Help for impatient first time buyers

PoppySoper

Hi everyone,
Hope you can help after speaking with a mortgage advisor, was told we can only get a mortgage for £200k we have a deposit but because my partner is the only one working, we don't have enough income to secure a bigger mortgage so have to save more, a bit of a pain as the houses we like are all around the £250k mark.

Two houses we like are currently empty and been on the market a year, do you think it's worth getting a mortgage in principle and making offers at 200k is there any chance anyone would accept that. would the current situation work in our favour.

We have been renting for 7 years and saving the past two and never missed a payment, it's so time we started paying our own mortgage instead of someone else's.

My son is autistic non verbal and we are still trying to get him in a specialised school, hence me not being able to go back to work.

Comms69

with a £50k income (roughly) two years savings must be fairly substantial, whats your deposit?

You might struggle to knock £50k off a property, but £20k would not be unheard of. Then again who knows how desperate someone is to sell.

princeofpounds

It's possible, but probably still not likely. If they have been on the market that long, they may take an offer, but it's probable they have already dropped their marketing prices somewhat, and/or they aren't that desperate to sell.

But it wouldn't hurt to try, as long as you make the point that you know the offer is probably lower than they want but it's genuine and all you can afford. Also bear in mind there are additional costs for buying and moving you will need to cover, don't underestimate them.

Don't stress too much about renting - a mortgage is largely renting money from the bank rather than a property from a landlord. Yes, it can be more economic over long periods (although that is certainly not always the case) but the difference is usually smaller than people think as long as house prices aren't trending upwards.

PoppySoper

Thank you both our income was just over 46k the year before was 55k but my partner works in construction and lots of work was on hold last year. I mean just over a year saving now I think about it we have 15k saved so was hoping for a 5% deposit and we expected about 3k fees from looking online we can probably borrow a little extra from family if we asked but nobody has offered. 

We should have excellent credit as no loans, debt or overdraft or late payments as far as I can remember, I also paid off my car finance last year.

We are only really in such a rush as we have our daughter in our bedroom still she is nearly two as she can't share a room with her brother for safety reasons, plus not really happy in our home. I am a dog groomer so once we had our home I could work from home also. Both houses we like have outbuildings. 

Comms69

If you arent really tied to the area, could you look further afield (with the proviso of a school suitable to your child)?

a 5% deposit is risky at the minute - whilst i wont make predictions, i wouldnt be buying under such circumstances. 

[Deleted User]

You are ideally placed to be patient and make observations about the of the economy as it stabilises and the impact of all this on the housing market. I've had an offer accepted pre-covid and its now very difficult psychologically to consider pulling out of the deal, yet there are big red flags for property prices and the economy in general. There are pros and cons for me which cannot easily be resolved at this time. So rather than giving yourself difficult decisions, bide your time. The fact that you don't quite have the money is fortunate in the sense that the decision is more straightforward.

PoppySoper

Thanks for your replies, if I am honest we really have no clue, hence speaking to a advisor who seemed to basically just use a mortgage calculator on Halifax, we are none the wiser.
We both come from families who don't own their homes so most of what I know if from reading online. 

I'm just worried about how long to wait will prices drop right down then sky rocket before we could get one.

steampowered

Did you speak to an adviser at your bank, or an adviser from a broker? An adviser at your bank will only be able to sell you that bank's mortgages! Your usual bank may not lend as much as other lenders, and is unlikely to be offering the best deal.

On a £46k income you'd normally be able to borrow a bit more than £200k. If you haven't already done a search online (https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/mortgages/best-buys/) or spoken to an independent mortgage broker, you should do that.

If it is true that the most you can afford is a £200k house, I think you'll need to find cheaper properties. I can see a house listed for £250k being sold for perhaps £230-240k, but not for £200k.