How long does mortgage approval last and how long does it take to find housing?

When to look for housing

Most Russians first apply for a mortgage to the bank, and only after approval they begin to look for housing. But some citizens act differently. First, they look for an apartment, and then they make inquiries to banks. In the second case there are additional risks. Especially if the buyer transfers the mortgage for the home to the seller, and then receives a refusal for a mortgage from the bank. The deposit may not be returned, which will cause even greater frustration for the failed buyer.

Financial institutions advise sticking to the first path. It makes more sense for the buyer to get a mortgage approved and then negotiate with the seller because:

1. The bank has already guaranteed the issuance of the mortgage, which means you don’t have to worry about the advance payment. It’s even better to negotiate with the property owner to add the advance payment to the down payment.
2. The maximum amount that the bank will approve when approving the application has already been established. There will be no temptation to go beyond its limits; you can immediately reject too expensive or, on the contrary, cheap options.

Sberbank gives its borrowers 3 months to purchase a home with a mortgage. Before 2021, the approval period was 60 days, and clients did not always meet the allotted time. Therefore, it was decided to extend the period.

For large Russian cities, 90 days is an acceptable period. There is a large market for new buildings, as well as secondary housing. If the client is worried that he will not meet the deadline, he can turn to the services of a realtor. Housing search agencies will quickly select a lot of suitable options.

After all agreements between the seller and the buyer on the purchase and sale transaction, both parties are required to come to Sberbank in person. When drawing up a mortgage agreement, co-borrowers and guarantors must be present.

What is the validity period of the submitted documents?

During the period of a positive decision on issuing a mortgage loan, the borrower must have time to find a property that satisfies his needs and falls within the desired price category, order a market valuation at his own expense, provide the bank with copies of title documents for the property and a copy of the owner’s passport. In addition, when filling out the application, the borrower provides documents such as a copy of the work record book, a certificate confirming monthly income, a certificate of maternity capital balance from the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, a certificate from the passport office on family composition in Form No. 9, a report on the estimated value of the property being purchased, extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate. The table below shows the validity periods of these documents in various banks.

Table - Validity periods of documents for obtaining a mortgage in Russian banks

Source: Bank websites

At their discretion and depending on the chosen mortgage lending program, banking institutions may supplement the list of required documents. If a mortgage is issued with state support (the “Young Family” program), then the borrower must provide a marriage certificate and a birth certificate of a child (children). Their validity period is not limited, but certificates confirming the availability of a down payment, the solvency of co-borrowers, etc., are valid for the period established by a specific bank.

Validity period of the approved application

After submitting an application for a mortgage loan, Sberbank employees check information about the potential borrower:

• establish the authenticity of personal information: full name, passport data, addresses, contacts;
• reliability of data about experience and employer;
• request a credit history from all credit history bureaus where information about this individual is stored;
• assess additional risks associated with the profession, if any;
• calculate the sufficiency of income to support all dependents;
• analyze social status and level of education;
• assess the financial condition and income of co-borrowers;
• carry out additional checks through the bank's security service to check for referrals to law enforcement agencies and assess all possible credit risks.

Sberbank spends from several hours to 5-8 days on this, but sometimes the process takes up to a month. This depends on whether the scoring bank conducts data analysis or checks the client’s papers manually. For clients included in the Sberbank database, a mortgage decision can be made much faster than for unregistered citizens.

After this, the client receives information about preliminary approval. Now you will need to visit the office and take a list of papers that are established by the bank for the selected mortgage lending program.

An accepted mortgage application is counted from the next day after Sberbank assigns the “Approved” status. Starting from this date, the client has 90 days to bring documents and complete the purchase and sale transaction of finished or under construction housing.

How long does a positively approved application last?

Some time ago, borrowers had about a couple of months to begin further mortgage stages after their application was approved. In 2021, the validity period of the positive decision was extended. Now it is three months. This time should be used to find a suitable option for residential real estate, evaluate it, register ownership of the property, register the apartment with Rosreestr, and provide the necessary documents to Sberbank.

This three month period must be respected upon approval. But if the borrower failed to prepare all the documents to the credit institution on time, then the stages of obtaining a mortgage loan will need to start all over again. You will have to fill out the application again and submit it to the bank. Then wait for a decision until it is approved.

The validity period of a positive bank decision on a mortgage application begins to count immediately after the bank has completed its approval. Many clients mistakenly believe that the countdown starts after submitting an application.

