FTB Mortgage

Sam-Barr

Rather random question, thinking to the future here.

Single person with an income of £14k a year, but has a 20% deposit.

Are mortgages hard to come by when you are single?

firstaspect

Being single shouldn't matter, however with a £14k income you'll be unlikely to be able to borrow more than around £56k as most lenders won't go above 4x salary at the moment. Some may stretch a bit further but not much I would think.

sinbad182

That's a bit of a low income to buy and maintain a house with imo.

On top of the mortgage payments you'll have all your bills, council tax, maintenance etc. Also a service charge if you buy a flat or somewhere on common land.

Sam-Barr

How much are mortgage payments per month usually?

I have a job offer just now at £17.5k which I am waiting to hear back about, this would help me out a fair bit :-)

Also, when you see a property i the window of an estate agents and it says offers over £52,000, do they expect that to go for a lot higher than that ?

It seems a bit complicated, they don't just give a price and stick with it so I assume i'm likely to be out-bid at every turn :-(

hazyjo

Where are you? England or Scotland (or other)? Makes a big difference with regard to 'offers over'. Scotland, generally they'll go over. England - they basically don't know what it might sell for and it might even end up going for less. Depends how long it's been on the market and how much interest they've got/had.

Jx

Sam-Barr

Sorry, should have said, I'm in Scotland.
Currently living with my aunt. Can't really ask my family these questions so i really don't have a clue about mortgages or houses, it's embarrassing for me :-(
My family all live in council housing and I'm ashamed to admit what they said and how they go about their lives. I just want away from it all and to get on my own two feet.
Been told council housing list wait is 10 years and rising in my current situation.

hazyjo

Not sure I can be much help as in England.

I think you need to see how many notes of interest there have been. If none, it might be that they do a deal, or it might be that they wait. I suppose all you can do is speak with the estate agent who's selling. If there's lots of interest, it can go up loads - but nobody's going to want to pay too far over the odds, especially in this market, so I suppose you'll have to check out recently sold prices and try and get an idea yourself of what it might be worth.

Good for you, btw. Yes, it is a very low wage to be buying with, but if property prices are low, you might just manage it. Be careful you don't just end up buying something for the sake of buying. No guarantee people will take pride in their properties or that it'll be a safe place to live so make sure you do lots of research on areas. Speak to agents, colleagues, friends... and remember, google is your friend too!

btw, when you say you have a 14% deposit - of what? You mean salary, or do you have a price/property in mind?

Jx

Sam-Barr

I have 15k in the bank to put down as a deposit

hazyjo

That's a great start. Hopefully someone will be along soon who can advise you further. I'm not sure what the market's doing up there, or where would be a good place to buy.

Jx

neverdespairgirl

Sam-Barr wrote: »

Sorry, should have said, I'm in Scotland.
Currently living with my aunt. Can't really ask my family these questions so i really don't have a clue about mortgages or houses, it's embarrassing for me :-(

It's not embarrassing, no-one's born knowing about it!

Before you can buy anywhere, you'll need some savings behind you, for a deposit and moving costs, solicitors' fees, etc

Sam-Barr

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

It's not embarrassing, no-one's born knowing about it!

Before you can buy anywhere, you'll need some savings behind you, for a deposit and moving costs, solicitors' fees, etc

:j I have 15k in the bank just now but have no idea where that would get me.
It sounds crazy but maybe I could hold off and maybe save like crazy then skip the whole mortgage thing and buy outright?