The applicant will receive a letter from the West Brom giving details of the first and subsequent mortgage payment. The first payment is usually one month following completion.

It is possible for the applicant to change the Direct Debit payment date to a preferred date. To do this they will need to call our Mortgage team on 0345 241 4526.

Overpayments of up to £1000 per calendar month can be made via debit card on our automated payment line on 0345 241 0593 or 0800 083 8031

If your client pays by Direct Debit, they can call us to set the Direct Debit to collect an additional amount each month on 0345 241 4526

Please note once an overpayment has been made, it is not possible to obtain a refund or reduce/stop making monthly payments to use up the overpayment.

• Adding lender fees to the loan – the completion fee will be added to the mortgage. Any fees added to the mortgage will accrue interest and increase the amount borrowed.
• Deducting lender fees from the loan – the completion fee will be deducted from the mortgage funds released to the Solicitor at completion of the mortgage.

The West Brom will always select the law firm on fees assisted products.

To view all information held within the pick lists on the portal you will need to have internet Explorer v.9 or above. Other browsers may work but are not supported. If you use Internet Explorer 11 you will need to update your compatibility view settings.

As your email address is your username to log on to our portal, you will need to re-register using your new email address which can be done here.

Please allow up to 2 working days for documents to be reviewed. Once they have been reviewed they will be removed from your clients' outstanding documents list.

You can view a list of acceptable identification items by viewing our Important information on identification.

In the case summary screen you can view the checklist items which need to be uploaded once the application has been submitted. Each document must be uploaded individually and the correct document type must be selected to ensure that the processing of the case is not delayed. Please ensure that each upload is submitted only once as multiple submissions will result in a duplication of items. The uploading process may take a few minutes and the message ‘your changes have been saved’ will be displayed once your upload is successful.

• Where possible we prefer to have the standard documents (payslips, P60 etc.) uploaded via the website at the application submitted stage as this will ensure a more accurate initial decision
• To avoid delays in processing, each status document must be uploaded against the requested item on the list after you have clicked on it
• To further assist speed of process, only upload the required number of documents requested for each item on the list. For example, one month’s payslip, bank statement etc.
• All documents must be uploaded via the website

Scanning capability is required so that supporting documents can be uploaded. We recommend that scanned documents should be saved as doc, pdf, jpeg, tiff or png files. Please note that html and text files cannot be uploaded. The maximum file size which we can accept is 10MB. Larger files can be separated and uploaded against a checklist item.

A Decision in Principle (DIP) is valid for 90 days. To proceed to a Full Mortgage Application (FMA) after the 90 days a new DIP must be submitted.

An offer will be valid for six months from the date the original offer is issued. It will be automatically withdrawn after six months (the original date also applies to any revised offers) unless the Society agrees to extend the offer period.

Yes, we have a valuation appeals form available on our forms library which will need to be completed and returned by email to ist@westbrom.co.uk. Once the form has been received, we will refer this to the valuer.

Yes, please contact our Intermediary Support Team at IST@westbrom.co.uk.

We are a soft foot print at decision in principle.

A Decision in Principle (DIP) approve is based on the declared information only for example, income, commitments etc.

All applicants will be credit scored as part of the Decision in Principle process, to help us do this we use the credit reference agencies, Experian and Equifax. However, we also rely on our experienced and fully trained underwriters to assess all mortgage applications, in order to make a lending decision.

For additional valuation fees, these will need to be paid on application. Costs for these can be found here.

For a change of property we will require for a new application to be keyed on the new property details.

The case tracking service enables administrators to track clients' cases and upload documentation. A guide is available that provides an overview about how to use the case tracking service.

The monthly mandatory insurance premium should be added to the loan payment and input the combined amount in the loans commitment box on the affordability calculator.

The list below sets out the list of occupations that the Society currently deems a profession for the purposes of applying Lending Policy:

• Accountant
• Airline pilot
• Architect
• Auditor
• Consultant (medical)
• Dentist
• Doctor (medical)
• Doctor (academic)
• Lawyer/solicitor
• Lecturer
• Midwife
• Nurse
• Optician
• Pharmacist
• Surveyor
• Teacher
• Vet

Income from the above professions will be considered from day one of employment.

