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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think mortgages are confusing...

16 replies

OnNaturesCourse · 07/12/2018 21:09

We are looking at buying a house, any house at the moment.

In process of saving deposits etc.

We are looking online at various schemes etc and are completely overwhelmed.

We are in Scotland and the only one I knew of was help to buy but we've now stumbled across the LIFT scheme - rent to buy, shared equities, etc.

Are there independent mortgage advisors that are able to help us look into ALL our options? We have been to our bank who basically just reviewed the standard 90% mortgage (10% deposit)

I feel really confused by it all and just want some straight facts so we can weigh up options and see what we are eligible for.

AIBU to think it's all... Well, crazy

OP posts:
Caprisunorange · 07/12/2018 21:12

Unfortunately things like help go buy aren’t actually mortgage options, they’re schemes to help you buy. You still have to get your mortgage (one that’s compatible with the scheme you use) mortgage advisors don’t help with that sort of thing

But in terms of best mortgage broker we use London and county and they’re great

emzw12 · 07/12/2018 21:20

Use an independent mortgage broker who can access the whole market on your behalf.
You might be surprised to know that some deals are only available via a broker! I’ve always got the very best mortgage deals by using a broker. Just saved £250 a month on my new re-mortgage.

GrabEmByThePatriarchy · 07/12/2018 21:26

Do you know roughly how much the sort of property you'd like costs, and how much deposit you might have?

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 08/12/2018 20:28

Roughly 130,000-140,000. Not looked in great detail. Saving for a deposit at the moment but have no real idea what we need, unfortunately 13-14K isn't going to be achieveable in a year so we'd like to look at help to buy etc.

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Changingagain · 08/12/2018 20:35

Google or search Facebook for a mortgage advisor in your area. There's one near us who's helped us buy both properties we've been in and most the people we know with mortgages. They charge nothing as they get commission instead and the advice they give on the whole process, not just the mortgage, in invaluable. We would have been completely lost without their help.

GrabEmByThePatriarchy · 08/12/2018 20:49

There are some 95% mortgages available now, but I'd go through a broker if I wanted one.

OftenHangry · 08/12/2018 21:06

I second the independent broker.
I got 5% deposit mortgage as a first time buyer. Not sure whether that might be different in Scotland? Or that schemes were confusing and the help to buy applied just to new builts, I think, which is stupid because 2 bed new built costs overtwice asmuch as 3 bed 30s...
And I've even seen the no deposit mortgages again! Which fills me with dread tbh.

WhyAmISoCold · 08/12/2018 21:23

Another one saying use London and Country. They were fab at finding us a good deal. I did know what I wanted though, 5 year fixed rate at 45% LTV (loan to value, basically the amount of deposit you have against the price of the house, lower % to borrow means access to lower interest rates).

Once you understand what you want and need, it's not confusing.

We did shared ownership (which I know a lot of people on here look down on but it was good for us at the time). This is where you buy a % of a property depending on how much you can afford then rent the other % from the housing association. If you want to, and are able, you can then staircase ie: buy more shares until you own 100% and don't rent any part of it. You are fully responsible for all repairs and maintainence though.

anniehm · 08/12/2018 21:51

The best thing to do is to work out what you can afford to pay (not what they are willing to lend you) put it into a mortgage calculator and see what you can buy in your area for that. If it's doable look at various banks and building societies and see what they are offering deal wise - a five year fix or a tracker are the main options but watch out for fees they vary a lot and factor into the overall cost. A broker is useful if you have a non standard application but again watch out for fees. I negotiated my own and got money off the standard deal - just ask, you can get a better price often!

Fluffyears · 08/12/2018 22:02

I’m in Scotland and used a broker it was free as he got paid by the mortgage company. He found a better rate then we could and some cashback. The company was mortgage advice bureau.

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 10/12/2018 22:49

Thank you for all your help.

Its nice to talk things through, makes it less mind boggling

OP posts:
Unihorn · 10/12/2018 22:54

There's a mortgage best buy calculator on the Martin Lewis website that's quite helpful on giving you a rough idea of different deals before you start looking properly. We're currently going through an application with L&C and it's been straightforward. Brokers have a good understanding of which lenders focus on good bank account management/maternity leave/self employment/low deposits etc. so they can guide you on what's best, particularly if you have any extraordinary circumstances.

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 10/12/2018 22:59

Thank you.

I'm a SAHP after redundancy so we are a sole income family, we have self raised the deposit from redundancy pay out and family gifting thus far. We have credit cards etc but did, for a few months, just have minimum payments made due to my partner being off work (government sick pay) so I'm worried that's going to flag - cards are in my name so it looks like I have debt and no income but DP transfers money into my accounts and I manage it all from there.

OP posts:
Unihorn · 10/12/2018 23:03

Definitely seek advice from a broker in that case. I found better rates on the internet but my broker was able to tell me which lenders were best for us as I was on SMP during the application and my husband was in a probationary period of a new job.

Doodlebug5 · 10/12/2018 23:05

I would thoroughly avoid htb if you can.
What they don't tell you with htb is that when you remortgage you can only use certain lenders that offer htb. Unless you pay it off but are then talking a minimum of £1k in legal expenses just to pay it off

Original poster
OnNaturesCourse · 10/12/2018 23:05

I will look into that then - we don't have the most ideal situation but our bills are paid and we save so I just hope someone will take us on for a mortgage

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