Are the banks really open for buisness (Mortages)

We have a broker,and before xmas we were ready to apply for self build or top up on mortgage , he told us to wait till after xmas, now he has told us banks not open 4 business for mortgages!!
wife (impatient has spoken to bank and they have said to "go ahead and give them all the details and apply as there is no reason not too and cant think why broker wont apply to them".
Does any 1 no whats going on in the banks r they giving out mortgages at the moment.

Banks never stopped lending to qualifying residential mortgage applicants.

Change your broker or better still speak direct to the banks...no need for broker and they dont always give you the best deal

Hi there thanks for replying,

Liam...We have all the paper work which will qualify us for more than what we need (according to our broker )and we also have a few bob in the bank ?????????

Callaghan, maybe we should, wife spoke to bank they have said to bring all our paper work st8 to them, just need to get it all back now :-(

Has anyone here, recently been approved a mortgage with any of the banks???

Thanks.

got approved with AIB....no probs at all....had also been messed around with a number of brokers all telling a different story....best rates with AIB too!

I know BoI have just launched a €1bn FTB fund to try get things moving, I imagine AIB are doing something similar. If they are doing this, I presume you should have no problem assuming all your docs are in order.

I started going through a Mortgage Broker when I bought, found him not too helpful (this was when times were good for these people) and ended up going through the bank he got my approval from behind his back, and got a much better deal to boot

Got approved christmas week with BoI, no real hassle at all. Also a very reasonable rate. AIB wouldn't touch us with the proverbial stick! Even with 2 full time wages and quite a bit saved and a 20% deposit! It's a strange world

I am a broker and your broker is not telling you the whole truth, maybe he has lost this agency.Therefore go to a broker who has agencies with many lenders .Banks are open for business especially for house builds where your equity has the potentail to be much higher than your build cost, subject to the following ...you are employed, (preferably not in a building related trade),earnings, personal loans etc. apply to the bank direct or go to another broker.

senni said:

I am a broker and your broker is not telling you the whole truth, maybe he has lost this agency.

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If you are indeed a broker, ?

I think you have misinterpreted my reply to willie. Willie is the one looking for a mortgage not me. Its not my mortgage. I am explainingto willie to try a different brokers because Banks are open for mortgages. Its the persons circumstances that may be the reason for the decline...ie line of work...credit rating...lpersonal oans already drawn. Thanks for the response though. Senni

Senni - you missed CCOVICH's point. Click on the link in CCOVICH's post (underlined text).

Are you guys living in the real world? How many of the commentators on this thread are brokers or indeed bankers?

Where are you coming from with the positive spin? Is it trying to convince yourselves that things are not as bad or what?

I am an ex banker now broker. The banks are "almost" closed & that is the fact of the matter. Lets all be honest about this thing & not get sucked in the PR machine that is the banking industry. Just because they take out a full page advert telling you that they are open & want business does not mean they are "actaully" doing any business!

To outline my point I am going to discuss AIB (as they have been mentioned by a few people & are my former employers). Their rates (if you could get the money) are exceptional, and would have to be the first choice of any borrower or broker worth their salt. However (there is always a but!) they have a current approval rate of less than 30% of applications (figures from an employee- they wouldn't release this info to the press). I have had a few files approved by them but other good quality cases refused for ridiculous reasons. As I can't breach client confidentiality obviously I can't outline cases in full but as a former banker I can honestly tell you that the reasons outlined were completely out of bounds.

Listen guys I am in the business- I should probably be on here singing the tune that loans can be arranged easily & touting for business but at the moment I am nearly hoping that people do not come to us to arrange their finance as it will only make us look bad if/when they get refused. As people have been used to getting what they wanted on the majority of occasions in the past I do not want to be the one seen as inadequate if they are refused sanction. Why would I feel this way if things weren't as bad?

To be fair I feel that if everyone was honest with the level of refusals which we are egtting from the banks & lobbied our politicians outlining EXACTLY where the banks are strangling the economy by with holding credit then maybe we might get somewhere.