If a Deed of Consent is required, independent legal advice may be required, for which there may be a charge.

• Part Interest Only and Part Repayment mortgages are not permitted.

The Society will require confirmation from the applicant(s) whether the Buy to Let (BTL) is self-financing or if there is a shortfall in the rental income compared to the monthly mortgage payment. Providing the BTL is self-financing, this will not be considered for affordability purposes, however, the details will need to be declared under the BTL portfolio section of our Decision in Principle (DIP). Our Buy to Let declaration form, available on our forms library, will need to be completed by the applicant(s) and then uploaded to our online portal.

We will consider 50% of Buy to Let (BTL) income where the property is unencumbered or the applicant(s) is a professional landlord (defined as owning four or more BTL properties). For professional landlords the rental income will need to be keyed as a secondary income on a self-employed basis. If the applicant(s) only source of income is from their BTL properties, where they own four or more, we can consider 100% of the income. We will require the last two years’ SA302s to evidence the income, and three months business/personal bank statements evidencing rent received.

Yes, we will consider this up to 90% LTV. However, if the applicant is a professional landlord (defined as owning four or more Buy to Let (BTL) properties), this will be treated as capital raising for business purposes and the LTV is restricted to 75%.

The property must be for the exclusive use of the applicant(s) and their family and is not to be let out. We would need to factor in the applicant(s) running costs for their current residential property and the new property; mortgage payment, council tax, insurances, utilities as well as additional travel costs between the two properties.

Affordability is based on the applicant(s) declared return to work income. We will ask for their pre-parental payslip, together with their latest months’ payslip. We will also request that the applicant completes our Return to Work form, which is available on our forms library.

Generally, we will ask for the applicant(s) last three months’ payslips and take an average of the overtime/bonus or commission as shown on the payslips, and annualise the figure. However, we do check this against the applicant(s) most recent P60 or March payslip and current earned income to date. Where overtime/bonus or commission is paid monthly we will consider 75% of the income. For non-monthly payments we will consider 50%.

If the applicant(s) pay rise is already effective, or is imminent, we will look to take their new salary. We will request a confirmation letter from the employer or the employer will need to verify this on an employment reference.

Where the applicant has deductions from their salary, for example, company car, pension contributions, student loan, please ensure that the section relating to deductions from salary is completed as part of the employment screen. Failure to complete this information where deductions are being made could result in a case being subsequently declined, once affordability is re-calculated. Please do not duplicate any information into the insurance/pension section of monthly commitments that has already been included as a deduction from salary.

For sole traders we will generally request the last two years’ tax calculations (SA302s) or HMRC online tax documentation supported by the tax year overview. We will also require the latest three months’ business bank statements.

For a limited company director we will generally request the last two years’ full accounts confirming the personal income/net profit/drawn salary derived from the business; or Accountant’s Certificate of Income confirming the last two years’ personal income/net profit/drawn salary derived from the business. If an accountant’s reference is required we will request this directly from the accountant. We will also require the latest three months’ business bank statements.

This is acceptable providing we can obtain sufficient income evidence over the last two years. We will ask for the tax calculations (SA302s) or HMRC online tax documentation supported by the tax year overview, to evidence their sole trader income. Depending when they changed, we will also request the latest year’s full accounts and/or the last three months’ business bank statements to evidence income from the limited company. We may require an Accountant’s reference, which we will request directly.

We will always assess this on a self-employed basis, so will require the last two years’ tax calculations (SA302s) or HMRC online tax documentation. We may also require the latest three months’ business/personal bank statements.

If this is a planned overdraft, we can consider this subject to underwriter approval of the conduct of the applicants banking. The overdraft charges would need to be entered as a loan commitment within our Decision in Principle. For unplanned overdrafts, please contact our Intermediary Sales and Support Team.

Note: Both ‘Fellow’ and ‘Associate’ of the above Accountancy Qualifications are acceptable.

Yes, this would need to be included within the monthly outgoings section of our Decision in Principle under Ground Rent / Service Charge (Annual Amount).