Mortgage on low income

[nomorename]

To think I can get a mortgage?! Wondered if anybody could share any wisdom or secrets! I have a sizeable deposit due to a little inheritance but a low income so as a single applicant, I can't get a mortgage! Any tips on options for the lower paid? TIA

@ivfbeenbusy

Yeah sorry you are way off affordability with your salary

Do you HAVE to buy in that area? You can't look a few miles away where prices might be lower?

Not in this area! Prices don't start to drop for 30/40 miles in one direction!!

@titchy thank you, will take a look!

Shared ownership, you can buy as little has 40% check with your local housing association, help to buy for a new build it’s basically a loan for a % of the house alongside a mortgage but it’s low interest and no interest until after 5 years, take the mortgage over the longest period possible they’ll go to 40 years now, go to a broker who searches whole of market and gets paid by the lender not by you, high street banks only sell their own products, move North you’ll get more for your money

@PurBal

Find a good broker

Absolutely this

Be careful with shared ownership. When we looked into it by the time you added the cost of the "loan" part to the mortgage part it wasn't that much cheaper per month

The reality is that some areas are more expensive. Young friends have just bought a little house but there's 2 of them and it was £160k. Very few people can afford a £180k+ mortgage on a single salary, average income is £29k

Does anyone know best way to find a good broker please?

Thanks all.

Shame that it's impossible for a singleton in the south!

Is there an area you buy outright to have a low LTV that you get a BTL and then the income could subsidise your rent?

I borrowed 100k over 35 years on a similar income. Are there any studio flats or ex council in your area?

@Jimdandy

Is there an area you buy outright to have a low LTV that you get a BTL and then the income could subsidise your rent?

I could look into that actually, that's a good idea! Thank you!

@Namechange2020lalala

I borrowed 100k over 35 years on a similar income. Are there any studio flats or ex council in your area?

Honestly, the min around here is 220k... studios are non existent and even then they're not much lower.

@Namechange2020lalala

I borrowed 100k over 35 years on a similar income. Are there any studio flats or ex council in your area?

The OP needs to borrow almost twice that though

I’d keep the deposit to one side, if your situation changes you’ve got a deposit ready to go.

Does anyone know best way to find a good broker please?

I second this question @georgeggg!

Sounds like you’re in London.

I think you could consider either shared ownership or buying with someone. If you’ve got a single sibling or a friend you know and trust, you could maybe get a 2-bed together.

You can also look into Lifetime ISA as you could get a top up with that.

Any chance of your earnings going up? If they’re likely to increase to 30k in the next few years, you could possibly afford something in outer London/commuter belt without SO.

Speak to a mortgage advisor. They are well worth having onboard. Mine (years ago) got me a mortgage and I was a single woman with a dependent daughter, even got me 5% discount.

I had to buy a house with no double glazing and a leak but it made me money. Move to a cheap town if work allows.

@nomorename

Thanks all! I live in the south, 1 beds around my area start from £220k min. I'm on 21k and have a 35k deposit. I've done all the calculators, I'm way out! Just wondered if there were any further ideas. An IFA will be my next port of call.

Look in a different area.

Buy with someone else. (Doesn’t have to be a partner, could be friends or family)

Shared ownership.

Save more money and earn a bigger salary.

@georgeggg

Does anyone know best way to find a good broker please?

I checked reviews online for local ones. One had them obviously made by friends 😂 In the end the one I picked from top 5 was great! Can't remember the website I got it through. Best 300 quid spend ever

@NoSquirrels

Unless I want to move 40 miles plus away that's out of the question - job and life is here

I already have a sizeable deposit - deposit isn't the issue

I work for the NHS, I could leave and get a better paid job but I love my job and have worked hard to get here (although it's low paid but that's the nature of the beast)

I will look into shared ownership.

[quote nomorename]@NoSquirrels

Unless I want to move 40 miles plus away that's out of the question - job and life is here

I already have a sizeable deposit - deposit isn't the issue

I work for the NHS, I could leave and get a better paid job but I love my job and have worked hard to get here (although it's low paid but that's the nature of the beast)

I will look into shared ownership. [/quote]
Also, buying with somebody else is great in theory, terribly risky in reality

Have you looked at buying through the keyworker scheme if you work in the NHS?

Move for a couple of years to get on the ladder then move back.

Or 40 mile commute isn’t that bad for a single person, surely it’s worth it?

[quote nomorename]@NoSquirrels

Unless I want to move 40 miles plus away that's out of the question - job and life is here

I already have a sizeable deposit - deposit isn't the issue

I work for the NHS, I could leave and get a better paid job but I love my job and have worked hard to get here (although it's low paid but that's the nature of the beast)

I will look into shared ownership. [/quote]
I’m not suggesting you have to do any of these things.

I’m just responding to your question. These are the solutions available.

You might have a sizeable deposit already - but if you can’t borrow enough to buy where you want you can save a BIGGER deposit to have a SMALLER mortgage.

You might not want to commute 40 miles + - but you COULD move somewhere cheaper if you want a mortgage on your salary.

You might be happy with your job, but earning more world give you more options.

Buying with someone else might be unappealing or ‘risky’ but it’s an option open to you if you want to live in a particular area with a low-paying job.

If you want to get a property on a low salary in a particular area then you have to compromise on something. You can’t square a circle etc

Are you managing to save at all monthly?

We thought it was impossible too - and we wanted to buy in London - to be fair there’s 2 of us so 2 incomes!

Rent is 1300 a month - but we both managed to save 500 each a month pretty much every month by really cutting back on our spending, no car, cycled to work instead of the tube, brought lunch every day!

3 years later we have saved 36k - we have it saved in a life time Isa each - the government top up every 4K you save in a tax year up by 1k (25%) provided you buy a house with the money!!

So now we have 42k plus it’s gaining interest as well!

If you can save anything monthly and put it in something like a lifetime isa you will get there eventually