Retention

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.