Pre Approval:
It is now possible to obtain and offer in principle online. The offer in principle will typically stand for XX weeks/months and so should be obtained shortly before you start looking in earnest for a property to purchase. Once you have submitted the necessary paperwork an offer in principle can be obtained from some brokers within 24 hours. If using a broker you will hopefully receive several offers from different lenders.
Application:
Once you have found the property you wish to purchase, and signed the purchase contract the full application will be submitted to the lender you choose and a valuation will be arranged. You will need to provide updated financial information at this point . You will need to pay the valuation fee at this point. Valuation: The independent valuer will visit the property and produce their valuation report. They will need to liaise with the homeowner or their agent to make the arrangements for the visit. They will also make checks to ensure that the physical property they visited matches its description on the land registry. Typically this process takes less than a fortnight however with several parties involved in the logistics it can take longer. The valuer will deliver a copy of the valuation report to the lender.Assessment: The bank will assess your updated documentation, run credit checks and check that the valuation is sufficient to offer the loan about required. This should take no more than a week.
Approval:
Assuming that your financial situation has not changed since the Offer in Principal was given, the banks credit checks have not revealed any information that they were not expecting, the valuer has assessed that the property value is sufficient to cover the loan and has not uncovered any legal issues with the registration of the property the mortgage will be approved and the bank will provide a written offer, including the European Standardised Information Sheet.
Contract:
If you agree with the terms of the mortgage the contract is agreed and passed to the notary. Cooling Off-Period: The notary must wait for 10 days before allowing the property completion and mortgage deed to be signed. This allows for the statutory cooling-off period, during which the borrower can withdraw from the agreement.
Completion:
The mortgage deed will be signed, along with the property deed at the notary. The Notary will ask the buyer (or a representative of the buyer who holds a notarised power of attorney to act on the buyer’s behalf) a series of questions to ensure that they are fully aware of all clauses in the contract.
Registration:
The mortgage deed will be sent to the land registry, along with the new deed of ownership of the property, and the charges will be updated on the register. If the deed contains any unlawful clauses or clauses of a type that have been declared to be abusive by the courts the land registry will refuse to register the charge against the property (this is a final safely net and I have never heard of any case where the deed has failed to pass checks at this point).