Does this mean this I can definitely borrow this amount?

[DarkDaysHopefullyOver]

My head is scrambled and my ribs hurt because I am so tense, so any advice would be hugely appreciated. My mortgage advisor has been on alot on annual leave and all round not very responsive. Its just me and my 2 sons, and we are homeless from 29 September and cannot access social housing as we are seen as voluntarily so. My children can share a bed at my mums (not ideal given 1 is 8 and has ASD and 1 is 13) and i will just sleep in the car. I haven't told work yet, I don't know whether I should.

After weeks, my final mortgage offer is in, 23k shortfall for what I need for the house I was accepted on (this includes using a LiFT scheme). I have been offered lending at 2.5 my income. My question is, will that amount be given to me if I can find another house? I will have to find another house, but will I have to start the process over again? Mortgage advisor mentioned we could try another lender, but I can't go through it all again, not to mention when I leave our rented place, I will have no fixed address therefor my credit score will drop. I was thinking I could try buying a 2 bedroom house, and I'll just sleep in the living room.

I really don't want to disrupt my children's lives anymore, we could move further away and get much more for our money, but we have lived around here all their lives, they have friends and beloved clubs, I can't move them, especially my older one, I don't think he would forgive me. We've been on our own for 7 years nearly and this is what we know.

Anyway, ANY advice would be welcome. I was only told about mortgage last night and offices aren't open today.

Your mortgage offer isn't normally tied to a particular property so you should be fine to find another house. It sounds like a really stressful situation for you- good luck with it all

I would just add that I don't know about the Lift scheme sorry- don't know if that changes things.

I’m not very familiar with the scheme you are using but didn’t want to read and say nothing . Had a read, is this mortgage offer relating to a place you are buying on the open market?

Has your landlord got a tenant for the flat? It might be worth speaking to them. You can’t sleep in the car, what about an airbed in your Mum’s living room?

Mortgage offers are for a particular property as they may lend differently on another property, for example they may hold money back until essential works. However the amount they have agreed to lend you will generally be the same unless something changes. It will be based on a percentage of the sale price though so you have to calculate that in. Some lenders are more flexible than others and see what your mortgage broker thinks next week.

If you do find another place maybe a 2 bed where you could split one of the bedrooms? There’s a clever way to do it with bunk beds.

Really feel for you, we are moving next week and it’s a simple move and I’m really stressed. This weekend there isn’t much you can do so do your best to take a moment to breathe.

Something that works for me is give myself an hour to stress and feel really sorry for myself, acknowledging the situation is shit then after that I make myself come up with a plan and tell myself I have come through worse and will get it sorted. I focus on my breathing and try to get it as calm as positive then do something productive so I can see I achieved something. Probably something that just works for me but I thought I would put it here just in case.

Keep posting, it’s quite a busy board and others will be along during the day to offer advice.

I don't know much about that scheme beyond a quick Google so can be of limited help. But I'm so sorry to hear your situation.

My thoughts are - is it worth at least trying to get the house for 23k less? I would explain the situation to the EA to at least see what the vendors say, though it may be unlikely they can accept the lower offer. Be prepared for them to say No but I would at least ask. The EA will need to know your situation anyway and they may be able to suggest other properties for you to view if that one doesn't work out.

Also, in terms of having no fixed address, why don't you give your mums address? No one needs to know you aren't actually living there, if anyone asks you could say you are sleeping on the sofa. This will be better for your credit score as you mentioned.

It looks like you should be able to find another house even if that means going for a 2 bed house. The children can share a bedroom until one leaves home if they are the same sex (my sister and I did as we grew up in a 2 bed flat) or if that's not possible you could get a sofabed for the living room.

Finally, I think you should tell work on Monday that you are in an extremely stressful situation, as long as you have a sympathetic boss or a proper HR department. They will support you more if they know what is happening and you sound like you need as much support as possible right now.

Thank you for the advice so far, I really appreciate it and it's comforting to know that the lending amount hopefully won't change. I am looking at a house today, I'm sure it will go to closing and I won't stand a chance, it's got a huge garden but every room needs work, there is some damp in the kitchen, looks like from a dryer and washing machine leak, but there are no category 3s and no retention/reinspection required on home report.

The flat is being sold, a couple have bought it in cash for the daughter to go to uni. So we have to leave. I have looked at private rent, but there are none appropriate, I went to view a flat yesterday and the LL was using a lot of space to store their own stuff, padlocks on cupboards, it felt so unwelcoming.

LIFT scheme have said they will contribute 40%, it's a shared equity scheme. I am worried about being stuck In a 2 bedroom with no way of leaving in terms of deposit and sharing that much equity...but as long as I pay my bills, a LL won't come along and ask us to leave. We lived in a beautiful house for 9 years that I rented, it was perfect, then LL told me she was selling, so I left, then later found she rented it out for £600 more per month. This year has been horrendous.

For a 2 bedroom, I thought I would look at good quality sofa beds, and have my work desk in the living room too. The boys can't share a room. I tried looking at some ideas online but there wasn't much.

I know you've looked at rentals but have you also looked at long let Airbnb places? I know some people on Mumsnet have moved into an Airbnb for weeks or even months when they have been between properties.

@Twiglets1 I never even thought of asking seller this, my mortgage advisor hasn't mentioned it either. But, because I'm using LIFT scheme, I can only secure a property for 140k (hopefully), the seller accepted an offer of 178k (its all worked on %, i dont know why the shortfall isnt a straight 23k under), that's a huge difference and I feel terrible even asking? The property was "sold" to me with the sellers dead wife on title deeds, he had to go to probate, which was finalised about 3/4 weeks, he's moving in with his new partner and the house has been left empty. I think he'll be inclined to go back out to sale.

Sorry, I just want to say, I had my mortgage in principle, which was offered over what i needed to borrow, I did all the paper work and used a recommended mortgage advisor, I'm worried in case anyone thinks I have messed my seller around...I was looking forward to moving in and told the whole way through I wouldn't have an issue securing the mortgage needed.

I was weighing up mentioning asking the seller that. I figured it unlikely with the figures involved but you just don’t know till you ask. Air bnb is a good call as well and you can put your Mum’s new address.

There are ways to potentially split a room depending on size but that’s further down the line at the moment. Today speak to estate agent, look at the place you are going to and look at Air bnb. Also post on local FB group and see if anyone knows any holiday lets that do winter lets.

Not being offered the amount you need is quite common at the moment unfortunately as mortgage lenders are getting tighter with the falling market. However the fact the market is falling is a bit of a positive as people more likely to accept an offer and you are in a good position with no chain.

I think anyone reading this can tell you are a genuine person who is in shock that your mortgage offer is lower than you thought and you didn't intend to mess anyone around. Mortgage lenders are getting tighter as @Volterra says and it's not your fault.

@DarkDaysHopefullyOver , how are things ?

Hi @Volterra , I'm still scrambling around in the hope they will offer more. I have phoned lender this morning, and they said they were unsure if underwriter marked off a loan I have (that will be repaid), and another amazon fiance loan of £164 was still showing even though balance is zero, so I've sent in some more documents. I also received a letter confirming child disability payment for my youngest, it's the lowest component but it's still something?

I've been having a look at homes further away, but I really want to keep my kids in their current schools, this is all they've known. I don't want to turn their lives upside down anymore. I don't know if I'm silly for thinking ill just continue to commute them? It's not forever.

Thank you so much for checking in, that's very kind and I really appreciate it.

Keeping my fingers crossed that they will have another look and agree more. It’s so stressful isn’t it , maybe for now just focus on getting this one if possible? Even if they don’t give the full amount, maybe you could negotiate with the seller ?