First-time buyer purchase rescue

What was the situation?

Our client, a first-time buyer, was about to exchange and complete on their purchase when their solicitor advised the mortgage offer contained a special condition, requiring the building insurance policy to be ‘index-linked’. The purchase was in a building of 700 flats and the lease contained a clause that the building’s insurance must be revalued every five years rather than index-linked. This directly contradicted the lender’s requirement.

What was the issue?

The original lender that had offered a mortgage refused to remove the special condition. The client was left without a valid mortgage offer and had two weeks to exchange. The vendor suggested they would terminate the sale and sell to another buyer if this wasn’t sorted immediately.

What was the process?

This clause was not something most lenders had come across before, it took two days to find a suitable lender and for us receive the appropriate reassurances in regard to the insurance issue. There were various other issues surrounding pushing various parties into action and I spent a significant amount of time managing the relationship between the client, their family, estate agent and solicitor to ensure the process was as smooth as possible given the time pressure.

What was the solution?

We had the application submitted, valuation complete and offer produced in just under ten days so exchange could take place. This allowed the concerned parties enough time to request funds and complete the transaction within the originally stated time frame. The client was extremely grateful for the effort we put in to help them to purchase their first home.