Buying a House with Health Condition

Bex6669

dc197 wrote: »

I live in MK too. Prices are very high and still rising.
Maybe consider somewhere cheaper nearby, like Northampton, Luton, Dunstable or Bedford?

Yeah might have to resort to those areas. I work in MK though and the traffic getting into MK from some of those areas can be a nightmare in the mornings. Definitely something we will have to weigh up though.

Bex6669

AdrianC wrote: »

If only people didn't insist on owning them, that might happen...

Seriously, you've got to consider the lender's position. They lend you a lot of money. Your other half's illness becomes worse, and he needs to give up working. Your income's halved, and your expenses have gone up. There's no insurance that'll cover the gap. Can you still afford it?

Hence the reason for this post, trying to find a way round it. I am not considering the lender's position, I have no sympathy for them! Only want to make sure we can afford what we do decide to buy if the worst comes to the worst.

AdrianC

Bex6669 wrote: »

I am not considering the lender's position, I have no sympathy for them!

Who ever mentioned sympathy? Sympathy is irrelevant - in both directions.

They have a queue of people wanting to borrow money off them, and a collective memory of the sub-prime mortgage mess leading up to 2008. They're making nothing more than a cold commercial decision as to which ones they do lend to, and which ones they don't lend to.

And you've, in that cold commercial light, got a good little number of red Xs next to you before you even start.

Bex6669

AdrianC wrote: »

Who ever mentioned sympathy? Sympathy is irrelevant - in both directions.

They have a queue of people wanting to borrow money off them, and a collective memory of the sub-prime mortgage mess leading up to 2008. They're making nothing more than a cold commercial decision as to which ones they do lend to, and which ones they don't lend to.

And you've, in that cold commercial light, got a good little number of red Xs next to you before you even start.

Mortgage lenders can't discriminate towards people with health problems though....?

AdrianC

Bex6669 wrote: »

Mortgage lenders can't discriminate towards people with health problems though....?

No, they can't - any more than an insurer can.

They can, otoh, discriminate against people who are at high risk of not repaying.

Mallotum_X

dc197 wrote: »

I live in MK too. Prices are very high and still rising.
Maybe consider somewhere cheaper nearby, like Northampton, Luton, Dunstable or Bedford?

Luton/Dunstable is no longer cheap compared to MK, if anything like for like houses are more expensive in Luton now. Probably need to look at further north now to get more for your money

ClaireD85

£170k is not much of a budget in MK unfortunately.

Depending on whether you would want an ex-council you could potentially get a 3bed ex-council house in MK there are even a few 4 bed ex-council houses at about that price, or look for a one bed house or a 2 bed flat somewhere a bit nicer

Luton 170k would get you an ok 2 bed flat, a one-bed house or a 2 bed house that needs renovating

Bedford would give you a lot more choice with quite nice 2 or 3 bed houses in budget.

If you look towards Northampton then prices are still much more affordable and 175k is quite a healthy budget for a nice 2 or 3 bed house - Rightmove gives you a big selection.

Bedford to MK is a rubbish journey at rush hour. From Northampton you would be at the mercy of the M1 but there are alternatives. From Luton you are at least going against the direction of most commuters but again subject to the M1.

Realistically you will probably need to consider less desirable property in MK or Bedford/Northampton for better value.

Bex6669

ClaireD85 wrote: »

£170k is not much of a budget in MK unfortunately.

Depending on whether you would want an ex-council you could potentially get a 3bed ex-council house in MK there are even a few 4 bed ex-council houses at about that price, or look for a one bed house or a 2 bed flat somewhere a bit nicer

Luton 170k would get you an ok 2 bed flat, a one-bed house or a 2 bed house that needs renovating

Bedford would give you a lot more choice with quite nice 2 or 3 bed houses in budget.

If you look towards Northampton then prices are still much more affordable and 175k is quite a healthy budget for a nice 2 or 3 bed house - Rightmove gives you a big selection.

Bedford to MK is a rubbish journey at rush hour. From Northampton you would be at the mercy of the M1 but there are alternatives. From Luton you are at least going against the direction of most commuters but again subject to the M1.

Realistically you will probably need to consider less desirable property in MK or Bedford/Northampton for better value.

Thanks Claire. Yes MK is unfortunately pretty expensive isn't it! I think looking towards Northampton nearish the M1 might be an option.

Or perhaps looking for around a 70% shared ownership possible in MK. Still unsure if shared ownership is a safe bet though, after what people have said on here. Trouble is these are rare and when they do come up, they usually have a hefty premium attached!! They also seem to be swiped up in a day or two!

MortgageMamma

Hi Bex6669

Just catching up on this thread after a few days with the flu, so sorry I dropped out early! One thing you have not considered here is pay rises. Are you on a specific career path that will increase your earnings over time? Are you due any inheritances in the next say 10 years? Could your partner build up his business sideline to something more regular and sustainable over the years to ensure he's got something to do when he finishes work? I understand that's health permitting and that knowing nothing about your partners condition I am making an assumption he will be able to do that, but I understand from experience that not being in work due to illness can do a lot to ones sense of self worth and if you can plan now to minimise the impact of that it may be helpful.

Bex6669

MortgageMamma wrote: »

Hi Bex6669

Just catching up on this thread after a few days with the flu, so sorry I dropped out early! One thing you have not considered here is pay rises. Are you on a specific career path that will increase your earnings over time? Are you due any inheritances in the next say 10 years? Could your partner build up his business sideline to something more regular and sustainable over the years to ensure he's got something to do when he finishes work? I understand that's health permitting and that knowing nothing about your partners condition I am making an assumption he will be able to do that, but I understand from experience that not being in work due to illness can do a lot to ones sense of self worth and if you can plan now to minimise the impact of that it may be helpful.

Hope you're feeling better now. Yes good point. I would like to progress my career within my current organisation and believe I could be earning hopefully 60% more than I do now in 10 years time. Not due any inheritence anytime soon (hopefully not anyway!).

My partner works in software testing so this is actually quite a good job to be able to potentially work from home anyway if he did have health problems arise. I think that was his thinking when he went into that line of work.

We are luck enough to have parents who probably would be able to help us out if we really did get in a difficult financial situation as well. But would love to be in a position where we felt "financially secure" to support ourselves over the foreseeable future - without having that worry.

Perhaps riding out the housing boom and waiting for a possible bust might be another option?! If there ever is one....