4.5x salary for professional, with complications...

rubuhoeikanaika

Hi all,

I'm an academic who started this academic year (in Sept) and earn just under £40k. I have about £130/month in student loans. I'd like to get a mortgage for £180k or so, which is just over 4.5x salary. I know this sounds crazy, but...

• As an academic I'm on a salary spine, so I'm looking at pay rises of about £1k per year, plus inflation. (I should also go up a grade in about 5-6 years.) Does anyone know whether the scottish widows professional pensions are open to academics, or if there are any other such?
• My wife has a decent income from family inherited rental houses abroad... comes to about £1500 a month. But much of it is in various complicated forms, and so we were thinking it might be simpler to get a mortgage in my own name only. As someone who grew up pretty poor, I also don't 'trust' this income.
• But this does mean that affordability is much better than it looks -- at the moment we are saving all that income for a deposit, and should have £20k by the summer.

Is this all crazy? Unfortunately £200k is about the cost of the cheapest terraced houses around here.

amnblog

To be treated as a Professional you need to be registered with the General Teaching Council.


4.5 x income will be your limit but there is an affordability calculation on top of this which your student loan will impact (and it sounds like you are paying less currently than you should be).


Take the advice of someone who does mortgages for Professionals every day and engage a broker who specialises in Professionals cases.

rubuhoeikanaika

Thanks for the advice, but I'm puzzled by some of the things you said:

amnblog wrote: »

To be treated as a Professional you need to be registered with the General Teaching Council.

I suppose that's my question -- as far as I can tell, academics (uni teachers) don't register with that council, which is for school teachers, right? Do SW or any other organisation do professional mortgages for academics?

4.5 x income will be your limit but there is an affordability calculation on top of this which your student loan will impact (and it sounds like you are paying less currently than you should be).

Agreed about the affordability, but what makes you say that I'm paying less than I should be? Just ran my income through the calculator, and it comes bang on at the actual amount (about £140 not £130, sorry).

Take the advice of someone who does mortgages for Professionals every day and engage a broker who specialises in Professionals cases.

Of course I will have to get a broker down the line, but since we are far off having a deposit saved, I'm just wondering in general terms.

SternMusik

amnblog wrote: »

To be treated as a Professional you need to be registered with the General Teaching Council.

This is news to me. So, even though I am a university academic in a permanent research and teaching role I'm not a 'professional' because I am not registered with this organisation?

Interesting.

OP, I had no problems getting a mortgage. I took out 4 x salary but they would have lent me 4.5 x salary.

SternMusik

rubuhoeikanaika wrote: »

Do SW or any other organisation do professional mortgages for academics?

I am not sure what a 'professional mortgage' is. (Do you mean preferential terms?). In my search for my own mortgage I haven't come across a lender who discriminates against academics in any way. I had the pick of the top deals at the time. (I had been in my permament role less than six months when I applied.)

You are an employee who works at a university. Shouldn't be a problem at all.

rubuhoeikanaika

SternMusik wrote: »

I am not sure what a 'professional mortgage' is. (Do you mean preferential terms?). In my search for my own mortgage I haven't come across a lender who discriminates against academics in any way. I had the pick of the top deals at the time. (I had been in my permament role less than six months when I applied.)

You are an employee who works at a university. Shouldn't be a problem at all.

I'm afraid to say that you don't seem to know what you're talking about on this one. Some lenders do mortgages for certain professions only. The main example I can find is Scottish Widows:

http://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/bank/mortgages/prof_intro.html

SternMusik

rubuhoeikanaika wrote: »

I'm afraid to say that you don't seem to know what you're talking about on this one. Some lenders do mortgages for certain professions only. The main example I can find is Scottish Widows:

http://www.scottishwidows.co.uk/bank/mortgages/prof_intro.html

This sounds just like a normal offset mortgage? They seem to offer slightly lower interest rates on their 'professional' range compared to their 'flexible' range which seems to be for everyone.

What I am trying to say is you don't need a 'professional' mortgage (whatever that means). You just need a mortgage. A broker will be able to advise you which are the best deals out there that are available to you.

amnblog

Our OP may be able to get higher lending by utilising a product specifically aimed at 'professional' applicants provided they meet the lenders definition of a professional.