Saving for mortgage

[Lizmum1]

Hello

Not sure if I’m on the correct thread but I couldn’t find any about mortgages or savings.

Me and DH currently rent (gutted)
We pay £1200 pcm rent in a decent area close to our DDs nursery.
We love the house we are in and don’t particularly want to downsize due to the fact we for once have found a really long term let and the house is in a nice area close to everything and not too far from friends and relatives although still far enough away to be much cheaper. Renting nearer them is about 1600-2000 a month for the same or even smaller sized house.

We have 2 dcs together and DH has 3 dcs with previous partner hence we don’t really want to downsize from 3 beds as we do need the space.

I met dh when he was divorced and renting a flat himself. We had dd a few years later unplanned but wouldn’t change it for the world.
I understand this situation isn’t ideal to save for a house as most people do this before kids and still live with parents (not a option for us)

Dh is on a good income and always has disposable money and i now work part time (started this month) earning £700 a month but planning to use £500 to save each month of my money probably topped up by £100/200 a month from dh money

Currently we have no savings as we’ve been knocked 3 years in a row by landlords selling and have had to use savings for rental deposits and cars being fixed ect.

I really regret not saving harder in the past. I’m in my late 20s and dh is 40 this year.

Just curious to see if anyone has been successful in saving and buying a house the non traditional way (with kids and renting)

I’m finding it so hard motivation wise as we are going to have to save a huge sum over years and currently having no savings so nothing to look at to feel motivated.

I feel very stuck between longing to buy a house for stability and for my dcs sakes and wanting to just enjoy our lives and be able to treat them with the odd days out and holidays.

I know people are going to bash me for this (please don’t lol ) I jsit want to enjoy life and give my children fond memories and not have to skrimp so much that their early years consist of nothing.

My dad has very kindly said he will gift a sum if he sees we are continuously saving and my Nan is a option as she’s helped a few cousins towards deposits but obviously until I gather a decent sum of about 10-15k they won’t.

I’m worried too because My dh is approaching 40 and is the main earner and lots of people have said he will struggle to get a mortgage past 49 and I know it’ll take 3 years or more to save !

Any success stories of people saving whilst renting with dcs and eventually buying ?

Sorry typo I meant h struggle to get a mortgage past 40 not 49

No experience of this situation but would a mortgage on a similar property to the one you are in now be less than rent? If so then you are saving now to have greater financial freedom in a few years? Perhaps a better way to look at it?

And I got a new mortgage at 39 last year, was fine to mortgage so long as term only went up to 67.

We did. Clear plan. Save first, overpay any debts, stop spending money on crap. We each had a regular savings account and put in money each payday without question. Paid off most expensive debt first then could overpay the next one more. Look at everything you spend. And pay off your overdraft, you will immediately feel more in control of your money if you spend cash not credit.

Nonsense about not getting a mortgage after 40! Lenders are very keen to lend their money. You can get 30 year, 35 year, and even lifetime mortgages now. Talk to a mortgage adviser and see what they say. You can get shared ownership, part buy part rent...5% deposit...

Have a look at Dave Ramsey on utube - great for success stories and fastest behavioural ways to being an everyday millionaire - a tad american but easily applicable to uk too

I’ve done lots of mortgage calculators and it works out the exact same as rent. We have moved every year for the past 3 years dd has now had 4 homes and she’s only 3 years old :( our current landlady lives next door and is absolutely lovely! Not looking to sell the house for 10 years and let’s us do whatever we want in terms of decorating it really feels like home.

It’s a semi detached with a cul de sac so brilliant for taking dd out the front on her bike. They’ve let us keep our dog too which is extremely rare with renting and I walk to and from nursery. Dd is in a nursery with 10 children and 4 staff and she’s so settled there I’d hate to move. The park, leisure centre and children’s clubs are all within a 3 min walk too. I’d love to buy this place if they sell it when we finally have a deposit!

The lady that bought our previous rental house was a estate agent mid 30s with 2 children and it was her first buy.

I’m glad to hear you can get a mortgage in your 40s so many people have told me overwise

Dh has a ccj from a parking ticket that was sent to the incorrect address I think it’s 5 years old now but I know this is a problem too :(

I’ve always been a shopaholic but recently I’ve bot been shopping or buying anything non essential for months it’s almost going the opposite way now where I can’t bare to spend. My problem is not wanting to deprive the kids too much we’ve not been on holiday since having dd I’m I’d love to take her. We don’t take her out much as it is but during the summer I’d love to take her on the occasional outings. Do I do this and save the £600 too or not do this at all and try to save more ?! Just feel guilty if I do nothing at all with them

We have no outstanding credit, just spend the money we have so to speak, no overdraft either and last year got rid of two cars we had on finance and now have 2 robin reliants

If you are saving £700pm, then surely it will only take you 14months to save £10000, or less than 2 years to save the £15000.
No time at all.
Then both your Dad and your Nan are going to gift you some money ?

