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Original poster

Before I completely embarrass myself at the estate agents..

22 replies

Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 20:13

can anyone tell me if theres anyway that we can get a mortgage?
Dh only earns 15k a year inc benefits and I work from home but I'm not paying myself a wage yet.
Is there any feasible way that anyone would give us a mortgage?
We could afford the mortgage for 120k house which would suit us perfectly but we don't know if there are any schemes that would allow us to have a mortgage in the first place.
This is pretty much our last hope of moving to a nice area so any suggestions gladly received.

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MummyToSteven · 18/08/2004 20:18

Not to cast too negative a light on things, but are you sure that you could cope with the mortgage repayments on a 120K house - I only ask as my DH earns more than yours, and we just about manage to make ends meet (I'm now a SAHM) with a £91,000 mortgage. Also bear in mind that interest rates are likely to go up, so if anything monthly repayments could increase. Best of luck in your mortgage hunt, and sorry I haven't got any helpful suggestions for you.

Original poster
Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 20:28

Hi MTS
Well I know what my relatives pay for their 120k houses and it is the same as our rent now so yes we could but whether the mortgage lender agrees with that is another thing entirely.
It is such a waste throwing this rent money away each month I just wish there was some way we could manage to convince them.
Does anyone know about 100% mortgages or half rent schemes?

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Piffleoffagus · 18/08/2004 20:29

In 1998 when I was earning 9k part time with a view to earning full time, I was allowed a mortgage with 10% depost of to £45k
I am very pleased I never took it as I would have struggled as a single mum. I took a house worth 34k and put a 10% deposit down.
My dh and I are now buying a £225k house with 125k mortgage and I am SAHM and DH is on a very good wage and we are having to cut down on things for a whole to afford it...
I would advise caution, do not get hung up on owning a home, really it is often more sodding hassle than it is worth!

phatcat · 18/08/2004 20:33

Tigerlillies - you can get an 'uncertified mortgage' where they don't need proof of income but you have to pay a bit more in interest as technically you'd be a bigger lending risk. I'd recommend contacting an Independant Financial Advisor in your area (many don't charge unless you go ahead with a product they recommend) and asking them for their advice - you might be pleasantly surprised at the options that you do have (we were), especially if you already have some savings or equity in a property. Try and get a capped rate mortgage if you can - interest rates do seem to be on the way up. Good luck.

phatcat · 18/08/2004 20:34

also investigate Housing Association Shared Ownership schemes

JJ · 18/08/2004 20:41

I would also factor in the expenses that a homeowner has (fixing appliances, painting, general upkeep, etc) when deciding what you can afford monthly.

Things don't happen often, but when they do, they're expensive and money is required right away. Something you might thinking doing is rolling your security deposit into a rainy day account for things like that.

Hope it goes well for you!

Original poster
Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 20:49

Thanks everyone! I'm going around in circles about this. I will have a think about it a bit more.
The housing association shared ownership scheme sounds interesting what is that?

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phatcat · 18/08/2004 21:26

it's where you part buy / part rent a house from a housing association, so reducing the initial mortgage you need. After a qualifying period you can buy more shares in the property if you want until you own it outright in the normal way. Google 'Housing Association' + 'Shared Ownership' + the name of your area to see if there are any such schemes where you want to buy.

I don't know anyone who has done this myself however, so don't really know what the pros and cons are.

hercules · 18/08/2004 21:30

We've done shared ownership. Our scheme was specifically for teachers and I think it is quite hard to get on to the scheme otherwise.
It is good in that we were able to get a brand new house which we couldnt have bought otherwise. But we still pay rent each month and I'd rather be putting that towards a mortgage.
We need to get a 3 bed place now but starting prices here are £250k and we can only get mortgage for around £200,000 and tbh I dont want to get abigger one anyway.
I do feel we are stuck here now for a while as only part of the increase is ours.

