Mortgage on PhD stipend as of 2016

Helen_S247

Hi all,


Just to let you know last Saturday my husband and I successfully got a mortgage through Natwest :)

They include stipends as a "bursary through employment" (as he is teaching during his phd) and they counted the full amount. A large part of the mortgage interview included what he will do after the PhD (i.e research or lecturing) the main point to show is you would be willing to get a job anywhere in order to pay your mortgage.

So yes I would definitely recommend Natwest to anyone who is currently doing a phd and wants to get a mortgage

big5824

Congratulations Helen!

We're still looking for a suitable house, hoping Natwest don't change their criteria in the mean time!

jasonm769

Hey guys, just to let everyone know, my partner and I recently went to a mortgage broker to try and get a mortgage while I am in the middle of my PhD. The only bank that would accept any of my income was TSB (they accepted 60%) so we were left in the situation that if they said no then that was it. Halifax used to accept the same proportion but as of the start of this year (2017) no longer accept it. Thankfully we got the offer with TSB but be warned that their underwriting process is VERY slow. It took them 4 weeks from submission of the application but they do accept PhD incomes which is GREAT!

Butters7612

Just to update this thread with a more recent perspective.I am a PhD student and my wife and I have been applying for mortgages recently. With recent austerity measures, stipends seem to be on the way out as a source of approved income for mortgages.

I either phoned, or reviewed the online intermediary lender criteria for almost every high street lender. Our current mortgage provider, Halifax, would only accept stipends from the clergy. TSB accepted stipends but only 60% of my overall income was taken into account. The only places I have found which would accept the stipend was the Teacher's Building Society, and Co-Op bank. Co-Op have given us an agreement in principle for the amount which we need - hopefully we'll be successful.

[Deleted User]

I'm amazed more people aren't using brokers AND focusing on high street banks.

YHM

Quite a few more lenders would consider stipend.

As above, no idea why people don't just refer to a broker....

Butters7612

I've never used a broker before, and was quoted nearly £1000 for the services of one I approached. I don't see why I should need to pay a third party when I can arrange a mortgage myself. Especially when I'm trapped into paying an early repayment charge of almost £3,000 because my current lender won't port my mortgage!
Brokers might well be the way to go, but I'd never even heard of a mortgage broker before all this. Nobody I know has ever recommended one, I've never seen an advertisement or been referred to one by any of the banks or building societies I've approached. Perhaps an advertising issue Ringo / YHM?

YHM

Potentially so Butters. But hardly likely you walk into a bank / building society and they say 'actually why don't you consider that brokers down the road'. They want your business, just as anyone else does. The difference is you become a client with a broker, whereas you are a number with the bank. Your choice at the end of the day which you choose.

A fair whack of brokers have worked in banks and they know how it works. You see more brokers who are ex-bank staff, than ex-brokers who are bank staff. Does that not tell you something?

Richey_

YHM you are incredibly biased which considering this is your job / income it is understandable but you in your posts never look at it from all angles (at least however you are following forum rules and not having your posts removed like before). In the days of internet comparison, let’s be honest your years are limited as the technology improves. Unless somebody is has a specific reason such as self employed, poor credit history etc then I don’t understand why so,embody would pay for a broker either. A person can research themselves, using the tools on bank research and then read the lending criteria and save themselves the money.

Whilst I agree there is a place for a broker for more difficult applications, in general it’s a wasted expense for standard applicants. Going independent opens up options such as HSBC not available to brokers

YHM

I have access to HSBC as a broker....

I also run a business that works flexibly with fees, so there isn't always an expense to access a broker.

All the best to people who wish to go direct, I just don't understand why people write off the idea when they are happy to come onto these forums to ask for help....in the majority of cases, if they had a broker in their phonebook, they could just ask the question directly to them??