NatWest has launched a broker support line to help customer applications benefit from the stamp duty holiday extension.
The lender has opened a dedicated support line exclusively for brokers, to answer queries relating to applications that need to be completed in time to benefit from the stamp duty holiday.
NatWest also said it had spare capacity within its underwriting teams, adding: “This means that provided cases are fully packaged with all required documentation, and there’s no delayed access to the property for the valuer, then we have a high degree of confidence in being able to issue the offer of loan prior to June 30.”
According to the lender, its fully packaged application time to offer is approximately two days.
In last week’s Budget chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a three-month extension to the stamp duty holiday until June 30. The nil rate band, currently set at £500,000, will then be set at £250,000 until the end of September, before returning to £125,000.
NatWest is also taking search indemnity insurance, which it said put it “ahead of many lenders in the market and makes hitting the deadline more likely”.
It is also instructing valuations on day one for cases under £500,000. For cases above £500,000, the instruction will occur after it has underwritten the case, which is currently two days, according to NatWest.
For customers who have been delayed with their house purchase, brokers can apply for an existing mortgage offer to be extended on behalf of the customer for up to three months, where a customer is one month from expiry of their current mortgage offer.
Alternatively, brokers can apply for an existing mortgage offer to be extended for up to six months (in three month increments) for new-build properties.
chloe.cheung@ft.com
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