However it does get you on the property ladder and is far cheaper than renting. If we were to rent this house we'd be paying an extra £400 a month.

discoinferno · 18/08/2004 21:36

Do you have children

Original poster
Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 21:43

I've just googled it. I'm not sure if it is really what we are after atm. We would love to have another baby and so we need to move. It did show up another scheme (home start) where it pays for 25% of a mortgage for you to help you qualify for the mortgage for a normal (not council or housing association house)so I've just filled our a form for that. Lets see what this brings.
Its either that or wait 8 years for dh to finish his degree and settle in a job before having our third and probably last child.
Or have another baby now and just hope that the HA or council move us to a bigger house. Its not what we want but we really have no other options left.
Normal rented accomodation would cost £200 more a month than a mortgage so ho hum we shall see.
Thanks!

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Original poster
Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 21:43

is that aimed at me?
Yes I have 2.

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discoinferno · 18/08/2004 21:47

Yes. Its just that maybe you are going through a nesting time. Does that make sense. Owning your own home is not the be all and end all of everything. It is only in Britain and Ireland that people have a "thing" about owing their own home. In most other countries renting is the norm. This is probably making no sense but don't overstretch yourself fo rthe sake of it. It can get messy. I know.

sportyspice · 18/08/2004 21:48

Isn't a mortgage based on 4 times your annual income or 3 times joint income? Obviously if you have a large amount of money set aside that would help afford a property for 125k but it sounds like a good idea to find out some more about the housing association route. Good luck

hercules · 18/08/2004 21:48

What worries me is what happens when you retire. I doubt my pension will be enough to pay for rent. What do people do?

Original poster
Tigerlillies · 18/08/2004 21:53

I totally agree with what you are saying.
The problem becomes when we want to expand our family but we have outgrown our house but the HA wont move us until we have 5-6 people in a 2 bedroomed house. Believe me it is a very tiny 2 bedroomed house although it is a lovely house we will be sad to leave it tbh. And I don't want to bring my children up in this area it is too dangerous now.
The scheme is homebuy

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blossomhill · 18/08/2004 21:55

Maybe try and speak to a financial advisor? I would personally avoid the in-house estate agent ones.

discoinferno · 18/08/2004 22:00

When are you going to be in a position to pay yourself. Maybe you should hold off until that then at least you can either use it for the mortgage calculation or use it to live on. Thats the other thing how long were you thinking of taking the mortgage out for. The longer the term the more you will pay in the longrun.

shrub · 19/08/2004 19:51

my dh earns just over 22k and we got a 100k mortgage with the abbey - we waited for the house prices to crash for 2 years to no avail so we decided where we really wanted to live and did a personal letter drop and advert in the local paper and post office. we got there after a year of searching in just one area. we were always told to always go for the worst house in the best street so if/when prices dip you can make up the shortfall in the future home improvements and the fact its in a good area should give you further ammunition. we did go for an interest only mortgage aswell, but for £30 switching fee we can go onto repayment when we are settled (we moved in may) it also helps to know its your own house and that you don't need to ever look at an estate agents window/property/finance pages ever again. you are no longer in limbo and can start living!!

tiredemma · 19/08/2004 20:02

tigerlillies, my dp has just got a hsbc "homestart" mortgage which is based on affordability as opposed to income multiple, otherwise he would of only got 78k, he fortunatly, through this homestart got a mortgage of 116k with a repayment of 450pcm ( we did have to put down a 5% deposit though) i didnt go on the mortgage as i have appalling credit and didnt want us to be turned down just because of me, so the homestart was a good option for us. there should be some info on the hsbc website- hope this helps

zebra · 19/08/2004 21:11

Just to point out... I moved house this summer, too. When you buy (versus renting) you have to pay soliciter's fees, stamp duty, search fees, survey -- it adds up to a lot of cash up front, or to add to your loan (and thus to your montly repayment).

Moreover, we had a big increase in council tax when we moved up the housing ladder this time (monthly increase of £90). Heating/other utilities will be higher for this house, too. Make sure you budget for any other increases, esp. in C'Tax, too, Tigerlillies.

Original poster
Tigerlillies · 19/08/2004 21:43

Thanks this is all really useful to know.
I will let you know how we get on.

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