Probationary period and mortgage application

[MissDuke]

Hi all
We managed to sell our house much quicker than anticipated and so are now rushing to apply for a mortgage for our move on. We plan to borrow £80,000 for our move and both work full time. However I stupidly hadn't considered the fact that I am still in a probationary period at work, I started in the NHS in October after qualifying as a HCP. Is this going to rule out us getting a mortgage? According to the online calculators, dh can easily borrow much more on his own salary anyway, will this help? We had hoped to go with first direct but I have read they are particularly tight with their criteria though I can find nothing on their website. Going to contact a broker tomorrow but really hoping to get some peace of mind that this will work out. Thanks for reading!

Just in case it makes any difference, we are also providing an £86000 deposit following the sale of our own house.

Until someone more qualified comes along, my own experience is that the mortgage company wanted a letter from HR confirming the length of the probationary period & that was it. Again, we were applying for a low LTV . What may have helped was there was little difference in my net pay & the childcare cost & I mentioned on the application that if I lost my job, DC would be withdrawn from nursery & our financial position would be broadly similar.

Depends on your lender & how they view probation periods. Some sectors are deemed less risky for probation periods & if you have previous experience in the same industry that can also reduce how they view the risk

We were in the same situation, our broker advised us that there were a few lenders who wouldn't lend to someone in their probationary period but there were plenty who would. It didn't stop us from getting a decent rate.

Thanks everyone, very reassuring - will help me to sleep better tonight!

We had a similar set up. Would absolutely advise going via a broker who knows so you don't waste time on an application that's a nonstarter. Would recommenf London and Country

We got one with Halifax based on signed contract (6months probation) in 2015

Phew!! Thanks everyone :-)

Agree with Scribblegirl, call London and Country and they will tell who is ok with probation periods. I did it two months after starting a new job no problem. Don't worry!

Thanks again all. Set up an appt with London and Country for Wed so hopefully all will be well.

So we saw the MA today and got an AIP very easily. She said this wasn't a problem at all and we still had our pick of lenders (we have a high deposit and relatively low amount to borrow, no other debt etc) - she recommended Santander who we are already with so fingers crossed it all progresses without hitch. Thanks again for the reassurance!