Halifax or Nationwide

A question about : Halifax or Nationwide

I'm looking to buy a property, got a decent deposit and earn a decent income. However, the property in question is from an auction, therefore time is of the essence and I'd have 28 days to get mortgage approval (I know I should have applied earlier).

Nationwide's rates and benefits suit me very well but I've read on some of the forums that they can take a long time to process the mortage whereas Halifax seems to be faster. Shall I go for Halifax or take a bigger risk with Nationwide and just keep bugging them to hurry up? Any other lenders I could try? I was considering applying for both mortgages at the same time but read somewhere that it's not recommened.

Any advice apprecaited,

Best answers:

• Have you appointed a solicitor and had them read the legal pack and undertake all the searches etc. Had the property surveyed and valued?
  Prior to making a bid.
• Sorry wrong area
• Two points
  1. Your question depends entirely on which why the wind is blowing. Most mainstream lenders can be lightning fast or painfully slow on a particular case.
  2. This comes up time and time again and you should be aware that funds for an auction purchase needs to be considered well in advance of your making a bid. In many cases the target property is not suitable for lending due to condition. Even if it is, 28 days is very little time.
• My recent experiences with Nationwide have been that their service standards are steadily declining. They have also just lowered rates so I think they could be on the edge of a breakdown, which happens every few years.
  I really hope I am wrong though!
• I literally just today got an offer for a remortgage. Straightforward case (non-advised, well within affordability, desktop valuation...) after applying just before xmas. That was with Nationwide.
  I suspect a broker with a good relationship would be able to push faster, but it assumes the house is acceptable to the lender too.
• Hi my son is a first time buyer and thinking about buying at auction. He Has been to a mortgage advisor who says he can borrow upto Ј100,000 but that was on a conventional purchase through an estate agent. The advisor told him that it would be highly unlikely he would get a mortgage sorted within the required time frame for an auction purchase and said he had only done this once in 20years of working ! Is it a realistic idea for him to buy at auction and are there particular mortgage advisors who specialise in securing mortgages for this type of sale ? Thanks
• Its going to be pushing it with any lender to do 28 days. Brokers would be a good bet to say who does it quicker, but for example nationwides lending is approved on the whole in 9 business days but thats working out the further advances, all new purchases are going to take longer. You are going to need to get the valuation to come back in as well at a good price. Have you paid for one yourself yet?
• I've seen these go horribly wrong. Not through my involvement I hasten to add, as I simply wouldn't do it in the first place. Brokering is stressful enough without putting added pressure on yourself.
  I could put a case through either Halifax or Nationwide as fast as you like one week but a seemingly identical case may take a lot lot longer. Can you imagine the fallout if the offer didn't come through in time ? Goodbye deposit.
  Auctions are not the place for FTBs in my opinion.
• If you are relying on a mortgage to purchase an auction property, you should aim to have a formal mortgage offer in hand before the auction date.
  That means fees paid and valuation done.
  Your solicitor should also have studied the legal pack.
  IMHO you shouldn't be bidding on a property at auction without this, just in case there is an issue with the structure or title making the property unmortgageable.