Want to buy Mum's council house - Right to buy

IndianaB

Hey guys,

New to all of this so just wondering if anyone could offer any tips. My mum and I have lived together for over 20 years in the same council house and recently put in a joint application for the right to buy. We were accepted and attended a mortgage meeting, but the bank would not accept myself as the only person going for the mortgage as we were both on the tenancy agreement.

My mum doesn't have the best credit rating due to money trouble after my parents divorce, but I am in a good financial position. The mortgage advisor was actually pretty rude and told me that we wouldn't be able to get a mortgage without it just being my name. Although on the council website when we applied, it did state that you could finance the buy in any way. Something the council team also told us.

The guy at the bank pretty much said that if I wanted to be the person getting the mortgage I wouldn't be entitled to the discount my mum has earned over the years.

Just wondering if anyone else has gone through a right to buy in this way, as I know it can be done. Any tips on how you got around some of the technicalities and which bank you went with?

Thanks for your time!

missbiggles1

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

marksoton

IndianaB wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone else has gone through a right to buy in this way, as I know it can be done. Any tips on how you got around some of the technicalities and which bank you went with?

And how pray tell do you know this?

And they're not technicalities they are rules in place for a good reason.

AnotherJoe

IndianaB wrote: »

Hey guys,

New to all of this so just wondering if anyone could offer any tips. My mum and I have lived together for over 20 years in the same council house and recently put in a joint application for the right to buy. We were accepted and attended a mortgage meeting, but the bank would not accept myself as the only person going for the mortgage as we were both on the tenancy agreement.

My mum doesn't have the best credit rating due to money trouble after my parents divorce, but I am in a good financial position. The mortgage advisor was actually pretty rude and told me that we wouldn't be able to get a mortgage without it just being my name.

Is that "rude" = "told me the facts which I didn't like as they didn't fit what I wanted"

IndianaB wrote: »

Although on the council website when we applied, it did state that you could finance the buy in any way. Something the council team also told us.

That would be that you and your mum financed it in any way.

IndianaB wrote: »

The guy at the bank pretty much said that if I wanted to be the person getting the mortgage I wouldn't be entitled to the discount my mum has earned over the years.

If your mum earned it why do you think you should get it, which would be the case if it was just you on the mortgage?

IndianaB wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone else has gone through a right to buy in this way, as I know it can be done. Any tips on how you got around some of the technicalities and which bank you went with?

Thanks for your time!

How do you know that? If you know someone who did it, ask them.

glasgowdan

Right to buy isn't designed for richer young people to make profit.

Person_one

Why do you want to buy it? Why does your mum want to buy it?

Cheeky_Monkey

Person_one wrote: »

Why do you want to buy it? Why does your mum want to buy it?

Now, now Person_one, you know very well that there is only one answer to that question don't you

eddddy

IndianaB wrote: »

We were accepted and attended a mortgage meeting, but the bank would not accept myself as the only person going for the mortgage as we were both on the tenancy agreement.

It sounds like you met with a bank advisor, who would only be able to sell mortgage products from his bank.

If you go to a 'whole of market' mortgage broker, they might be able to find a different lender who would accept your mum's credit history.

Although those mortgage lenders tend to charge higher rates of interest.

AdrianC

If you want the property to be jointly owned, then you will almost certainly need a joint mortgage - VERY few lenders allow only a subset of owners to be borrowers, for the simple fact that it would make any repossession very much harder.

If your mother can't get a mortgage, then you would need to buy the property alone.

You really do need to pause and ask if owning the property really would improve your mother's lot in life, though. If she's a partial owner, then any future care she needs would come from the property equity. She would become liable for maintenance costs. If you met somebody, married then divorced, there may be issues. You may decide you want to live elsewhere. You may have financial issues of your own.

These would all VERY much jeopardise your mother's current security to live in this property. And to what benefit? Moving a subsidy from the council tax payer to your pocket, and possibly denying a future council tenant a similarly secure home as your mother's long had.

Cakeguts

Have a think about this. There is no benefit at all for your mum to own her council house. She has the right to live there for the rest of her life as it is. If she owned it she would have to have a mortgage the mortgage cannot be paid with housing benefit if she loses her job and she would be liable for all maintenance costs. That makes living there as an owner big risk however as a council tenant there is no risk of her losing her home. So how can owning it make it better for her?

Now we have established that owning this house has no benefit at all for your mum why are you trying to buy it? It is her home.

As an owner if your mum has to go into a nursing home later in life any house she owns would have to be sold to pay for the care.

If you want to buy a home buy one on the open market and finance it for yourself don't risk your mum's home to do this.

Pixie5740

The council tenant (your mum) is allowed to exercise the right to buy. As you are a family member living in the property with the tenant you are able to make a joint application with the tenant.

For you both to complete the purchase you will both need to be named on the mortgage. You do not have the right to buy on your own.

There might be a lender out there who would grant a joint mortgage despite your mum's checked credit history. You should consult a mortgage broker, ideally one who specialises in RTB.

If you do want to jointly buy with your mum you should both think about what could happen in the future. For example if one of you get married would you all live together.