First time buyer with 1 child

1919

Hi, I am looking to buy my first property. I work part time (33hrs per wk), earn £32k pa, have £20k in savings and no debts. I have a 2 year old child.

currently I live with my partner but for many reasons I want to buy my own property. I think I’d be looking for something between £90k-£120k and have come across a few suitable properties within that price range.
 I really have no idea about buying a property and I’m concerned I may not be eligible for a mortgage as I have a child and will be living without a partner. 

Can I reach out to a mortgage advisor to check if i can get a mortgage before I find a property? 

Thank you! 

Sazzy1253

Hi

we were in a similar position abs were worried about this so we went to a mortgage broker first and who advised what we’d be able to afford and if we were likely to get a mortgage etc. It was very helpful 

K_S

@1919 Looking to buy a 120k house, 20k (15%+) deposit, no debt, 32k basic income, 1 dependent, you should have options to borrow what you need. Given the age of the child, if there are significant childcare costs that may dampen your affordability numbers.

Yes, you can indeed get in touch with a broker before you start viewings to get a realistic idea of your borrowing options. Just make sure they aren't just giving you a straight multiplier (32k x 4.5-4.75 times) without getting the details.

Grumpy_chap

1919 said:

currently I live with my partner but for many reasons I want to buy my own property. 

Is this your own property to continue living with your partner, or are you separating?
If the latter, does your partner have any claim to your deposit fund?

1919

Thanks for the replies. It will be my property to live in. My partner will continue to live in his house, but we are not separating. Not an ideal family set up!

Sofee3

Best thing to do to give you an idea is use a mortgage calculator on a banks/building society website, try Nationwide, Santander and Halifax and  they will give you an idea. 

TBagpuss

As others have said, start by using the online calculators - lenders do ask bout dependents and about other financial commitments such as paying for child care, some will also take into account income from child maintenance although they may require proof such as a CMS assessment or coy of a written agreement between you and the paying parent. 

It sounds as though you would be looking to borrow around £100,000 which is only just over 3x income so I would anticipate you should be fine, unless you have a history of poor credit or anything of that kind. 

Halifax's basic calculator asks about dependents and about regular commitments so is probably more accurate than the basic Nationwide one at present.