Can we buy in London?

[ThisIsTheFirstStep]

Is it totally pie in the sky? I really want to live there again but I don’t know if we can.

Husband is self employed, earning around 30,000 a year. I am a teacher, would be on 28,000 in London.

We have a big deposit (80,000) after saving like hell for 5 years (living abroad so was possible).

The problem is we have almost no credit rating after being abroad for ages.

We are looking at two bedrooms and would LOVE a garden but is it even possible on our salaries?

Any help is appreciated!

may like I say, doesn't have to be zone 3/central, can be outside of London proper, as long as it has decent transport.

Personally I like east London.

We are on similar salaries as you and bought a small 3 bed in the Sutton area in January for 308k with a 10% deposit. It was a bargain given the house needed some work (But it wasn't a wreck by any means!) Excellent transport links- we're on a tram line so 10mins to Wimbledon and also 5min bus ride to Morden which has the northern line. No kids and not a teacher so can't comment on schools but seems to be plenty of choice with a mix of Ofsted ratings. Lots of green areas too for the dog!

Hi OP. We are in a similar position. I looked into mortgages for returning expats and 2 of the brokers said to get normal rates offered, we would need 3 years of credit/pay history in the UK. One did say that it could be over a shorter period as long as it showed 2018, 2019 and 2020 (say you return now and apply for a mortgage in early 2020). I also contacted a broker who specialise in UK mortgage for returning expats, you need a higher deposit around 35% from memory, A firm job offer in the UK. The rates were higher (no surprise) and the arrangement fees were thousands. This was about a year ago, so things may have changed. I'm watching this with interest.

I'm also guessing with the advent of Brexit, there will be more returning expats and less activity in lending as transactions should decrease which may cause the banks to relax the rules, who knows?

jxtina sounds lovely, I'll have a look at that.

tellme ugh, three years! God, that's quite a long time, isn't it? Thanks for the information though, I'm going back in January for a bit, so will definitely have a chat with someone then.

Let's see what happens after Brexit, it's really new territory, so who knows what will happen.

About mortgages, call London and Country and explain your situation.

They're a free, independent mortgage broker and are frequently recommended in the press. I used them for my last 2 mortgages.

They'll give you free advice over the phone and can let you know what mortgages you'd be eligible for.

www.landc.co.uk/

ThisIsTheFirstStep I've bought twice, once in London and once outside London.

Both times I was told my budget was too small. One stuck up EA in London actually said to me, on hearing my budget "No, we only deal with the better end of the market". (When my flat doubled in price, as my area became gentrified and sought after, did I give that agent my custom when I sold up? Did I heck).

But both times, my budget was actually at the bottom of what was available. So I DID find a flat that fit my requirements (after 6 months of looking!) and I was very happy there for 10 years.

After I found a 3 bed in a small town, and compromised on garden size and prettiness!

It there are even a few things coming up in your budget but they're just not right for you, hang on in there, there's a good chance you'll find something.

naivety thank you for the link!

Thanks for the advice. I'm not bothered about garden size/prettiness at all (not had a garden in over five years, and given that 99% of Korean flats are basically just massive 30-storey tower block monstrosities with no character and made from disturbingly flimsy material, it can only be better than where we live now.)

We'll definitely take a good hard look for some time and see what comes up.

I just had a quick look in Right Move and there are LOAD of options under £300K. Over 1000 came up ! When I added filters like garden, not retirement properties etc there were still several hundred.

So you're doing exactly the right thing, learning about areas to see if it's reasonable.

The people here saying it's not possible are thinking of a typical London townhouse with garden I would imagine, and that's not going to be possible.

But a 2 bed flat? There are plenty!

We lived without a garden for a while (while we were renting and house hunting) and it made such a difference when we did get one - the kids were much easier to entertain, so it's worth getting one if you can I reckon.

There are even some 2 bed houses out there for under £300k

Do you know about how leasehold works in the UK?

You need to know about that if you're considering flats.

naivety I know a little about leaseholds, but it's definitely something we'd be researching.

I do think some people are thinking that I want a massive garden, zone 2, proper London etc, which I really don't need. I'd be fine anywhere near-ish London as long as it's possible to get in and out easily.

If we could get a garden, it would be great, but near a park would be fine too, I think.

Haven't read whole thread but what about New Malden? Big Korean community there - lots of restaurants etc. It is, however fairly suburban but b quick into central London & close to Wimbledon & Kingston & Richmond. Might be a good compromise?

north yup, I mentioned I had been looking in NM, but we're not desperate to be around a Korean community tbh.

As I said, I'm ok with suburban as long as transport is good.

Ok - I now see you have NM as a possibility already - had a look on Rightmove & seems there are properties within your budget - if you move close to A3 you will also get plenty of lovely road noise

north after living in central Seoul for 5 years, I think I'm immune to noise.

Haven't read the thread completely, but New Malden is where you need to be. Has the largest Korean population in the UK apparently.

Ha, someone has beaten me to it!

Like I already said, we don't really care about being in a Korean community.

Still a good area- Raynes Park / Wimbledon periphery / New Malden borders - cheaper but quick into town! Live right on the A3 and you will find a bit of a bargain probably! And if you did fancy a Korean meal for old times sake you know where to head. NM does have plenty of non-Koreans btw! Raynes Park and New Malden both have Waitrose too so that's very naice (other supermarkets also available) Richmond Park & Wimbledon Common for outside / countryside feel. Point is you probably can live in London area for your budget given you don't mind about noise / apartment rather than house etc.

north It’s not like I’m saying we’re abandoning Korean culture or something, of course we’ll still eat Korean food etc, it’s just not a priority to be surrounded by Koreans.

Will take a look at the areas mentioned.

That's what I love about London, all cultures are so integrated everywhere.

Has your husband got 3 years of externally checked accounts (if limited company) and for either limited or PAYE self employed - 3 years of HMRC tax submissions showing declared taxable income?

If not then you will struggle to have any of his income taken into account.

I see what you say about wanting London, OP, but if London doesn't work out, look at Liverpool. Beautiful, lots of history and culture, diverse and property is much cheaper.

Check out New Malden in Surrey. Huge Korean community. Close to KIngston and easy to get to Waterloo