Where do I start - FTB

PanHandle

Hi. FTB and feel like I'm stumbling in the dark, would anyone mind answering a few Qs?

Background -
Require a joint mortgage
Combined income of 45k.
30k min deposit saved
No debt (except 1 student loan)
Looking to purchase house with max value of £150,000

Where do we start, mortgage broker or bank?
I've heard L&C mentioned here a few times, are they worth contacting?
To put a small (but lovely) spanner in the works, I'm currently pregnant (24 weeks) is this likely to affect the application are we better to wait until a later date to apply?

Thanks in advance

ACG

Everything was sounding quite straight forward, until you mentioned the pregnancy.

I am sure it can be done regardless, but it might not be for every lender. L&C are a fee free call centre broker. The reviews on here are very mixed, some sing their praises others do not.

PanHandle

Yes I thought that too, I can't find much reliable info online about how pregnancy could affect an application.
In an ideal world a mortgage would have been in place beforehand of course.... but here we are

BusyBargainz

If it was me I would go to a broker for some qualified advice. We found a local one which was helpful. I'm not too sure on how the pregnancy will effect things but bare in mind its taken me and my partner nearly 6 months to complete on our house after looking, applying etc so there is a chance you won't be moved before baby arrives. All the best, hope you get some good advice soon .

MortgageMamma

There are lenders who will not penalise you for having a child and taking a temporary drop in income. You are only borrowing 3 x joint income so affordability may be OK even with the income drop during maternity leave. You will of course need to confirm you will be returning to work on the same hours/pay/contract after you've had the child. If you are going to do this I'd suggest going for it now, you don't want to be moving house when you are heavily pregnant or even with a newborn - done that twice now and it can have a bad physical and emotional impact.

Good luck and get proper advice, getting it right first time around will reduce likelihood of problems in future, and don't forget life assurance to protect your little one

MM

Mortgage_724433

Your stated circumstances from a financial standpoint should be absolutely fine.

In terms of your pregnancy, if you find a reliable, savvy mortgage adviser, then they'll source a lender that is happy with your current situation.

anotheruser

I contacted L&C.

They have been pretty good so far - kept us up to date every few days.