Getting a mortgage in the South East

Magpie100

I'm sure you're bored of me by now, but I had a shared ownership flat in London for a few years. It definitely did its job for me at the time, but if I had had the size of deposit you have I wouldn't do it. In my view you want to make that deposit work as hard as it can for YOU, and shared ownership isn't the way to do that. It is definitely a way forward for those struggling to raise a deposit, or as said below for people who will probably never be able to afford a whole house but can't move from where they are. In addition, Housing Associations are about the most dysfunctional and disorganised bodies I have ever had to deal with, and when it's about something as important as your home you don't need it.

One of the biggest issues with shared ownership is selling on when you want to - you have already said this property is on the small side. When you come to sell you are going to be looking at a very limited market of buyers unless you manage to staircase to 100% ownership.

I completely sympathise with the circle you are trying to square here - most people I know have to make decisions on house buying based on a fiendish combination of childcare, salaries, journey times, quality of life and job location, and it isn't easy. But, you do have a good deposit and who knows, if things change in the next few months with Brexit and the wider economy you might be in a good position.

Hope that helps!

wolfplayer

I'm waiting for prices to CRASH.

I rent. More BTL LLs are selling up because of fear of Section 24, and far fewer BTL buyers as well.

Although anyone here is welcome to taking a jumbo heavy mortgage.

henrygregory

Thanks to everyone for your helpful posts. It is always so good when people come together on this forum to help.

I can completely see some peoples' experiences with Part Own properties. I am presuming that it is not possible to purchase 100% of a part own property from the outset? I am guessing 75% must be the cap.

The one we have been offered is £340k for a two bed. Seems very expensive for what it is, but it close to Stansted Airport, M11 and Cambridge. I would be surprised if it went into negative equity (like another person mentioned) as it should be an area with good links. But what am I to know. Housing seems to unpredictable.

Magpie100

No, if you bought 100% at the outset it wouldn't be shared ownership.

I just had a very very quick look on Rightmove. There are two 3-beds in Stansted Mountfitchet on for £350K. So 340K for a 2-bed looks...well. I know it is not all about the number of bedrooms but about locations and schools etc, but if for 10K more people can buy a house with more bedrooms with no housing association involvement then I can't see how this 2 bed is a good idea.

If I were you I would be looking on RM over the next few months (this is one of the slowest times of years for listings, I imagine) and steering well clear of this SO property.

henrygregory

Magpie100 wrote: »

No, if you bought 100% at the outset it wouldn't be shared ownership.

I just had a very very quick look on Rightmove. There are two 3-beds in Stansted Mountfitchet on for £350K. So 340K for a 2-bed looks...well. I know it is not all about the number of bedrooms but about locations and schools etc, but if for 10K more people can buy a house with more bedrooms with no housing association involvement then I can't see how this 2 bed is a good idea.

If I were you I would be looking on RM over the next few months (this is one of the slowest times of years for listings, I imagine) and steering well clear of this SO property.

Thanks for the clarification, that makes sense.
Yes, we have viewed a few from RightMove in the past few days, was all looking very promising, but sadly, the mortgage providers are not happy as part of my salary (£300 per month) is a honorarium. They deem this to be too risky as it is something my employer could pull out of paying.

They have suggested a new build with Help to Buy where I would need to borrow a 20% figure from the government to help boost my deposit.

So it seems, once again, it is back to square one. We are going to keep looking, but might give up for now as the past week has had quite an impact on us both in terms of stress and is really not healthy for the relationship or us. We are both feeling depressed, under the weather and pretty fed up with it all. I can't tell you how many phone calls I have had from Developers, Estate Agents, Mortgage people etc.

wjr4

henrygregory wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification, that makes sense.
Yes, we have viewed a few from RightMove in the past few days, was all looking very promising, but sadly, the mortgage providers are not happy as part of my salary (£300 per month) is a honorarium. They deem this to be too risky as it is something my employer could pull out of paying.

They have suggested a new build with Help to Buy where I would need to borrow a 20% figure from the government to help boost my deposit.

So it seems, once again, it is back to square one. We are going to keep looking, but might give up for now as the past week has had quite an impact on us both in terms of stress and is really not healthy for the relationship or us. We are both feeling depressed, under the weather and pretty fed up with it all. I can't tell you how many phone calls I have had from Developers, Estate Agents, Mortgage people etc.

