2nd time around "1st time buyers" - any help?

Imladris

Hi, I think I'm on a roll today, posted first time after joining a year ago then reading around the forum brought this up.
My husband and I hope to be debt free in 3-5 years, and depending on exactly when and how I return to work (SAHM to three, youngest is 2yo), to have started saving a deposit to hopefully buy the house we live in off our very wonderful landlord.
Hubby and I bought a house together 2007 as first time buyers, in my maiden name, but I don't think that changes anything as still me. He was made redundant around the time we fell for our first child resulting in a few years of financial instability, we now have 3 children, and we sold the flat in 2016. This was after we had moved to rent a larger house due to the growing family, and rented out the flat for about 18mths. The tenants were friends, and frankly resulted in too much expense fixing their messing up of the flat to justify the added costs of insurance, a deposit scheme etc. We didn't have the credit score to afford a 3 bed house at that time, and our rent was cheaper than our mortgage on the flat, plus we had been with GMAC for our first mortgage so when they went bust we got a far better deal on a much smaller amount that GMAC let us off in return for remortgaging elsewhere.
We have been renting ever since, but now, can't possibly scrape enough for a deposit along with the ongoing costs of running a family of 5 on one wage - even with 2 wages that would be hard with house prices and the debts we are clearing.

Is there nothing out there, for 2nd time around 1st time buyers, perhaps who can prove they have been renting for a set period? Obviously they'd want to avoid people just selling up and moving in with parents or friends for just a year, so perhaps something like 3-5 years which people are less likely to do to trick the system.

I'd have thought we were a safer bet than many first time buyers, as stable now and had our family already, plus we've done this before and kept up the mortgage.

Surely schemes for existing families like us would help free up the cheaper properties for first time buyers, considering we are demonstrably meeting our rent in a higher cost area? (Bristol).

Otherwise, has anyone heard any whispers that such a thing is in the works?

Thankyou!

Slinky

The clue is in the name I'm afraid. You cannot become a 'born again' First time buyer.

Pixie5740

Imladris wrote: »

Hi, I think I'm on a roll today, posted first time after joining a year ago then reading around the forum brought this up.
My husband and I hope to be debt free in 3-5 years, and depending on exactly when and how I return to work (SAHM to three, youngest is 2yo), to have started saving a deposit to hopefully buy the house we live in off our very wonderful landlord.
Hubby and I bought a house together 2007 as first time buyers, in my maiden name, but I don't think that changes anything as still me. He was made redundant around the time we fell for our first child resulting in a few years of financial instability, we now have 3 children, and we sold the flat in 2016. This was after we had moved to rent a larger house due to the growing family, and rented out the flat for about 18mths. The tenants were friends, and frankly resulted in too much expense fixing their messing up of the flat to justify the added costs of insurance, a deposit scheme etc. We didn't have the credit score to afford a 3 bed house at that time, and our rent was cheaper than our mortgage on the flat, plus we had been with GMAC for our first mortgage so when they went bust we got a far better deal on a much smaller amount that GMAC let us off in return for remortgaging elsewhere.
We have been renting ever since, but now, can't possibly scrape enough for a deposit along with the ongoing costs of running a family of 5 on one wage - even with 2 wages that would be hard with house prices and the debts we are clearing.

Is there nothing out there, for 2nd time around 1st time buyers, perhaps who can prove they have been renting for a set period? Obviously they'd want to avoid people just selling up and moving in with parents or friends for just a year, so perhaps something like 3-5 years which people are less likely to do to trick the system.

I'd have thought we were a safer bet than many first time buyers, as stable now and had our family already, plus we've done this before and kept up the mortgage.

Surely schemes for existing families like us would help free up the cheaper properties for first time buyers, considering we are demonstrably meeting our rent in a higher cost area? (Bristol).

Otherwise, has anyone heard any whispers that such a thing is in the works?

Thankyou!

What credit score do you think is required in order to purchase a 3 bedroom house? Do you mean that you didn't meet affordability to get a mortgage large enough to purchase a 3 bedroom property and/or that you were unable to save a large enough deposit?

How can you be second time around first time buyers? That makes no sense. Some mortgage lenders might regard you as first time buyers again but in terms of a HTB ISA, LISA or SDLT relief you are not first time buyers and will never again be first time buyers.

HTB Equity Loan and HTB Shared Ownership are not restricted to FTB so those options could be available to you but you will still require some amount of deposit.