Complicated(?) mortgage questions. Help!

bradders33

Hello all,

Hoping someone can help / advise as I am getting slightly conflicting information and I am also massively frustrated.

This is a bit complicated to explain, so I will bullet point it to try and summarise things a bit simpler.

- I have a joint mortgage currently with my husband, have had this particular mortgage 12 years with Santander
- We split up 9 years ago
- Didn’t sell house at time as it was in negative equity
- I have been paying mortgage on my own for past 4-5 years (his name is still on mortgage though)
- Last year my boyfriend moved in and pays me a fairly nominal amount of rent (It’s £600, I say nominal, as it’s £400 less than the rent on his apartment that he had before) which I use for day to day stuff like petrol, shopping, dog food, dining out etc.
- House now has equity in it and husband putting pressure on me to either sell or buy him out, as he is ready to buy with his girlfriend

HOWEVER….

- I want to keep the current property, I don’t want to move house and husband said he will accept less than half of the market value of his equity share, so it’s in my interest to stay there
- I understand that I will need to also increase the amount of borrowing to buy my husband out.
- I don’t want to add my boyfriend to my mortgage, I just want the house to be mine as I have invested so much into it and boyfriend is toying with the idea getting a little buy to let flat anyway

BUT….

- In my career in Marketing and PR, I work in fixed term contract and long term temp roles (PAYE, not self employed) mainly to keep my skills fresh and I like the variety of moving about.
- I have JUST completed a one year contract and last week started a new contract which is until the end of the year.
- Having to spoken to Santander (hypothetically, without giving my details) I explained that I have been doing contracts for past 3-4 years and with this in mind, how easy would it be for me to get a sole mortgage, they advised it wouldn’t be possible, despite the fact that I essentially have been paying mortgage on my own and from working in contract jobs for last 3-4 years. Simply put, they said that they wouldn’t give me a new mortgage on these terms.
- I asked how long I would have to be in a perm role to get a mortgage and they said 3 months of payslips.
- I also asked about the fact that I read somewhere when assessing affordability that they may take into account income from a someone paying me rent to live in my house, they said this was true, but not if the rent was coming from my boyfriend(?!?)
- So I just rang a broker, asked if there were any lenders who would lend to me while employed on contract jobs, he said none to his knowledge, but three months of payslips isn’t the case, as he just secured a mortgage deal with Santander for a client who only had an employment contract from their new job.
- Broker also said not sure about lodger rules, but suggested that how would Santander know if person paying rent is my lodger or boyfriend anyway?

SO….

- My question is, does ANYONE know anywhere that will give a mortgage to a serial temporary worker / contractor?
- Anyone know of any other lenders that accept rent as an additional income for assessing affordability?
- If I have to try and find a perm job, is it true that I can get an offer on the new contract without any payslips from that job?

Thank you in advance, I am so stressed out and unsettled, I just want to keep my house and wish this was easier.

It’s worth noting, the maximum I have had off between contracts is one month off, on two occasions, but I got some admin temp work to tide me over and I have never missed a mortgage payment or made a payment late.

ACG

I was not aware any lender would accept "lodger" "rent" to be honest. The problem you may also find is that your partner paying rent could be seen as him buying an interest in the property. Unless you are in London, nobody would be paying £600 for a house share.

There are lenders that would look to accept your income on the basis that you have a history of switching I suspect, but the rates are probably not going to compare to Santander.

bradders33

ACG wrote: »

I was not aware any lender would accept "lodger" "rent" to be honest. The problem you may also find is that your partner paying rent could be seen as him buying an interest in the property. Unless you are in London, nobody would be paying £600 for a house share.

There are lenders that would look to accept your income on the basis that you have a history of switching I suspect, but the rates are probably not going to compare to Santander.

Thank you. I didn't consider the amount he was paying me in rent. Just checked rooms for let in my town and double rooms in a house the same size do go for £600 here! Rent is crazy here. I saw an apartment the other day, which was essentially a bedsit, albeit a nicely decorated one, it was £1100 a month! My BF was paying £850 for a one bedroom flat.

illusionek

Cant speak from personal experiance as Ive never done contract work myself but I remember talking to my former colleague last year. He was on contract and looking for a house at the same time as I was. I asked him a question if he did not have a problem with mortgage and he said he was fine as long as he could prove his contract does not expire for another 6 or 9 months. Cant remember exactly. Unfortunately dont know much more than that and he left so cant ask any details but I would try with another broker.

