Okay the source of stress has been resolved, I can talk about it now.
Despite having lending pre-approval to buy an apartment, & being told it would take about a week to get that turned into unconditional approval, it has been:
- 4 weeks
- 3 lenders
- 2 contract extensions
- 2 loan refusals
Then today, 40 minutes before the deadline by which I'd have to have my heart broken & walk away from the sale:
- unconditional approval from the 3rd lender
The surprise has been that it's not anything to do with my ability to service the loan.
It's about how volatile the CBD apartment market is right now, & how a lot of lenders are skittish about it.
Normally a 5-10% deposit is enough to get a mortgage. I had a 10% deposit plus enough cash to pay the closing costs.
& still 2 of the lenders wanted either a 20% deposit or for me to pay additional lump sums up front (lenders mortgage insurance)
So yeah that might go some way to explaining why CBD apartments seem so cheap at the moment.
Lenders think they're a bad investment, so buyers find it harder to get finance.
Which means that there are fewer buyers genuinely able to buy the properties. Which then puts downward pressure on prices.
Anyway I am so fucking relieved that this is sorted.
And in the meantime, days continue to pass, settlement is on the 26th, and that's less than 3 weeks away omg.
@lookitmychicken thats so stressful! I’m glad you were finally able to get things sorted
does kinda seem like they’re only making the market MORE volatile by yanking buyers around like this :/
