How can I get a mortgage as a single mum?

[beexx]

Hi can I have an anonymous post please? Basically I’m a single mum and I’m a nurse, I’ve worked hard to get where I am in my career and all I want in life is a house to call our own. I want to be able to show my boys that hard work pays off and I just want that security for them I suppose. Thing is, I have absolutely no money for a deposit. I spend the absolute bare minimum on everything, I have a phone that’s years old, I’m not exaggerating when I say there’s nothing I can cut down on expenses wise. You could say I’m a tight cow haha. Yet I’m still short at the end of the month and I’m lucky if I have a tenner left at the end of the month. So my question is, with no financial help from family, how the hell am I supposed to get a deposit together for a house? I come from a working class single parent family myself and they’re not in any position to lend me money for a deposit. I just feel a bit stuck. I’ve briefly looked into taking a loan out for a deposit but a quick google search tells me that isn’t a good idea and I’m not likely to get accepted for a mortgage if the deposit is a loan. The only other option I can think of is registering with the council then I think after 3 years you get right to buy? Not sure how that works with a deposit though if anyone could shed some light on it? Another option is shared ownership which I’ll be honest I’m wary of but if anyone’s done it and could share their experience of pros and cons I’d be grateful. A final option is help to buy but I really don’t want to go down that route because from what I understand you only end up paying more.

It is hard, especially if you're already living to within the edge of your means so don't have disposal income for saving.

It sounds like you're already living as frugally as possible, and I suspect that with a child in tow it's not as simple as earning more/additional shifts as you then have childcare to take into account (and of course, presumably you would like to see your child at some point!) and of course being a nurse is a demanding job and you do need some downtime - although would bank work be feasible?

Do you know how much approximately you would need for a deposit?

Could you move back home with family for a time to enable you to save for a deposit? I know a few of my friends have done this.

Alternatively, what are your current living arrangements? Is there an option to rent somewhere cheaper? This could free up some income for saving.

Is your child's father paying the correct amount of maintenance?

Another scheme you could look into is Help to Buy. I think a deposit might not be necessary as you get a large equity loan as your deposit.
Shared ownership can also be a good idea in your situation but I'm not sure if it's available with no deposit.

Other than that, it's earning more, spending less etc until you save up (as per pp ideas).

I know this isn’t what you want to hear but if you can’t afford to save now home ownership might not be ideal, certainly not without any deposit. Rising interest rates (which will happen eventually), maintenance costs or falling house prices will all make your situation precarious. If you borrow a small 5% deposit for a new house it’s likely you’ll never get that back if you sell and in shared ownership it’ll take years to build any equity.

I know that sounds all doom and gloom but if you can find a way to save anything at all to work towards a 10% deposit you’ll be in a much better position.

Is there any scope for you to move to a cheaper area where rent is cheaper, or a smaller home for a while to save money? Or any training you can do to increase your pay?

@PooWillyBumBum It might not be that bad for the OP. Mortgage payments are often considerably lower than rent so might be able to continue with the current level of spending and still save. Or if she goes for brand new shared ownership, the rent part is regulated and major expenses any time soon are very unlikely given the 10 year building warranty and everything being brand new.

The issue with new builds is quite often the NHBC certs aren’t worth the paper they’re written on and you can’t get anything resolved without a big fight. That and they tend to drop in value initially so if you need to move unexpectedly within the first few years you may find yourself underwater with the mortgage.

I take your point if mortgages are significantly lower per month but otherwise I’d say it’s risky with absolutely no deposit because you’ll be paying back the loan and the mortgage for quite some time.

See here reviews of new home warranties from customers: uk.trustpilot.com/review/nhbc.co.uk

Echoes the experiences of friends I know.

Do you work for the NHS? Some areas have schemes to help Key Workers get onto the property ladder, might be worth looking if there's any info on the intranet etc (not sure what the NHS has).