Can foster carers get a mortgage?

Michela

Hi,
I own my house with my partner outright.

We are looking to get a mortgage for around 80k over 15 years to pay for a further renovation to add more bedrooms.

I am a foster carer getting and my partner is in a high-up position in education. 

The house is currently worth 750k and a similar renovation to what we have planned sold for 995k.

But I am concerned my foster caring will result in a no go. I don't really want to give it up and go back to full time work. Not just for me but it would be devastating for all of us.

But I keep reading contradictory articles, some saying no way and lenders instantly dismiss anyone fostering.

Thanks 

MWT

As far as I know, the issue is usually just getting a lender to accept the foster care allowance as 'income', but if you are only looking for £80k and your partner is in a senior position in education then it doesn't sound like you will have a problem on the affordability.

Find a good broker and let them find a suitable lender for your needs...

K_S

@michela Exactly what MWT said above. If you're only looking to borrow 80k over 15 years the most straightforward option by far is a joint application with your partner's income and your income being not considered.

The foster children will likely need to go down as dependents but again with the numbers given and the limited info in your post, I don't see any evident affordability issues unless you are talking about raising an extra 80k on top of your current mortgage?

If that is the case, and the foster-carer income is also needed, then it's not for all lenders but (subject to affordability numbers stacking up) there are lenders who will consider as long as the foster-carer can evidence a track-record and it is seen as sustainable.

Michela

K_S said:

@michela Exactly what MWT said above. If you're only looking to borrow 80k over 15 years the most straightforward option by far is a joint application with your partner's income and your income being not considered.

The foster children will likely need to go down as dependents but again with the numbers given and the limited info in your post, I don't see any evident affordability issues unless you are talking about raising an extra 80k on top of your current mortgage?

If that is the case, and the foster-carer income is also needed, then it's not for all lenders but (subject to affordability numbers stacking up) there are lenders who will consider as long as the foster-carer can evidence a track-record and it is seen as sustainable.

Thank you both. That is helpful, it's a real shame it's not recognised as it's 36k a year,  no wonder they struggle to find people to foster, I guess currently it's not recognised as a job. Which it is, I hope that changes. Obviously part of that is for the children. 

Anyway we don't have a mortgage, we did until last year but was able to pay it off in full due to inheritance. There was never any issues with it, our credit score is high when I checked it. So I hope it's all OK.

So does that mean I can still go on the mortgage? Thanks 

K_S

@michela Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - fostering income IS indeed considered by some lenders. It's just that it's better to keep it off if not needed as you would be unnecessarily limiting your pool of lenders. It's not uncommon at all and the fostering income criteria is pretty well established.

Yes, you can still go on the mortgage even without your income being considered.

Michela

K_S said:

@michela Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - fostering income IS indeed considered by some lenders. It's just that it's better to keep it off if not needed as you would be unnecessarily limiting your pool of lenders. It's not uncommon at all and the fostering income criteria is pretty well established.

Yes, you can still go on the mortgage even without your income being considered.

Thank you, that's great. Sorry for all the questions, but if I am down on it will they not want to see my income? Or do they see it but we don't put it down . 

K_S

Michela said:

K_S said:

@michela Sorry if I gave the wrong impression - fostering income IS indeed considered by some lenders. It's just that it's better to keep it off if not needed as you would be unnecessarily limiting your pool of lenders. It's not uncommon at all and the fostering income criteria is pretty well established.

Yes, you can still go on the mortgage even without your income being considered.

Thank you, that's great. Sorry for all the questions, but if I am down on it will they not want to see my income? Or do they see it but we don't put it down . 

@michela I don't know how it is when you go direct, but generally speaking as a broker I'll package it accordingly depending on the specific lender. For the lesser used ones I might run it past the lender beforehand to ask how I can make a note for the underwriter on the application.

If you're going direct, just ask the lender. If you're going through a broker, they'll know what to do. Good luck!

kingstreet

Michela - if we don't need an income to meet affordability we will often leave it off the application if verification will prove troublesome.