Where to start...mortgage

[Poolbirthx2]

Just after some advice really...been renting for nearly 10 years and have decided we would like to get a mortgage (not on the home we are currently renting). It might sound really silly but how do we do this, where do we start, will we need a big deposit? Is there a percent of your earnings that they give you for morgtage and also i dont have a good credit rating but dh does. Thanks

Have a look at MoneySavingExpert's mortgage guide

Do you mean you have a poor credit rating or just that you have no real credit rating at all, because you have no credit? (But no debt either).

I believe that nowadays you do need a good deposit, and the total amount you can borrow is a multiple of your income.

The best place to start is an independent financial advisor or mortgage advisor. We found that different lenders have a different priority list so an IFA will know who it is best to go for. Ask around to see if anyone knows one or ask in your 'local'/non chain estate agents.

Ballpark - 20% deposit. Borrow 3.5 times joint income.

You sound like us. We're in the middle of the mortgage process. I also agree that you should look to speak to an independent adviser. We did a far bit of Internet research and bought some mortgage magazines and he found us a deal that works out so much cheaper.

Thank you so much for your advice, we have an appointment on saturday. I'm just really nervous about starting the whole process, i think because we have always rented and we had no ties as such. I'm just wondered if anyone has ever got a mortgage and regretted it

We are currently saving for a house deposit and haven't been to see anyone yet. Will have £10,000 by July and that will have taken us 3 years to save.

I think we will have to save double that at least to get a house. And time is not on my side

Depends where you want to buy, we live in an expensive area but if we moved we could get a house cheaper and therefore buy one sooner.

It depends on the mortgage provider, but you definitely don't have to have a 20% deposit to buy a house as both my brother, and a friend of mine have recently bought houses with 5% deposits. They both took advantage of the government 'help to buy' scheme.

Try putting your financial details into an online calculator to get a ball park idea of what you could borrow.

You can really improve your credits rating in six months if you find out about the areas that are holding you back and address them. I've just done this myself. I had a late payment on my account for a mobile phone bill and a couple of credit searches close together from when I was considering a loan. Time, and paying off a couple of small debts and closing the accounts has taken me from 'fair' to 'excellent'

You will need an extra 3-5k for lawyers fees, estate agent fees and other moving costs. There's stamp duty, but you can add that to the mortgages if it's preferable.

You can't add Stamp Duty to your mortgage Ursula are you sure you don't mean booking fees on the mortgage?

There's stamp duty, but you can add that to the mortgages if it's preferable.

Stamp duty can't be added to a mortgage.

You might choose a higher loan to value which allows you to keep aside some of your savings for the stamp duty as opposed to the deposit but that's the extent to which you can 'add it to the mortgage'.

If you are already looking at 95% LTV then you'll need the stamp duty up front too.

Agree about checking out online calculators though- they'll give you an idea of what's possible based on your specific circumstances.

Also someone purchasing a home after renting will not pay any estate agent fees ursula