Do we qualify as first time buyers?

JC_2212

My wife and I are currently renting and are desperately saving to purchase our own house. I bought a house back in 2007 just before the recession when prices were at their peak. The problem is that it's at the other end of the country as I lived up north before I met my wife. When we met I decided to rent it out and move south to be with her as selling wasn't an option due to negative equity. The current house prices up there still haven't improved enough to get the property out of negative equity, not helped by the fact that I rather naively took out a 100% mortgage at the time of purchase. This means that selling is still not an option and I have to keep the house rented out. The rent covers the mortgage so no worries there but does this now mean that as a couple we don't qualify as first time buyers? We went to see a mortgage advisor who told us that as my wife has never owned before then we both qualify as first time buyers. On the other hand, looking on the government websites it appears that we don't qualify for any of the help to buy schemes as I still own a property? We are struggling to save for a 10% deposit so is there any way that we can be eligible for a 5% deposit mortgage? Any help or advice on this would be much appreciated.

kingstreet

You will have limited lender options as you own another property with another mortgage and I can think of only one lender which will lend 95% in such circumstances.

You'll need a broker who carefully researches what lenders will and won't do as this is not a national high street lender and no, I'm not going to name it for compliance reasons...

FTB or not is a red-herring. Government schemes work around you not owning other property from the point the one you buy with Government help completes.

FWIW I can think of one lender which will treat you both as a FTB because your partner has never owned a property but they won't lend 95% with a property in the background, so it's moot like I said...