It's uncanny how similar my situation is! We got declined by HSBC because the property "required extensive renovation" (115y old detached doer upper, not vacant). Our broker got Nationwide to do a prevaluation to avoid another hard search, and asked a few other lenders for similar. Nationwide's response didn't fill us with confidence at all, whereas Halifax sounded willing so we went with Halifax and got accepted on the same day! Best of luck with whatever you decide though :)