First time buyers looking for a mortgage...

hopefulhomeowner_2

My boyfriend and I are looking to buy a house together. Between us and a very kind gift from his parents, we will have a sum of £30,000 available for us to use, so we're looking at a deposit in the region of £25k to give us enough money for the fees involved with the process. We're looking in the region of £160k purchase for a 2bed terrace house.

My question is regarding my boyfriend's salary - his is largely commission based and I'm concerned that this will affect the mortgage that we can get. He's been advised by some of his colleagues (paid in the same way) to visit a mortgage broker who have helped them out. But from what I understand about mortgage brokers, as they do not have access to all the offers we'll still have to do an awful lot of legwork to make sure that we're getting the best deal.

Given his earnings not being a set salaried amount each month, is it cost-effective to pay for a mortgage broker's service? We're both fairly un-clued-up with everything involved with buying a house and getting a mortgage so it may be that a broker is able to give us a lot of good advice as well as performing his service.

GMS

If as in your own words you are not clued up about mortgages then a broker can be of great help to you.

You are correct in that not all deals are available to brokers but this can be solved. Agree a fee with teh broker to search for direct deals for you in addition to broker ones. That way you will get the best deal available to you and the broker can help you along.

With income not being straight forward it is important to apply to the correct lenders, not necessarily the cheapest one. Any declines will impact on credit score for the next application.