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Partner lost job after exchange of contracts on new house....


nowhereboy

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Found ourselves in a monumental predicament. 

 

We have just exchanged contracts on a new build home, completion set for a couple of months time. Our life savings have gone into the purchase. We are thousands of pounds deep in broker fee's, solicitor fee's and 5 figures deep in a deposit, if the deal falls through we lose everything and will have to make up the other 5 figure sum for the remaining 5% deposit (you only pay 5% on new build but full 10% needed if deal falls through), losing the house at this stage will ruin us financially. 

 

My partner has out of the blue and with no warning lost her job, she has lined another job up on a better wage and better position in the same industry but not starting for a month so we will have a months gap in her income and her new job will start around completion. Contracts are exchanged, mortgage offer in place, everything signed off and ready to go, just waiting for house completion in a couple of months time and for funds to be released. 

 

Stuck between a rock and a hard place here, if we tell the lender our case will need to be re assessed, in theory this should be fine but we have no guarantees and the consequences of it becoming an issue are massive. If we say nothing the chances of them finding out are slim but not impossible, if the house gets delayed for example they could request more payslips etc.  

 

 Has anyone got experience in this sort of thing? I'm swaying towards telling the lender as we can provide partners contract for new job etc and this is obviously the morally correct thing to do, however I don't want to rock the boat unnecessarily. 

 

To say we are feeling stressed would be an understatement. 

 

 

 

 

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I’m quite morally flexible when it comes to this sort of thing, so that’s not really a consideration IMO.

 

From a lending eligibility perspective, you need to know if your partner’s job has a probationary period and what your lender’s criteria are about using income from people in probationary periods.

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Cheers Stu, my partners new job has no probationary period but will require a month long (paid) induction. The only potential issue I see is that this induction is likely to clash with when the house completes or even slightly after so potentially she won't have started working until after the sale goes ahead. 

 

Obviously in an ideal world I'd speak to our broker for advice but he's legally obliged to tell the bank anyway at that point. 

 

My partner wants to play dumb and say nothing, she believes it's unlikely they will find out and even if they did we could act as if we had no idea it would be an issue. I'm just trying to work out which option involves the least risk. 

 

 

 

 

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I think you should take your partners attitude, with continuity of employment and a better wage, there is no increase in any risk IMO.  Isn’t Sarnie a property/mortgage agent type?

 

PM him and discuss it offline.  

 

Personally i would plough on.

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I wouldn’t be telling them a damn thing. 

 

Look at it this way: Option one, you tell them and they definitely reassess. Option two, you don’t tell them and they may never know. Written like that, it’s a bit obvious what to do. 

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1 hour ago, nowhereboy said:

To say we are feeling stressed would be an understatement. 

 

House buying is stressful enough without what you guys are going through.

 

If you tell your mortgage company they will almost certainly delay exchange and pull the mortgage till your incomes are reassessed.

 

However in my own limited experience as long as the deposit money is paid and monthly payments met the mortgage company wouldn't care or check.

 

When we applied for the mortgage for our current house I was in a similar position, though I wasn't been made redundant my role was changing from a long term contract to a 'locum' post. I actually made sure we got our agreement sorted ASAP before starting the 'locum' post as I suspect the mortgage company would be much less reluctant to lend if my told title now had the 'locum' word in it even though my actual income was higher.

 

We are half way through or fixed 5 year term, no one has ever asked to check if our current jobs matches the original term, in fact neither of our job roles are the same as they were 2.5 years ago. But as long as the payments keep going in I doubt anyone at the mortgage company cares about our income/job titles.

 

For our next mortgage am almost tempted not to bother changing provider's, the whole thing is sum a faff these days.

 

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1 hour ago, The G Man said:

I think you should take your partners attitude, with continuity of employment and a better wage, there is no increase in any risk IMO.  Isn’t Sarnie a property/mortgage agent type?

 

PM him and discuss it offline.  

 

Personally i would plough on.