Will the term of the approved mortgage be extended?

If the client does not meet the allotted 90 days, then Sberbank’s approval for the mortgage becomes invalid. You will need to re-apply and wait for a new decision from the credit institution. The term of a previous approval cannot be extended. And it is not a fact that the new application will be approved by Sberbank. Moreover, all credit institutions have the right to refuse potential borrowers without giving reasons.

To get an idea of ​​why banks refuse, you can focus on the following common reasons:

• technical failure that occurs due to errors or inaccuracies in the completed form;
• submission of deliberately false information, for example, a certificate of income indicating an inflated salary or an expired passport;
• identification of debt or negative credit history;
• low level of solvency, which does not allow you to claim the specified amount.

All the reasons why the bank could refuse a mortgage are not disclosed. Such information refers to internal methods of analysis and constitutes a commercial secret of the bank.

Therefore, it is quite difficult to find out what led to the rejection of the application. If everything is fine with the client’s solvency, passport and work, then it is advisable to request your credit history of the borrower. This is the only way to find out whether an error has crept into the financial statements. Find out how to request your credit history for free or with the help of Sberbank in Brobank articles.

Solvency

At this point, banks pay more attention and check the information provided very carefully. To confirm your solvency, it is enough to provide a certificate of income in a special form No. 2 of personal income tax, approved by law. This point should definitely be taken into account so that you are not denied a mortgage. On this basis, individual entrepreneurs and LLC owners who submit information about income in free form are often denied.

Here we should immediately address the issue of the reliability of the information presented. Since mortgage funds are so large, it is in the bank's best interest to verify all the information you provide to prove your ability to pay.

Fake certificates, diplomas, work books and any other documents are a direct ticket to the blacklist. If you fall into it, you will not have the opportunity to get even a small loan from any bank.

It is necessary to correctly calculate the possibilities of the family budget for monthly deductions, which depend on the amount and term of the loan, as well as on the down payment. It may be wiser to try to save a large amount for these purposes. This fact will also increase the chances of your application being satisfied.

Notification of application approval

Sberbank informs its potential borrowers who apply for a mortgage about the decision in three ways:

1. By SMS message to the trusted phone number specified in the application.
2. A call from a call center operator and notification of an approved mortgage.
3. If, when creating a mortgage request, the client specified an e-mail, then by sending a letter by e-mail.

If a bank client uses Sberbank Online or a mobile application, then the status of the application can be viewed in their personal account. For the convenience of mortgage borrowers who prefer to work via the Internet, the DomClick website from Sberbank has been developed. Here they will help you not only find out the solution, but also select a program, as well as collect a package of documents.

You can also find out about the status of your application when you bring your passport to the office of a bank employee.

If, 8 days after submitting your mortgage application to Sberbank, you have not received a decision, you can call the hotline or the credit department yourself and clarify the information. Or contact the nearest bank branch with an identification document.

What affects the processing time for an application?

Some clients receive a response to their mortgage application within 3-5 days, while others wait 3-4 weeks. This situation is due to the fact that citizens have different conditions. Delays occur if:

1. They choose mortgage programs with government subsidies: a certificate for maternity capital or a military mortgage. In this case, the number of stages for collecting documents from the borrower is much greater than in other types of home lending.
2. The potential borrower does not receive a salary from Sberbank and does not use any other bank products. Salary clients not only get a mortgage faster, they have the additional advantage of a smaller list of documents and a reduced interest rate.
3. Submit an application for the maximum amount possible for the client. In this situation, additional papers are collected for guarantors, co-borrowers, or collateral is issued. Therefore, the procedure takes much longer than typical applications.

"Secondary"

In general, it will take about 3-4 months to find an attractive apartment. But financial experts believe there's more to it than that. Figuratively speaking, future loan applicants descend “from heaven to earth” over time.

We have collected original reviews on this topic here, reviews from real people, many comments, worth reading.

4 banks that are happy to issue mortgage loans

Real housing prices, lack of documents from sellers, as well as the actions of some market players who want to sell their property at a high price and quickly, make adjustments to the buyer’s preliminary calculations.

Brokers advise to include in the application the maximum possible amount that the family budget will support. But people, on the contrary, write as much as they need.

