Ian Crampton, sales director at Ferndown Limited, experienced problems with RBS’ First Active application form. He said: “On the First Active application forms, in essence its agreement-in-principle (AIP), one of the questions states: ‘number of dependents under age 18’. This is so the lender can take this into account on its new ‘affordability’ calculation.”
“On its full application, which you then go on to complete, it then asks to list the names of anyone living in the property over the age of 17. This, as we’ve all previously come to believe, is so the lender can ask those named in this section to sign a consent form, thereby waiving any interest in the property.
“Unfortunately RBS Intermediary Partners seems to have this part confused. It has contacted me to say that due to me putting my client’s two daughter’s names in the second section, both of whom are over the age of 20, working in full-time, permanent employment, they are still to be classed as financial dependants, and as such the case has failed the affordability calculation. As well as this it has also confirmed that anybody living in a property, such as an elderly relative, or a friend or indeed any occupier not on the mortgage application, will be classed as such.”
A spokesperson for RBS Intermediary Partners denied it took the income of other occupants into account when assessing affordability, but confirmed it would be altering its application form in light of the enquiry. “While we only take into account the income of the parties named on the mortgage, our affordability calculation does take into account the total number of occupants in the property being mortgaged – irrespective of whether or not they are a dependant of the mortgage applicant. We are in the process of amending our application form so that this is clearer.”
