Mortgage Famine: A Simple Way to Alleviate Some of the Stress of Moving Home.

The mortgage thaw may be underway, but it is clear to me as a Conveyancing Solicitor based in Chipping Sodbury South Gloucestershire, that the pace of issuing a mortgage offer is still painfully slow.

Figures issued last week by the British Bankers Association show the number of mortgage approvals reaching a 15 month high.

My hunch, nevertheless, is that we still have mortgage rationing in all but name.

When I first qualified as a Solicitor in the early 1980’s and began to specialise in Conveyancing, it was quite common for a mortgage offer to be issued at an early stage. The main difference was that a “not before” date was inserted into the mortgage offer. This meant that the funds would only be available for a drawdown after a specific date, usually 5 to 6 weeks afterwards.

The benefit to everyone in the chain of Conveyancing transactions was that the certainty of the mortgage funds allowed an early exchange of contracts, albeit with a extended completion or moving in date

The smaller the gap between agreeing a sale or purchase of your home to an actual exchange of contracts reduces the stress for everyone in the Conveyancing chain.

A return to this practice would be a helpful addition to the current Housing Market.