Will I ever be able to get a mortgage?

catkins

Myself and my husband had our house repossessed 15 years ago. Since then we have been living abroad. We have been back in England for a year and we are renting a house. The problem is our rent is £700 a month plus £120 council tax. We can manage on our wages but cannot really save much. Even flats where we are (Kent) are not much cheaper and as we have a large dog it is not really an option. Ideally we would like to rent closer to London as that is where my husband works but cannot afford to.

Anyway, what I am wondering is would we qualify for a shared ownership mortgage? I have been told only first time buyers qualify. Is this true and if so would we qualify as first time buyers as so long has elapsed since we owned a house?

I am 52 and my husband is 45 so our ages are against us also in getting any sort of mortgage.

I am very depressed at the moment as I cannot see us every having our own home again and although I do not see owning a home as the be all and end all, there is no security in private renting. Our landlord has told us he intends selling the property at the end of the year so we will have to move out.

Any ideas anyone?

Orchid

Hi catkins...

I don't know much about shared ownership but have you checked your credit file with either Experian or Equifax to see if the repossession is still showing on your file? After 15 years I would assume it would be gone but you need to check this out.

If this is the case perhaps it may be possible to apply for a mortgage assuming you have a credit history etc

You say you have been back in the country a year... do you have a current account? do you have a credit history?

I hope someone else comes along with more advice for you.

Be encouraged

catkins

Hi Orchid,

Thanks for replying - I was beginning to think nobody would! Yes I do have a current account and a good credit history for the last year. In fact I have recently obtained a credit card so they must have checked my credit history.

The trouble is we don't really earn enough to get an ordinary mortgage and it's impossible to save. Although we are paying over £700 a month rent mortgage lenders will not take this into account and only look at our salaries. They would only be willing to lend £120,000 and you just cannot buy anything for that!!!!

lisyloo

Credit accounts stay on your credit report for 6 years.
I'm not sure about repossessions but 15 years sounds too long.

You can get your credit report for £2 each from equifax and experian to check.
They also offer more expensive on-line services but they are obliged to offer it by post for £2.

Have you considered renting/buying with others or renting/living with family.

I know this isn't ideal, but it might give you a chance to save something.

stuwilky

catkins wrote:

Hi Orchid,

Thanks for replying - I was beginning to think nobody would! Yes I do have a current account and a good credit history for the last year. In fact I have recently obtained a credit card so they must have checked my credit history.

The trouble is we don't really earn enough to get an ordinary mortgage and it's impossible to save. Although we are paying over £700 a month rent mortgage lenders will not take this into account and only look at our salaries. They would only be willing to lend £120,000 and you just cannot buy anything for that!!!!

catkins

that isnt strictly true, a lot of lenders use 'affordability' criteria now ratehr than the traditional income multiples.

Might be worth fidning otu which ones do.