As a result, you can find beautiful housing, but the price will be much higher than stated. And there will be no time to rewrite a new application, coordinate, and collect the entire package of documents. You will either have to give up the house or find your own resources to cover the difference.

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How to speed up review

It will take less time to consider a mortgage application at Sberbank if the client:

• the salary goes to the Sber card;
• a deposit has been opened or pension savings are being made to an account in Sberbank;
• owns shares of Sberbank;
• positive credit history and high credit rating;
• submits an application through the DomClick profile website.

The client can further speed up the application approval process by the following actions:

1. Before submitting your application, collect all the documents and come with them.
2. Decide in advance on the property or whether it is a secondary housing, a new building or self-construction.
3. Based on your needs and capabilities, set the mortgage amount in advance so that you do not have to re-apply if the amount is not enough.

The faster the client responds to the bank’s requests for additional information, the less time it takes for Sberbank specialists to process the data.

Deadline for considering a decision on a Sberbank mortgage loan

It is difficult to accurately determine the deadline for mortgage approval at Sberbank. The total time of interaction with a financial institution from the date of the first application to the issuance of the approved amount depends on the efficiency of the client. This is due to the fact that the registration procedure includes several stages.

Stages of mortgage approval in Sberbank

1. The first contact with a financial institution is to select a banking product, study the terms of the mortgage program and calculate the cost of the mortgage.
2. Collection and submission of documents to confirm the financial stability and reliability of the borrower and guarantors.
3. Receiving a response from Sberbank - from 2 to 5 days.

If Sberbank approves your mortgage, the next steps will be:

• Search and selection of housing.
• Preparation of real estate documents and transfer them to the bank.
• Conducting an expert assessment by specialists.
• Object insurance.

The result of the last two stages should be the approval of the property.

• Next, a home purchase agreement is concluded, a down payment or maternity capital is made. First, there must be an agreement with the Russian Pension Fund on the possibility of using maternity capital to pay off the down payment.
• Afterwards, documents are drawn up on the transfer of the property as collateral to Sberbank.
• The approved loan is issued to the borrower and transferred to the seller's account.

Simple calculations show that all these cycles can be overcome in 2 to 5 days. But if we take into account that any of the stages may have its own difficulties and nuances, the total time of interaction with the bank can last up to a month or more.

A client who was counting on a quick result may find himself in an awkward situation. Is it possible to avoid such a scenario? Let's look further.

Factors influencing the consideration of an application

The first factor that determines how quickly you will get a mortgage is the type of mortgage program . The time required for approval of a loan for building a house or buying an apartment, regulated by Sberbank, is from 2 to 5 days, excluding weekends and holidays.

Up to 6 days, military mortgage programs and refinancing of loans received from other financial organizations are considered.

At this stage, the level of stability, financial and social situation of the borrower is considered. Having a permanent job and a sufficient level of income is of enormous importance.

The bank must be confident that the obligations assumed by the borrower will be fulfilled. An equally important role is played by credit history and the lack of existing loans.

Sberbank's salary clients, who receive their salaries on a bank card, have a significant advantage . The fact of salary transfer confirms the level of their income, and such clients are exempt from the need to provide certificates of employment and their income. This speeds up the registration procedure.

So, your mortgage can be approved within 1-2 days. All other categories of citizens will have to submit a standard package of documents, which will include certificates of employment and income.

Difficult situations at the stages of mortgage approval

At any stage of consideration of a mortgage application, delays may arise due to human factors or other difficulties:

1. Scoring assessment. It is carried out automatically. It is part of a program with built-in algorithms for assessing the borrower’s solvency. The system analyzes the information provided by the client regarding his marital status, children, permanent and additional income, main place of work, and ownership of property. This stage also includes a credit history check.
2. Security service and underwriting department . Specialists from bank departments check the authenticity of documents and certificates provided by the borrower. During the verification process, you may receive phone calls to work and your relatives. Risk department employees study the nuances of employment, assess solvency in the future, and conduct analytics of all data.

When the final verdict is made, the client will receive SMS notifications on their phone. Personal communication is possible.

If the decision is positive, do not get your hopes up - an even more labor-intensive part of applying for a mortgage awaits you. This is the selection and approval of a property.

According to the approved regulations of Sberbank, the review of housing documents is 10 days. However, this period may also be extended due to the non-compliance of the residential property with the requirements of the financial institution.

When can you reapply?

