I am a mortgage sanctioner and have had the following question from a mortgage advisor that found the site recently. Interesting question and it is one that I am sure many wonders about when it comes to someone that approves mortgages.

Hey Lee! Mortgage advisor in Paisley here. Loving the info on your site, keep up the good work. The question I am always asking myself. Do mortgage sanctioners always follow policies to the letter or do they go ‘off piste’ at times to make a deal work? Appreciate your one person and do not represent everyone, appreciate your views though.

Thanks, interesting question. The easiest way to answer, that is to say, if I followed the policy to the letter and never deviated from it then there would be no need for any mortgage sanctioners at all.

That is not to say I throw caution to the wind and don’t worry about policies, quite the opposite.

Our policies are there to be followed, I work for a lender like all others that are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Whilst policies are there to be followed there are opportunities to take a view on situations that arise.

That is why we have sanctioners, not everything is black and white or can be judged by systems that automate the process.

Where there is an opportunity and it is right to do so I will take a view that is considered outside of lending policy. We have controls of course. If I wanted to take such a view it would require support from a 2nd sanctioner to validate my rationale and support that deviation from policy.

Mortgages are not always straightforward as I am sure you know. Sometimes it has to be no, other times when provided with the right supporting information it changes from a straight no to at least being considered further.

My own advice to applicants and mortgage advisors is never to leave it to chance. If there is something not quite right then tell the lender at the point of application and provide as much information as you can.

When it arrives on the desk of a sanctioner it is better that all of the information is provided for consideration rather than them having to find something out themselves.

Most if not all lenders have a policy of declining a mortgage application if they discover something that an applicant knew but didn’t disclose at the point of application. Always best to be upfront on everything.

Hope that answers your question.