That is Sarnie's business - no harm in asking;)

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Don't tell anyone anything. Not solicitor, not broker, not lender, not housebuilder. No one. 

 

When they sent you the mortgage offer its for a point in time. At the point in time all was good, and it sounds like it will all be okay moving forward. Good luck with the move but honestly don't tell anyone. 

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Thanks for the input guys, quite a clear response on this one then. 

 

I have asked on a forum elsewhere that is tailored to mortgages etc and the advice was to tell them as it's within my contract and the right thing to do, they also mentioned this is mortgage fraud and could blacklist us for life. I kind of suspected this advice was exaggerated/skewed due to the forum in which I requested it. 

 

It's such a hard situation, we need to arrange moving vans, give notice on current house and plough forwards, it's nearly impossible to settle my mind over this one and I'm not going to be able to relax until this is all over with. 

 

I'll drop Sarnie a PM and link him to this thread. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, nowhereboy said:

I have asked on a forum elsewhere that is tailored to mortgages etc and the advice was to tell them as it's within my contract and the right thing to do, they also mentioned this is mortgage fraud and could blacklist us for life. I kind of suspected this advice was exaggerated/skewed due to the forum in which I requested it. 

 

It's such a hard situation, we need to arrange moving vans, give notice on current house and plough forwards, it's nearly impossible to settle my mind over this one and I'm not going to be able to relax until this is all over with. 

1

Blacklisted for life??? Some people really do need more important things in life to worry about, its like when I had my no-fault claim, if you believed some people on here you would have thought I was going to be in debt to the claims company forever for taking on a like for like loan car.

 

As long as your sure the income is secure your be fine. You can tell them but at best they will delay the exchange, at worst they will want to reassess you again and pull your offer.

 

On the stress bit, that is just part of moving house, I've done it 3 times and it never gets easier, hopefully, we wouldn't have to again for a long long time, but easily one of the most stressful things to have to do.

 

Good luck, 

Edited by gangzoom
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I was in a similar pickle myself a few years ago.

 

My house up for sale, had viewings people interested and stuff going through, then they made the whole team at work redundant.

I had been waiting 6 months for my new RX8 (This was 2004!) To be delivered, was due to arrive in 2 weeks ! What to do , cancel car obviously, tell estate agents etc. Well no I got out there started looking for a contract job, first ever (I work in IT) , got a job somehow, in 3 weeks thankfully, of course its contract so cant get a mortgage unless you have worked for 4 years with all payslips, or its Luigi's loansharks! 

Anyway long story short, I got my new RX8, did contracting for 3 months, house sold, I changed jobs for permie job and got the mortgage, and moved into new house. To say that was stressful was an understatement!!

 

The good thing your partner has a job lined up already, so continuity of bill paying etc. Yes that month gap will be painful, you might have to use a credit card for that worse case but if it means you get to where you need to be fine.

 

Try not to overthink it, difficult I know but telling them will cause you an admin headache and extra checks and trust me if they can throw more admin at you and delay whilst holding onto your money they will.

 

Good luck

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Wow.

 

Can't believe what i'm reading in most of these posts.........the "advice" from people on here is basically to encourage mortgage fraud.

 

I'd love to reply to every single one to explain why it's incorrect but I simply don't have the time these days that i used to have!

 

Whoever scoffed at being "blacklisted for life"............google "CIFAS" and "Mortgage Fraud" and maybe even "Hunter System".

 

I've come across 3 client with CIFAS markers against them...................impossible to get them a mortgage with any lender in the UK.

 

Anyone that thinks lenders do not check details all the way up to the release of funds is deluded.......I've had clients report to me that the lender phoned their employer and asked for them to check they worked there, re-credit scored them a week before completion, requested new payslips before completion......I even had a client contact me for help after he bought a property as a BTL, moved into it himself, the lender checked the electoral roll 3 months after completion, found him on it and recalled the mortgage immediately.

 

Playing dumb will not help you. Every single mortgage offer in the UK will stipulate that you have to inform the lender of ANY changes whatsoever to your circumstances.

