Mortgage Type:
First-time buyers
Period between Mortgage Application and Offer:
10 days – or so it seemed…
Wednesday 4th June 2025
I received the first email from my first-time buyers on 4th June. It was my birthday, and I was still working, so I responded with some basic info and invited them to book into my diary for a face to face call.
The client booked a call for 11th June. This as the most convenient time for them.
Wednesday 11th June 2025
During the call we discussed all aspects of the mortgage process, plus they had found a house they really liked. I requested paperwork from them as they would need to be ready to proceed if the planned offer was accepted.
Thursday 12th June 2025
My clients had received an AIP (Agreement in Principle, or Mortgage in Principle), and made an offer on the leasehold flat they had seen. Their offer was accepted on the 12th.
Friday 13th June 2025
The estate agent requested a copy of the AIP which was sent direct to them on the 13th.
During this time my clients and I discussed the various mortgage options available to them and how these would impact their day to day lives and income. At this stage it’s important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of life ahead for the client, and help them think about the increase in outgoings, and putting relevant protection plans in place to ensure that they can keep this new home if something were to happen.
Tuesday 17th June 2025
A full mortgage application was submitted on the Tuesday, and all required paperwork was uploaded to the lender. The paperwork had been gathered by my clients over the weekend prior to this and sent to me with expediency.
Thursday 19th June 2025
All paperwork approved by the lender, and everything seemed to be going well…
The first hiccup came when a valuation of the flat was delayed due to lack of access to the property, but it was booked for the following Friday (27th). This isn’t uncommon and is out of the hands of me, the lender and the client, and all comes down to the current owner and their timeline/commitments. This can also take longer if the property is rented as we need to coordinate with the landlord as well as the occupant.
Friday 27th June 2025
The valuation report came back late on Friday afternoon. The computerised system saw that all documents had been assessed and that the property had a satisfactory valuation, so the case was offered by the lender.
From AIP to the offer took ten days, valuation delays notwithstanding.
Ten days turned into 23…
So, from the mortgage application to the offer it took my first-time buyers 10 days, but with delays from the vendors/surveys, it became 23 days in total. The AIP could have been a full offer, but remember, we didn’t have the property valuation yet…
Although estate agents are always pushing for things to happen quickly, a typical case takes 2-4 months to reach completion. By contrast, the average mortgage application takes around 2-4 weeks to reach the offer stage, sometimes even minutes.
But the journey didn’t end there for my first-time buyers
By this point, my clients had received an official agreement from a lender that they could spend X amount of money on a property, but they had yet to purchase the property…
We had to get into the legal side of the case.
The property was a leasehold flat within a converted RAF base, which meant the property management costs were higher than expected and the vendor/seller and their solicitor were very slow to respond with requested information about this.
Monday 18th August 2025
After lots of requests from the solicitor, information came back that highlighted the fact that the property and its surrounding areas had significant renovation and repair plans that would add thousands to the annual management costs. Sadly, my clients decided to pull out of the transaction.
Thursday 4th September 2025
By now, the house hunting had continued, and my clients came to me with a new property - this time a house.
Over the course of several emails and one phone call I reviewed the financial numbers with them and was happily able to put them back in a position to make a new offer.
Monday 8th September 2025
The new offer was made to the vendors and accepted the following day.
Now at 75 days…
Tuesday 9th September 2025
I mapped out a clear route forward for my clients and booked in a call for the next day to move things along.
Partly down to the fact that they were so well informed and well positioned to move ahead, they were able to make a new full mortgage application which was agreed on the 11th and they offered on the house on the 12th.
Friday 12th September 2025
Job done! Now into the legal bit…
So, this was an example of a case that hadn’t gone as smoothly as many do, but I’m afraid it’s not unusual. 75 days is around two and half months, so even despite those delays and a change of property, I still think that’s pretty reasonable.
What was the cost to my first-time buyers?
Cost of solicitors, surveys, lender etc - £undisclosed.
Cost for mortgage advice and guidance - £0.
I stick to my promise of charging no fees to my clients as I get paid commission by the lender. While your mortgage case may not be straightforward, at least my fee structure is!
