I have no idea....

lkmc01

I live in a univeristy halls of resistence with my partner and my two year old son. I am studying full time. My contract finishes with the uni accommodation at the end of August 2009. By then I hope to have saved up about £15,000 of my student loan. I am looking at continued studying into a masters. The masters will then be Sep 09 - end of Dec 2010.

I am 23 years old and my partner is 25 years old. I have not worked in 2 years, but my partner works full time and has been doing for 6 years now. He is not self employed or anything like that and has a good steady wage.

I know on the current market it is hard to get a mortgage, but

I was wondering in Sep 2009 do you think we could get a mortgage? Here are the details -

I wouldn't be working and not getting any money.
My partner would be working full time on about £20,000 a year before deductions.
We get about £2000 a year on tax credits and the £18.80 a week child benefit.
We would be looking at a house at about £80,000 - £100,000 and would have about £15,000 deposit.

Apart from the deposit what else fo I have to pay?
Stamp duty? Fees? I am clueless.

We have no other loans or debts (apart from my student loan) and have no credit problems. But if I continued into a masters I would not be earning anything.

Looking at our budget we could afford about £700 a month for either a mortgage or rent. If we continued to rent until I finished my masters we would be paying about £550 a month for a 3 bed semi or detached house and would therefore be able to save more even without me working.

I know it might be a little early to ask but

• what do you think our chances are of getting a mortgage?
• apart from the deposit what other money (stamp duty, fees) will we need? In the current situation would we be paying stamp duty on a house at about £80,000 to £100,000?

lisyloo

what do you think our chances are of getting a mortgage?

Quite good for £80K, not so good for £100K
But bear in mind that pricea re currently falling.

apart from the deposit what other money (stamp duty, fees) will we need?

Legal fees.
survey fees
mortgage application fees.
removals
curtains and any furnishings you require.

In the current situation would we be paying stamp duty on a house at about £80,000 to £100,000?

No stamp duty below £120K.

lkmc01

I know about the removals and furnishings but how much could I expect to pay for -

Legal fees
survey fees (what are theses?)
mortgage application fees


I was hoping my first year graduate free overdraft of £2000 would cover the above and then pay the overdraft off in line with the following: -

free overdraft in the 1st year - £2000
free overdraft in the 2nd year- £1000
free overdraft in the 3rd year - £500

lisyloo

Legal fees

A couple of hundred unless there are any issues.

survey fees (what are theses?)

Your lender will want to send a surveyor round to value the property (to make sure there are no major problems).
You should also to check the general state of the property.
There are 3 types - valuation, homebuyers report and full structural survey.
Most people go for the middle one.
They will check for damp, wiring problems etc. and you'll get a report.
Again a few hundred.

mortgage application fees

Anythign from £300 to £3500 depending on what deal you choose.
You will have a choice.

Personally I am quite pessimistic about the current economic outlook and you may do well to wait.
I know you do not want to buy immediate but prices have risen for 15 years, they could fall for many years to come, so do some research and look at your options.
If houses continue to fall sharply you might be better renting for a while.

lkmc01

I am just trying to work out if its best for me to do a masters and not be earning or to be earning probably less since I wouldn't have a masters, but be able to contribute towards the mortgage

lisyloo

Have you looked at salaries both with and without the qualification.
Personally in my industry (IT) we tend to look down on people with "too many" qualifications thinking that having been in academia for so long that they may not be ideally suited to being pragmatic in the real world where compromises are often required.

However it does very much depend on your particular industry.

lkmc01

i am studying a general undergraduate environmental science degree at the moment and want to go into the masters of environmental science for businesses. This will bring in work experience and tailor my degree in the direction I would like to work in