Sale agreed, mortgage approved, changing job pre-drawdown

Player_86

HelloMy partner and I were mortgage approved for a very affordable mortgage last month. Our application was straightforward - we have over 20% of the value of the house in savings, we lived quite frugally for the last 12 months to get approval, we had no difficulty providing the bank with all of our documentation re salaries, savings etc, our borrowings will be approximately 3 times our combined salaries (which is a little higher than I would like, but I'm on a payscale in work that will see my income increase gradually over the coming years). We were approved in principle immediately and then fully approved in a matter of daysMy partner has been offered a job which pays 30% more than she is paid now. It is a permanent, pensionable job, but as with all jobs, there is a 6 month probation period which, I understand, is a formality. She would like to accept the job as it suits on many levels, and it is not just a case of being paid more.We hope to sign contracts and drawdown the mortgage in the next 2-3 weeks. My partner will need to hand in her notice in the coming days if she is to take the job she has been offered. We do not want to jeopardise buying our house. If my partner hands in her notice today, will the bank seek another letter from her employer saying she is still working there? She will still be working there, but will have handed in her notice.Any thoughts on what the correct approach is? We would like to be as upfront as possible, but we are worried about losing the house of our dreams. Thanks.

ted1

Player_86 wrote: »

HelloMy partner and I were mortgage approved for a very affordable mortgage last month. Our application was straightforward - we have over 20% of the value of the house in savings, we lived quite frugally for the last 12 months to get approval, we had no difficulty providing the bank with all of our documentation re salaries, savings etc, our borrowings will be approximately 3 times our combined salaries (which is a little higher than I would like, but I'm on a payscale in work that will see my income increase gradually over the coming years). We were approved in principle immediately and then fully approved in a matter of daysMy partner has been offered a job which pays 30% more than she is paid now. It is a permanent, pensionable job, but as with all jobs, there is a 6 month probation period which, I understand, is a formality. She would like to accept the job as it suits on many levels, and it is not just a case of being paid more.We hope to sign contracts and drawdown the mortgage in the next 2-3 weeks. My partner will need to hand in her notice in the coming days if she is to take the job she has been offered. We do not want to jeopardise buying our house. If my partner hands in her notice today, will the bank seek another letter from her employer saying she is still working there? She will still be working there, but will have handed in her notice.Any thoughts on what the correct approach is? We would like to be as upfront as possible, but we are worried about losing the house of our dreams. Thanks.

Get the salary letter signed by the company, then hand in your notice. The bank won't be any the wiser, just keep quite

miezekatze

It's a tricky situation and I think it would really depend on the bank and your relationship with them. I was told that I was going to be made redundant two or three days after we signed the contract and I was really worried that we would lose the house over this if we couldn't get a mortgage anymore. I wasn't made redundant after all, but the bank didn't ask for any more employer references after we got approved in principle so I think it would have been fine even if I had been made redundant and changed jobs. This could go either way, it's hard to say. You could always check with the bank, I'd probably keep quiet about it though.

jon1981

I was in the exact same position, started a new job the week after we drew down and now past my probation. Assuming the bank is happy with every piece of documentation (wages slips, salary certs) and they have no reason to ask for new documentation, they wont question it your status, again assuming you have gone through all the hurdles with the bank. Say nothing.

robissimo

I had this exact scenario. I got a new job offer after the bank had already approved and looked over the documentation. I took the new job and got the mortgage about a month later. The bank didn't ask for further documentation.

I didn't tell the bank about my new job though.

marcus2000

I had a similar situation. There were huge delays during my purchase process and I got asked for up to date salary slips and bank statements half way through the process. When I decided to change jobs, I was concerned I'd get asked for these again, if there were further delays. (my 8 week purchase turned into 4 years, but that's a different story) . Anyway, what we did was drew down the mortgage before actually getting the keys....just incase..... The funds were moved in my solicitors account during the process. This is apparently pretty normal, though I think its only permitted for a very short period.

I was told afterwards by a friend,who works in mortgages, that its acceptable to change jobs so long as you are moving to a similar role without any break in employment or reduction in salary (or something along those lines) !! Saying that, each bank is probably significantly different.

seamus

If you've already got full mortgage approval, then the bank will not request any further documentation, so there's no need to tell them. Now, if one of you had lost your job or taken a significant paycut, it would be in your own interests to tell them, but given the circumstances they don't need to know.

Banks don't look for employers' details on the basis that they expect you to stay in that job for the duration of the mortgage. They know you will probably change job and in doing so will maintain or increase your salary. All they really want to see is a history of working consistently stable jobs and not a series of contract or temporary positions with breaks in between or massive fluctuations in income.

Player_86

Thank you all very much for these comments - they are hugely appreciated.

markflynn

I was in the same situation as your partner back in May that I was offered a new job on more money but we were sale agreed on our house. We had 18% deposit and proved for over 6 months that we could more than repay the stressed mortgage repayments with my lesser salary. My case was taken to 'Underwriting' and the bank agreed to waive the need for 3 months payslips as we would be closing before I'd get them, as long as I showed that I wasn't going to be on a probation period. I explained my situation to my (at this stage potential) new employer and he agreed to say that I was not subject to a probation period on my salary certificate so everything was fine. However sales can drag on and if this happens then the bank can request new payslips. My advice would maybe be to keep quiet and hope the sale goes smoothly but keep in mind that if that request is made the probation period will be a problem and the only way I found around that was with the employer not mentioning it on the salary certificate.

Mrs OBumble

I would be very careful about following the "just don't tell them" advice. At a minimum, you should discuss it with your solicitor.

In general, you need to check what conditions your bank has attached to the mortgage, and follow them. Deliberately not doing so, particularly in the period between getting approved and drawing down, could easily be seen as some variety of fraud. Now, you may well get away with it if all goes well as the new job. But if things go pear-shaped, you could end up with a whole heap of problems.


A general thought: I know that sometimes headhunters come calling when you least expect them. And sometimes opportunities just pop up. But if you are in a job and have passed probation, then I wouldn't generally think it's a good idea to be look for both a new job and a mortgage at the same time. Even if you don't have a probation period, you can be made redundant during the first two years with no compensation apart from your notice period. And I don't think that's a good position to be in with a very new mortgate.

Lombardo86

I do know that KBC, while not requesting documentation in addition to what was sent in in the earlier stages of the application, absolutely called my place of employment to confirm my current status before the loan drawdown.

They may not request documentation from you - but they can make a phone call incredibly quickly and easily. I would be wary of lying in this situation.

Not sure if all banks woudl do a follow up call but to me it makes sense.