Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 28, 2010 1:49 pm Is there someone out there who can help me with their personal experience or knowledge in regards to getting an extension on the bank's loan offer? Our land was originally meant to title in Feb/Mar 2010. So when we first deposited on the land back in Aug 2009, and got our loan approved in November 2009, we thought we would have plenty of time to settle on the land within the 180 days from the loan offer date (this is a clause in the bank's loan offer). But the land did not title in Feb/Mar 2010 as originally noted, nor did it title in mid-late March, as stated by the agent. Nor did it title in mid-late April, as stated by the Vendor. And to this day, it still has not titled. The latest estimations we have been given are "3 weeks" (this is what the agent told me) and "many weeks" (this is what the vendor's solicitor told my solicitor!) We were even given a letter from the Vendor in early April (for the SRO, as we needed it to obtain an extension on the 26 week qualifying period for the Boost grant) and in that letter he stated that titles should be forthcoming within the next 2-3 weeks!!! So, our loan offer expired in mid May, and our Broker has requested from the bank an extension, but only got an extension until 11th June 2010. Grrrr!!! What I really need advice on is: * Is this small period of extension normal or is this just my Broker not doing a very good job? Under the circumstances, wouldn't it have been safer to ask the bank for a longer extension than 3-4 weeks? * Does anyone know what is the normal procedure for obtaining extensions on loan offers? * What is typically the longest extension the bank will give ( if personal circumstances have not changed)? We bank with Westpac, if this matters. * If we have to re-apply for the loan again, does our Broker have the right to charge us their fee again? I know the bank can charge us some fees if we do not use the loan offer within the 180 days, but I don't know if the Broker will/can also charge us again/more??? (I'm really worried our Broker is not doing their utmost to get the loan extended, as if we have to re-apply again they may try charge us their fee all over again aswell, hence it's in their best financial interest for us to NOT get the loan extended!) * What happens if we have to re-apply and within that time the land titles and the Vendor expects us to settle within 14 days, but we are only halfway through the process of re-applying hence cannot settle within that 14 days... what happens? * If that happens (ie. the land titles but we are still waiting on another loan approval) can the vendor penalise us even though it is their fault this happened in the first place? * Can we lose the land and our deposit? Please can someone help answer these questions? Surely other people have been in this situation. Thank you, aldavies3. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 2May 28, 2010 2:54 pm You need to re-submit your loan application through your broker and get them to lodge it as an urgent (settlement less than 30 days). Make sure they waive the fee. Should take one afternoon, approval normally in 48 hours. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 3May 28, 2010 3:34 pm The other point is if you have to reapply-go straight to a bank! Brokers are paid by the banks to push their products...the same products that you can get direct from the banks themselves. DH has been in lending for a loooonnng time with a major bank and is yet to find a client who gets a better deal from a broker than direct with a bank. Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 4May 28, 2010 10:42 pm Deemaree The other point is if you have to reapply-go straight to a bank! Brokers are paid by the banks to push their products...the same products that you can get direct from the banks themselves. DH has been in lending for a loooonnng time with a major bank and is yet to find a client who gets a better deal from a broker than direct with a bank. Thank you for your feedback. But can we go direct to the bank now even though we started off going through the broker? And why can't we just get an extension instead of having to re-apply? Who is DH? Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 5May 28, 2010 10:43 pm Eve Dweller You need to re-submit your loan application through your broker and get them to lodge it as an urgent (settlement less than 30 days). Make sure they waive the fee. Should take one afternoon, approval normally in 48 hours. Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate people taking the time to help us. When you say make sure they waive the fee, do you mean the broker or the bank? Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 6May 28, 2010 11:06 pm I had a similar situation. It is possible that either the bank did'nt think it would take too much longer, so did'nt grant a very long extension, or that they simply grant extensions in small time frames, per extension.
