Advice Needed - I don't know what to do

Mrs_Y

Hi all,

My husband and I are first time buyers. We have just received the contracts from our solicitors and read through these and signed them. We have agreed a moving in date of 24th June (2 weeks).

Everything has been going surprisingly well and the sale seems to have been stress free for us. Then, yesterday my husband was called into a meeting and told that his job is officially at risk of redundancy and he has a 30 day consultation period.

His job is definitely being moved to the other end of the country, and at the moment there are no available positions that he can apply for within his company.

After the 30 day consultation period, the likelihood is that he will be put on gardening leave for his notice period (7 weeks).

Also, to make things more complicated, I am also 13 weeks pregnant with our first child.

I am really unsure of what we should do next? Do we need to advise the mortgage lender and our solicitor? Should we go ahead with the sale and hope that he find a new job as soon as possible?

I think with the 30 day consultation period, 7 weeks PILON payment, and statutory redundancy pay, we have about 4 months before we are living on just my wages.

Arghh! I thought everything was too simple! Has anyone else been in this position, what did you do?

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated.

gordonbennet

I'm sorry to hear about this uncertainty that you're being thrown into.

Presumably although you have signed the contracts they have not been returned to your solicitor? Or your solicitor has not yet exchanged them with the vendors solicitor?

I think at this stage you really need to discuss the position with your solicitor as going ahead with this potential major change in your financial circumstances (without telling the mortgage co) is probably a breach of your mortgage conditions. But the solicitor can advise you. They will have experience too of what options are open to you.

Good luck.

flora48

If contracts haven't been exchaged then nothing is legally binding. Contracts can be signed weeks in advance of exchange.

I am sorry to hear of your uncertain situation but IMHO it would be best to put a hold on things as until the work situation is sorted you may not be able to get a mortgage. Even if you could scrape by any default could mean a reposession, think carefully.

Speak to your solicitor and the EA ASAP.
You also need to reduce the stress with a little one on the way. Hope things will pan out fpr you.Good luck

Mrs_Y

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply. At the moment we haven't posted the signed contracts back to our solicitor. We do have a couple of queries regarding our solicitors report regarding some work that is being planned on the flats in the next few years, so we have emailed her regarding this.

I think it probably is best to give our solicitor a call on Monday to discuss the situation.

I feel confident that my husband will be able to find another job soon as he had an unexpected job offer 3 months ago, but turned it down,as it didn't seem like the right time as we were planning to move etc. He does have about 6 ex mananagers that now work for other companies that he can contact and see if there are any positions available. It is just a case of whether there is a position available, and if not, how long will it take for one to come up.

When I spoke to some work colleagues about the situation they said to go ahead with the sale and not tell the solicitor or bank, but this instantly sounded quite risky to me.

I wouldn't want to be in the position of moving house, then my husband not finding a job for months and months, and then me going on maternity leave, as then we would end up getting behind on the mortgage and bills.

In one way I keep wondering if it would be better to pull out of the deal now, and look for somewhere else to rent. The look at getting a mortgage in the future. At least that way we would have the deposit money to live on if it takes longer than expected for my husband to find a job...

Between the two of us, this is the 4th redundancy scare in the last 5 years, so it's not the redundancy that is freaking me out, just the timing of it all with the stage we are at with buying the flat.

Let's hope for a lottery win tonight

taxsaver

Hard as it may be, I think you would be wiser to pull out of the purchase until things are more certain for you again. You might even have to consider relocating for work, so not being tied by a house would be very beneficial. As you say, not only would you have all his redundancy pay etc., but also your saved deposit to fall back on which would keep you afloat for a prolonged period.

The other thing that you mentioned, which would worry me, is the questions that you have about possible future maintenance costs on the flat.... such costs can sometimes be very high and the prospect of being hit with those could really mess you up.

pmlindyloo

I also agree that pulling out would be the best thing in the circumstances. Your husband may find another job but he may not!.

