Questions about mortgage as single parent

[Askingforafriend21]

Hi, I'm pretty clueless about this stuff to my shame but I've had a joint mortgage with my husband for about 17 years, always had both our names on it. If I left and wanted to buy on my own I'm guessing I wouldn't be a first time buyer? So would I have to pay stamp duty? How much would I need to put down a deposit, moving costs etc? Would I even get a mortgage on my own in my mid 40s? I earn just under 45k.
Thanks

Hey

have a look at a mortgage calculator online - www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/mortgage-rate-calculator/

But really it’s best to talk to a mortgage adviser. Go to unbiased.com to find a whole of market mortgage adviser near you. They will go through your situation and provide mortgage quotes for free so you can see what you can afford, then if you want to go ahead they’ll usually charge about £300+ for their recommendation and admin.

Presumably you have some equity in the house that you would put towards your new house? Then you’d be able to borrow usually around 3x your salary or more, but it’s all dependent on how big your deposit is, loan to value ratio, how old you are, whether you’ve got any other savings you want to use etc - this is why you need an adviser to get you specific quotes for your circumstances. You can use a mortgage calculator to get a rough idea though -

You aren’t a first time buyer so the stamp duty is to do with the value of the house - www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/stamp-duty/

Get free quotes from a few local estate agents, solicitors and moving companies/van hire - estate agents fees especially might be dependent on your house value, E.g. a percentage of the sale price. Solicitors are likely to be fairly similar, but just make sure you read the small print to understand what you’re paying for and how much you’ll actually pay one VAT is added. Quotes are always free so ask around and get clued up before you sign any contracts.

Thank you, am only in very early stages of thinking about this, renting just seems so high. I would have equity in my current property but wouldn't want to wait for the house to sell or uproot children from their family home.
I don't have any savings.

Bump. Just be great to get an idea of how much I need to save or is than an impossible question.

You need to research how much you're going to have to pay for a house in the area you want, and use that price and your financial status to do some research. There are lots of online tools and calculators. Start with money saving expert, like PP suggested. No one can tell you without the details and you can easily get a rough idea yourself with those details.

You’d need at least 10% for a deposit in most circumstances. So it might be difficult to buy without having the equity from your current home to use as your deposit. As a PP said a conversation with a mortgage advisor would be your first port of call.

3 x your salary (assuming that’s ok with broader affordability ie. no big car loads etc.) that’s £135k so if you were looking at a £200k house you need an additional £65k in equity/savings. Plus:

Stamp duty: £1500
Solicitor fees, searches, surveys etc. £1500
Moving £500-1000

There will also be selling costs which are % of sale price often.

You will likely need to sell or else you’ll have 2 mortgages which will massively affect your affordability as still liable for the first mortgage.

THere are mortgage brokers who work online. You don't even have to go in anywhere to consult them. Do that.

No other big outgoings.
Thank you, I'm on the mortgage now but don't actually pay any of it, I pay other bills instead.
But without a big deposit sounds like I can't really buy.

Doesn’t matter if you pay or not. Contractually you are listed as a joint mortgage holder.

Yeh I see that but my husband would expect me to pay any of it or do you mean the mortgage company would take it in account?

Meant wouldn't.

The lender will definitely take your existing mortgage into account. You can be removed from the mortgage, however it would not be advised.

I'm a single parent earning 42k a year, bought my own house last year but I needed to sell the marital home in order to do that.

Get a mortgage broker and legal advice ASAP as tbh you sound quite naive and your ex will absolutely take advantage of this.

Is there no equity in your house? Your husband could buy you out of the share and re-mortgage in his name only, and you use that money as a deposit. You would then be off the mortgage. This would be done as part of your divorce financial order.

Yeh I'm totally naive with all this.

Like I said I'm only thinking and wondering at the moment and not separated.

Thank you, I'm just nowhere near thst yet. I sort of just wanted to go and then talk to him afterwards but without a lot of savings that's going to be impossible!

I'm just worn down by his short fuse and constant moaning at me and kids. We've been together almost 25 years and I've reached my limit.

Again, talk to a broker. Don't make decisions on no information.

You can release equity without selling a house - property investors do this all the time to go from three houses to six or whatever.

Whatever your husband does or doesn’t make you pay is irrelevant. You are jointly listed on the mortgage and furthermore are married. That means you are jointly recipients of any equity but also jointly liable for the debt.

Signing over to your husband is a very bad idea without legal advice. Sorry. Please seek some
preliminary advice and then you can plan what to do.

Ok thank you, not making any decisions just wanted advice. Will look into speaking to a mortgage broker.

You may hit a stumbling block in terms of stamp duty if you are still married as it is classed as a second home. We had this situation and had to sign something for the solicitor confirming we were separating and the split was going to be permanent, because stamp duty on second homes is immense. A lot of people wait until the divorce is finalised but my XH couldn’t wait, so gave me half the equity to get it sorted quickly. Not always good advice but we were relatively amicable.

Ok thank you, it's clearly a lot more complicated than i thought it would be! Maybe it would be easier to rent for a few months. Issue is I have a dog and very few rentals allow pets.

To answer your question about Renton with a pet. I rent an apartment with what were two cats. I offered to pay pet rent. It sounds as if you can afford to rent somewhere decent so you could offer pet rent?

Once the house is sold and if there is any equity you will then have a deposit and you can buy somewhere.

Ok thank you. I've looked online loads at rental properties and they all say no pets. I've even sent emails enquiring in the past and estate agents have been adamant no pets.