FTB applying for a mortgage in 15 months time. What to do now?

[justjuanmorebeer]

Due to a positive change in my financial circumstances I anticipate that in 2017 I will actually be able to get onto the property ladder.

I am very good with my money these days due to advice from here and MSE. I have no debt other than a 5k student loan (have just requested an up to date statement to see where that is at).

The type of property I'll be buying will all depend on what happens with the market locally over the next 12 months of course, but I think it will end up being a 2 bed terrace house, so freehold. I would not rule out the idea of a leasehold flat but I understand it is much harder to get a mortgage on them and the ones affordable to me seem to have terms too short to be mortgageable.

Can someone direct me to the best (free) place to check my credit report and tell me of any other prep other than saving money that I should be doing from now to then to maximise my chances of being given a mortgage.

I currently rent, been in property since 2014 and am on electoral reg, all utilities in my name etc.

You can use Experian for a free credit report but make sure you cancel after the trial period (30 days I think ). Things like mobile phone contract help your rating, next time you're in a store and they offer you a store card (e.g. Debenhams) take one out, pay it off in full and cancel as soon as it's cleared. Same with a credit card. Can you apply for one and use it a few times and make sure the balance is paid off in full? They key to it is showing you're a good repayer. But not having so many loans and credit cards thay they think you're living beyond your means, hence the importance of cancelling things and not leaving them open.

Have you got a decent ISA for your deposit? Santander 123 account was the best interest rates last I checked about a year ago.
Plenty of info on moneysavingexpert website about how to improve your credit rating and best place for saving.
Good luck! You sound very sensible

got time to get some benefit out of help to buy isa

The reason I have not taken out a H2B ISA is that I already have an existing ISA with my bank that I have already paid into this tex year so I won't be able to open one. I did look into the Halifax one but as I am saving lots more than the permitted 200 a month I figured it would be better to have a larger deposit going in to an ISA with my own bank (HSBC Advance) to increase their chances of lending to me.

Am I right or wrong here?

I'm not sure why you think it's more difficult to get a mortgage for a leasehold flat? As long as the lease has over 100 years left, I can't see why it should be a problem.

You'd be better putting as much as you can into the Help to Buy ISA to get the maximum bonus, and then putting the rest of your savings into any other savings account.

Money saving expert says there is a way to open one even if you have already paid into an ISA this year

In 15 months you could put in £1,200 in the first month then £200 each subsequent month, so you'd have £4,000 in the ISA and get £1000 bonus.

Whatever interest you get in any other savings account is just not significant compared to that.

The other thing I should say is that a large chunk of my income is from child maintenance so will be looking for a lender that will take this into account. I don't know if HSBC do or not but I thought if they saw my account activity this may work in my favour? I know Santander take into consideration maintenence and tc etc so I will go and have a chat with them.

I think I will be going to see an independent broker though as my situation is slightly unusual. Can anyone tell me approximately how much this will cost and at what point in my timeline (now- July 2017) I should do this?

Onemoremummy you need a larger deposit usually than what I will probably have.

Thanks Thrills will look now

Some brokers don't charge you. I've used two, one was 299 and another was 499 but for a really tricky deal and they earned it. They obv also get a cut from the lender. I think a broker is worth the money cos they do all the paperwork for you.

It might depend on where you live but around here all flats that were purposely built to be flats (as opposed to conversions) are leasehold. It's not considered to be special, and there's no requirement for a higher deposit.

Halifax, by the way, are generally considered one of the 'easiest' lenders - they've just lent to me and I'm on mat leave which lenders don't like. So if u don't want to use a lender I would have a chat with them nearer the time.
In terms of talking to brokers/lenders, there's not a load of point talking to them more than a few months befor you think you might be buying cos the products available change all the time.

Trills from what I have read (admittedly after searching simple terms as 'buying a leasehold property' etc) I heard that for leasehold you would need a min of 15% to put down to get a mortgage and I will have closer to 10-12% of a decent 2 bed flat. I could get a house for very slightly less where I live.

It might depend on where you are - best talk to someone local who has tried it. I just know that it's not necessarily the case everywhere.

Thanks. East Midlands.

You can get free credit reports from Noddle (Call Credit) and ClearScore (Experian) ongoing. No costs at all - the information with ClearScore is quite minimal - it won't list your individual monthly payments and such, but it's good for an overview.

And like pp's have said, CreditExpert will give you a free trial but just remember to cancel it!

If you have used your ISA allowance this year already then what are you using now for savings account?
HSBC has a regular saver, it won't build up much but could be useful to show you can pay a fixed monthly amount every month. Max is £250 per month. Lasts for a year.
TSB has a current account which you do need to pay money in to each month but can immediately withdraw it again. Pays interest on first £2000.
Juggling money between various accounts could get a little interest on your savings over the next year.

Nannynick I have not used my ISA allowance for 16/17 but I have already made a payment into my ISA (HSBC Loyalty) this month.

Thanks Grease. Sounds like what I am looking for