How do I work out if I can get a mortgage without DH?

[Manteo]

If we sold our house (or he bought me out) I'm pretty sure I would have over £100k in equity. We have about £200k equity but as he earns more than double what I earn and I would have to have DD close to 100% of the time I gather there is a fair chance it could be 60/40 in my favour.

Obviously this is a large deposit but I only earn about £21k currently and Google tells me I'd only get 3 times my income. Even the tiniest 2 bed terrace here is just under £250k so that wouldn't be enough.

I've worked out what my income would be with my salary, cm and any universal credit.

I'm 37 so I assume I should still be able to start with a 30 year mortgage?

I have no debts other than student debt (from when fees were £1200 a year)

The mortgage repayments seems to come to less than 25% of my (would be) total income.

No childcare fees.

Not a very expensive lifestyle (small cheap car, phone currently paid off and not being replaced until I have to, food from Asda/Lidl/Aldi, clothes from supermarkets/matalan)

So it seems affordable but is there any chance in hell I could get a mortgage of well over £100k?

I don't know want to waste a mortgage advisors time yet as we haven't even separated, plus I'm generally working or looking after DD so it's tricky to fit it in.

Any advice?

I'm not sure but would it be worth considering a shared ownership house?

Also you won't be wasting a mortgage advisors time if he finds you something he'll make profit.

Can you just apply to a bank and see what they say ?

I don't know anything about shared ownership but I'll look it up.

It just seems mad that I could have over £100k in the bank but not be able to buy a tiny house.

We haven't even talked about separating! I'm trying to work out what my position would be if/when we do so I can't apply yet and a wouldn't yet be taking up a mortgage yet.

You can apply without taking it.
Maybe try a bank you wouldn’t actually want to use.

You may find a broker can find you a deal for higher miltiples of your salary given that your LTV will be quite healthy. 3x salary would be quite normal for a 95% mortgage but I would expect some flexibility once LTV was better than 65%.

Do you work full time for that 21k or is that a part-time salary? Could you increase your hours?

Does it have to be a house? If a terrace is £250k you may be able to afford an apartment instead - what could you get for £180k?

You could consider a 1-bed apartment and invest in a really good quality sofa-bed or murphy bed and make the sitting room be your bedroom, with DD in the separate "actual" bedroom. If you have a set up like this and do your best to over-pay the mortgage as much as possible, then after 5-10 years you might well be able to take a "step up" the property ladder and get the extra bedroom then?

nb your calculations do seem to be assuming that 100% of your current assets will be available to be split between you and your STBX - whereas if your split is acrimonious and combatative then you could see a huge slice of the assets being chucked away in legal fees, leaving both of you with much much less than you might otherwise have had. Hopefully you can both put the needs of your DD first and keep things civil enough that this doesn't happen.

I think some lenders take maintenance payments into consideration but they need to be by a court order rather than private arrangement AFAIK.

Thanks, those last 2 posts were really helpful.

I work almost full time and my salary is likely to go up by about another £6k in the next few years though obviously I will also apply for other jobs.

We have around £20k in savings too so I hope that would cover a lot of legal fees.

Obviously I realise we could buy a flat and if it was just me that would be fine but I hate the thought of moving DD to a tiny flat with no garden so I'd really like to see if it is possible to get a little house.

If I applied for a mortgage now it would all be hypothetical amounts. I assume I can't lie on a mortgage application?

What is typically going to hold you back is loan to income ratio, the high Street banks this is approx 4.4-5x your total income at this time but its always sitting around this figure, many banks have affordability calculators on their websites and intermediate websites so I would try putting your info in there 1st before speaking with a broker

Use a broker, they can find a lender willing to use child maintenance etc as income.

The other thing to consider is how old your dc is, is there childcare costs?

@Whymustyoubringinthebirds

What is typically going to hold you back is loan to income ratio, the high Street banks this is approx 4.4-5x your total income at this time but its always sitting around this figure, many banks have affordability calculators on their websites and intermediate websites so I would try putting your info in there 1st before speaking with a broker

Thank, I'll try that.

You don't have to actually apply for the mortgage now. You can use the mortgage calculators on some lender sites - try halifax and nationwide - and speak to a broker. This can give you an indication of what you could borrow.

@motogogo

Use a broker, they can find a lender willing to use child maintenance etc as income.

The other thing to consider is how old your dc is, is there childcare costs?

DD is 7, currently no childcare fees.

3x is quite low, as PP said it’s more likely to be 4 or 4.5x income. There are 5x income mortgages, too. If you email an independent broker it won’t take them long to work it out, I doubt you’d be wasting their time. Good luck!

@Trike1

3x is quite low, as PP said it’s more likely to be 4 or 4.5x income. There are 5x income mortgages, too. If you email an independent broker it won’t take them long to work it out, I doubt you’d be wasting their time. Good luck!

Thanks, feeling a bit more optimistic now! I'll do a bit more research and perhaps man up and see a solicitor.

I was in a very similar situation, I managed to get a shared ownership property. I own 60 and rent 40 percent. It's a great way of getting a bigger place and you always have the option of buying more shares as time goes on

Different banks use look at income differently. Find a bank that will take cm and uc (other benefits in to account). Reduce your spending to absolute minimum now so when they ask for current spending thay can see you are not living a life beyond your means.
I used Barclays bank and they took into account my benefits. They did however want 6 months back dated bank statements. I ended up going directly to the bank as my mortgage broker couldn't find anything, might be worth trying individual lenders as well as a mortgage broker.
Also if you can only get a small 2 bed flat might be worth doing and then in a couple of years you may find it's increased in value and you can upsize.
Good luck.

Be aware that they will take the amount of your remaining student loan debt off of what they lend you (or they did for us 5yrs ago). Shouldn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things if you don’t owe a lot.

Thanks for your input everyone. Plan now is research shared ownership, look at affordability on individual mortgage providers websites and make an appointment with a solicitor.

Still open to any more advice/suggestions though!

How much does your husband earn? If there's a significant difference there is a chance you could get more of the equity to help you afford somewhere.

Me and DP rang a mortgage advisor a few weeks ago. We're not in the position to get a mortgage at the minute, but wanted to know what we were looking at deposit wise and weather we had to clear down debts.

We basically said 'this is our situation, incoming/outgoings etc what do we need to do?' He took all our info and advised us what % deposit we would need, the maximum mortgage we could apply for, and what to focus on (eg paying down debts or saving)

It was really helpful and insightful and although they knew we were not applying then and there, he was still really helpful.

I would just give a local mortgage advisor a call and explain your situation and they will be happy to help.

I got my mortgage through Halifax they took Tax Credits and Child maintenance in to account (even if not court agreed ) you just needed to show 3 months of regular payments on your bank statements. Unfortunately , my ex doesnt pay regularly so it wasnt considered in the end. They also offered me 4 times my salary.

by the way, i went through a mortgage broker to get my deal

While you are doing calculations for you, look at your stbx's position as well.

If he is a much higher earner then would he be able to borrow enough to also afford a 2 bed house on e.g. a 70/30 split?

In my own divorce we split 60/40 because I could afford to buy what I needed with 60% but this could have been pushed higher as my ex was a high earner and would have been able to raise a mortgage himself with less equity.

A solicitor will ultimately be able to advise you on this.