First time buyer with slightly unusual circumstances

jamestap

Hi All,

I'm 25 years old and currently live with parents. I am in a good job earning approx £36k (that's guaranteed, I get a bonus of approx £5k in addition dependent on my performance). I've also managed to amass savings of just under £25k.

I'm now looking to get my own place for the first time and would love some advice as I have a slightly unusual plan for a first-time buyer.

I've done some rough calculations and believe I could reasonably afford a mortgage of up to £140k, adding this to my savings would potentially mean I could afford a house of up to £165k. My savings would represent a deposit of approx 15% which I believe is reasonable.

My first question is that, whilst I would be the sole applicant for the mortgage, my girlfriend would move in with me and contribute c. £400/month towards the mortgage and bills. The reason it wouldn't be a joint application is simply because we've only been together a year, have never lived together before, and don't want to be tied by a mortgage should things go wrong down the line. Do any lenders consider this potential income when assessing my circumstances? If it's relevant, she earns approx £21k.

Secondly, we both have plans to travel the world for 6 months towards the end of next year. The plan is basically to establish a home, live there for a year and then go travelling. We would look to rent the property out whilst we were gone. We'd also look to save up a contingency of a few thousand pounds just in case.

I've read some stuff about buy-to-let mortgages being different - would this apply in this circumstance, or as it's just effectively a very long holiday, would a normal mortgage be OK?

I'd really appreciate any comments/thoughts/feedback on my questions, ideas and assumptions!

Best Regards,

James

_Andy_

Hi James

You've worked out what you can afford, but that isn't what lenders are going to give you (think more 4-4.5x income)

The income from your OH won't be taken into account.

jamestap

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your reply! £140k is 3.88x my guaranteed salary or 3.44x my on-target salary - is that unrealistic?

Cheers,

James

iscrimger

They won't take your girlfriends payment of £400 a month into account. I have a similar set of circumstances and they said they wouldn't take that income because there is no guarantee it will always be there.

It would only count if your girlfriend became a legal tenant at the property but you would be required to go through all the official process of becoming a landlord and ensuring your property meets the relevant H&S requirements. You would also be required to set up a legal tenancy for her. It's really not worth it with the additional cost and hassle.

As for going travelling for 6 months, I think each lender varies. Most mortgages are issued for the applicant only and doesn't permit the renting unless you have a special type of mortgage. I think you'd need to contact lenders to confirm their position on this. I suppose there is nothing to stop you simply renting out the property at a later date provided you can still make the regular mortgage payments. It will however probably breach the terms of your mortgage, and if you start defaulting they would probably take action to take possession of the property.

_Andy_

jamestap wrote: »

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your reply! £140k is 3.88x my guaranteed salary or 3.44x my on-target salary - is that unrealistic?

Cheers,

James

Sorry my maths were way off, had skim-read and used the 25k..doh!

Yep 3.88 is achievable