FTB - Mortgage & general borrowing advice

Coppice

Hi everyone,

I'm currently looking to buy my first property. My current position:

Annual salary £28,500
Non-guaranteed bonus ~£1,500
£26,000 deposit
Experian credit score is 999

My girlfriend (who I live with) is ill and unable to work. She currently gets by largely with savings from inheritance. For the mortgage I am planning to be the sole applicant. Will I have to declare her as a dependent during the application process?

Secondly, I have 9 solid years banking history with Lloyds TSB, will this provide a more favourable loan amount over other providers or should I consult a mortgage broker to get the best deal?

Coppice

Can anyone help with my questions? (apologies if they are naive)

I'm thinking about approaching L&C - is this a good move?

Thrugelmir

How do you intend to protect your girlfriends interests?

Whilst you may wish to hide her from the mortgage lender. Suggest you think through the implications if anything was to happen to you. Buying a property is a long term commitment.

Could she release some money to aid buying the property?

Coppice

Hi there,

Thank you very much for taking time to reply. I had a long conversation with my girlfriend after your reply and we're both ready for the long term commitment.

Both are families are in good financial places, so we would be fairly secure with repayments if anything were to happen to me. I also have a generous death in service policy which will pay off mortgage if the worse were to happen.

We could potentially borrow £30-40K interest free (or as a guarantor) to put towards a deposit if needed, with liberal pay back terms. Ideally, I wouldn't want to take this up unless needed. We're looking at properties in the £140-£160,000 range.

Would you recommend going through L&C, a local broker or Lloyds TSB?

Many thanks

ACG

Do you have figures in mind that you are looking at?

In general i would say a mortgage of no more than around £110k + deposit on top.

Its worth speaking with lloyds and a mortgage advisor - atleast then you have the best of the 2 of them.

As a side note, as the mortgage is solely reliant on yourself - make sure you have a look at PHI/Income Protection (long term not short term), if the worst wasnt to happen but the next worst - ie you wernt able to work, you would be financially screwed...however any decent mortgage advisor will discuss this with you - if they dont, get rid and find a new one, also dont buy it through your bank it will be more expensive.

Coppice

Hi ACG,

Thanks for your helpful insights. I went to see Lloyds and the advisor said I should be able to borrow between £109-£137,000. My salary has increased by an extra £1,000 per annum since then. There was no formal application though as, at the time, I thought I was not on the electoral roll, however my girlfriend had registered us back in November :beer:

Was the £110,000 figure you provided the amount I should look to borrow or how much I can expect to be lent?

Thanks for the income protection tip also, that's very helpful. Much to learn and experience.