Selling house - accepted offer but no mortgage in principle

[NotNob]

Hi,

We accepted an offer on a previously rented out, empty property in another part of the country. Background is that letting was fully managed by an estate agent but we decided to break away from the agent after they failed to tell about an offer received. They were consistently useless so we decided to go to alone. The offer was from the relative of a contractor who had been working on the property.

Anyway, we were delighted it went so quickly, especially as properties don't usually sell so quickly in that area. We rent in another part of the country.

We were told by the buyer the sale should be straight forward as he had a mortgage in principle at the beginning of the year with another property but the sale fell through.

I have now learned that the buyer has just had a meeting with his financial adviser and submitted his mortgage application but the borrowing will be at the top end of his limit. He does have a 25% deposit.

I feel quite anxious now. We have no estate agent, an empty house and a mortgage application which may not be approved. We took the house off the market in good faith it could be afforded and also to retain the interest of the buyer.

How long do mortgage applications usually take and is my situation unusual?

Thanks in advance.

Agreements in principle don't guarantee anything anyway. We had one for about 10% more than the property we bought and then our application was refused as they wouldn't accept my previously varified second income.
Our actual mortgage offer only took a few days. It's the survey that can hold things up.
But if he's gong through a broker I'm sure it'll be fine. They don't get paid until completion so it's well in their interest to make sure it goes through ok and swiftly.

Thanks, scared, that's helpful.

Personally, I don't think you should have taken the house off the market. Anyone can make any offer they like but without at least a mortgage offer to back it up it's not worth the paper it's written (or more likely not written) on. If the original EA was useless, I would have changed agent and tried selling it that way.

Yes, this is the nagging thought at the back of my mind. This is why I wondered how long the offer should take, should we need to put it back on the market.

So does he actually have an AIP? Borrowing at the top end of his limit isn't necessarily a sign it won't go through or that it won't be approved, especially with a 25% deposit. I wouldn't necessarily take it off the market, but I wouldn't worry yet either as it sounds like the buyer is doing everything by the book.

My understanding is he doesn't have an AIP anymore but an elapsed one for a previous property which fell through. I don't know the details but he gave me reassurance that all had been fine previously.

I have no reason to doubt him but just feeling a bit insecure at the moment.

I don't think he has done anything wrong. AIPs don't really mean anything anyway - it is just an indication of the max they will lend based on high level details.

A 25% deposit is a really good sign they are a serious buyer and the mortgage will be approved. It usually takes about 1-2 weeks for an approval so you should hear soon. Good luck!

Thank you, your posts at encouraging. Made me feel less pessimistic