Moving on post BR, help needed with a couple of queries

terr123

I will shortly be automatically discharged and am looking to the future and how to move forward. There are a few things that I would appreciate some help in clarifying

1) How long is it likely to be before myself and my girlfriend will be able to get a joint mortgage? She has a mortgaged property at present and would be looking to sell this, the proceeds would provide an approximate 20% deposit. She has not been bankrupt and has a good credit rating. She doesn't earn enough to get a sufficient mortgage on her own to get a property large enough for both mine and her children. I will be recently discharged, but had a voluntary house repossession just before BR.

2) Assuming that a mortgage will be very difficult to obtain, what would happen if we lived together in rented accommodation. I assume her income would be taken into account in repect of the amount that I currently pay to Moon Beever. How would this be calculated. I earn approximately twice as much as she does. I assume that this would also constitute a financial association and therefore affect her credit rating and our chances of a mortgage in future?

3) From the date of my bankruptcy and OR interview, it took 9 months for them to send out the IPA. This means that (contrary to my understanding at the start) it will be nearly FOUR years after the BR date that I will be liable to make payments and have my income assessed, not THREE. I queried this at the time of the IPA arriving and was told to take it up with Moon Beever and that I might be able to make a lump sum payment to 'catch up' (I saved the £50 p/m that I was informed at the OR interview I would be asked to make). What are people's thoughts on this? The terms and dates are with the OR, not Moon Beever, surely? I signed the IPA, as I didn't want to risk an IPO, but I feel a little aggrieved by this as it extends the amount of time before I can effectively move forward.

Any help would be appreciated.

fiveyearplan

I'm on my way out so can't answer in detail but the IPA will run for 36 months from inception no matter when it started.

Your girlfriend's income will have no relation to your IPA, her contribution to household expenditure may but it wouldn't be expected for her to pay 50% since she earns so much less than you.

I would think 3 years after BR you would be in a better position to get a mortgage but these things change with market demand.

terr123

Thanks for that, if you have the time to give a fuller answer, I would greatly appreciate it

fiveyearplan

terr123 wrote: »

I will shortly be automatically discharged and am looking to the future and how to move forward. There are a few things that I would appreciate some help in clarifying

1) How long is it likely to be before myself and my girlfriend will be able to get a joint mortgage? She has a mortgaged property at present and would be looking to sell this, the proceeds would provide an approximate 20% deposit. She has not been bankrupt and has a good credit rating. She doesn't earn enough to get a sufficient mortgage on her own to get a property large enough for both mine and her children. I will be recently discharged, but had a voluntary house repossession just before BR. Like everything else, mortgages go on current market trends and unfortunately at this particular time the criteria is tough. I would consult an independent mortgage advisor and see what he has to say about the current climate. You don't want to rush in and find you have an unfavourable mortgage rate. With your recent house repo I would think that doesn't look good and possibly even worse than BR so the only way to see would be to 'test the market'.

2) Assuming that a mortgage will be very difficult to obtain, what would happen if we lived together in rented accommodation. I assume her income would be taken into account in repect of the amount that I currently pay to Moon Beever. If you didn't live together when your IPA/SOA was arranged then this would create a change of circumstances that you would need to declare. Why don't you put up your agreed SOA along with a new one reflecting the change?
How would this be calculated. I earn approximately twice as much as she does. I assume that this would also constitute a financial association and therefore affect her credit rating and our chances of a mortgage in future? The only way it would create a financial association is if you had joint debts like mortgage or joint bank account - so keep everything separate.
3) From the date of my bankruptcy and OR interview, it took 9 months for them to send out the IPA. This means that (contrary to my understanding at the start) it will be nearly FOUR years after the BR date that I will be liable to make payments and have my income assessed, not THREE. I queried this at the time of the IPA arriving and was told to take it up with Moon Beever and that I might be able to make a lump sum payment to 'catch up' (I saved the £50 p/m that I was informed at the OR interview I would be asked to make). What are people's thoughts on this? The terms and dates are with the OR, not Moon Beever, surely? I signed the IPA, as I didn't want to risk an IPO, but I feel a little aggrieved by this as it extends the amount of time before I can effectively move forward. 36 months is 36 months no matter when it started. You could approach moonbeever if you wanted to pay the 9 months saying that you saved it but I'm not sure what the response would be - if your OR didn't mind I don't see why MoonBeever would - they only collect the payments and have nothing to do with setting the amount. Failing that you could open an account for the sole purpose of your IPA direct debit and deposit the money there and forget about it (well keeping an eye on it to make sure it runs smoothly).

Any help would be appreciated.

Here is more comprehensive answer!

terr123

Excellent, much appreciated!

Just to clarify a couple of things:
If we lived together (we don't at present) and we had no joint accounts etc. (which we don't) her credit rating wouldn't be affected for that point in the future when we would need it to be good in respect of a mortgage application? It's not affected by simply co-habiting?

In repect of the 36 months issue, it's more a case of it being a longer period in which changes in circumstance can force a reassessment, rather than the period I will actually pay money out. I had planned it out as I understood it that I would be free of OR interest 3 years after the BR. In reality, it will be closer to 4. That was a bit of a downer when I realised that was the case.

I will dig out my agreed SOA and put together some figures for how I think it could pan out if we lived together. If we lived together in rented, I would have to move to a more expensive property anyway, simply because we both have kids. I will post this up when I've worked it out (it may be a while, figures are not my strong point, unsurprisingly!).

Many thanks for your help.