Foster carer getting car finance?

Pixiemia

Hi,
So basically I am a foster carer and can’t seem to find any information on what I would put on a finance application in terms of what I earn. The way it works with fostering is that I get a sum of money each month and that includes money for the children in my care and money for myself as payment. I’m classed as self-employed even though I work for a fostering agency. Im hesitant to put the full amount that I receive each month as that it isn’t all for me although I choose how to spend it. It’s for food clothing mortgage and petrol etc same as a normal family. So far I haven’t been able to get a breakdown of the individual payments from my fostering agency and we also have access to financial advisors but they have told me they don’t deal with credit etc so wouldn’t be able to help me.
I’d just like to know if I am able to put the amount I actually get each month down as my income on a finance agreement. The car we are looking at is £8,999 and our car to part exchange would give us £3,500 deposit so we would be looking at about £6000 over 36 months which I can more than cover with what I get, it’s just showing that on the application that’s got me confused. We would just save up and buy it outright but are having issues with our current car so need a new one pretty soon. Can anyone help?

unholyangel

Who is the application for? Call them and ask. Its their application so only really they can tell you.

I would highlight however, that dealer arranged finance tends to have a much higher apr than a personal loan (for example).

I would also ask if hmrc are aware of your foster income and whether you are getting appropriate tax relief (amount varies depending on how long you have them and how old they are). If so then their records can be used to confirm your income if any questions arise.

AdrianC

You must know how much of it is your income - because you pay income tax on that portion...

Pixiemia

We have only been doing it for 6 months so haven’t finished a tax year yet, however foster carer allowance is entitled to tax relief so I won’t have to pay any tax on what I earn.

Pixiemia

HMRC are aware of my self-employed status but as we’ve only been doing it for 6 months haven’t had to complete a self-assessment return yet.
Yeah we’ve spoken to the people providing the finance but most of them have never dealt with foster carers before so can’t give an answer.
We may just have to do it in my partners name as he is in full time employment and can evidence his earnings.

missile

Have you tried to arrange a bank loan to finance and negotiate a discount on the car?

If it were me, I would state the full amount of your income as "earnings". If you were in employment with children would you deduct an amount for what you would spend on your own kids?

Arklight

Pixiemia wrote: »

HMRC are aware of my self-employed status but as we’ve only been doing it for 6 months haven’t had to complete a self-assessment return yet.
Yeah we’ve spoken to the people providing the finance but most of them have never dealt with foster carers before so can’t give an answer.
We may just have to do it in my partners name as he is in full time employment and can evidence his earnings.

Unless you actually need the finance deal to get them to sell you the car, I would apply for a Zopa loan. They're a peer to peer lender. In my experience getting a loan up to £10k is no problem at all if your credit is OK, and at 1.79% APR, will probably cost the same or less than adding it to your mortgage.

You can pay it off as early as you like and they don't need any details of the vehicle, or confirmation that you've bought one. You just complete a short application and the money arrives in your account a few days later. I wouldn't normally recommend finance online but it's so easy to do I feel like I have to tell everyone.

I actually borrowed a bit too much as I wasn't sure how much we'd spend. Rather than return it I spent it on chips and other things, which they assured me was fine.

https://www.zopa.com/loans

Mercdriver

Arklight wrote: »

Unless you actually need the finance deal to get them to sell you the car, I would apply for a Zopa loan. They're a peer to peer lender. In my experience getting a loan up to £10k is no problem at all if your credit is OK, and at 1.79% APR, will probably cost the same or less than adding it to your mortgage.

You can pay it off as early as you like and they don't need any details of the vehicle, or confirmation that you've bought one. You just complete a short application and the money arrives in your account a few days later. I wouldn't normally recommend finance online but it's so easy to do I feel like I have to tell everyone.

I actually borrowed a bit too much as I wasn't sure how much we'd spend. Rather than return it I spent it on chips and other things, which they assured me was fine.

https://www.zopa.com/loans

I'm not sure seriously anyone should take your post.

onwards&upwards

Pixiemia wrote: »

Im hesitant to put the full amount that I receive each month as that it isn’t all for me although I choose how to spend it. It’s for food clothing mortgage and petrol etc same as a normal family.

That’s exactly the same as everybody else’s income! Nobody else has to deduct what they spend on essentials, I don’t see why you would.

AdrianC

onwards&upwards wrote: »

That’s exactly the same as everybody else’s income! Nobody else has to deduct what they spend on essentials, I don’t see why you would.

Because what a foster carer spends on the kids they're fostering is a legitimate expense of their job. That's how fostering works.

onwards&upwards

AdrianC wrote: »

Because what a foster carer spends on the kids they're fostering is a legitimate expense of their job. That's how fostering works.

Parents have to spend on their kids as a legitimate expense of being a parent!