My son keeps being turned down for a mortgage due to lift access in the building – what can he do? DAVID HOLLINGWORTH replies

My son and his girlfriend have had their mortgages rejected twice, possibly three times, and the outcome is pending.

The purchase is for an apartment in Southwark, south London, worth £540,000, which is five years old. They buy a 25 percent share as starters.

Their credit score is not a problem, but they have been rejected by two major lenders on the same grounds of inadequate credit facilities.

Santander held the existing seller’s mortgage but still declined. This was followed nationally.

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Barclays values ​​a third application along with the original building plans. But we are not optimistic.

There are issues with the impartiality of the building owners, the sales agent, the mortgage broker and the surveyor, all of whom generate fees that lead to the same outcome. What are your thoughts? AK

David Hollingworth replies: When applying for a mortgage, the main concern of many borrowers will be whether they qualify and qualify for the amount they want to borrow.

But a lender must be sure that the property is worth what the buyer pays for it, in case something goes wrong at a later date and the property needs to be repossessed to repay the mortgage amount.

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The lender will require the property to be independently appraised to confirm its value and to ensure that you have no concerns about the structure and condition of the property.

Lenders will generally prefer properties that are easy to sell in the future.

Therefore, the breadth of appeal a property will have on the open market is also important.

The more unusual a property, the smaller the market may be and the fewer potential buyers there may be.

This could apply, for example, to a building above a business premises, especially for a takeaway that could affect the ‘saleability’ of the property.

Some lenders place limits on the maximum number of floors in a block and take other factors into account, including local authority access to open decks.

Some lenders will prefer to assess each property on its own merits. There will also likely be more flexibility in the maximum number of floors in areas where taller buildings are more common – London is a good example of this.

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However, as your son and partner notice, you may have additional expectations that a home above a certain number of floors should have a lift.

This could mean that a building of more than four floors (ground plus three) may have a lift.

Nationals may make an exception to this rule, but the typical expectation is that a flat in a block above four floors has a lift, regardless of whether the flat is on a higher floor or not.

Accessibility is obviously important to any property and the higher the number of floors, the more a lack of lift will affect marketability.

Some lenders have the option to consider any property rather than applying a strict limit, but they will rely on the appraiser’s comments and recommendations. Santander and Barclays would both fit that bill.

Unfortunately, this means that you are dependent on the appraiser’s comments and it is difficult to predict the likely outcome in advance.

It appears the purchase is from a housing association so it would be worth discussing with them and local surveyors who know the property how this problem has been resolved in the past.

That can help to get an idea of ​​the lenders who have previously accepted the property, although as you have discovered this does not guarantee that the surveyor will take the same view as others in the past.

It is therefore possible that the Barclays application will perform differently and be successful.

There are a lot of different moving parts in the process, but it is in the best interest of everyone, from seller to agent to advisor, to make the sale happen.

However, you may want to consider getting a second opinion if you continue to experience problems.

If it’s still problematic, it’s also worth considering that options for buyers may be limited in the future if your son and his partner want to sell.