It seems to me you really need to ask your broker these questions. I find it interesting your broker is charging a fee. Perhaps they're good - though I must say my broker went thru hell for 12 months for me and did'nt charge a cent. He's been paid now, commission by the bank and he is still helping me. If your in VIC I can recommend him, though I'd say its usually best to stick to your own broker unless you really have some gut feeling he's not doing his job. My broker just spoke to his contact at the bank, the person supervising the loan and advised how long it might take, and the bank just gave us an extension until then (I can't quite remember, but it was something in the order of 1-2 months) I feel for you - the finance part is definitely the most stressful part, at least in my experience so far... at one stage I was 99.99% sure we just would'nt get the loan/house... but we made it in the end after so much pain. And I'm quite sure you will too. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 7May 28, 2010 11:57 pm ibfragalot99 I had a similar situation. It is possible that either the bank did'nt think it would take too much longer, so did'nt grant a very long extension, or that they simply grant extensions in small time frames, per extension. It seems to me you really need to ask your broker these questions. I find it interesting your broker is charging a fee. Perhaps they're good - though I must say my broker went thru hell for 12 months for me and did'nt charge a cent. He's been paid now, commission by the bank (St George, owned by Westpac) and he is still helping me. If your in VIC I can recommend him, though I'd say its usually best to stick to your own broker unless you really have some gut feeling he's not doing his job. My broker just spoke to his contact at the bank, the person supervising the loan and advised how long it might take, and the bank just gave us an extension until then (I can't quite remember, but it was something in the order of 1-2 months) I feel for you - the finance part is definitely the most stressful part, at least in my experience so far... at one stage I was 99.99% sure we just would'nt get the loan/house... but we made it in the end after so much pain. And I'm quite sure you will too. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. Maybe I'm just worrying too much, I don't know. And you're probably right... we'll make it in the end but it's just stressful in the meantime. I wouldn't want to have to change brokers now that we're almost at the end of it all, but I will definately keep you in mind if things change. Thank you for the offer. About how your broker just spoke to his contact at the bank and got an extension of approx 1-2 months... that's what I expected of our broker. From what I have worked out, apparently our solicitor gave our broker a letter for the bank and in the letter he estimated that settlement would be approx 3 weeks, so I guess that's why the bank only gave us a 3 1/2 week extension. So I can't be angry with the bank, but I am annoyed with our broker and solicitor because it's quite clear that we will not settle within three weeks, so I would expect both our solicitor and our broker to take the safest option, which to me would be to ask for a 6-8 week extension. Maybe they have their reasons for not doing this??? I have sent the broker an email asking this but have received no reply to date! I just hope they can get another "small" extension once this one expires, cos' my gut feeling is that we won't settle within 3 weeks, but I really do think it will be quite soon after this, within another 4 weeks at the most (from things I have been told by the agent, developer, solicitor, etc). So that's why this is most frustrating. If we weren't going to settle for another 4-6 months then I would totally understand the need to re-apply. But if we miss the deadline by 2-3 weeks, I will be most upset. It just seems stupid not to ask for a slightly longer extension. What if the bank only allows one extension and now they have blown it by asking for such a small one? It annoys me so much cos' they can go home at night living their normal lives, but we are stuck with thousands of dollars in late fees for the builder, possible cancellation fees as well as all the normal application fees etc for the bank if we have to re-apply (if the 180 loan offer validity period expires, the bank classes this as the same as a cancellation), possibly more fees for our broker (although if they charged us all over again I would be absolutely disgusted in them), and possibly penalty fees for the Vendor if we don't settle within 14 days of the land titles because we are half way through re-applying with the bank! All of this and it's almost not worth building! The simplest solution would be to obtain an extension that is more likely to actually cover us until settlement. And the Developers, Vendor, Vendor's solicitor are SO HARD to get hold of, if our soliciotr cannot get hold of them in one simple phonecall, then that's it until the next time I bug him to contact them! I shouldn't have to do that. He should understand how urgent and stressful this is. By the way, this solicitor was referred to us by the broker. I'm now really having my doubts as to whether going with him was a good idea. If he doesn't have the time to look after us as clients, then he shouldn't have taken on the job. Well, there's my dog for the day!!! Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 8May 29, 2010 7:46 am We were in a very similiar situation, with the land taking 9 months to settle. In that time, the banks loan approval lapsed twice. All we had to do to get extensions, was send them some currrent payslips to show our income was the same, and they were happy. We have been with the same bank for 10 years, very happy with them. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 9May 29, 2010 8:25 am aldavies3 Deemaree The other point is if you have to reapply-go straight to a bank! Brokers are paid by the banks to push their products...the same products that you can get direct from the banks themselves. DH has been in lending for a loooonnng time with a major bank and is yet to find a client who gets a better deal from a broker than direct with a bank. Thank you for your feedback. But can we go direct to the bank now even though we started off going through the broker? And why can't we just get an extension instead of having to re-apply? Who is DH? Sorry aldavies-DH is an abbreviation you will see on the forum for "Dear Husband" If you application with your broker has not been finalised and there has been no contract completed-or said contract has lapsed, then yes, you may go through a bank directly. Your only issue is going to be if in the ensuing time bracket since your initial application there have been any changes-either in your circumstances or that of the lending criteria from the financial institution concerned. Good luck with it all! Deemaree Kyndylan Capers: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=46852 My blog: http://www.sufficientlysufficient.blogspot.com/ Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 10May 29, 2010 8:47 am Deemaree The other point is if you have to reapply-go straight to a bank! Brokers are paid by the banks to push their products...the same products that you can get direct from the banks themselves. DH has been in lending for a loooonnng time with a major bank and is yet to find a client who gets a better deal from a broker than direct with a bank. Couldn't agree more! Cut out the middleman and go straight to Westpac. We were waiting five weeks for a loan approval (land & construction) through a broker. We were so concerned about losing our block of land and on the advice of the broker we exchanged without getting the bank's final approval. Towards the end the broker was even talking about us paying interest to the vendor if we went over the settlement date due to the delay in getting final approval. That was enough to send me directly to the bank involved and would you believe the loan was approved in 36hrs....a far cry from the five weeks...and we settled on time. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 11May 29, 2010 4:16 pm alexjohn We were in a very similiar situation, with the land taking 9 months to settle. In that time, the banks loan approval lapsed twice. All we had to do to get extensions, was send them some currrent payslips to show our income was the same, and they were happy. We have been with the same bank for 10 years, very happy with them. Thank you for your reply. So when you gave the bank current payslips how long were the extensions that they gave you? And you say your loan offers lapsed twice in that 9 month period - did the bank charge you fees each time? Can I ask which bank? Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 12May 29, 2010 4:20 pm Sorry aldavies-DH is an abbreviation you will see on the forum for "Dear Husband" If you application with your broker has not been finalised and there has been no contract completed-or said contract has lapsed, then yes, you may go through a bank directly. Your only issue is going to be if in the ensuing time bracket since your initial application there have been any changes-either in your circumstances or that of the lending criteria from the financial institution concerned. Good luck with it all![/quote] That's what I am worried about - that the lending criteria has changed and that is what will cause us to not get re-approved. I have heard lately that the lending criteria is getting stricter and stricter, and it worries me now because we now have so much to lose. If we didn't get approved this time around, would we still get our land and building deposits back due to finance refusal? We have deposited almost $15,000, as well as a few more thousand in other fees etc. That is alot to lose (for us it is!!!) The contracts don't state what happnes in this situation. They only say "subject to finance". Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 13May 29, 2010 4:33 pm aldavies3 Sorry aldavies-DH is an abbreviation you will see on the forum for "Dear Husband" If you application with your broker has not been finalised and there has been no contract completed-or said contract has lapsed, then yes, you may go through a bank directly. Your only issue is going to be if in the ensuing time bracket since your initial application there have been any changes-either in your circumstances or that of the lending criteria from the financial institution concerned. Good luck with it all! That's what I am worried about - that the lending criteria has changed and that is what will cause us to not get re-approved. I have heard lately that the lending criteria is getting stricter and stricter, and it worries me now because we now have so much to lose. If we didn't get approved this time around, would we still get our land and building deposits back due to finance refusal? We have deposited almost $15,000, as well as a few more thousand in other fees etc. That is alot to lose (for us it is!!!) The contracts don't state what happnes in this situation. They only say "subject to finance".