Since you are pregnant (congratulations by the way) I am sure that you would have less stressed if you pulled out and then when you know more about the job situation and are financially secure you can decide what to do.

What is your current housng situation? From what you say it suggests that you are living with relatives?

Renting may be the answer but be careful as you will have to pass credit checks and if your husband is unemployed it may be more difficult to get a tenancy. However, not impossible! (Lots of further advice from people if you go this route)

Mrs_Y

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your replies. My first thought was that it would be better to pull out of the move at the moment until the job situation is clearer.

I think what is putting off my husband from doing this is that he may find a job quite quickly, and then we would have lost out on the flat for no reason. Also, I think he is loathe to lose the money we have spent so far on the mortgage booking fee, searches and survey. I think also, everyone that we have spoken to has advised to go ahead with the move anyway (as already mentionned this seems very risky to me).

At the moment we are renting a flat. I have double checked and we only have to give one months notice to leave, so I think once we are in a better position job wise we will be able to move quickly.

I think the other thing worrying my husband is that the mortgage offer from the bank is open for 3 months, and he doesn't want to go through a mortgage application again, as it is likely that his salary will be lower when he gets a new job (he currently has an okay salary, but gets a generous car allowance, plus a quarterly bonus).

Also, will it make a difference in reapplying for the mortgage if I'm pregnant (as the bank will know that I'm going to be on maternity leave and therefore have a lower income)?

I wouldn't be devasted if we can't go ahead with buying the flat, but I would be disappointed. As someone mentionned, we do need to consider the works needed on the block in addition to everything else, as this is another expense.

I will ask Mr_Y to call the solicitor on Monday regarding the job situation, and take it from there. I am sure we can't be the first people that this has happened to...

On the pregnancy side, I think being pregnant is actually stopping me from getting stressed about all of this as I can't really afford to get stressed! I just want to make sure that we explore all avenues and don't rush into a decision one way or another and end up regretting it. Nothing in life is ever certain, but at least if we have researched as much as possible, we can try to make the most informed decision.

I'll keep you all posted!

ruggedtoast

The solicitor is also working for the mortgage lender and as such is obliged to pass on any information that party may need to protect their interests. The conveyancer may offer you an informal off the record chat or they may just get on the phone to the bank, their other client.

If the lender think your husband is about to lose his job they will pull your mortgage. If they find this out after you have exchanged contracts and before you complete you are absolutely screwed.

If you really want to go through with buying the flat you would be better off trying to get your husbands employer to hold off with the redundancy for a couple of weeks.

t0rt0ise

My daughter got a mortgage while actually on maternity leave so the pregnancy part is not likely to be a problem.

PasturesNew

These are the simple 'facts':
- you've not exchanged, so not legally obliged to buy it
- your husband's situation has changed - and that change must be conveyed to the lenders (it's part of the mortgage paperwork).
- if you continue with the purchase and the lender finds out (they usually/often do) they could pull the mortgage from under your feet between exchange and completion and you'd be right in the !!!!!! and you'd be sued by the seller for a hefty sum
- lenders are unlikely to like a new job on an application, and he's not even got a new job yet. His current mortgage offer is now invalid due to the change of circumstances.

The only way forward really is for you to pull out of the purchase, but gracefully and with full disclosure to the sellers/EA as to why you're doing it... letting them know that should your husband gain another job, then you'd still be interested in pursuing a purchase at that time IF he's mortgageable. If you want to be 'really British' about it, you could hand write a nice card to the sellers, setting out your position, so they're 100% sure of your intention and that you weren't just pulling the wool over their eyes.

That way you've got out of it by the skin of your teeth - and - left the door open should things change and the house still be available.

See where you're at in 2-3 months' time when the dust has settled.

kingstreet

Mrs_Y wrote: »

His job is definitely being moved to the other end of the country

So this place you're buying is near to where his job would be moved to?