Mortgage advice needed

[babacoon]

I am on a work visa in the UK and looking to buy a house via the Shared Ownership Scheme. I need a mortgage of around £150k.

I earn a decent amount however, my consultant just told me that the bank will take into account my monthly childcare expenses (around 150 per month) as they come directly off my salary ( as childcare vouchers)

By doing this the amount we can borrow falls around 40k. This has left me very worried because surely people would have living expenses. Would they take into account my food, bills etc. as well?

Also, I pay a higher rent than the mortgage and have never been in arrears so surely I can afford it?

Any advice very welcome.

It could be that technically childcare vouchers are not coming out of your salary but that you've agreed that thou would like an additional benefit on the form of childcare vouchers in exchange for a salary reduction. Therefore your actual salary it's the amount after childcare vouchers.

That said, when we applied for our mortgage with bank we did have to sit down and run through our general outgoings to make sure that we could afford the monthly repayments. I think the banks are generally more cautious than they used to be and want to make sure that you (they) are not going to have any problems.

thanks magpie.

Our consultant has not mentioned anything of the sort up till now so I was surprised. Plus I do not have any experience of mortgages in the UK.

Is there a helpline etc where I could turn to, to get an overall understanding of the process? I do not want any further surprises.

I suppose different bank will have their on criteria. But many (all?) now tend to base final mortgage offers on affordability, as opposed to eg a multiple of your salary.
When we applied for a new mortgage with our existing mortgage company we had to run through all our out-goings - childcare, groceries, entertainment, gifts, clothes, car, you-name-it! They were unable or unwilling to take into account the fact that our childcare costs will fall dramatically in six month's time.
We were able to borrow the amount we needed, but it was a close call, and this was even though our monthly repayments effectively went down (compared to what we were already paying).

It's worth going through your expenses honestly and filling in all your monthly out-goings for your own peace of mind. At least then if you get asked questions you will have all the figures to hand as well.

Ahem "different banks will have their own criteria". Sorry for terrible typing.

They will see on your payslips and then bank statements how it works. It felt like they were being double counted on our application but the affordability was fine.

We have used london & country brokers (no fee) and would recommend them. Get a decision in principle so you know your budget before looking and making offers.

mabelbabel thanks. I will sit down with DH tonight to do just that. Our childcare will go down dramatically as well once DS starts full time school in September.