these cases and how to package them for quicker mortgage approval.
Buyers of Unusual Properties
Flats above shop and near fast food or properties with short leases tend to raise more questions when applying for the mortgage.
Many lenders won’t consider them at all, which reduces the lender options.
But Mortgage broker can match buyers to the right lenders who deal with these properties.
Most common FAQs about the mortgage process.
How long does the mortgage in principle last?
It varies from lender to lender but usually your mortgage in principle will be valid for 3 to 6 months. Most lenders that issue MIPs make them valid for 3 months.
Your mortgage broker should be able to guide you on which lender and rate is suitable for your circumstance.
How long is my mortgage offer valid for?
Your Mortgage offer is valid for mostly 3- 6 months, but that depends from lender to lender.
Most purchases are aimed to be complete while the mortgage offer is valid, but for some reason if the completion is delayed, the mortgage offer can be extended for 1 month.
Why is my mortgage application taking so long?
The reason for a delay in your mortgage application can be caused by many factors such as how busy your lender is, incomplete documents, a poor credit rating or the complexity of your case. Sometimes your bank will ask for additional documents which may take extra time to process.
It is advisable to talk to your lender and find out the reason for the delay. Depending on the case, if further information is needed then your mortgage approval time will be longer.
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