Six weeks to go, and no exchange date
The mortgage offer came through months ago. The chain above your client has been slow: a probate sale, a buyer further up who changed lenders, searches that took longer than expected. Exchange still has not happened. Nobody at the brokerage has looked at the offer since it arrived.
Then the conveyancer emails to ask whether the offer is still valid for the new completion date. The broker opens the offer, checks the expiry date, and realises it is close. Now it is a scramble: can the lender extend it, does it need a fresh application, will the rate still be available?
Why offer expiry catches brokers out
Once the offer is issued, the case feels finished from the broker's side. The work moves to the conveyancers. The expiry date is printed in the offer document but is rarely entered into the CRM as a date that triggers anything.
Slow cases are the ones at risk, and they are also the ones that have dropped off everyone's radar. The broker is busy with newer cases, and nobody is watching the calendar on an old one.
- Expiry dates live in the offer PDF, not the CRM.
- Nothing links offer expiry to the expected completion date.
- Brokers stop following cases once the offer is out.
- New builds with long build times are especially exposed.
- Conveyancers may assume the broker is watching the date.
Lenders differ, too. Offer validity periods vary between lenders and sometimes between products, and some offers carry conditions with their own deadlines. A broker working with many lenders cannot hold all of those dates in their head, and should not have to.
What an expired offer costs
| Situation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| Expiry spotted early | Time to discuss an extension or new application calmly |
| Expiry spotted late | Rushed request, possible new application |
| Expiry missed entirely | Completion delayed, chain at risk |
| Product withdrawn meanwhile | Client may face a different rate |
Late discovery removes options. A conversation with the lender several weeks ahead is very different from one a few days before completion, and for the client the difference can be the whole purchase.
The expiry tracking we build
- When an offer arrives, by email or download, its key dates are read from the document: issue date, expiry date and any conditions with deadlines.
- Dates are written into the case in your CRM, and a person confirms them the first time for each lender's offer format.
- Expected exchange and completion dates are collected from the conveyancer or the client as the case progresses.
- When the gap between offer expiry and expected completion gets too narrow, by rules you set, the broker is alerted.
- New build cases carry the developer's expected completion date and are watched more closely.
- A board lists all offered cases not yet completed, sorted by days until expiry.
The system warns. Deciding whether to ask the lender for an extension, or whether a new application is needed, is for the broker, the client and the lender.
What brokers get from it
Offers stop expiring by surprise. Brokers have the conversation with the client and the lender early, when there are still options. Conveyancers get clear answers about offer validity. And the brokerage has a list of every offered but uncompleted case, which is useful in its own right for pipeline planning.
Clients notice the difference. A broker who calls to say the chain is slow and the offer date needs watching comes across as someone in control, even though the delay is nobody's fault. The same news delivered in a panic a week before completion feels very different.
Could this happen to you?
- Offer expiry dates are not recorded in your CRM.
- You have had offers expire, or nearly expire, on slow chains.
- Nobody watches cases once the offer is issued.
- You handle new builds with long build times.
- Conveyancers ask you about offer validity at short notice.