First time buyer help

BeingMe · 9 October 2015 at 4:20PM

Hi everyone. I'm hoping for some advice on my situation - apologies if it's a little long.

Following my separation and then divorce from my ex husband, I moved with our three children into private rented and left my ex in the marital home. When we bought that house from my parents at a price significantly below market value, I was a sahm and so couldn't go on the mortgage and essentially had no claim to the property.

I then met my current partner who also has a child. We hope to live together but because we have 4 children between us, we need quite a large house and it's proving very difficult to find a property large enough and at a reasonable price. So instead we are hoping to buy. We've had a cursory look and we could potentially buy a property big enough for us for around £135,000.

We are planning to move in with our respective parents for a year or so to furiously save for a deposit. However, I am unsure of how our circumstances might affect this.

I work part time due to the cost of childcare. My line of work (community based) means that I work on fixed term contracts for a year at a time and for different organisations. My current contract is coming to an end so I am reconsidering my options. I could get funding for another year or I could focus on a fledgling business I have started or even try to find something more permanent. I couldn't afford a mortgage on my own and understand that my employment history might make it difficult. Is this right?

My partner works full time as a manager on a decent salary and could afford the mortgage alone after the deposit. We have recently discovered the upcoming first time buyers saving scheme and are keen to take advantage of tis once it launches in December. However, my partner has previously been a homeowner about 9 years ago for a period of one year with his ex wife. Does this mean that he is excluded from this saving scheme?

I am not sure of the best way to do this. As we will be living separately and I am a single parent, I rely on tax credits to top up my low salary currently. Does this mean that we can't save jointly? However, if we decide to save in one persons name only, what does this mean in terms of getting a mortgage?

As you can probably tell I'm really inexperienced in the world of mortgages and home buying as following my divorce I thought I'd never get on the property ladder. So I'd really appreciate any advice on how we can realistically look into buying a home together. TIA.