Whenever a lending institution is asked to provide a home loan, it will take
into account the value of the property concerned. This usually means that a local
surveyor will be instructed to assess the property. Sometimes he will decide that
the property has a particular fault, or requires some urgent maintenance work
to be completed. If this problem is severe, but not so horrendous that the offer
of mortgage should be refused, a proportion of the loan may be withheld until
the work in question has been completed. It will then be re-inspected by the surveyor,
who, if satisfied, will authorise release of the balance of the money.
There
are a number of ways of dealing with a mortgage retention. For minor matters the
lender may even agree to accept a formal undertaking that the work will be completed
in a short period of time immediately after completion, but failing this a bridging
facility may be necessary. Alternatively, we may be able to arrange for the repair
work to be carried out after exchange of contracts but before completion so that
the full finance is available when needed. This is just one way in which the estate
agent can be of particular assistance – so please don’t worry –
talk to us about it and we will find the most appropriate answer in the circumstances.