If you receive a mortgage refusal from Sberbank, it is advisable to audit your information about yourself. If you meet the bank’s requirements for the minimum and maximum age, length of service, citizenship and income level, then look for your credit history. It is one of the most significant factors that influence a bank’s refusal when applying for a large and long-term loan.

After a refusal, you can re-apply two months later. Some clients share information in their reviews that if Sberbank approved an application for a mortgage, but the borrower did not have time to collect the papers and complete the transaction, then the repeated application is rejected. It is difficult to judge how justified this conclusion and relationship is, especially since each client’s situation and conditions are individual. Therefore, arm yourself with your credit history, evaluate the criteria that are important to the bank and submit your request again.

Try the same situation again if you were unable to meet the 90 days or you required a larger loan amount than originally expected. Submitting a second request for a mortgage from Sberbank is allowed 2 months after the expiration of the previous approval.

When Sberbank refuses to extend a mortgage loan

There are situations when the bank refuses to extend the deadline for approval of a mortgage application to a borrower. There may be several reasons:

• The borrower quit his previous place of employment;
• There has been a decrease in the client’s income level;
• The borrower's credit rating has deteriorated.

The reason for the refusal must be clarified from a Sberbank employee. If it occurred due to technical reasons, then the chances of approval of a repeated application for a mortgage loan will increase. Sberbank employees may make mistakes when entering a person’s personal data into the database. They will need to be corrected for loan approval. The opportunity to extend the mortgage loan approval period is provided to a person for a longer search for suitable housing. It is important to submit the required documents in a timely manner and wait for the application to be approved.

You will also find it useful:

1. How to insure a mortgage with Sberbank online;
2. Young family Sberbank: conditions for obtaining a mortgage in 2018;
3. Online loan calculation.

Actions of the buyer after approval of the mortgage in Sberbank

Once the client has seen that the mortgage application has been approved, he should rush through the remaining stages of preparing documents and complete the transaction before the 90 days expire. In this case, the borrower will need:

1. Select or finally approve the purchase object. Agree with the owner of the living space and draw up a purchase and sale agreement. If you have concerns about your own skills in choosing housing, then it is more advisable to hire a realtor. It is enough for the agent to indicate the requirements for living space and the amount that the buyer expects.
2. Collect documents. If an agent takes part in the transaction, he will help collect papers for the purchase object and draw them up in accordance with the requirements of Sberbank. If the transaction is carried out independently, then all responsibilities will fall on the seller and buyer. A package of documents for housing is provided to the bank to verify the legal purity of the transaction object and the possibility of transferring ownership of the property.
3. Conduct a housing assessment. The examination is carried out only by agencies accredited by Sberbank. The assessment is made only for finished housing or land. When taking a mortgage on a property under construction, an examination is scheduled at the time of commissioning.
4. Get insurance. The insurance procedure for mortgage lending at Sberbank goes through both the object of sale and purchase and the borrower. You can refuse personal insurance, but the bank reserves the right to increase the mortgage interest rate.
5. Make a down payment. This can be done in several ways: by transfer to the seller's personal bank account, through a bank letter of credit, or by transfer of cash. They also use the method of jointly renting a safe deposit box. At the same time, the contract stipulates that the right to the stored money passes to the seller after the real estate is re-registered to the buyer. In a number of situations, maternity capital or other government subsidies can be used as a down payment. But this is determined in advance when the lending program is approved.

Closing the deal

The final stage when buying a home with a mortgage is the most exciting for both the seller and the buyer. You will need to go through the following steps:

1. Complete the purchase and sale transaction with the transfer of ownership to the new owner.
2. Re-register real estate in Rosreestr.
3. Bring the documents along with a receipt from the former owner, which indicates that he received the down payment.
4. Wait until the bank verifies the documents and funds are credited to the seller’s account. This takes from 1 to 5 banking days.

All of these steps must be completed before 90 days from the date your mortgage application is approved. Otherwise, Sberbank will revoke approval and the client will not be able to complete the transaction. He will be able to re-apply only after 60 calendar days.

about the author

Klavdiya Treskova - higher education with qualification “Economist”, with specializations “Economics and Management” and “Computer Technologies” at PSU. She worked in a bank in positions from operator to acting. Head of the Department for servicing private and corporate clients. Every year she successfully passed certifications, education and training in banking services. Total work experience in the bank is more than 15 years. [email protected]

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Author of the article: Klavdiya Treskova

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