Mortgage as a pensioner

[househelpplease12]

Hello
My husband and I are approaching a very difficult position... we used to be homeowners but sold up and couldn't find the right home so ended up renting 15 years ago. Over the 15 years, all the money from the sale has gone and we now live month to month with no savings at all (and credit card debt). We are both approaching retirement age and worried about what the next step is... both mothers are in care homes so there won't be a substantial inheritance. Our pensions are not too bad (we are paying as much in as we can) - how can we go about buying a home and/or securing a mortgage when we retire. Is this even possible or will we be renting for the rest of our lives?
Please no judgement - the situation is giving me huge anxiety and sleepless nights. Any help would be gratefully recieved.

OP didn’t just ask what’s available they asked about buying a property.

They have received excellent advice from other posters about talking to a specialist mortgage broker so I have nothing to add to that.

I think the advice another poster gave about analysing how they got into this situation was kindly meant & could be useful. The very last thing they need right now is to make another bad decision. So my advice to them would be not to listen to strangers on the internet suggesting lifetime leases - and even mentioning one specific company- without mentioning the downsides.

I think you need to speak to a specialist, as you wouldn't be able to buy a house the way a you get person would with no savings as you'd need a 100% mortgage

The Homewise 60+ plan sounds like a decent option, with the caveat that a lifetime lease means that the property reverts to the company on death, so if you have dependents, they won't inherit. The advantage is that you get to buy the lease for less than the market value of the property.

Also says that plans are tailored individually, so possibly there's some kind of medical, and you'd pay less if you had any life-limiting conditions.

My parents took out a mortgage in their late 60’s. Don’t know the exact details, and won’t have been for huge sums but yes it is possible. It will all depend on your personal circumstances so I’d suggest best starting point is to talk to a whole of market broker who is going to give you all the answers you need good, bad or ugly.

My advice would be to ignore the person who isn't offering helpful advice but instead attacking those answering the set question.

YOU have decided its 'dodgy' (slanderous) based on absoloutly nothing that you have backed up. you have personally decided there are down sides without offering any advice on that to the OP (who is perfectly capable of researching herself and deciding if its suitable its LITERALLY just awareness of an option) and decided to belittle other.

I didn't post ANY opinion on the company as I have zero reason to know anything about or have bias for it. I simply made OP aware of a service (by posting a copy of the exact ad) specifically designed for people in her situation which is what she came here for.

You seem to think you 'opinion' helps but it doesn't, no one cares what you think of other posters suggestions. You have added nothing of value to the OP to this thread in any of your 3 replies, you are just attempting to derail the thread by going after other posters.

The set question is “mortgage as a pensioner”

Did you offer any advice re getting a mortgage as a pensioner? No.

@New2Us thank you so much for your advice, are mortgage brokers expensive?

I really don't want this thread to become hostile - I appreciate all responses and everyone who has taken the time to offer advice. If anyone has anything to add, or even hopeful stories to share, they are all very helpful. Could someone explain how the mortgage broker process works? Is there anything I need to look out for that is scammy?

A friend of mine has a mortgage going into her 80s, based on her pension income

A broker just checks the whole of the market for mortgage offers. They can either be free (and are paid via commission from the mortgage provider) or you can pay for one.

You will still need a deposit and ready cash for the fees (and stamp duty, depending on how expensive your area is) so there isn't really much point seeing a broker until you're in the position where you could put down a deposit.

For me it was £700 per mortgage arrangement.

Private brokers have special deals with mortgage lenders that isn't available on the high street. I have no idea why not, can only assume it has to do with commission.

I got mates rates of £100. They will vary from no cost to several hundred quid or so. I would suggest avoiding the large chains as they are factories and aren’t interested in any complexity. I think you need an independent whole of market and you can possibly find one who specialises in those at the older end of the spectrum.

Just a different suggestion but if you both took lump sums from your pensions could you buy a residential park home?. However you cant mortgage them so would need the capital.

If you can't manage bills even to the point where you have built up so much energy debt then you are clearly living beyond your means. I would focus on building up your credit score to have any hope of getting a mortgage.

We were in a similar situation and didn't try to get a mortgage because we thought we were too old. And no savings.

Then looked into the equity help to buy scheme, and with help (loan) from family with the deposit we got a mortgage at the age of 54 and 49.

4 years later we paid off the family loan and the equity loan. I have to work until I'm 72 to pay the mortgage.

It's stressful because I worry about losing my job and being too old for most companies, plus my health has suddenly worsened.

But, I feel so much more secure not relying on being evicted when I'm old and infirm. So many stories like that these days.

We used a broker from an EA who charged £500 for life. So far we've used him 4 more times. He went solo but kept us as clients at no extra cost.

It is because 85% of mortgage business for most lenders come from a broker and therefore the broker will usually get better deals for the client.

Start off with talking to a free mortgage broker such as L&C. Then move to a more specialist lender if necessary.

@SuddenlyOld thank you so much for sharing this, it gives me hope. Thank you also @KievLoverTwo , I will look into them.

You could try housing associations, the rent may be more affordable and you would have more security. It would be a good idea to work out a budget and make getting rid of the debt as a priority. This would put you in a better position whatever you decide to do. Getting a plan together will help you feel more in control. You don't have to retire at state pension age, in fact deferring your pension will boost it. Worrying about it won't help but working out and choosing the right options for you will. Good luck.

You would have to go on the housing list and be able to bid for housing. OP would need to get to the top of the list

No the question was:

How can we go about buying a home and/or securing a mortgage when we retire?

Try reading more than just the title (which wasn't a question).

She also asked for no judgement which was all your first post was. You literally called her life choices a 'mistake' and told her to 'self reflect' and 'analyse' it to become 'self aware' (shes posting for advice, so shes clearly self aware) and to correct her 'behavior'.

I would look at OPSO OP- we have a similar situation but hopefully will inherit a fair bit.

This is basically shared ownership for older people. If you draw down your 25% each on your pensions you can probably buy out the 25% share with no mortgage and you just pay controlled rent and service charge on the remainder- you can buy further shares and at 75% ownership you pay no rent- this is available on new builds

A similar scheme is available on the open market called 'your move' I think it's operated by Heylo - who are regulated. - again though you need 25% of purchase price in cash to buy a minimum of 25% share.

I used this company as a broker, they were excellent with tricky circumstances

www.simplyadverse.co.uk

What you suggested wasn’t buying a home or securing a mortgage so I don’t get your point re reading more than the title which I did.

You suggested a lifetime lease 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know Halifax do mortgages until 80 but they need to go through a broker.

How old are you? What are your predicted pension pots? Where do you live?