Advice should we RTB or not and could we get a 20yr mortgage?

Miss_Cakey_Bun

Hi there have been reading on here for a few weeks in the hope of getting some advice and have got loads of info but we are not sure if we would be mad or not to buy our Council House...some advice would be very welcome:o
Husband is 55 this year and in July will start to get a £13,000 a year (index linked) pension on top of his wages (works full time)
I am 38 and also work full time
we have 4 years left to pay on a £20000 loan at £380 a month
and currently pay £400 a month council rent
Our council house is valued at £178,000 ( we live just outside london!) and we can get a £34,000 discount on the price from the council.
The question is this should we buy the house? in 10 years time when my husband retires (and gets a 2nd pension) we intend to move to the west country (close to his roots and friends) and the only way we can see of doing this is to buy our house so we can look at downsizing then to somewhere we want.
We cant afford to pay the repayments required for a 10yr mortgage but given my husbands age are we likley to get a longer term mortgage?
Also what do you think about trying to get a mortgage for £150,000 and include the loan on it so freeing up nearly £400 a month we are currently paying out? I understand that we will end up paying more if we add the loan to the mortgage (if they let us) but paying the mortgage would be so much easier with that extra £400.
I know we will have the extra income from his pension but with 4 kids and 4 grandchildren money is easily spent.
What pitfalls can people see from this and what sort of mortgage do you think we would best of looking for?
Oh and husband has a good credit rating (previosly had mortgage with ex wife and never late on payments etc) - mine is ok but with a couple of 6yr ago CCJ care of ex partner:eek: :eek: :eek:
I have done a Martin style investigation on income and expenditure too and we are just (only just) in credit every month:T

Any and all advice very very welcome

UK007BullDog

I suggest you see a whole of market broker. As you husband will get a pension and you are still young and can still work there are lenders who will lend into retirement hence making it more affordable for you and also giving you a chance to pay off the mortgage.

As long as your property is not a concrete job or a high rise flat/maisonette over the 4th floor I cannot see a problem.

You just have to make sure you can afford it now and once your partner is a pensioner.

I suggest you get all your documents (including the pension details and future incomes) and let the broker work out the best route for you with all costings. Remember you also have to pay for stamp duty, solicitor and otehr associated costs.

I would suggest you try to get a repayment mortgage as you get more equity out of the property when you move, as no one can tell what the future might bring (housing crash etc.).

Miss_Cakey_Bun

thats very help full thank you. Its a 30's well built council house in a nice town in the southeast sand hous prices have risen quite well here. The area is also good as its 10 minutes walk from the station with a 20 minute trip to London and close to reasonable schools etc.

We are also looking at a small lump sum in the summer so that would help with fees stamp duty etc etc.

So we will look over figures again and agin to make sure...due you thinkits best top look for mortgage before starting the RTB process as that is quite time sensitive?

Thank again

UK007BullDog

Well do read your RTB documents as you have only a limited time to respond. So you might have to write to the council and tell them you want to take up the offer however you want to buy a little bit later and wait what they say and if they agree to it.

In the mean time pull your credit records off experian or equifax and then go to a local broker to help you with the calculations so that you get an idea of the monthly payments coming your way. As you seem to have the need to budget and due to the RTB I suggest a 3 year fixed as you do not want to remortgage within the 3 yr period as councils are so slow and mess about if you remortgage before that. If you fix you cannot remortgage or add another secured loan without incuring penalty fees.

HTH

UK007BullDog

I would say visit a couple of fees free brokers and your local bank to get a feel of what mortgages are all about and see what they offer you.

Miss_Cakey_Bun

thanks again...Great advice :-)