However before doing all that I would check if you pass the affordability test in the first place. Whats the point in finding a lender who accepts contractors if you still cant borrow enough money.

bradders33

I know this sounds mad. But is there any way I could have someone else's salary taken into consideration for my application without them having a stake in my house or paying towards the mortgage?! My brother lives in Londom and can't get a mortgage. But a while back offered to go in on mine and then me remortgage in a few years and pay him some interest. I realise that sounds odd as I type it, hustctrying to think of options here.

bradders33

illusionek wrote: »

Cant speak from personal experiance as Ive never done contract work myself but I remember talking to my former colleague last year. He was on contract and looking for a house at the same time as I was. I asked him a question if he did not have a problem with mortgage and he said he was fine as long as he could prove his contract does not expire for another 6 or 9 months. Cant remember exactly. Unfortunately dont know much more than that and he left so cant ask any details but I would try with another broker.

However before doing all that I would check if you pass the affordability test in the first place. Whats the point in finding a lender who accepts contractors if you still cant borrow enough money.

Thank you. That's really helpful. I think I need to see a broker then. But how to find a good one? My broker retired years ago.

ACG

£850 for a one bedroom flat, but he does not have to share it with anyone. But fair point, rent is a lot more than I was expecting it to be in your area. Even so, I would be careful - https://www.savvywoman.co.uk/878/living-together-does-your-partner-have-any-rights-to-your-property-once-you-live-together/

There are lenders who will do joint applications and sole ownership, but what happens when your brother wants to come off the Mortgage? It sounds like you are just delaying the problem or swapping one problem for another.

Why can your brother not get a Mortgage? If he can not get a Mortgage, then im not sure it is feasible for him to be added on yours?

bradders33

ACG wrote: »

£850 for a one bedroom flat, but he does not have to share it with anyone. But fair point, rent is a lot more than I was expecting it to be in your area. Even so, I would be careful - https://www.savvywoman.co.uk/878/living-together-does-your-partner-have-any-rights-to-your-property-once-you-live-together/

There are lenders who will do joint applications and sole ownership, but what happens when your brother wants to come off the Mortgage? It sounds like you are just delaying the problem or swapping one problem for another.

Why can your brother not get a Mortgage? If he can not get a Mortgage, then im not sure it is feasible for him to be added on yours?

Thanks. Will look at link.

I think what I'm trying to say is that I'm protecting my assets. I love my boyfriend and love living with him. But I loved my husband too and after ten years we split. Nothing lasts forever. I'm essentially having to start over again and as I'm 40 this year I don't want to have this stress again if my relationship fails.

My brother can get a mortgage. Just not one that will enable him to buy in London sadly.

civicfee

You need to go back to Santander and query their answers.

If you have worked on a temporary contract for more than 1 year and you have 1 renewal to show this is within standard lending policy. Be prepared for historic earnings proof though, P60's payslips etc.

Is your boyfriend on a lodgers AST to live with you? Can the bank evidence his payments going through bank statements month by month for at least 6 months? If so they can take a % as a secondary income to support your request.

This seems likely though to require underwriting by a higher authority, but again if you can show you have maintained the payments wheres the risk.

Where are you in the country? Id suggest going to a branch and sitting down with a Mortage Advisor.

bradders33

civicfee wrote: »

You need to go back to Santander and query their answers.

If you have worked on a temporary contract for more than 1 year and you have 1 renewal to show this is within standard lending policy. Be prepared for historic earnings proof though, P60's payslips etc.

Is your boyfriend on a lodgers AST to live with you? Can the bank evidence his payments going through bank statements month by month for at least 6 months? If so they can take a % as a secondary income to support your request.

This seems likely though to require underwriting by a higher authority, but again if you can show you have maintained the payments wheres the risk.

Where are you in the country? Id suggest going to a branch and sitting down with a Mortage Advisor.

Thank you. That's the plan. Going to make a face to face appointment st bank. I assumed that 12 years of solid on time payments would maybe go in my favour. Appears not though.

Thing is. My new contract is with a different employer.

I'm not sure what an AST is, but he pays me by bank transfer each month and has done for a year.

bradders33

civicfee wrote: »

You need to go back to Santander and query their answers.

If you have worked on a temporary contract for more than 1 year and you have 1 renewal to show this is within standard lending policy. Be prepared for historic earnings proof though, P60's payslips etc.

Is your boyfriend on a lodgers AST to live with you? Can the bank evidence his payments going through bank statements month by month for at least 6 months? If so they can take a % as a secondary income to support your request.

This seems likely though to require underwriting by a higher authority, but again if you can show you have maintained the payments wheres the risk.

Where are you in the country? Id suggest going to a branch and sitting down with a Mortage Advisor.

Also. Would I mention he's my BF or just say he loves with me and rents a room? He does have his own room, for all his tech, gadgets and clothes. It's the only room my dogs are banned from. 😂