[/quote] Aldavies , the bank takes into account that you already have $15k invested and use that as part of your security (this is my understanding as this is what my lender told us). We're in the same situation as you (Bluestone Green situation land was due in Feb 2010 - still waiting!!) Where our loan application expired last September. We just re-applied last week for our loan for construction and land. The bank (in my case CBA) has taken in to account that we already have $15k cash invested and don't forget that our land has increase significantly since we first put our deposits on. Unless you have gone out and received more credit or changed jobs recently or defaulted on any other loans in between your initial approval and the now I don't see why you would be declined on the loan. I agree with many others here that the financials are more stressful than most other areas of the process... Sleven Moved into our Atlantique MkII 36 by Carlisle Homes Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 15May 29, 2010 9:30 pm We're in a similar situation regarding a block of land we are purchasing - in that the registration date keeps getting pushed out. Oct 09 is now June 10. Frustrating, especially as you invest so much time, emotion and hope into preparing for building the house that will hopefully be your home on the block in the future. Our land contract has a sunset date on it, being June 30. If the vendor is not ready to complete by this date we can pull out of the purchase and they are required to repay our deposit. Does your contract have something similar to this? The sunset clause in our contract initially was very open and basically had no "sunset" date, however our solicitor made sure this condition was tightened to protect us in this situation. We met with a broker regarding our loan, however we chose to go directly with a bank. The 2 main reasons for this being the banks generally approve loans in a shorter period of time when you deal directly with them, and the brokers I spoke with did not have a good knowledge of construction loans and the banks processes with regard to these. Good luck, and I hope it all gets sorted out quickly for you. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 16May 29, 2010 11:45 pm 75etd We're in a similar situation regarding a block of land we are purchasing - in that the registration date keeps getting pushed out. Oct 09 is now June 10. Frustrating, especially as you invest so much time, emotion and hope into preparing for building the house that will hopefully be your home on the block in the future. Our land contract has a sunset date on it, being June 30. If the vendor is not ready to complete by this date we can pull out of the purchase and they are required to repay our deposit. Does your contract have something similar to this? The sunset clause in our contract initially was very open and basically had no "sunset" date, however our solicitor made sure this condition was tightened to protect us in this situation. We met with a broker regarding our loan, however we chose to go directly with a bank. The 2 main reasons for this being the banks generally approve loans in a shorter period of time when you deal directly with them, and the brokers I spoke with did not have a good knowledge of construction loans and the banks processes with regard to these. Good luck, and I hope it all gets sorted out quickly for you. Thank you so much for your input. It's so nice to know there are people out there who will take the time to help others in need. Thank you. I have heard so many people complain about how they deposited on land and then the registration dates gets pushed further and further into the future. It's so wrong and so unfair. If I knew that this was "the norm" back then I probably would have gone with something established just to skip the heartache! Hindsight is a wonderful thing! I didn't realise when we first started this whole process that it's quicker/easier to go direct to the bank. I have since learnt this for myself! I feel like I have to do the Broker's work for them just to ensure stuff gets done, and then pay them aswell!!! And we are in the same boat... I really feel our Broker is not too familiar with construction loans. Too many times they have said things like, "This doesn't happen very often" or "We haven't really had to deal with this situation before." And I don't think our circumstances are exceptional (especially from what I have read on this forum alone) so the only other explanation is that this broker is not very familiar with construction loans and the whole process involved. It's worrying considering our future and our finances are in their hands at the moment. I just hope all the heartache and stress in worth it in the end. I am really starting to believe everyone when they say the