Sorry to hear that you feel like this! Please try not to let it stress you both out. You will get there in the end!

Which mortgage lenders have you tried? Did you go to see an independent mortgage broker? What is the maximum figure they would lend you and who was this with?

Don't give out your number to any more people.. we tried the whole estate agent thing and TBH it was useless!! Just keep looking on rightmove for properties that suit your needs rather than have estate agents send you properties that are completely not what you are looking for!

henrygregory

rjw4 wrote: »

Sorry to hear that you feel like this! Please try not to let it stress you both out. You will get there in the end!

Which mortgage lenders have you tried? Did you go to see an independent mortgage broker? What is the maximum figure they would lend you and who was this with?

Don't give out your number to any more people.. we tried the whole estate agent thing and TBH it was useless!! Just keep looking on rightmove for properties that suit your needs rather than have estate agents send you properties that are completely not what you are looking for!

Thanks, I think from now on, I won't be giving the number to anyone. It has been relentless. Like if you fool for giving a car salesman your number and he has the slightest clue that you may actually like the vehicle.

We could be far worse off. We have found a two bed we like, it is smaller than we want but would be a start. It looks as though I could just about afford it if my extra income is not considered.

Did make me wonder if we should maybe look at the part own place again though. I know people on here did advise not doing so but it may prove more affordable and comes with carpet + appliances etc, which would all be an extra cost if we went with a private market place as many of them don't come with appliances.

Jox

Maybe this is off-topic but having a baby and both parents working full time is really hard in my experience.
Me and my husband moved in with my mum when I had my son and she helped with the childcare from when he was 6 months to 2 years old so we were really lucky, but I was out the house for around 10 hours a day and it was tough on my mum (in her 60s) looking after a baby / toddler and by the time he was 2 she really had enough and now I have a childminder 3 days a week and mum looks after him 2 days a week and we spend £650 a month on childcare.
We moved back into my 1 bed flat when he turned 2 (we had been renting it out while at mum's) and we're all sharing the bedroom!
Plus I am exhausted, my son hasn't slept through the night ever, so up until recently I was up 3+ times a night and working full time. He sleeps a bit better now he's nearly 3
If you buy a house and in the future want to help your mum buy her place will you have to pay the extra 3% stamp duty?
I don't want to be negative but just offering my experience! Though I wouldn't change a thing cos my son is the light of my life. I just would prefer to be able to see him more and not have to work/commute so much!

henrygregory

Jox wrote: »

Maybe this is off-topic but having a baby and both parents working full time is really hard in my experience.
Me and my husband moved in with my mum when I had my son and she helped with the childcare from when he was 6 months to 2 years old so we were really lucky, but I was out the house for around 10 hours a day and it was tough on my mum (in her 60s) looking after a baby / toddler and by the time he was 2 she really had enough and now I have a childminder 3 days a week and mum looks after him 2 days a week and we spend £650 a month on childcare.
We moved back into my 1 bed flat when he turned 2 (we had been renting it out while at mum's) and we're all sharing the bedroom!
Plus I am exhausted, my son hasn't slept through the night ever, so up until recently I was up 3+ times a night and working full time. He sleeps a bit better now he's nearly 3
If you buy a house and in the future want to help your mum buy her place will you have to pay the extra 3% stamp duty?
I don't want to be negative but just offering my experience! Though I wouldn't change a thing cos my son is the light of my life. I just would prefer to be able to see him more and not have to work/commute so much!

Thanks for your take on things. It is always good to hear from other people in different situations. So far my mum is going strong. She works has worked in child care for quite a long while, so should be a little more used to it. I don't know how you manged to cope in such a small place.

I know the feeling, I have to commute in and out of London and only recently, my work allowed me to work two days from home. My longest commute was 7.5 hours round trip in a day. I could have been in New York in the same time. Thankfully it is not usually as long as that.

Sadly, our mortgage was rejected as part of my earnings are not considered "permanent" enough.

The good news for us, is after reading a few news articles online, I found a company called Trussle who deal in mortgages. Based on our earnings, we have been offered a Mortgage In Principle for £296,875. With my £55k deposit, we should now be able to start looking at some places. I believe we can add the £55k to the £296875 meaning we could realistically be looking at places worth just under £350k.
I think we may give it a break until after Christmas time.
Fingers crossed.