Mortgage application between jobs

Kartoffelbrei

We're mostly in a good position for a mortgage offer of a 380k house - we both have great credit rating, good incomes and a deposit worth half the value of the house, including the proceeds of a sale of my first home. We're looking to borrow 190k, which is far below the ~500k we were being offered as a limit in agreements in principle. 

My partner just lost his job in an unstable industry. It's happened before but he always bounces back. He earns 60k pa though, and freelances between jobs, typically making a similar amount. He's in negotiations with multiple potential job offers but this leaves a month or two gap in employment. Although he's doing work between jobs, there isn't a track record of self-employment we can show, because it's irregular. I'm 55k so we can definitely afford this mortgage, but an agreement in principle based on just my salary is coming in below what we need to borrow - £140k.

Why is a MIP showing that I can borrow so much less than half of what we could have done together on both salaries? 
Are there lenders who are better options for this situation?
How do we best explain this to a lender?
Is it possible to delay applying for a mortgage until he has a signed contract? 

We need to move, and are selling our house so pulling out isn't an option.

[Deleted User]

Pretty sure that this is in the incorrect forum!

Grumpy_chap

Kartoffelbrei said:

We're mostly in a good position for a mortgage offer of a 380k house - we both have great credit rating, good incomes and a deposit worth half the value of the house, including the proceeds of a sale of my first home. We're looking to borrow 190k, which is far below the ~500k we were being offered as a limit in agreements in principle. 

My partner just lost his job in an unstable industry. It's happened before but he always bounces back. He earns 60k pa though, and freelances between jobs, typically making a similar amount. He's in negotiations with multiple potential job offers but this leaves a month or two gap in employment. Although he's doing work between jobs, there isn't a track record of self-employment we can show, because it's irregular. I'm 55k so we can definitely afford this mortgage, but an agreement in principle based on just my salary is coming in below what we need to borrow - £140k.

Why is a MIP showing that I can borrow so much less than half of what we could have done together on both salaries? 
Are there lenders who are better options for this situation?
How do we best explain this to a lender?
Is it possible to delay applying for a mortgage until he has a signed contract? 

We need to move, and are selling our house so pulling out isn't an option.

This query might be better suited to the "Mortgages & Endowments" boards, not "Cutting Tax".

Are you working with a Broker?

When a Lender considers the borrowing based on just the sole income (£55k), are they also seeing your expenditure at the higher level that really requires both incomes to service?  This could explain the < 3 x salary multiple for borrowing.
You also need to consider any other debts that you may have between you, which will now be seen as having to be satisfied form the sole income as there is only the sole income at present.  A mortgage lender cannot take into account earnings that you partner might (or might not) earn.

From a presentational perspective, even if it is true, describing your partner's job as being in an "unstable industry" may not be the best choice of words for a lender to hear.

GrumpyDil

OP. 

As above this would be better placed in the Mortgage and Endowments forum so I have reported the post for it to be moved. 

That said I suspect as above that the mortgage company is seeing an income of 55k to support two of you rather than an income of 120k which means the lending calculations change a lot.