That's without looking at how you might save extra over that period - you say your dh always has disposable income ? I also presume your Nursery fees will have gone down considerably in 2 years time ?

The £700 is with dh disposable income too so £500 of mine £200 of his. Looking at it that way is really good 14 months - 2 years! It’s jsit the motivation to keep it up and the discipline. I’m thinking of transferring this monthly fee to my dad to save for us as he’s a accountant and extremely good with money/savings he’s saved all his life.

If I can get 10-15k my dad said he will help with the rest although didn’t state a amount. My nans given a few of my cousins £15k deposits without them saving a penny just because their rent was more expensive but hasn’t offered anything to us and I’m not rude to ask. My dad said as long as we prove to save a lump he will ask her as he’s power of aterny for her and as she’s helped other grandchildren. (Awkward) but she’s sitting on a over 1million without including her house and pension bigger than my dads income I don’t feel comfortable asking her, nor do I feel entitled to her help but I do feel it’s slightly unfair to gift certain grandchildren and not others

If you aren't married, are saving most of your deposit and your family are helping you with the rest, please make sure you protect your share of the deposit, just in case your relationship ever broke down.

This is very interesting actually !

The mortgage would be mainly based on my parents income as he’s on the good money. I alone would be laughed out of the bank but the deposit would be mainly from me. How are you able to protect your share in case of relationship breakdown ?

Sorry another typo
Mortgage would be based on partners income

You could ask your solicitor to put a deed of trust in place, which could state how much deposit you put in, so if you broke up you would get your deposit back plus a share of the equity.
Your partner is able to earn more presumably at least partly because you are doing more childcare? Don't underestimate your contribution towards the household. Your earnings will also contributed towards what you can borrow.

Be careful transferring the money to someone else to hold.

That alone can make you struggle to get a mortgage as they will think you cannot manage your own money by saving the deposit in your own bank

Thank you very much for this information. I’m sure my dad would like everything in writing too regusrding deposit. If we can marry very cheaply we may do this to make things easier. I think relatives would be more comfortable gifting some deposit if we are married. We’ve just never done it due to wanting to prioritise buying a house and a big wedding is the equivalent of a house deposit. It may be a registry office with just a handful of people then !

Also yes I agree with this I would be on 25k full time but due to not having anyone to help with childcare and I wouldn’t earn enough to be able to pay childcare for a 3year old and baby! It works out I’d be MINUS £50 a day! so if we consider the house work , cooking , childcare and the fact I look after his horse and dog! I think I’m just as much a contributer haha!

If I save the money myself in a Isa which can’t be touched will I still be able to access the money when I need the deposit ? Dumb question but I have heard of Isas where you can not access them for about 5-10 years

You can get an Isa specifically for saving towards a house deposit.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/lifetime-isas/

Does he need a horse when you don’t have your own house? Horse lover and lifetime rider here but I’ve always known sadly they are too expensive an upkeep to have my own.

We both have a horse but I look after them both diy we are at a major cheap yard soley diy I do everything myself it’s £200 pcm all in! They’re retired and not sellable both old and wouldn’t be able to get rid of them unless putting them down which we don’t feel is very humane as we can afford them and still save

How much disposable income (after paying child support etc) is your DP going to be left with each month?
If you are saving £500, & only have £200 left, it would be unfair is he has more than you and is only contributing £100-200.
We put all our wages in one joint account, minus the same amount each for our personal spending (so if I want to buy clothes or go for lunch with a friend, or DH wants to go to a hockey match or get a video game, that comes from our personal spending money).
The mortgage, bills, commuting costs, pet insurance etc all come from the joint account, and everything left over is put into our joint saving account (saving for new windows). Would this work for your family?

I would say a joint account would possibly be a good idea but at the moment as I’ve not worked for 3 years due to childcare and it being better for us me at home , Dh has lid all the bills including mine and gives me money to go out with friends or buy clothes ect we also use his wages for kids activities etc

He pays for my horse too and this works very well as his money is spent on everything after bills his disposable is around 500/600 but that goes towards anything extra so my wage now is just a bonus so is fully disposable, hence we are using mine just for savings with a little top up from his. He has a account which separates bills each month and puts aside the rest. We are looking at ditching sky now as we have a smart tv with Netflix and amazon.

We have both cancelled gym memeberships, saved 800 a month on the horses so I now do them soley diy (bloody hard work but not changeable) both had fincance cars each that we got rid of and although our new rental is bigger it’s £200 less a month! I think we are moving in a good direction but it’s so slow it can feel impossible!

If you want a house then you need to make sacrifices. Dogs, horses, making memories, netflix, amazon, sky, they all cost money!

I was very frugal for 10 years to save a deposit. Prioritised cheap rent etc. I only paid for tv a few months ago (netflix). Also said no to children when they ask for pets.

Everyone has their own priorities though. At the end of the day it is about getting the balance of income vs expenditure right. Don't forget that house ownership needs money too. Repairs etc.