Second charges completing "in days"

The time it takes to complete a second charge mortgage has come down significantly following the removal of the 16 day cooling off period under MCD, V Loans has claimed.

The time it takes to complete a second charge mortgage has come down significantly following the removal of the 16 day cooling off period under MCD, V Loans has claimed.

The second charge specialist believes the new rules applicable to second charges have helped improved the customer journey by removing some of the outdated customer protections, such as the 16 day cooling off period.

These changes put second charge mortgages in a position to rival both bridging loans and remortgage where speed is the driving factor, said Marie Grundy, managing director of V Loans.

She said: “We are still in the very early days of the new Mortgage Credit Directive legislation, but the benefits for the second-charge mortgage sector are already plain to see.

“Across the industry we are seeing some second charge mortgages complete within a matter of days once a recommendation has been made to the borrower.

“Previously any material change in the second charge offer, such as a change to the loan amount or lower than expected property valuations meant that the borrower had to go through a further onerous cooling off period, this was detrimental to those borrowers who were looking to meet specific deadlines to release capital from their property.

"In addition because a solicitor is not required in the vast majority of second charge transactions, not only does this speed up the process considerably, in many instances it will be quicker than remortgaging and bridging, as well as mitigating substantial legal costs often associated with bridging finance.“