To ask if benefits are included in a mortgage calculation?

[Keepit]

I’d love to be able to buy my own home, currently I live in private rental at £800 per month (which is actually cheap for the city I live in and the outskirts) however I know paying a mortgage would be far less per month. I hate not knowing how long we have until we are asked to leave or the rent is brought in line with others in the area (several hundred pounds more per month) I have two dc one with SEN and it would help so much to feel secure and be able to make adaptations to the house. Currently I’m not even allowed to paint or put up a shelf and live in fear of ds damaging something. I have savings for a deposit however I only earn £18,000pa and I can’t see that increasing anytime soon which means a mortgage based on that wouldn’t get me anywhere. However if I included a years income of tax credits, child benefit etc then in conjunction with the help to buy scheme I might stand a chance. Is that even considered? Tbh this is all way out of my comfort zone and I’m not really sure what I’m doing or what counts as income. Any advice would be really helpful.

I work for a mortgage broker and as previous posters have said, there are certainly some lenders who will take benefits into account and some who won't.
I agree that it is worth contacting a mortgage broker, as they should know which mortgage providers will include the benefits and they will be able to calculate your maximum affordability against a range of providers.

Good luck !

Thank you all for the great advice. I’ve now found a local mortgage broker (free) so I’m going to set up an appointment and see where I stand

I bought my house 9 years ago in the aftermath of the banking crisis. Previously I was told the nationwide would accept tax credits but then that their policy had changed. My broker told me no one would now lend me the money.

I looked online and approached both Northern rock and the Halifax. Both said yes to tax credits, child benefit and my part time income. I went with the Halifax. The process was really easy.

I bank with nationwide and a few years later they told me they did again take tax credits into account when trying to get me to move my mortgage to them. I am still with the Halifax though.

What I am trying to say is by all means see a broker but if you look online and/or contact the big names you may do better going direct. If I had listened to my broker I might still be renting! Don’t take it as read if someone tells you no. They all have different policies. Good luck!

Speak to London and Country, recommended by Martin Lewis. We’ve used them many times and never found a better deal anywhere else doing our own research. They will also advise on how likely you are to be accepted with any particular lender. They took CB into consideration.