Being a boater and getting a mortgage

LittleBeck

Hallo there

This may be quite a niche question and I'm not sure if anyone will know the answer but maybe people might find it an interesting problem! Here goes...

I am currently a boater, living in London, with no fixed mooring, which means I move every two weeks and have no fixed address, as such. For most purposes eg. Banking address, driver's license, boat license etc. I use my Nan's address down in Dorset.

I am currently saving for my deposit and will probably have enough to start looking in the new year. My issue is that looking through the guide for first time buyers it stresses the importance of being on the electoral roll, which I am, however I am not registered on it at my Nan's house as it is not my permanent residence, my boat is! I'm actually registered as what's called 'A person of no fixed Abode' the form is very limited and gives you three options, you are either homeless, on remand or in a mental institution. You can then give a correspondence address and I use my work address in London.

So my query is, when a lender searches for me on the electoral roll, I presume it will show up that I am a person of no fixed Abode or with my work address, which won't correspond with my address on all my other documents, and will count against me in a lenders eyes?

I understand people might just advise changing my electoral roll address to my Nan's, but won't that be committing an offence? as I am not in reality residence there.

This is my conundrum! Please free to ask me any questions if you need extra info. Any advice welcome!

I might add that I am planning on going to see a financial advisor at some stage before applying for a mortgage but was interested to see if I could sort this one out beforehand.

Many thanks LittleBeck

Alter_ego

What address is the boat registered too?

LittleBeck

It's registered to my Nan's address.

thermal2844

Well I am not on the electoral roll for my current address (I am registered but it has not been updated yet), and it did not matter. They were able to verify me via other accounts etc. I thought being up to date on the electoral roll was the end all be all, but it was not important at all in my case.

What address shows up on your credit report as your current address?

Alter_ego

Your Nan's address seems like the best bet to consolidate all your paperwork to. Careful it doesn't affect her single occupier discount for council tax though (my assumption)
I lived on a boat (Med) for 17 years and used parents address for everything - Electoral roll, doctor, insurances etc. Never had a problem, although didn't need to apply for a mortgage.

LittleBeck

Thanks for the replies, yes correct! my nan does live alone so I would be worried that putting myself on the electoral roll at her house would affect her council tax which is another reason I haven't done it. But perhaps as thermal2844 suggests it may not be as much of an issue as I think. I'm not sure what address shows up on my credit report, I'll find out.

Many thanks

SnuggleBuggles

Hi! I live in London too. I love the idea of living on a boat. Out of curiosity, how do you manage your commute to work if you have to move on (from where you're living) every 2 weeks? Presumably you don't know where you'll be living from one fortnight to the next. Genuinely curious.

Good luck with the mortgage application!

LittleBeck

Luckily alot of the canals are never far from a train line/ station. If you think about it, they were the original train line ferrying goods around! And when they were looking to build the railways they often looked for the path of least resistance, which is often the valley bottom where the canal runs along, also means the A10 isn't far away unfortunately! I've been on the canals about 6 years so know which spots are good!