Question 1

What happens if your mortgage offer expires before completion?

Accepted Answer

The offer lapses and the lender will not release funds — so completion cannot happen until it is extended or re-issued, which is a real risk in slow chains and is entirely avoidable with attention.

**How long offers last.** Typically **three to six months** from issue, stated on the offer document. New-build purchases with long build programmes are the common problem, which is why some lenders offer extended validity for them.

**Why offers expire.** Chains collapsing and restarting; slow searches, particularly in areas with long local authority turnaround; leasehold enquiries and management pack delays, which are a frequent cause; probate; building safety documentation; and unresolved title defects.

**What happens next:**

**An extension**, which many lenders grant for a short period on request. This is usually straightforward if nothing has changed — apply **before** it expires rather than after.

**A re-offer**, where the lender re-underwrites. This is where risk sits: your circumstances are reassessed, a new credit search is run, and income, employment and expenditure are checked again. **A job change, a new credit commitment, a period of reduced income or a fall in the property's value can all produce a different answer.**

**A changed rate.** The original product may no longer exist, and a re-offer may be at current pricing — potentially much more expensive.

**A new valuation** if the original has expired, introducing down-valuation risk.

**How to avoid it:** apply for the mortgage only once a purchase is agreed and progressing, not months earlier; chase searches and leasehold packs actively, since these are the usual bottleneck; keep your solicitor and broker informed of the offer's expiry date; and **make no changes to your financial position** before completion — no new credit, no job change, no large unexplained transfers.

**If you have already exchanged** and the offer lapses, you are contractually bound to complete and may face penalties for delay — which is why exchanging with an offer close to expiry is dangerous and why solicitors check the date.

General information, not financial advice.

Question 2

Is a mortgage in principle a guarantee that you'll get the loan?

Accepted Answer

No. A mortgage in principle — also called an agreement in principle, decision in principle, or AIP/DIP — is an indication of what a lender might be willing to lend based on information you have

Question 3

What is a lease extension, and what is marriage value?

Accepted Answer

A lease extension adds years to a leasehold term, and marriage value is an extra payment that becomes due once the lease is short — which is why extending early is dramatically cheaper than extending

Question 4

What is gazumping and can you do anything about it?

Accepted Answer

Gazumping is when a seller accepts your offer and then accepts a higher one from someone else before contracts are exchanged. It is legal in England and Wales, and it is possible because of a

Question 5

What actually happens in a repossession?

Accepted Answer

A court process, not something a lender can simply do — and the most important practical fact is that repossession is treated as a last resort, with several stages at which it can be stopped,

Question 6

What does porting a mortgage mean?

Accepted Answer

Porting means transferring your existing mortgage deal — the rate and its terms — to a new property when you move, rather than repaying it and taking a new one. Why anyone would want to. Two reasons:

Question 7

What is the difference between exchange and completion?

Accepted Answer

These are the two decisive moments in an English or Welsh property purchase, and confusing them causes real problems. Exchange of contracts is the point at which the deal becomes legally binding.

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