Questions about buying first house.

[TowerOfJoy]

I'm currently privately renting but due to separating from DH I don't think I'm going to be able to afford the rent for much longer without eating through my savings. So the possibility of buying a house, smaller and in a less desirable area of town, has been floated.

I've asked friends who have recently bought in this area and their solicitors fees and survey costs have been under £1500. Is this a fair price for me to budget, based on house price of around £70-85,000?

I'm also trying to think of any other monthly costs to budget for (that I don't already pay in rented) and all I can think of is buildings insurance and possibly gas boiler cover?

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, is it possible for me to purchase a house while separated and not have my DH make a claim on it during divorce? The deposit would be mainly gifted from my parents and a small top up from my savings. Obviously his name won't be on the mortgage application etc. Can I get a solicitors letter for him to sign saying he doesn't have a claim and it won't be classed as a marital asset?

Get a few quotes for legal fees and a recommendation if you can.

Take advice from a family solicitor on the house/deposit.

I can't think of other monthly costs but plan for maintenance in general. The older the house, the more you might need to do. And we don't have boiler cover.

I bought a house before I'd divorced. I had it included in the financial order that this would be mine and the former marital home was his.

If you're planning on divorcing for a while though I think you're taking a bigger risk.

your costs will be

• buildings and contents cover
• boiler cover
• home emergency cover

and of course fixing, decorating etc etc

DanielCraigsUnderpants why do you say it would be a bigger risk?
DH left in February, it's now got to the point that I can't see reconciliation as an option. I assumed we would divorce after the 2 years separation but I would need to sort out moving before then. Unless I push for a divorce on grounds of unreasonable behaviour. He had a gambling problem and persuaded me to take out a loan to cover the debts then walked out 4 months later so I'm guessing that would count?

Ok so I need to get some quotes for emergency cover and maybe boiler cover.
My contents insurance is currently £13 per month so I'm budgeting £30 per month for contents and building.

Decoration costs would depend on the house, but I'm happy to make do in the beginning.

A mortgage should be at least £200 per month cheaper than rent so I can put money aside for upkeep.

Up until the point you have a court approved financial order everything goes in the matrimonial asset pot-so this house you buy goes in and he could stake s claim. Its a big risk, talk to a solicitor first- you may be able to get a separation agreement to exclude it from future division.

You could file for unreasonable behaviour now

Because if you're still married even if you're separated it's still (I think) counted as a marital asset. My house purchase happened within a few months of divorce. I might be wrong.

Shit, I was hoping it would be as simple as getting him to sign a letter.

Ok, I'll need to add speaking to a solicitor to the list and finding out what's best. Thanks.

Re costs- we have neither boiler cover nor Home emergency cover, but we do have savings which would cover said boiler/emergencies. I read that a good rule of thumb is to budget 1% of the value of your home per annum for general repairs and maintenance. We live in a property bubble so don't allow anywhere near that! We budget £200 per month and seem to spend it very easily.