 

OP.....thanks for the PM........call (not email) your broker and ask them if they could tell you what the lender would require if you were to change jobs. From what you've said, no probationary period will help........they may want to delay completion until she has started her new job.......affordability shouldn't be an issue.......at worst it gets delayed slightly, the developer just wants to sell the property and may kick up a fuss but even they don't want to just get your 10% deposit......they want 100%, even if it's delayed, not to get 10% and then have to start from scratch with another buyer at a potentially lower price.............

 

Good luck!!

 

Liam

Edited by Sarnie
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If there is one thing I wouldn't do it's jeopardise the roof over mine, and my families, head. Open and honest from the beginning is the best way forward. As mentioned above, if you're contractually required to inform them of any employment changes then I'd highly recommend you obied by that contract. The fact that your other half already has a new job to walk into they might not even bother doing any rechecks or placing the entire thing on hold. But you are risking them rechecking upon near completion and if they see any mismatch in your details it could cause a whole world of pain. 

 

Reading above, Sarnie/Liam clearly knows his stuff so I'd highly recommend you heed his warning.

 

I hear you when you say losing the house would ruin you financially but at the same time you could still lose the house if found out and it would also ruin your credibility and future chances of any lending/buying for anything.

 

I really feel for your situation mate and wish you all the luck that it plays out how you need it to. Keep us updated bud!

 

Regards,

 

James.

Edited by Tayl
Added a little more.
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Something to bear in mind, if you go against your partner’s wishes and the worst should happen, you’ll literally never stop hearing about it. Best to be on the same page, right or wrong.

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Thanks for the response Sarnie! 

 

I feel absolutely sick with worry today, I can't help but feel that people within the industry are obliged to state we should tell them as they can't exactly go around telling people to hide things from lenders. 

 

I've read stories on other forums where people have fessed up and lost everything, I've also read many threads in which people have kept quiet and been successful. 

 

We have paid a very high broker fee to obtain this offer, we have simply ran out of money to pay another 4 figure sum if the broker requires more money due to needing a new lender. We have used a specialist broker and had limited options for providers to start with, we feel very lucky to have obtained a good rate from a high street lender and the mortgage may become out of reach if we need to use another lender. 

 

The bottom line here is we are at risk regardless of what decision we make, it's just trying to work out which option contains the least risk. 

 

 

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35 minutes ago, nowhereboy said:

Thanks for the response Sarnie! 

 

I feel absolutely sick with worry today, I can't help but feel that people within the industry are obliged to state we should tell them as they can't exactly go around telling people to hide things from lenders. 

 

I've read stories on other forums where people have fessed up and lost everything, I've also read many threads in which people have kept quiet and been successful. 

 

We have paid a very high broker fee to obtain this offer, we have simply ran out of money to pay another 4 figure sum if the broker requires more money due to needing a new lender. We have used a specialist broker and had limited options for providers to start with, we feel very lucky to have obtained a good rate from a high street lender and the mortgage may become out of reach if we need to use another lender. 

 

The bottom line here is we are at risk regardless of what decision we make, it's just trying to work out which option contains the least risk. 

 

 

Honestly mate, its not worth worrying about it.  Move forward without telling anyone.  

The banks biggest concern is getting the monthly payments and affordability of lending.  Neither are things that have changed for you as your wife has already picked up a new job at a higher income.

Yes there are technicalities but some rules are just there to be "bent" like speeding for instance, when the situation is just right in a safe way it maybe okay to go above the lawful 70mph even if "technically" its naughty. 

Seriously don't worry and push for the completion date to be as soon as possible.

 

Least risk is don't tell anyone. Good Luck :teeth:

 

 

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Blimey this thread got a bit heated.

 

Bottom line we have just offered our opinions to give you food for thought. 

 

I dont think anybody is deliberately trying to scam anyone, but the industry seems set very much against the normal person trying to get a home to live in bring up a family, children, pets, 350 zeds whatever.

 

Either way take legal advice from someone you trust.

