Time spent getting property transactions to exchange is already slipping badly, following the Mortgage Market Review.

The entire system is creaking with delays and frustration, with mortgage applicants finding it can take over two weeks just to see a broker.

Meanwhile, mortgage brokers – who are having to interview applicants face to face in a process that could tie them up for three hours – are having trouble even getting through to lenders. Applicants and brokers are also finding a wide variation in mortgage offers.

Sean Wickes, pictured, director at Waterfords estate agents in Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey, said: “Phoning around the main five lenders in one of our local areas (Camberley) last week, none could offer us an appointment for over a week, and for one, the earliest was 11 working days.”

He added: “There is no doubt that there will be borrowers who will not get the loan they thought they could, and similarly, current borrowers will not get the loan size they currently have.”

Rob Clifford, chief executive of estate agency franchise business Century 21 UK, said: “There have clearly been some teething problems for a number of lenders in moving to the new MMR environment – being frank, some are coping much better than others.

“For instance, we have seen one lender’s turnaround time for cases move from 24-48 hours pre-MMR to 19 days post-MMR.

“This is a severe drop in service levels. Other lenders have moved from two-three days to 10-14 days.

“Getting through to some lenders on the telephone recently has been a job in itself – there are currently telephone hold times of approximately 45 minutes for some lenders even when just needing a simple update.”

John Coffield, head of Paradigm Mortgage Services, echoed the same frustrations: “I have spoken to a number of brokers who have been frustrated trying to call the phone lines of a number of lenders.

“They are experiencing waits of up to 30-40 minutes just to get through, which was not the case pre-MMR.

“Brokers have also talked about the changes to some lenders’ systems and the levels of inconsistency they are experiencing.

“There are now big differences in the way lenders assess affordability and therefore significant differences in the level of loans being offered to clients.

“We hear of there being differentials of between £25-£75k for the same client: some lenders are much tighter than others and these large differences in the loan amounts available were not as wide pre-MMR.

“We hope this is just a short-term anomaly. After all, lenders have been issued with exactly the same guidance by the FCA – they are just choosing to interpret it differently.”

Meanwhile, the UK’s largest conveyancer said that the length of time taken to process mortgage applications is now taking far longer, to the frustration of agents, buyers and sellers.

Dev Malle, group sales director at myhomemove, told Eye: “The feedback we have received from mortgage intermediaries and clients is suggesting that the length of time it takes to process mortgages at the application stage is now taking significantly longer.

“This is primarily because of the intensity of questioning around affordability.

“It is inevitable that under MMR the affordability aspect is going to result in some clients being unsuccessful in their application, otherwise one would question the usefulness of the regulation.”

He went on: “We appreciate that there will be some teething problems as MMR finds its feet.

“However, as the process becomes slicker and intermediaries get used to dealing with new criteria, and lenders fine-tune their level of questioning, we expect the situation will normalise for clients and become more accepted. This is not dissimilar to what happened with the introduction of mortgage regulation when it came into force in October 2004.”

However, as the housing market recovery continues its momentum, it is also clear that it is not just lenders but short-staffed surveyors and conveyancers who are struggling to cope.

It means that two weeks after the MMR was implemented on April 26, the market is being hit by lengthening delays all the way down the line.

The hold-ups are raising concerns that when mortgage offers do come through, which are usually held open for three or six months, then applicants could face having to go through the whole MMR interviewing process all over again.

Although there were reports of delays before the end of April, these appear to be worsening, with reports that some lenders are now taking up to ten working days even to start on cases.

Mortgage offers are now taking longer to come through, with valuations delayed. In London, it is taking several weeks to book appointments – and conveyancers are struggling to keep on top of their workloads.

Both valuation and conveyancing firms cut back on staff during the last housing slowdown and have yet to get levels back up again, despite increased demand.

Eddie Goldsmith, senior partner at property solicitors Goldsmith Williams and chairman of the Conveyancing Association, said that droves of people retired after 2007 or retrained as personal injury lawyers, and that staffing levels are now only half what they were.

He added: “The recovery in the property market has happened as suddenly as the collapse.

“After six years where conveyancers have been operating lean resourcing models, and with lending figures now returning to levels closer to those in 2007, many conveyancers are finding that they simply cannot recruit enough staff to meet demand.”

Doug Hall, of mortgage firm 3mc, said the worst delays in transactions are being seen in the south-east because of tardy valuations.

He said: “This is due to the lack of qualified surveyors being available, due to the number who have left the industry.

“Delays are also being caused by MMR. Lenders have had to adapt, and some have adapted better than others.”

* So what was it like for estate agents before 2004’s big bang mortgage regulation? See what David Perkins has to say below.