Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Did having a child affect you getting a mortgage?

18 replies

astro7grass · 27/03/2023 21:49

Trying to time the market, hoping to buy a place soon but had financial advice to hang fire and see what happens with rates. Deposit all ready to go and still renting at present

Did having a DC first affect your ability to get a mortgage, or limit you in any way?

I understand they take childcare costs into account but by the point of returning to work after future DC the government’s 30 hours free childcare likely would be coming into force.

OP posts:
turnthebiglightoff · 27/03/2023 21:55

No. Not at all.

carly2803 · 27/03/2023 21:58

it affects affordability so yes

but i waddled into one of my appointments heavily pregnant and my lovely broker didnt declare it

choose your broker wisely!

mindutopia · 27/03/2023 22:10

No I don’t think so. We had one in primary and one in nursery when we applied for our first mortgage and we got approved for plenty more than we planned to borrow.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General money
DelurkingAJ · 27/03/2023 22:13

Yes, we had to declare the cost we were paying for childcare and it (quite rightly given it’s almost as much as the mortgage!) affected affordability.

FeltPenThief · 27/03/2023 22:17

We had to include in our budget all child related costs (not just childcare), so it did factor into our affordability.

Hungrycaterpillarsmummy · 27/03/2023 22:18

Yeh our bank asked what our childcare costs were and if we were planning any more children.

OnlyFoolsnMothers · 27/03/2023 22:20

Yes of course, your outgoings are taken into account. You will soon realise 30 free hours doesn’t actually equate to 30 free hours- childcare providers usually require top ups.

FiveHundredDucksWentOutOneDay · 27/03/2023 22:22

They shouldn’t ask while you are pregnant, even if you are visibly so, but yes - when they’re born, children will affect affordability.

Its not just childcare that’s taken into account and I don’t believe the new government scheme will be built into calculations until it’s got any financial backing; it’s some way off and there’s doubts over if it’s possible/likely.

A mortgage calculator should be able to show you what one dependant does to your numbers.

Merrilydancing · 27/03/2023 22:22

Friends of ours were told not to apply for a remortgage (to a better deal) as they probably wouldn’t meet the affordability requirement even though they were happily making the repayments each month.

Yoyooo · 27/03/2023 22:24

Tip - if you are pregnant, don't tell your broker!

Original poster
astro7grass · 27/03/2023 22:26

@FiveHundredDucksWentOutOneDay @Yoyooo ahh okay, I was always under the impression if they knew you were pregnant or there was no concealing it they’d take all that into account! Is it only considered once baby is born then?

OP posts:
Rainsdropskeepfalling · 27/03/2023 22:40

We remortgaged when I was pregnant and it was more complicated. Luckily we had put our names down for a nursery slot after the 12 week scan and I knew I wanted to return to work at 3 months so the additional costs were easy to calculate. If you don't know when you'll be returning to work, and as PP said the free hours won't cover all the costs, it must be hard for banks to assess what the risk of loaning is.

PlainJanePerfect · 28/03/2023 00:08

Very much so. I bought a dinky 1 bed flat which was meant to be short term. Until my child gets his free hours (which again are a discount not totally free) my affordability is shot. No bank will give me more than my mortgage currently is- nursery is killing our affordability.

I wouldn't count on the gov thing going through until you have a nursery place and a contract. I'd get your mortgage sorted first if you can.

MulberryDerry · 28/03/2023 00:36

We have a child in nursery. And the bank is ready to lend us 180K less than we we would have been given if we didn't have childcare costs. Insane.

Lizzt2007 · 28/03/2023 01:40

astro7grass · 27/03/2023 22:26

@FiveHundredDucksWentOutOneDay @Yoyooo ahh okay, I was always under the impression if they knew you were pregnant or there was no concealing it they’d take all that into account! Is it only considered once baby is born then?

It should be, because not all pregnancies result in children in the home for various reasons.

elodiesmith · 28/03/2023 01:50

Of course it affects your income. So it'll affect the borrowing capacity, okay you'll have a dependant.

We got one mortgage before the baby, tried getting a second whilst little one was 4 months.

The same broker said to DH you need to show your wife's income for 3 months, at the moment she's not working and you have a dependant.

We decided to wait until I go back to work after mat leave.

elodiesmith · 28/03/2023 01:51

'Plus', not 'okay'.

MintJulia · 28/03/2023 14:37

No. I was a single mum to a 2yo when I applied for my last mortgage. I'd been in my job 6 months, was paying half of a full time childcare place and working full time.

I had a 40% deposit. HSBC didn't even ask. They looked at my most recent three bank statements, saw my regular income/outgoings (incl rent), that I was in the black at the end of each month by about £200, and agreed my mortgage offer. I wanted 2.5 x earnings

I suspect they would have looked at specific items if my deposit had been smaller.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread