General Advice...

qwertyq

My girlfriend and I are looking into buying a home and were after other peoples opinions on our situation and the current state of the housing market.

Our joint fixed income is 56k (mine 30k, partners 26k) although I do some contract work (an unreliable income) that totals around 10k per year extra. I have 1 debt, a 9k student loan and my girlfriends is 14k (is it me or do these dam student loans never seem to go down?). My girlfriend also has a 7k graduate loan.

Since clearing all my other debts (12k of it - woohoo) I have a monthly expenditure (including everything) of £400 and my girlfriends is £600. I have managed with my contract work (and having no life) to not only clear up my finances up but also to raise 10k and in 4 months time that will have hopefully increased to 17.2k. My company also have a scheme to pay 5k of expenses in buying a house should I do so within the next year.

The problem of course is just how much houses have risen to. Even a small terrace around here is £180k (unfortunately moving around is a pain because of transport links and my job). The property’s that fit the bill range from £220k to £250k (which is unrealistic and we have lowered our expectations massively!).

Looking around for website quotes yields borrowing of 160k to 180k max. When my girlfriend comes back from being abroad on business, and at the end of the tax year, we will go and see a mortgage adviser but I'm after some general advice and words of caution from a wider audience, especially given the uncertainty in the housing market. I wouldnt be worrying about the timescale if it wasnt for the 5k my company is offering.

Curious_Moose

Just a suggestion, but have you considered factoring a lodger into the finances and going for a better property? £300 pcm rent = £3600 pa which would pay the interest on a further £65,000 (assuming a 5.5% interest rate).

I think some lenders will provide a mortgage on this basis. Anyway, just a thought!

chivers1977

Even a small terrace around here is £180k (unfortunately moving around is a pain because of transport links and my job). The property’s that fit the bill range from £220k to £250k (which is unrealistic and we have lowered our expectations massively!).

So why not go for a small terrace then. You will have your deposit plus the mortgage won't be shockingly huge.

qwertyq

...becuase I have a hobby that requires a garage otherwise a terrace is fiine

Being that the sum of borrowing is going to be high (who isnt it high for nowerdays) then we are probably going to have to be in there for some time and TBH as sad as it sounds my hobby keeps me sane.

TBH I shouldnt have posted this becuase while Ive been working my !!! off clearing debt and saving a deposit - I havent really got any sound financial advice - going to this weekend though.

As for a lodger - if it was me on my own then I would have no problem but my gf isnt keen on the idea. Good suggestion though!