‘I just finished my mortgage application — 3 things I didn’t expect’ | Personal Finance | Finance

It took Olivia Minnock just under two months to complete the process of applying for and receiving her mortgage offer. Within that time and much to her surprise, she had to become an amateur expert in leasehold law, people management, and negotiations. But acquiring these newfound skills wasn’t the only thing that caught Ms Minnock off guard when she took on the gruelling task of applying for a mortgage as a first-time buyer.

Ms Minnock told Express.co.uk: “The entire process felt like a conspiracy to make me think I was mad.

“It was laborious and dated, and it didn’t fill me with confidence. I was left feeling quite anxious.”

The 28-year-old senior partnerships manager at a fintech company applied for a mortgage on a one-bed flat in Woolwich, southeast London, earlier this year.

She said: “I’m really proud that I only cried once through the process. It felt like a bit of a rush in the beginning – I wasn’t especially ‘house hunting’ but came across a great property in my price range so I thought I would go for it.

“Suddenly, everything needed to be done within a few days from my side, such as appointing solicitors and arranging a survey.”

This was frustrating for Ms Minnock as, despite feeling pressure to move quickly, she often “wouldn’t hear from any of these people for weeks.”

Ms Minnock started her mortgage application using a broker from the same fintech company she had my LISA with. She said: “In some ways, this was helpful because he looked over all my details for affordability and could suggest the best deals. However, the company I used didn’t seem to have much knowledge about the property side.

“You also get the impression they have a high caseload and don’t have a lot of time to support you individually, even though the people are nice and I’m sure try their best.”

Sharing more startling realisations, Ms Minnock said: “One thing I didn’t expect was that the first application was rejected due to an issue with the flat itself. You get so worried and caught up with your finances being looked at. You worry they will judge and reject you for these reasons – sudden regret for spending £50 on cocktails two weeks ago – that you don’t even think about the lending criteria on the building.

“I’ve since learned something like not having a lift in a block of flats is a no-no, which seems mad. In my case, the first lender had a ‘computer says no’ attitude to any property near a commercial building.”

Ms Minnock continued: “I’ve ended up with a lender who actually comes round and does a survey to value the property and I would recommend that to people.”

Additionally, Ms Minnock didn’t feel the broker knew much about the property criteria, which left her having to log onto various lenders’ sites pretending to be a broker to “get all the criteria, ask all the questions, and then explain to the broker which products were and weren’t suitable.”

“That was probably the most worrying part of the process.”

She added: “I genuinely hadn’t considered the property itself being rejected – I was so worried about ‘me’ being rejected. You also put your trust in other people to know more than you, so when they don’t it’s quite scary.”

Overall, Ms Minnock described the experiences as “a huge exercise in people management between broker, lender, surveyor, solicitors on both sides… you get the impression all of these people really dislike one another.”

She continued: “You’re the one who has to negotiate between them and work out who’s sent what to whom. Often you don’t hear from anyone for weeks, and then suddenly they’re demanding you send them five things in an hour. I don’t understand why they can’t all be looped in and communicate with each other.”

But poor communication wasn’t the only plight Ms Minnock had to deal with. The dated print, sign, and post requirements for certain contracts induced bouts of anxiety.

Ms Minnock said: “I love using fintech tools in my life and work in the fintech industry, so I am used to knowing exactly what’s going on with my money at all times. Now all of a sudden, I’m told I need to print, sign and post things to some office in Peterborough and that certain things can only be done over the phone. That’s been a surprise in 2024 for sure.

“When speaking to older friends and relatives, they ask ‘Is it still like that? I thought it would have improved by now.’ In this way, the lack of tech actually makes me feel less trusting as I don’t have control and visibility over the process and my data.

“I’ve actually lost track of who has seen my bank statements which is very exposing and worrying.”

New research by banking SaaS provider, Ohpen, found half of people who have applied for a mortgage reveal the feeling they most associate with the mortgage application process is anxiety (46 percent).

More than one in 10 people who have applied for a mortgage in the UK (13 percent) would rather be stuck in a lift for 12 hours straight than face the stress of the process. This rises to more than one in five (23 percent) Gen Zs (aged 18 to 24).

More than one in five (22 percent) younger adults also admitted to calling in sick to work due to stress triggered by their mortgage application.

Meanwhile, 38 percent of homeowning 24 to 35-year-olds wish they had chosen to rent for longer instead of going through the mortgage application process.

The stress of lengthy and inefficient mortgage application processes impacted working habits, lifestyles and relationships. A quarter of 25 to 34-year-olds surveyed admits to comfort eating due to stress triggered by their mortgage applications, while a further 26 percent started forgetting things they would normally remember, such as food shopping or texting a friend on their birthday.

Three in 10 people (30%) said a better understanding of the process beforehand would have relieved stress during the mortgage application process, as well as fewer delays in the process (37 percent) and less paperwork (36 percent).

Jerry Mulle, UK managing director at Ohpen, said: “These findings are a damning indictment of the inefficient mortgage application processes delivered by banks’ archaic legacy systems.

“Hundreds of thousands of Brits apply for a mortgage every year, and so the total impact on mental health and wellbeing, consumer spending and productivity is significant. The generational gap in the impact of mortgage applications on wellbeing and consumer spending makes it clear that banks’ processes have not modernised – what was cutting edge 40 years ago is no longer fit for purpose.”

Mr Mulle added: “We need to see a coordinated effort to make the process more transparent and inclusive from the outset, and speed up the application process by taking complex legacy technology out of the equation and enabling better real-time data sharing between all the stakeholders involved in the home-buying journey.”