financial side is the most stressful part of the whole build. And it really shouldn't be. It should be fairly straightforward. Yes, we have a sunset date but it's something like 12 months from the initial expected registration date, which is Feb 2010, so we're still a fair way off. The land is actually finished and has been for about 4 weeks so I really can't imagine the titles will take much longer, that's why this loan expiring is stressing me out so much. If we were still months away I would simply just re-apply. But i'm worried we'll be halfway through applying again (and last time this took like 3 months cos' they kept losing documents and re-sending them and filling them out incorrectly and re-doing them!!!) so I'm worried if it takes another 2 or 3 months to get approval again and then the land titles in the meantime and we end up having to pay interest to the Vendor. I'm sure it must be a fairly simple process to either get the loan offer extended for 2-3 months or to re-apply in a quicker timeframe than 3 months! So it worries me when things take so long or appear so complicated, cos' then that makes me think our broker is incompetent or just doesn't care very much!!! I worry it's because they don't care because we have already paid them. There are some really low people out there. I'm not saying our broker is one of these people (not just yet) but my gut tells me to worry, that's all. Woman's instinct!!! Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 17May 29, 2010 11:50 pm Aldavies , the bank takes into account that you already have $15k invested and use that as part of your security (this is my understanding as this is what my lender told us). We're in the same situation as you (Bluestone Green situation land was due in Feb 2010 - still waiting!!) Where our loan application expired last September. We just re-applied last week for our loan for construction and land. The bank (in my case CBA) has taken in to account that we already have $15k cash invested and don't forget that our land has increase significantly since we first put our deposits on. Unless you have gone out and received more credit or changed jobs recently or defaulted on any other loans in between your initial approval and the now I don't see why you would be declined on the loan. I agree with many others here that the financials are more stressful than most other areas of the process...[/quote] Hi Sleven, Thanks for your reply. I didn't think about the value of the land going up in the last 7 months. And you're right because there are still a couple of blocks for sale now that were for sale when we first deposited and they have increased by about $12,000 each in the last 7 months alone. I'm sure you're right... surely the bank would take into account what we have invested, and no we haven't changed jobs or defaulted on anything etc. So I'm probably stressing for nothing. I think it more comes down to my lack of confidence in our broker. I will be so happy once the financial side of things is over with and I won't have to deal with them anymore. It was a choice I really regret (going with the broker) but they came highly recommended (believe it or not!!!) Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 18May 30, 2010 5:50 pm Oh I am exactly the same... until there is a signature on a piece of paper with the bank logo saying... HERE IS YOUR MONEY... I will still be stressing!!!! Sleven Moved into our Atlantique MkII 36 by Carlisle Homes Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 19May 30, 2010 11:06 pm sleven Oh I am exactly the same... until there is a signature on a piece of paper with the bank logo saying... HERE IS YOUR MONEY... I will still be stressing!!!! Thank you, that makes me feel alot better. Re: HELP!!! NEED URGENT ADVICE ON LOAN EXTENSION 20May 31, 2010 1:00 am I have just gone through a house purchase and therefore the associated finance etc merrygoround. After dealing with a broker and having to re submit payslips for a 3rd time < because the banks end was taking so long> my patience evaporated. On the recomendation of a friend i met with an anz bank manager directly. The whole process from go to whoa took the sum total of 3 hrs actual time spread over 10 days. 1 hour of this was driving to and from the bank.On my initial meeting i walked out of the bank with a cerificate stating i had pre aproval for the required amount. Ten days later i got a phone call saying i had full aproval ,he had been in touch with my solicitor and the contracts would be ready for signing soon after. Absolutely PAINLESS I cannot understand the prevalence of mortgage brokers when the aforementioned level of service can be attained dealing directly with the bank. I got caught up in the whole broker thing without even questioning it. My position would be if you need milk go to the milk bar. If you want it to be off get a broker to deal for you Thank you @. Tried to play with the facade models but the exact colour is not matching up. 2 3258 The biggest challenge will be if you take out a loan and then run out of money - you'll have an incomplete security and lenders do not like this so you can get stuck.… 2 19096 Render your bathroom walls, two opinions versus the one, makes you wonder. 3 6057 |