Was that my one chance to buy a home?

[SunriseMoon]

Back in April our mortgage advisor told us we'd have no problem getting a mortgage with 1 years self employed tax returns. So we sold my wife's flat and the rental income we got from it, found a house and applied for a mortgage.

After 6 months of constant drama, stress, moving goalposts and being messed around by the lender, the recent Tory shenanigans have put an end to any hope we had of getting a suitable mortgage.

My wife is disabled and can't work, I earn enough to support us but not loads, and she inherited early so we can afford a house as long as we can get a mortgage x4 my salary. I'm 36 and she's 38. I'd like to buy a home so we can adapt the house to suit us, save for the future and balance my workload with being a carer for her and a mother. We can't get any benefits because of the inheritance/deposit.

Is it worth trying again next year, or is that it for people like us having a chance at buying a home? Apparently it's easier when you have 2 years tax returns, but I just wasn't prepared for the chaos and changeable nature of this process. Do I just need to make my peace with renting forever?

You could look at it that you sold the flat at the top of the market and are waiting for things to settle.

If you have a rental property you can stay in I'd wait until next year. I don't expect a massive house price crash but can't see the crazy offers over continuing.

Mortgage offers will settle back to the 3.5 to 4.5 type region that reflects where they were headed pre covid and more in line with long term trends.

Sounds like you have a decent LTV so will be relatively safe to a lender. Just get the two years of books under your belt and sit out the current madness.

In many ways you are better off now as there will be less competition from those with smaller deposits deemed most risky.

Wouldn't expect huge numbers of properties to be offered for sale as people wait to see but that will probably lead to more movement come spring

Gosh. You sound a bit defeatist. If you run your own business you must know that it is not plain sailing - things don't go to plan, people let you down, the unexpected happens, etc.
It's the same with property. Forget the idea of what "the market" is doing. You don't buy "the market", you find one particular property that somebody wants to sell and that you want to buy.at a price that you can afford.
Hang on in, keep looking, it will be out there.

Thank you both, I feel utterly defeated yes! It's my first time and I guess I just had incredibly bad timing? So next year will probably be ok and could even be better in terms of what we can afford?

I wouldn’t expect a major crash next year but you’re not in a bad position.
Get a second job, evenings/weekends ( I did) and then you will increase your deposit and you’ll have pay slips. Can your wife do surveys/focus groups etc to make a bit extra each week? Does she qualify for PIP as it’s not means tested?

Thanks for your advice, we're doing our best already

We're in a strange situation currently where interest rates are high and so are house prices, and lenders are finding it really difficult to lend responsibility. House prices and/or interest rates will settle soon and, if you could get a mortgage before, I'm Sure it will become an option for you again. Just give it a while for this crazyness to settle down.

Ok, so the current craziness is the exception, things will get more predictable/stable and we don't need to throw the towel in just yet.

I was thinking of pre-2008 when friends and relatives on low or average wages managed to get mortgages, and how that ceased being the case pretty abruptly. But I take it this isn't like that.

The likely barrier is probably only giving 1y accounts, rather than needing 4 times income.

Having 3y worth of accounts will open many more doors.

That's my fear, our mortgage advisor said we'd be fine this year with 1 years' accounts, now she's saying we'll be fine next year with 2...

No one quite knows. But my expectation is that either house prices or interest rates will come down and make it more affordable again. The problem this time is inflation not something intrinsic to the mortgage market. So much more likely to settle back to something close to what it was like before covid.