Can't get a mortgage due to one of us not earning

purplestar133

We have a large deposit for a house, about 60%. 40 of that is a gift from my partner's father and 20 is my own savings.

My partner is not working at the moment, though he has worked part time for a about 6 months during this tax year. I work and earn just under 16000. To some people, that might not seem a lot but I have saved a large deposit on my own, I am careful with money and my rent is a lot more expensive than a mortgage would be. So I can afford a mortgage.

We've been speaking to a mortgage adviser who didn't think we'd have a problem getting a mortgage because of the large deposit, but it has now turned out that we can't get enough because my partner isn't earning.

I would be happy to have the mortgage in my name only but the mortgage adviser says the lender must have my partner on the mortgage due to gift from his parents being part of it. Is that right? Is it also right that to be on the deeds you have to be on the mortgage?

I'm trying to think of a way around this. If I get a mortgage on my own with my own savings as a deposit and no gift from anyone, I will be about 20-30,000 short of what I need (I've got an AIP). That is frustrating as I have saved what I think is a big deposit! And I can afford to pay a larger mortgage.

How much would my partner need to earn for us to get that extra 20-30,000?

Is there anything we can do apart from waiting a year, earning some more money and trying again?

Having said that, I requested an AIP from a lender that only does a soft search, as I was concerned I might need another AIP by the time I find a house, so it could be that another lender would lend to the two of us. Should I presume it would be at a rubbish rate though?

ACG

I skim read that, but what your advisor has said sounds wrong.

How much do you want to borrow?

I have placed mortgages for people on £11-12k before now.

purplestar133

ACG wrote: »

I skim read that, but what your advisor has said sounds wrong.

How much do you want to borrow?

I have placed mortgages for people on £11-12k before now.

At the highest £57,000 with a £78,000 deposit (30 from me, 48 from father in law). The AIP I got for me alone said I could get 71,000, but I'd only have 30,000 deposit on my own, so not enough for the 120-130,000 houses we're looking at. Apparently I'm not allowed to accept the gift from the father in law unless my partner is on the mortgage as a gift can only come from a grandparent or parent.

ACG

what you have been told about the deposit is generally correct.

With regards to how much you can borrow, unless there is something missing is wrong.

Does the broker charge a fee? The reason I ask is that the commission on a £60k mortgage is next to nothing. If its a fee free broker I can only assume its financially not viable for them - but thats not a reason for him/her to basically give you completely wrong information.

purplestar133

ACG wrote: »

what you have been told about the deposit is generally correct.

With regards to how much you can borrow, unless there is something missing is wrong.

Does the broker charge a fee? The reason I ask is that the commission on a £60k mortgage is next to nothing. If its a fee free broker I can only assume its financially not viable for them - but thats not a reason for him/her to basically give you completely wrong information.

She does charge a fee, and is impartial.

Sorry, what is wrong about the information - the amount I can borrow?

ACG

I dont understand why she is saying you cant borrow £60k with any lender.

I could be wrong but yes it is on the low side and yes it is unlikely to fit with every lender but I find it hard to believe no lender would lend you £60k.

purplestar133

ACG wrote: »

I dont understand why she is saying you cant borrow £60k with any lender.

I could be wrong but yes it is on the low side and yes it is unlikely to fit with every lender but I find it hard to believe no lender would lend you £60k.

The two of us could when one of us is not earning?

She's done an AIP with Halifax because they do a 'soft search'. I requested that as I didn't want a credit check on my record at this stage. So I suppose we could try with another lender but she did say my options would be limited by our situation. (Maybe the title of my thread is a bit misleading, I was just panicking) Then I have to consider that if the lender we pick rejects us, then we can't just try another due to the effect on my credit history. We will have to choose carefully.

KentishLady

OK the reason why you cant borrow as much with both of you is because your salary has to be enought to support two adults instead of one.

Putting your £16k into the halifax affordability calcutor the results are £41k with both of you on the mortgage (with 0 income for your partner) or £68k on your own - not too far from your AIP figure. I imagine these are a fairly good ball park figures for you to work with.

You may have no option but to wait until your partner gains permanent employment or look at cheaper places to buy.

KL

Annisele

purplestar133 wrote: »

So I suppose we could try with another lender but she did say my options would be limited by our situation.

What exactly did she say? "You can't borrow what you need" is very different to "your options are limited". It might be that there are only one or two lenders that will accept you, but (so long as you're OK with the rates) that's fine - you don't need sixteen different mortgage offers.

ACG

Why has she done a DIP with halifax if they wont lend you enough... that just a waste of her time. she could have just looked at your credit report to determine how good of a risk you are.

Also you do not have 1 go at making an application. If you are declined you find another lender. You can normally have 2-3 attempts before it starts to reflect badly.

Can I suggest you find a new broker?
Different ways of doing things but this just seems unusual.

amnblog

To be fair ACG - the broker is free!


I would be more concerned about why you are looking to buy at this time when your partner is not working Purplestar.


I would wait until you can both contribute.