Non Court Ordered CM payments as income?

LM1186

Hi There, 

I've spent the last 12 months really trying to get my finances in order. I managed to get a historical default date changed so now all my adverse history is over 4 years old except one missed payment recorded 3.6 years ago.
Unfortunately, in that time, house prices in my area have sky rocketed and I can not afford to buy a house as a single person in the conventional way so I am looking at Shared Ownership. I have 2 x teenage daughters so would like to find a 3 bed property. During my search, I have realised that there is a minimum salary requirement for most properties with the mortgage and rent taken into account - I do earn just above the minimum salary requirement for the 3 bedroom properties I have found, but some of my income is non court ordered child maintenance payments, also the payments are for my youngest daughter who is 12, 13 in the summer. What are the chances of any mortgage company accepting this type of income? Frustratingly, the cost of a 3 bed shared ownership property is a lot less than I currently pay in a private rental. 

[Deleted User]

If you can evidence it being received for 6-12 months or more then you should have plenty options 

LM1186

Thank you for your response. That’s really good to know. It has been paid on the same day every month for 5 years so no problem there. 

I spoke with a mortgage broker who told me unless maintenance is paid via the CSA or court ordered - it would not be considered. He also said that because she’s over the age of 12, most mortgage companies won’t accept it.

My basic salary would certainly put me in the running for most 2 bedrooms but I would need the extra income to be considered for a 3 bed. 

housebuyer143

LM1186 said:

Thank you for your response. That’s really good to know. It has been paid on the same day every month for 5 years so no problem there. 

I spoke with a mortgage broker who told me unless maintenance is paid via the CSA or court ordered - it would not be considered. He also said that because she’s over the age of 12, most mortgage companies won’t accept it.

My basic salary would certainly put me in the running for most 2 bedrooms but I would need the extra income to be considered for a 3 bed. 

I would try another broker. I tried 6 until I found one who was able to find a lender who took DLA in a child's name as income. Of the 6, only one rang me back (prob because they couldn't find anyone) and they recommended me the lender I ended up using. 
They were a specialist residential broker who I got the impression did much harder cases than mine. 
Not all lenders are going to take it, but some really wont care as long as you can prove you have been getting it a certain amount of time. 

housebuyer143

Just having a look, Skipton Building Society accept this with 3 months evidence. They are a great lender, so maybe look there - they also lend up to 4.75x your salary.

LM1186

Thank you @housebuyer143 - that’s really helpful. 

I totally get that not all lenders will accept it and I know my circumstances aren’t the most ideal. I’ll look for a more specialist broker. 

I got the impression from the broker I spoke to that because my circumstances weren’t straightforward, he wasn’t particularly interested anyway.