How to secure our future?

[Upwiththisiwillnotput]

This might be long, sorry!

DH and I are 60 and 55, we have rented all our lives, never earned enough or had inherited money to buy.

We are currently renting a lovely house, rent split 3 ways with our adult DD but realistically she will probably move out in a year or two. It will be too big and expensive for us then.

Ideally I would like our next move to be a permanent one. I have a private pension which if cashed in I would get about 40k to use as a deposit. I do also have a work pension which is reasonably ok. DH is self employed so not much in the way of pension there and also has some health issues so not sure how long he will be able to work.

Would we be able to get a mortgage at our age? I should also add we have some debt on a management plan due to clear in 2028 (about 18k currently, due to DH business collapsing during COVID).

what should we do? Carry on as we are, downsize to a smaller rental in a couple of years? Try and buy shared ownership or retirement property?

Im so tired of the insecurity of private renting, but I have no idea if anything else is realistic or possible.

if you’ve got this far thanks for reading and I appreciate your thoughts!

Mortgage lenders usually only do loans up to govt retirement age so with a deposit of 40k could you afford and borrow enough monthly repayments on a a 15 year mortgage. That’s without even looking at salary multiples. I think you need to play around with some online mortgage calculator based so sealers etc it’s not impossible but feels tricky

I was able to get a 25 year mortgage aged 50.. but they did ask the question about whether i had a pension. But tbf they didnt ask how much! Speak to a financial advisor or mortgage broker. They should be able to advise.

Have you thought about housing association bungalows to rent?

Whereabouts are you located? I get you may not want to be specific but if you could let us know that or how much property prices are in your neck of the woods that would be helpful.

Thanks for your replies. I have no idea about HA rentals, where would I find them? I assume there is some eligibility criteria.
for context we are in London, our combined income is about £65k.

You might struggle in London with that income and deposit. Could you move to a cheaper area?

I just got a mortgage in December to 75 and it's 95percent I was very surprised but didn't ask any questions. No idea how we will pay it off if we lose our jobs but wtf lives too short anything could happen. I'm 56 this year and partner is 54

Our current rental is £2350 pcm. House is worth about £750k, way out of our price range! SE London. It used to be a cheap area but has been gentrified ☹️

What price range are you looking at?

It’s actually quite reassuring to hear that a mortgage is not impossible. Of course we could move to a cheaper area but then there are additional commuting costs which may cancel out any savings..

The thing about being a mortgage payer is that if you hit hard times, there’s very limited help from the government. And everything’s on you, with no landlord to fix the boiler, but a new washing machine etc. Do you really want to be serving a mortgage in your 70s, assuming you’re both healthy enough to work? I’m just trying to be realistic and am in a sort of similar situation but I’m 50, buying alone, and have a slightly bigger deposit.

Personally I would look at social housing (or more drastically, move to a much cheaper part of the country and get a small mortgage on a two bed terrace).

It’s not so much savings as how much they’ll lend you. On £65k the most they’ll often lend is £325k and that’s before your debt and age is taken into account, and any other fixed costs. What house prices are you looking at?

I have no idea. We would like 2 bedrooms and a garden, or some outside space at least (we have cats). I know most HA places are flats.

Why do you need 2 bedrooms? If you want to remain in the SE with that budget I think a 1 bed might be more realistic? Personally I’d avoid HA new builds as they are not the best quality wise and there are lots of issues re. rising service charges. A friend bought a shared ownership property in Greenwich last year and the building has been beset with never ending problems. An older property, perhaps a garden flat, might be a better option.

That’s the first thing to look at then, how much properties are that you’d like. Let’s say you could get £240k mortgage, add your £40k deposit and you’re looking at £280k.

We would like a spare bedroom for a home office/room for adult DC to come and stay. Totally agree about new build flats/service charges, ironically I work in the property industry so I’m well aware that they can rise unexpectedly, especially with the bsa/cladding stuff. A lovely garden flat would be the dream..

Have you considered how you'd pay the mortgage, utility bills and maintain the property if your husband can't work? Sorry if you think I'm being a Debbie Downer but I do have a lot of empathy and from my own similar circumstances I've thought about all the pro's and cons!

Might be more realistic to secure a HA property. If you did get a mortgage and had to default you would be in danger of eviction. At least with a HA you would have security of tenure..

Not at all, it is one of my concerns. He is physically very fit but has a couple of issues that could become serious. Being self employed he has no health insurance or work benefits, that is a worry.

With you having to take out the money from your private pension, the uncertainty about how long your DH could work for, the debt etc, it might be difficult to get a mortgage big enough for a 2 bedroom garden flat in London. Could you relocate?

Given your ages you could instead move into a retirement flat to rent. Cheap rates, long term tenancy, better protection which is I think what you want. There are waiting lists but you could get on the list at least. If you search "retirement flats to rent" you'd find any and locations. Usually the key requirement is 55yo plus, eg for Anchor ones. You'd have to search to understand pet implications but they do multiple room flats for sure, it might be worth investigating a few

I understand. A long mortgage period if you can get one wouldn’t be sensible then and you couldn’t get a short one on that deposit and because of your ages, for a property in or around London. There are some areas of the north where you can two bed terrace houses in OK areas for under £100k but I appreciate relocating isn’t always practical.

Hello, your post was very similar to us a couple of years ago except my partner & I have a bigger age gap. We also lived SE London so understood the property market. Your numbers don't sound bad but it's become very expensive. With us our landlord wanted a lot more than we could afford so we moved out of London. Bought on the East Yorkshire Coast which definitely is doable but probably not what you're after. Due to my partner's manual job we could only get a mortgage to his 75th birthday & he's since been diagnosed with cancer. We don't have money to do the house up with but a short mortgage. So this needs to be considered. I'd look Kent / Essex way. We have beaches and cliff walks. It's pretty here but not London but we do visit regularly & get out city fix. I'd suggest buying over rented for peace of mind.

You’re looking at quite a lot for 2 beds and outside space in London. I am 49 and about to get a mortgage into retirement but I am having to leave the South East, but easier for me to relocate as I have a team in the North West and family within an hour. With your husband’s health i’d probably keep renting as you can get government help with rent. His lack of pension is worrying. If you have debt you’ll struggle with a lender and have to pay higher rate if anyone does lend to you. It’s a tough one, but in your position, i’d keep renting.

I dint know anything about mortgages as I have always rented , for the past 25 years it's been from Guinness trust ( previously know as NCHA)
Housing associations are much better regulated than private landlords, they are also fine with me decorating, putting shelves ect up.
For me the biggest plus points are ; no building insurance needed , windows and doors repaired / replaced if they get damaged, gas & electric safety checks yearly, boiler maintenance every 2 years .
My boiler is currently playing silly buggers and needs it's heat exchange plate looking at / replacing .
So my HA are coming out in 2 weeks ( my choice it's the 1st day I can get off work, they could of come on Thursday this week) .

All of the above will not cost me anything.

A few years ago I had a new kitchen fitted , a new back door and the gutters on the back of the house replaced all within about 4 months. There is no way I could of paid for all of that.

https://www.guinnesspartnership.com/

Edited to add that afaik most HA have a long waiting list so I'd get on the waiting list a year or so before you want to move but be ready to go quickly as they won't hold a house for you for more than a week or so unless you start paying the rent right away , which is what I did.