How long did it take to arrange your mortgage?

[hibernatingmama]

Hello fellow movers.

How long did it take you to arrange your mortgage and exchange on your new house? I'm particularly interested to hear from anyone who recently bought in Scotland, as I know it's slightly different. Is a 6 week turnaround possible?

Hi we bought last year. We had a decision in principle very quickly - over a couple of days, then getting all the relevant info took about a month. Ours was complicated because we lived and are paid abroad.

I moved in Scotland last October - just checked my emails now to give you an idea of timescales.

I secured the mortgage within 15 days of the offer being accepted - I went through a mortgage broker and the mortgage was actually delayed due to the home report being out of date (so it could well be quicker). The delay between the mortgage and exchange was due to me using the First Home Fund and the solicitors not having any experience of this.... I was 12 weeks from offer accepted until getting the keys (no chain at either side). 6 weeks would be possible with a great solicitor - I would say 8 weeks to be realistic.

Thanks for the replies! Do you mind me asking which lender you used?

All depends. We've ported our mortgage through Platform and they've been an absolute nightmare with their ridiculous timescale of 10-12 weeks. Even our solicitor was shocked and it has put our onwards purchase at risk. They have a much better turn around time for new customers though of 4-6 weeks, the forum I'm on is seeing new customers get their offers well before 4 weeks. Good luck.

@hibernatingmama

Thanks for the replies! Do you mind me asking which lender you used?

TSB (I had more limited options as using the First Home Fund). I really would recommend a mortgage broker, worth the fees and took all the stress away in terms of paperwork etc and at no point was I chasing them for any information. Feel free to PM me if you'd like their details.