single parent mortgages ~ ?!

[angrywoman]

I am taking over residency from my ex of the jointly owned property. We have agreed to put it on the market. I have full-time care of our 3 dcs so I went for and got an order, otherwise he was never going to sell / move out! Anyway, has anyone been successful with mortgages based on all income ie. including tax credits? I am thinking if it doesn't sell I could try to buy him out, but I would need to remortgage at £200,000 to cover it. My income is virtually non-existant at the moment, I am going to look for work after an exam in January.
I went and asked at my main bank (barclays) just to get an idea and the response I recieved was, well, insultingly and abruptly negative. I have an impeccable credit rating and have had my current account there for 2 decades! I need an income from employment of AT LEAST £20,000. I asked about renting it out and I think that would need an income of £50,000, or the other way round... (I was so filled with disappointment, everything went wibbly...)

Hi I threw my ex out and lived in the house till it sold 2 1/2 years later I had a court order he had to pay the mortgage interest only and the bills I had recently had our 2nd child and caught him having an affair after the house was sold I then got Spousal Maintenance through the court my ex was a high earner I then got a mortgage and bought my own home on my spousal maintenance payment I hope this helps you

Go to see an independent mortgage advisor, they are in a better position to find a deal that takes in consideration Tax Credits income.

They work on commission so it is not that you will be paying more by using one of them. Having said that... I'm sure you need to have a job to apply for one, unless you are getting a substantial amount in spousal maintenance and you have a court order to prove it.

Few banks will let you borrow on tax credits/benefits alone - but mine did, I now have a mortgage, though only £22,000. I think it depends how much you have to borrow.

When ex and I first split up I bought him out of the house we jointly owned, for which I needed a mortgage for just under £90k. At the time I earned £20k and received around another £6k in working tax credits, child tax credits & child benefit. I went to an independent mortgage advisor who said it would be touch and go because strictly speaking I didn't earn enough to cover a mortgage of that size so she had to find a mortgage supplier who'd take TCs into account. I think I had the mortgage through Halifax in the end, then a few years later remortgaged to Santander under the same circumstances, so there are lenders out there who will take TCs into account.

However, this was before the recession hit, so it was when banks were handing out mortgages, credit cards and loans like sweets. My point is, you will probably struggle to get any mortgage if you aren't employed, let alone one to cover £200k. I suggest posting on the mortgages forum on MSE - they have mortgage advisors on there who'll be more knowledgeable about exactly what you could borrow.

DiamondDoris Sorry to be nosey but can I ask how much the property was and what percentage deposit you had to put down, if you only needed a £22k mortgage? Only asking because I earn much less now but would like to own again at some point (currently renting) but it seems like a pipe dream. PM me if you prefer, as I understand it's sensitive info.

I'm a single parent with a £150k mortgage and it's about 45% LTV. I had to use a mortgage broker as some lenders use affordability and some use income to work out how much they will lend. The question 'Do you have dependent children?' meant that the amount they were prepared to lend was halved in one case. On income multiples (Nationwide) I could have borrowed a few thousand more than I have, but I tried to keep it as low as possible. Luckily interest rates haven't changed since I moved 18m ago.

Hi,

I've just recently bought a place (last couple of months). I work part time and my tax credits were taken into account. I originally went straight to lenders but had no luck so used an independent mortgage advisor who managed to get me an £80k mortgage based on my salary of around £17000 + tax credits. My maintainance wasn't taken into account (just as well as I no longer get any) and my IFA said it would only be taken into account if it was done through the CSA or there was a good track record of maintenance. It did help that I was able to put down a large deposit (which is thanks to my parents tbh) otherwise I think I would have struggled to get a mortgage.

When my ex and I split in 2009, I was desperate to stay with the children in the family home. I know of people who have an agreement in place whereby they stay with the children in the house, but have to sell when the children reach the age of 18 (or another partner moves in, whichever comes first), but didn't want the fact I'd ever be forced to sell hanging over me like a lead weight.

My mortgage was about £120k at the time, and given my salary as a TA (painfully low) and tax credits, child benefit etc. my income works out at about 20k per year. Several companies turned me down flat, but finally I worked out a way around it. My dad agreed to come on board as a joint owner (he is retired but has a private pension), and the Halifax, who I was already with, agreed to lend me the money I needed (I kept my borrowing the same...my wonderful dad once again rescued me by paying my ex-husband a lump sum to buy him out).

Is there anyone who would agree to do this for you? My dad doesn't contribute to the mortgage, but obviously has the 'risk' of being a part-owner of this property should things ever go pear-shaped and I couldn't afford to make the monthly repayments.

About 5 years ago I got an affordability mortgage with the Halifax so paid in mortgage repayments what I was paying in rent; avoided any nasty multiples this way.

I'm not sure I could get a mortgage now as I live in the South of England where property is still stupidly expensive. The Halifax were great though and really helpful, unlike the banks who were flat out no-ways.

I'd suggest shopping around; my mortgage ends when I'm 75 so taking out something longer term is worth it.