Can any of you brokers/bankers or borrowers tell me which institutions are open for commercial lending on a file with LTV of 53%, exceptional accounts & bank statements (runs cr balances of min 30k all year round), and almost 2.5 years repayments on deposit held by the owner? It's just that it has been rejected by 5 lenders already.

Assistance would be gratefully accepted.

Rejected by 5 already? Wow.

Can somebody please tell me why anyone would need to use a Broker in the first place when it is just as easy to do it yourself. I have never really understood the need. They don't even get you the best rates so where is the advantage ? I know some people are lazy about going through the process but outside of that what is the point in using a broker ?
To me it seems like a nothing service.

Pauliwalnuts said:

Can somebody please tell me why anyone would need to use a Broker in the first place when it is just as easy to do it yourself. I have never really understood the need. They don't even get you the best rates so where is the advantage ? I know some people are lazy about going through the process but outside of that what is the point in using a broker ?
To me it seems like a nothing service.

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So you are a qualified financial advisor then? And you have a full understanding of how to compare banks terms, conditions, security items & interest rate charges? Oh and of course you think that the banks always tell the truth and have no pitfalls to avoid?

Like I have said- I am now a broker - was a banker. The main reason I left the (so called security) bank job was to help people get the best deal possible, and avoid many of the pitfalls which can catch people out. If it was as easy as this man makes out then how come the bank with the lowest interest rate doens't get every mortgage being borrowed?

The Irish banks are exceptionally profitable by international standards and the main reason for this is due to the fact that their average customer is financially unware, and has a minimal understanding of finance issues. How did the banks get away with so many over charging scandals, and other highlighted acts but for the fact that their clients were unaware of what charges/fees/rates they should have been paying for each service?

Banks are effectively tied agents in that they only offer the loans from their own institutions, and also the insurance cover from one provider (in 99% of cases- not the cheapest provider!). It is worth dealing with a broker even to access the cheapest protection insurances while alos accessing the best rate possible thus having the best entire package available.

I do agree that not all so called brokers are the same. One of the main problems in this business is the number of people who call themslves "advisors" but are really just sales people. Often brokers can be just glorified insurance sale people but I would urge all clients to contact the Financial Regulator for a list of Authorised Advisors who can advise on the products of the entire market- this should ensure that you get a competent, and independent advisor. But I can admit that some people can have bad experiences with brokers who do not know what they are doing.

My own opinion is that in addition to being obliged to obtain independent legal advice when buying a property, it should be mandatory to also get independent financial advice as it is this finance issue which is more likely to have long term implications for the purchaser rather than any legal or conveyancing problem?

Could it be that the banks are trying to entice customers to apply directly, rather than through a broker, so that they can save on the brokers fees?

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?t=105997

The above thread is just one example of how banks treat their mortgage customers once they have them in their "web"!!

CSIRL could be right in that banks would prefer business to walk in their door rather than through the broker channel however as in other countries such as USA & UK more than 50% of mortgage business is now transacted through brokers so the banks will have a job breaking that mould.

I think a far more likely reason for banks acting as they do currently is that the actually DO NOT want any business as they either have access to very limited capital & also are very afraid to lend as in the current econimic climate defaults are going to soar.

Yellow Belly said:

Are you guys living in the real world? How many of the commentators on this thread are brokers or indeed bankers?

Where are you coming from with the positive spin? Is it trying to convince yourselves that things are not as bad or what?

I am an ex banker now broker. The banks are "almost" closed & that is the fact of the matter...

Click to expand...

I'm a broker and am finding that more than 80% of my applications have been approved. Mind you, the banks are breaking my heart looking for more and more information, but we're getting there in the end. And obviously the numbers of people applying in the first place is massively down on previous years.

On your comercial query, I've only done one commercial loan this year and that was approved by AIB, if that's of any help.

If you are buying in a new development find out which bank has financed the build and make your application to them. You will stand a much better chance.