Home Loan Application Processing Time (HSBC and Others)

down-under on 13/12/2021 - 19:26
Last edited 16/12/2021 - 19:37

Anyone has ideas about how long it takes HSBC (for majority of the home loan applications) to approve a home loan application?

I got their preapproval last month (which took 4 working days), and entered into a sales contract earlier this month. Appraisal was done pretty quickly and the application has been completed and sent to credit team 6 working days ago, and not approved yet.

My contract doesn't have a finance clause (am I too stupid?), so I'm a little bit worried (not too worried as my case is relatively simple) and I'm thinking about what I could/should do now.

If I want to get a loan somewhere else, how many days is considered a reasonable time for getting a loan from start to finish? I'm trying to figure out what the latest date is for starting Plan B…

Edit: Thanks everyone! After reading all the comments I got a better idea about what's going on, what I can expect and what options I have. I decided to push HSBC harder and wait for 2 more days, if still not approved, I may choose to get a cash out refinance in the US to fund the purchase (currently working here and the bank said that they could do an expedited processing)

Seems at this time it's still possible to apply for a loan from another bank, but it won't be faster or safer than HSBC. Getting cash from the US will have tax consequences but I guess that's the cost for peace of mind. Or if nothing works out, I pay for my stupidity and move on…

Edit 2: They were very helpful. After hearing my situations, they expedited the application 2 days ago and approved it today. I guess I will never waive finance clause again. It’s far too stressful, doesn’t worth it.

Financial Home Loan

Comments

  • AndyC1 on 13/12/2021 - 20:38
    -1

    Always make sure you have a finance clause and if you got a lawyer or conveyancer to check the contract then I would say you need to change them.

    Have you called HSBC and asked when they will approve the loan?

    You did not include what the settlement date. Have you called other banks or brokers and asked how long it will take to get a loan and settle a purchase if you start the process tomorrow?

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 20:59

      Yes, I will be talking to different sources tomorrow as well as getting more information from HSBC. Previously only emailed HSBC’s relationship manager and he said that there’s no update yet and no new document requests either, and he’ll follow it up.

      The settlement date is approx. 26/01/2022

      • AndyC1 on 13/12/2021 - 21:31
        +1

        With that settlement date and chrissy I think you are not going to have enough time to go to a different lender. As such put pressure in HSBC that you need a definitive answer by COB tomorrow because settlement will be on the xx/JAN/2022. Make sure you have the right date as no one can settle on OZ day as the banks are closed.

        • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:40

          Thanks! Looks like there’s no time to waste

    • Hardlyworkin on 14/12/2021 - 07:15
      +1

      Have you tried buying a house in today's market? Unless you can afford to pay thousands more than others, you will be far less likely to land a place is you are subject to finance.

      • AndyC1 on 14/12/2021 - 09:18
        -1

        What has this got to do with the conversation?

      • rektrading on 14/12/2021 - 10:08

        Land is the most valuable tangible hard asset that can't be printed out of thin air.

        People that want to own land should expect to pay above the asking/market price.

  • solidussnake on 13/12/2021 - 20:45
    -1

    Usually it's 14 days for Finance and building and pest, did you add it subject to building and pest ??

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:08
      +1

      I waived the inspection (I’m reasonably confident about what I’m doing) and we had a 7-day cool off period, but apparently it was not enough for getting a full approval…

  • bobbified on 13/12/2021 - 20:50
    +1

    What sort of settlement period is in the contract? 30, 60 or 90 days?

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:05
      +1

      It’s a 56 days settlement period… Seems 42 days is the normal length in NSW, and because of the holidays we set it to 8 weeks

  • SnowDragon on 13/12/2021 - 20:58
    -1

    My contract doesn't have a finance clause (am I too stupid?),

    If you need to wait for finance approval, why wouldn't tick this box?

    I don't mean to worry you, but if your bank takes too long you could forfeit your deposit if you don't have finance within the contract time limit.

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:02
      +1

      Yes, totally aware of that. The contract is unconditional now so I could only look forward to make sure I could get the money…

      • SnowDragon on 13/12/2021 - 21:05

        If it helps, I was pre-approved with ING and it probably took 2 weeks total (I had some drama around credit cards and also used a finance broker).

        Hope it all works out for you.

  • Benoffie on 13/12/2021 - 21:28
    +2

    From memory HSBC took 2-3 weeks for us. We chased them too, more for the reassurance. Just their process.

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:42
      +1

      2-3 weeks for getting a full approval after relationship manager submitting application to the credit team?

      • Benoffie on 13/12/2021 - 21:46
        +1

        Checking with the better half, yes. Paperwork was the slow part tbh, not anything like credit or affordability.

        • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:51
          +1

          Thanks, so my case is still kind of in the normal time range… will call them tomorrow

  • clover on 13/12/2021 - 21:29

    Not if it helps but when I refinanced with HSBC, it took about a month and a half. They need to send someone to do a valuation of the place. Could be a bit faster as I spent a week reading all the documents.

    • down-under on 13/12/2021 - 21:47

      Yeah, the appraisal was done 2 days after signing the contract, and application was completed on the same day. How long did it take after that for your case?

  • KaTst3R on 13/12/2021 - 22:13
    +1

    I used HSBC and they are pretty slow because they outsource this function. And when everything comes back, make sure you check all your names and information properly. My RM made a mistake in spelling my name and I had to do the approval process twice. It caused extreme stress for us.

    • down-under on 14/12/2021 - 08:25

      Thanks, and glad it worked out for you in the end, I can imagine how stressful that must be…

  • chcse on 13/12/2021 - 22:31
    +1

    When I went with NAB earlier this year, it took two weeks for approval, wait was for valuation (luckily they only required desktop valuation and not one where they needed to go to the house). This included the Easter and Anzac public holidays and banker said they were flat out with the number of approvals. Depending on how it is now, you still have an okay chance if you go to another lender in early January although that would be very stressful.

  • soan papdi on 13/12/2021 - 23:33
    +1

    Not sure about HSBC but Macquarie is pretty fast. Once pre-approval was done, actual loan approval was less than one week. We were assured it was easy to achieve, based off which we put in a 30 day settlement period. Luckily everything worked out.

  • Thrawn on 13/12/2021 - 23:47
    +1

    Settled a new purchase direct through HSBC a few months ago in NSW.

    HSBC took about 7 business days from the actual application to the backend team to someone actually picking it up.. Then it took another week of fixing up various issues before formal approval came. After that it took another week to prepare the settlement.

    The loan relationship person wasn't very good and actually I foresaw a number of issues that ended up happening even though she flagged that we were OK. In the end there was a shortfall of about 10% of the loan amount in comparison to what she "promised" upfront. There was no time to shop around by the time we found it it wasn't possible.

  • TheGuru on 14/12/2021 - 05:45
    +1

    Don’t go to st George. I applied 1 July and I’m still waiting even though I got told I would be approved in August, September, October, November. Lol

    They are a joke

    • Thrawn on 15/12/2021 - 00:19

      Friend had a settlement through St George last month. Took less than 2 weeks from application to unconditional approval. Much more pain free in comparison to my HSBC application

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