Buying House - Delayed Move In

ShellClarky

Hello all,

I'm a long time lurker of the MSE forums, first time posting as I could do with some guidance before I go headlong in to something that's not going to work out. Also, apologies if this is in the wrong forum.

Myself and my husband are currently in the military, and as such we move around every few years. This constant moving around has meant buying a property of our own hasn't been top of our priority list. As a married couple, we get quarters assigned to us at each location, so living somewhere has never been a problem.

However, with our time in the service coming to an end in the next few years, we thought it would be a good idea to start saving and buy a place, to get ourselves on the property ladder ready for when we leave.

My question is this: if we do buy a property before we leave, will it be a problem with a residential mortgage if we don't technically live in it full time straight away? We'd like to be there at least once every few months, in between exercises and deployment.

Another option was to allow my sister-in-law (late 20s) to stay at the property whilst we are not there, but I'm guessing that would make things more complicated. Would we need to have a buy-to-let mortgage instead for this to happen, or is that not possible when renting to siblings? Can we keep a residential mortgage on the property whilst she stays?

Apologies for the length (and potential stupidity) of my post, and many thanks in advance for your advice.

Comms69

DO NOT LET ANYONE STAY IN IT.


You should be fine buying with a residential mortgage. Just get someone to pop in every few weeks.

ThePants999

You'll need to be a bit careful with insurance - most standard policies require that someone's resident more often than once every few months.

I'm a tad surprised by your plan, though - a "few years" of a mortgage is a lot to be paying just to get your future home now rather than later.

Edit: oh, also watch out for council tax, many councils charge extra on empty properties so as to discourage them.

lisyloo

We'd like to be there at least once every few months, in between exercises and deployment.

I think youd have a problem with house insurance if you are being away for that long.

Why do you want to buy a house early?
Have you considered the alternative of lodging/staying with family?

Would we need to have a buy-to-let mortgage instead for this to happen, or is that not possible when renting to siblings? Can we keep a residential mortgage on the property whilst she stays?

If you want to do BTL then you need a BTL mortgage.
Could she stay there as a lodger.
The governments rent-a-room scheme allows you to do this free of income tax.
If might also help with the insurance issue.

lisyloo

DO NOT LET ANYONE STAY IN IT.

This needs explanation.
Especially if a family member (presumably trusted)

Comms69

lisyloo wrote: »

I think youd have a problem with house insurance if you are being away for that long.

Why do you want to buy a house early?
Have you considered the alternative of lodging/staying with family?



If you want to do BTL then you need a BTL mortgage.
Could she stay there as a lodger.
The governments rent-a-room scheme allows you to do this free of income tax.
If might also help with the insurance issue.

No, it is not the OPs primary residence.

Comms69

lisyloo wrote: »

This needs explanation.
Especially if a family member (presumably trusted)

Because the OP would become a landlord. Regardless of whether the sister is trusted or not.


What if she lost her job, and couldn't move out. The OP would be forced to get a possession order. But the Op didn't serve the correct documents at the start and now the s.21 notice is invalid....


Prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

lisyloo

Thanks for the explanation.

OP - what about buying when you are in a position to move in?

ThePants999

And mortgage lenders won't give you consent to let to a family member.

ShellClarky

Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

ThePants999 wrote: »

And mortgage lenders won't give you consent to let to a family member.

I thought this might be the case, thanks for confirming.

lisyloo wrote: »

OP - what about buying when you are in a position to move in?

This will probably happen instead of the initial idea. It was suggested by my husband, who made it seem simple but I thought this wouldn't be the case

Thank you for the council tax/insurance information, I didn't know there would be issues if the property is not lived in on a regular basis (hence our idea for the sister to live there).

I appreciate your help with this, looks like saving up until we are ready to move is the way to go

vic_sf49

I think you have a few options...

- Buy now, move in, and live-in during the week.

- Buy now, stay in quarters, but visit often enough to satisfy insurance requirements.

- Buy a few months before you finish work, and use some resettlement/terminal leave to decorate it.

Some things to consider / find the answer to.....

- Whether you would pay extra council tax, may come down to the forces covenant and council rules, and their definition of an empty property.

- Can one of you declare the quarter as your primary residence, and one the house?

- Although mortgage companies will often give consent to let if posted overseas for example, I'm not sure you'd get it as soon as you took the mortgage out. (Not that this seems to be your plan).

- I had immediate family stay in my property while I was overseas, agreed to by my mortgage provider, but I wasn't renting to them....they were more like house sitters.