Moving advice...self employed/moving etiquette..

T-Sil

Hi all

Hoping for some advice about moving - we are second time buyers.

We have a 2 bed flat in Surrey, currently worth around 220k minimum, with a mortgage of 174k left.

We just had a baby 4 months ago so we are running out of space and would like to look at moving, but we have a few quirks that might throw a spanner in the works.

My DH went self employed (ltd company, director, takes dividends every month) almost 2 years ago. He is a contractor in IT, so he gets a daily rate.
I have found a specialist whole of market broker who deal with contractors all the time so that's ok.

I am currently on maternity leave, and earn 26k full time when I go back in Oct.
DH has no debt at all, but in my name we have 6k on a credit card which is from doing work on the house etc.
Do you think it would be better to just get the new mortgage in my husbands name so not to complicate things? If so, does that mean only his name can be on the deeds, meaning I wouldn't own any of the house?

Does anyone have any idea what sort of interest rate we would get on a mortgage? Also, the mortgage we have now was for 30 yrs, could we likely increase it to 35 yrs? (He is 35, I am 30 - if that makes a difference?)

We will have 10% deposit on a house worth about 310,000 after stamp duty, fees etc.

Also could anyone advise on moving etiquette....we don't want to rush into buying the next house as we plan to be there a long time, but I *think* our flat will sell relatively quickly. If we accept an offer on ours and then it takes some time to find the right place for us, is that ok? Do most people know this might happen?
I am starting to look now of course but haven't done any viewings because we aren't in a great position until ours is at least on the market right?

Thank you to anyone who can offer advice!

T-Sil

Wow 80 views and no replies....is my situation that bad? lol

tim123456789

T-Sil wrote: »

Also could anyone advise on moving etiquette....we don't want to rush into buying the next house as we plan to be there a long time, but I *think* our flat will sell relatively quickly. If we accept an offer on ours and then it takes some time to find the right place for us, is that ok? Do most people know this might happen?
I am starting to look now of course but haven't done any viewings because we aren't in a great position until ours is at least on the market right?

!

No it's not OK to string your buyer along whilst you look for somewhere.

If you don't have a contingency for moving out in a timely way you will likely lose them

tim

T-Sil

tim123456789 wrote: »

No it's not OK to string your buyer along whilst you look for somewhere.

If you don't have a contingency for moving out in a timely way you will likely lose them

tim

Do you honestly think from my post that that is what my intentions are? This is why I am doing research now and asking for advice.
We have only ever been first time buyers so we don't know what happens when in a chain or what normal practices are.
Thank you for your reply anyway, jeez!

mhmmhm

I feel it depends on what you mean by 'some time' - some people might think that 4 weeks is ages whereas others would think that 3-4 months was perfectly normal!!

You can't realistically expect an offer to be accepted on a place you want to buy until you have an offer on your property; everyone accepts this. However, if you think it's going to take 2 years for you to find your ideal property, you will probably need to think about renting in the interim!

moneyistooshorttomention

tim123456789 wrote: »

No it's not OK to string your buyer along whilst you look for somewhere.

If you don't have a contingency for moving out in a timely way you will likely lose them

tim

From which I assume you are a FTB buyer yourself...

The thing is that everyone wants what THEY want for themselves personally and this is obviously where a lot of the stress of housebuying and selling comes in.

I'm just the same - I want what I want for me.

The best compromise - being fair to everyone - both myself and my buyer that I can come up with is I put my house on the market first and then get a good look at houses where I am going a few weeks later. If my buyer turns up on Day 1 of the house on the market, then they turn up on Day 1. On the other hand - they might not turn up till Day 31 or Day 61. If I let potential buyers be totally selfish and push me around, then I'd start selling to them the very day they put in an offer, but I am a person too and not just a convenient owner of the house they want and I have no intention of being pushed into rented to suit them.

I will try and be as fair to them as I can - but I also expect that they will treat me like a human being and I will do my best to ensure we are BOTH considered and not just them and what they want.

So - OP I think its perfectly fair to want a buyer to wait a few weeks if need be for you to find yours and thoroughly selfish of them if they want to push you out into rented to suit them. If a buyer has only fixed up a 3 month mortgage deal, then thats their lookout. They should have fixed up one of the 6 month or longer ones and not expect you (as vendor) to "cover for them" by getting shoved out to suit them.

T-Sil

Thank you PP, much more sensible advice!
I think all I can do is start looking at houses online now so when it comes to it we can be selective and narrow potential houses down fairly quickly.
With a small baby we would ideally not want to go into rented but if needs must then needs must.

If anyone had any advice about the self employed mortgage part of my question it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

kingstreet

If you aren't named on the mortgage, you won't be named on the property ownership. The lender will insist on both.

The rate will depend on which lender the broker places you with and whether you want a fix or tracker and over, 2, 3, 5 years etc.

tsg20

Don't forget that you could always think about renting for a short period once you've sold your place, to give you both the space to buy chain free-- might not be ideal with the little one, but might be easier than trying to do everything at once!

hazyjo

Thought you said the self-employed part was sorted, that's probably why nobody's mentioned it. From what I've heard, most mortgage providers will require 2-3 years' accounts.

I doubt they'll give you both a 35 year mortgage.

Too many variables to say on the mortgage - the best thing is to put your figures into a widely available online calculator (I like the YBS one) to see what they can offer you. Obviously the interest rate won't be the best with 10% deposit.

Remember the extra costs. Not just stamp duty, fees, etc, but removals, valuation (and associated mortgage costs), survey (presume you're allowing for solicitors and estate agents (plus VAT)). I'm buying/selling atm and my estimated total is somewhere around the £15k mark!

Would be better including your £26k and wait until you're back at work, I think. It's enough to make a substantial difference. You will need to clear that credit card or they'll knock that (and some) off what they'll lend you.

I would look around to see what's out there - but not if you let your heart rule your head. Chances are, you'll lose it. But you should at least know that you can afford what it is you want, plus when you do get a buyer, it'll make them more likely to offer if they know you have somewhere to go.

Do not offer on anything until you have a complete chain below though.

Everyone thinks their place will sell quickly, but reality's often different.

Despite what MITSTM says, no, most people will not wait for an indefinite period. Your buyer will want to get started on their purchase, but would be mad to pay a penny until the chain's complete. If I found somewhere and they had nowhere to go (say two months later), I would still be looking around and would pull out if something else came on the market I was interested in. (I would not do that after a complete chain without an incredibly good reason!) I've been let down too many times where people have pulled out cos they can't find somewhere to go!

Good luck!

Jx

tim123456789

T-Sil wrote: »

Do you honestly think from my post that that is what my intentions are? This is why I am doing research now and asking for advice.
We have only ever been first time buyers so we don't know what happens when in a chain or what normal practices are.
Thank you for your reply anyway, jeez!

so what did you mean by:

"If we accept an offer on ours and then it takes some time to find the right place for us, is that ok?"

then?

Jeez!