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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you have a lone mortgage...

30 replies

Sidalee7 · 30/09/2020 23:11

Whether you think this is affordable?

Selling the family home after divorce. I want to buy a house in the region of 360, south west.
I need to get a mortgage for 200k, salary including bonus and maintenance comes to just over 50k. I’ve worked out that paying this and all bills including cleaner/DC’s dinner money/dc’s allowance comes to 42% of my net salary. Doesn’t include food/savings/petrol/clothes/treats.
Has anyone remortgaged alone for similar and any tips for applying? It’s been 20 years since I last applied and I sense things have changed!

OP posts:
Coffeeandbeans · 30/09/2020 23:19

I remortgaged as a result of divorce. Initially the building society kept refusing my application as they said I didn’t earn enough. Which was true if you didn’t take into account the child mtnce I was going to receive. I had to get my ex husband to wrote a letter to the BS saying how much he was paying me. Once agreed I then extended the mortgage over the maximum life I could get so upto age 70 in order to keep payments reasonable. I think that %age is fine.

nevernotstruggling · 30/09/2020 23:20

You need a mortgage broker. London and country are free and I found them very helpful

Original poster
Sidalee7 · 30/09/2020 23:22

Thanks that’s so helpful. I was wondering about the term length.
Initially I was thinking of trying to make it as low as possible, but I guess it makes sense to extend. I really get the feeling it’s not easy to remortgage alone even with a healthy deposit.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sidalee7 · 30/09/2020 23:24

I prob should bite the bullet and get a broker but memories are flooding back of it being so stressful! Also if I manage to keep my current mortgage provider I won’t get hit with early repayment fees

OP posts:
BrightYellowDaffodil · 30/09/2020 23:28

Try L&C for brokers, I went through them and they were really helpful.

I also made my term as long as possible in order to make the payments more affordable. You can always shorten it later when/if you remortgage and finances are a bit better.

nevernotstruggling · 30/09/2020 23:31

You def need a broker as you are taking about porting your mortgage as well. I flung a broker so much easier and l and c is remote you just email and call them and they are open later evenings too

LasagneQueen · 30/09/2020 23:36

Another vote for using a broker. Its thr best way to find a provider that will take into account non-salary income.

BubblyBarbara · 30/09/2020 23:37

All of your obligatory expenses for 42% of net salary is extremely good and very affordable. You Can Do This! Wine

TableFlowerss · 30/09/2020 23:39

I agree OP look for a broker, it will save you the leg work. Sounds doable so good luck

Original poster
Sidalee7 · 30/09/2020 23:45

This is all great advice, thank you! Def going to call L&C.

OP posts:
Augustlou30 · 30/09/2020 23:55

I have a mortgage on my own, I borrowed 120k. I'm a newly qualified nurse (so warning peanuts as I can't do unsocial hours to bump up my wage) and a substantial amount of my income is child tax credits. A good broker is def what you need. Xx

conduitoffortune · 01/10/2020 00:04

My salary is similar to yours and I was able to borrow over 200k without using a broker.

JaceLancs · 01/10/2020 00:21

I would consider a broker if you don’t fit into standard circumstances
Eg my income as a lone parent consisted of earnings, maintenance, disability related benefits and a small business
I needed to borrow £200k and the high street offered me anything from £80k to £180k
Despite squeaky clean credit history and the fact I’d been paying more than that on my own for years

Ffsffsffsffsffs · 01/10/2020 03:53

I took a (much smaller) mortgage with Newcastle building society and they took CMS letter as proof of maintenance. Also took it out over max term of 30 years, but I've overpaid a little every month and just reduced the term by 5 years. Scary times op but a greatly liberating time!

Monty27 · 01/10/2020 04:09

I remortgaged to buy out exdh as part of the divorce settlement.
I did a straight repayment and lived like a pauper for years after as I was determined to pay it off within the original timeframe. Once that was settled he stopped paying maintenance which I'd been banking on but that's a whole other story. So I really was skint for years.
It depends on your confidence and determination really. That was then.
Borrowing is cheap at the moment but always be prepared for change.
Best of luck.

JagerPlease · 01/10/2020 07:02

I'm in a very similar situation to you, although my LTV was higher, and wasn't a problem to get that level of loan. Means for me once transport and childcare is included, my essential outgoings are about 2/3 of my net salary, so I'm not exactly rolling in it but still comfortable. You can do this!

BarbaraofSeville · 01/10/2020 07:07

I really get the feeling it’s not easy to remortgage alone even with a healthy deposit

What gives you this impression?

As long as you meet the affordability, it shouldn't make a difference whether there is one adult or two.

After all, you're only feeding, clothing and paying transport and other costs for only one adult not two.

Your problem looks like you need your bonus and maintenance to meet the affordability criteria and not all lenders allow these do you need to talk to a broker and may need to consider a cheaper location or smaller property to reduce the mortgage you need.

sunshinecounty · 01/10/2020 07:18

My circumstances were very similar a few years ago. Almost identical amounts of money, house price etc. Nationwide Building Society were great.

Original poster
Sidalee7 · 01/10/2020 07:50

This is all so helpful to hear! Breaking it down my maintenance and bonus accounts for just under 10k of the 50k total.
Wish I could do it without the maintenance but I think every penny counts.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sidalee7 · 01/10/2020 07:52

@Ffsffsffsffsffs that’s exactly how it feels - scary but so liberating. Thank you!

OP posts:
Florencex · 01/10/2020 08:00

I got my first mortgage alone, I used a broker as I had no deposit. I think a broker is a good idea in unusual circumstances.

Admittedly I am quite risk averse but to me borrowing £200k on a £50k income (which includes bonus and maintenance) would be too much, I would look for a cheaper property.

Polly111 · 01/10/2020 08:01

There’s a calculator here that will give you an idea of how much you could borrow www.moneysupermarket.com/mortgages/how-much-can-i-borrow/?from=mortgages-LP. You can also search for mortgage deals on there, that’s how I found mine.

billybagpuss · 01/10/2020 08:02

As for term, I’ve always done as long as possible, so your minimum monthly commitment is low, then overpaid by as much as possible. That way you’re still reducing the term but if you hit a bad patch you have a bit of a buffer.

AmandaHugenkiss · 01/10/2020 08:03

OP I earn less than you and borrowed slightly more than that on a 95% mortgage a few years ago. I was still ok financially as long as I stuck to my budget. It’s doable.

AuntieJoyce · 01/10/2020 08:04

OP have you tried speaking to your bank? When I got divorced I made an appointment with the bank adviser and they were able to press a button there and then and tell me how much I was able to borrow based on the money that had been going through my bank accounts. You might want to try that first before approaching a broker