 

Moving house is particularly stressful at the best of times, but as mentioned you situation is better than most you have continued employment. Did your partner receive any redundancy payments? Can you use that to fill the gap worse case?

 

Either way dont think of every possible worse case scenario.

 

Good luck and let us know how things turned out. :thumbs:

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1 hour ago, nowhereboy said:

Thanks for the response Sarnie! 

 

I feel absolutely sick with worry today, I can't help but feel that people within the industry are obliged to state we should tell them as they can't exactly go around telling people to hide things from lenders. 

 

I've read stories on other forums where people have fessed up and lost everything, I've also read many threads in which people have kept quiet and been successful. 

 

We have paid a very high broker fee to obtain this offer, we have simply ran out of money to pay another 4 figure sum if the broker requires more money due to needing a new lender. We have used a specialist broker and had limited options for providers to start with, we feel very lucky to have obtained a good rate from a high street lender and the mortgage may become out of reach if we need to use another lender. 

 

The bottom line here is we are at risk regardless of what decision we make, it's just trying to work out which option contains the least risk. 

 

 

No........the people from within the industry are the people giving you good, qualified, experienced advice.

 

Everyone telling you to lie and commit mortgage fraud are the idiots........none of who will be around to pick up the pieces if this goes pear shaped after following their advice.

 

You can take control of this and deal with it with the broker and then lender.

 

Or you can continue to be stressed out of your eyeballs every single second until completion............

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Try see it from other perspective - You and your partner already moved into your new property, both of you have started paying the repayment monthly, your partner has been made redundant. You inform your lender, your partner has another job lined up, show them the offer letter with new higher salary, show them the redundancy letter along with redundancy payment (if any). 100% sure they won't stop the lending and kick both of you out the house. You and your partner have everything to proof you guys can afford the repayment, I won't be worried about it affecting your purchase if you tell them what's going on. Things changes every second and I'm sure they are flexible enough. If your partner doesn't have  anything lined up, that would be a different case.

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43 minutes ago, Sarnie said:

Everyone telling you to lie and commit mortgage fraud are the idiots........none of who will be around to pick up the pieces if this goes pear shaped after following their advice.

But by the sound of it if they rescind the mortgage offer and everything falls through he will be bankrupt.
How are the mortgage company going to prove when she was given her marching orders? If she has a notice period of a month does she have to make them aware immediately?

On the basis of my first sentence Id be keeping Mum, Id never get over losing everything because I was honest about a situation that wouldnt have affected my ability to pay the mortgage. 

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2 hours ago, veeg33 said:

Try see it from other perspective - You and your partner already moved into your new property, both of you have started paying the repayment monthly, your partner has been made redundant. You inform your lender, your partner has another job lined up, show them the offer letter with new higher salary, show them the redundancy letter along with redundancy payment (if any). 100% sure they won't stop the lending and kick both of you out the house. You and your partner have everything to proof you guys can afford the repayment, I won't be worried about it affecting your purchase if you tell them what's going on. 

 

Once committed the mortgage company has it in their self interest to keep things going, that's very different from taking on a new customer with changing risk profile.

 

If you were lending a complete stranger £1000, and the day before handing over the cash they told you they have lost their job but its OK because they have another one lined up, would you just shrug your shoulders take their word for it and proceed as planned?

 

Mortgage companies like to know the risks, been made redundant and than having to change jobs by definition risky, at the very least there is going to be a reassessment.

 

A 5% deposit must also mean to the mortgage company the risks are already high.

 

Really difficult situation to be in, if things are as tight as thinking about putting bills on the credit card than backing out of the house (for now) probably is a good idea regardless of mortgage conditions. But if its just an case of change in job/role which lots of people go through all the time with no actual risk to income than its a different matter. But how a mortgage company will judge the risk may be much stricter than how most of us view job security, the only way I suppose your know is if you tell them.

 

Horrible situation to be in, though I know what I would do if I was 100% certain of secure income stream, and I wouldn't be stressed at all - not beyond the normal house buying stress.

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