Will my girlfriend's job stop us getting a mortgage?

Conrad

WalkinX wrote: »

We have decided to save up £10k each. Do you think this will be enough for London?

£20k is 10% of £200k, so is a £200k property sufficient?

90% is considered high risk lending so you'll need to present a very good case. Try not to change address or job as this undermines your credit score in general.

OzzMosiz_2

You seem to know a lot about the property market in the 90's but not a lot about housing in general.....curious!!!

Soot2006

Try to stay in your new job for a while as well -- our mortgage application required my OH's P60s from two previous years as we'd not long been on the electoral role (14 months!) in our current rented flat. From me they only wanted 3 months payslips as I earn erratically (temping/casual work) so they were more interested in my OH's stability then in mine. We were fairly low risk - 60% ltv on a solid old fashioned house in decent neighbourhood.

beecher2

WalkinX wrote: »

We have decided to save up £10k each. Do you think this will be enough for London?

As long as your salary is enough to support the mortgage which goes along with it. What would 3 or 4 times your joint salary be?

mistrihelen

There's nothing wrong with flats so long as you find one you like and are prepared to stay in for a while if you can't easily shift it.

I spent years saving for the money (well, waiting to earn enough too) to buy a house as a first-buy rather than a flat. I'm just about to achieve that, hopefully, but the truth is that if I'd bought a little flat when I'd been able to all those years ago, I'd be several rungs up the ladder already.

Idonex

beecher2 wrote: »

As long as your salary is enough to support the mortgage which goes along with it. What would 3 or 4 times your joint salary be?

Exactly.

1) Take your combined salary and multiply it by 3.5. Let's say hypothetically you have a combined salary of 40k. 40 * 3.5 is 140k. So thats the kind of figure the bank would lend you.

2) Then add on the deposit. Say you have 20k. That makes 160k. Lets say thats fine because you can buy somewhere for 160k.

3) Work out LTV. Selling price divided by mortgage amount * 100. 160 / 140 * 100 = 87.5%. Would be ok for a mortgage on that, albeit with a rubbish interest rate.

As to how do FTBs buy in London. They don't. Not until they are older, they have a huge salary or rich parents. I'm 32 and have rented pretty much my entire life and am only now in a position to buy.

Honestly mate, rent for a while and see how you like London. Far less people own in London.. Just the way it is unfortunately.

WalkinX

Thanks for the advice.

I am currently on £17,985 a year. Not sure if I get an annual pay rise. Not sure if I can go for promotions after a bit (last few peopl ein my job did so it might be possible). It is in the civil service though is a non departmental body of ther service so not sure how secure it is but I think it is?

My girlfriend is paid weekly, a little less now thye cut the overtime payments but I think its a few hundred a week. I estimate £300 though I may be wrong.

The show is on is booked until next year though she has started to display some displeasure about th eplace so not sur eho wlong she is staying but I think for awhile.

I am hoping to break into writing, I have some success with my own graphic novel coming ou tnext year but am still a long way from the even moderate bucks never mind big bucks.

My girlfriend is determined to saty in london. I moved form Leeds, I know for a fact we can get a good semi detached for a lot cheaper then a flat down here but she won't move.

As for my knowledge I did follow the news and various bits of info over the years but I have never sat down and learent about mortgages as it were. Plus my maths is pretty poor really so I kind of avoided it, though I can't afford it now.

FTB really have that har a time in London? I mean it's not like I was gonna buy in the centre but a place not too far out with some good tube and or rail lines was what I was thinking.

Phirefly

Based on your salary plus your girlfriend being employed for 48 weeks of the year, with the traditional 3.5x gross salary multiple, banks would be prepared to offer you a mortgage of £113,347. That plus your 20K deposit means you're looking at £133347 to spend on a property.

I say 'traditional' as more and more, banks are looking at your capacity to make the monthly repayments rather than a fixed salary multiple. Factored into that as you identified in your thread title is the nature of your girlfriends employment.

A mortgage is a heavy commitment and as such needs to be supported by a heavy commitment to earning a regular income. Displaying displeasure about a contract job doesn't much sound like a basis for financial commitment.

You are doing the right thing setting savings goals and a 20k deposit is sensible. If your girlfriend has an annual income of £14400, its going to take her a while to reach that goal.

The best thing you can do now is accept its going to be a long haul before you own your own place - 2 years at least unless your incomes dramatically increase. Its a bugg*r but thats the way it is and everyone's in the same boat to a greater or lesser degree.

WalkinX

My gf is currently getting £380 a week. I think she is sticking it out there and does enjoy the work so she willbe there for awhile or if she does move - move into another job of the same calbire on another show.

2 years? Damn.

Indeed. Bloody banks and credit crunch.

Why is it that the consensu is that high house prices ar e a good idea? It's partially that that got us in the mess in the first place! Grrr!

ViolaLass

£130k isn't high for a house in London, especially one in a 'decent' area, with good links into the centre. Funnily enough, there's quite a bit of competition for these kinds of places! You are trying to buy in the most expensive place in the country so it's no surprise that you would struggle.

When you said that you have each decided to save £10k, did you actually sit down and work out how long it would take you?