Help Can I Do This? 30 August 2005 at 6:11AM in House buying, renting & selling 10 replies 1.1K views

scotvik

I have been offered a 3 bedroom flat for a fixed price of £55,000 by a friend so it would be a straightforward sale. I currently live with my partner in rented accommodation. My partner unfortunately is unemployed so we have to rely on my wage. I would love to buy this flat as I will never get an offer like this again but I don't know if I can get a mortgage. I earn £13,000 a year but I owe around £12,000 in a loan and credit cards.

Would I be able to do this or is it a no go?

Many thanks

Edinburghlass_2

First thing, can you email Webmaster at [email protected] and he will change your user name for you as its not a good idea to have your email address as your user name.

Sadly people can and do pick up on email addresses and then spam you.

If you can think of something you would like to be known as and email that choice to Webbie he will fix it for you.

Welcome to MSE and I am sure someone will be along soon to actually answer your question

scotvik

I don't know why it is shown it as I thought I had picked a username for displaying. Tried to change it but don't know how to so have e-mailed as you have suggested. Many thanks.

mr218

In my experience, at 13000 K an year you would be able to get a maximum of 4 times your wage, which comes to a 52 K mortgage.

can you muster about 5 % deposit, because that is required to get a decent deal. 5% works out to 2750 pounds. you dont have stamp duty to pay, but you will have to pay a solicitor and land registry fees. plus some expenses in moving etc. So i think you would need a minimum of 3500 pounds.

in short, if you can raise 3000 pounds deposit, about 1000 pounds in expenses, they it may be possible to get the 52 K mortgage. but your loan is a problem as they will ask you to list your debts and outgoings every month

if your partner is unemployed does he get any benefit, which can go towards paying the loan payments.

overall, i think it looks a bit difficult to raise 55K and you should consult a mortgage advisor. initial consultations are free and my mortgage broker charged about 200 pounds for arranging 2 mortgages and he also got commission from the lender. it is well worth it if you have a non straightforward situation.

also, you need to figure out whether you can actually afford this place if you get a mortgage. how much rent do you pay now. is there a deposit for your rental place, which you can put towards buying your flat.

however, you need to be sure that you are actually getting a good deal on the flat. it makes sense for your friend as he can avoid paying 2% of the estate agents fees to get the house. so you need to research your market and figure out if it is a good deal. if not chat to your friend and tell them what you think would be a good deal for both of you

Woby_Tide

the loan/credit cards is the big problem, Nationwides calcualtor is throwing up potential mortgages of around £25-31k depending on whether you class the £12k debt as loan or CC

Skint_Catt

I earn similar amount to you and know that I would not be able to repay the £300+ repayments that a mortgage of that amount would incur.

I am not in debt except for a small 0% car loan but when you take into account Council Tax, Insurance (mortgage/life and buildings and contents), phone, TV, gas, electric, water, running a car, debt repayments, food, clothes, furniture and maintenance it's just impossible to pay for all this and not get into more debt. Don't forget you have to 'live' aswell, although you might think now that you wouldn't mind staying in more often or cutting right down you can't actually live that way for more than a short while.

I've put it on hold, and am saving for a bigger deposit and just seeing where things lead me, but I know that I would be unhappy at struggling.

What area of the country do you live - is this a once in a lifetime offer? I know that there is nothing in my area for that much so if this is the case and you think that you can work it out (can your partner get a job or are they injured/ill?) then go for it.

I'm not sure if the amount of debt you are in might be prohibitive to a mortgage lender either, but really this should be your first consideration - to pay your debts off.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive.

S_C

scotvik

It does sound like I won't be able to afford this. Since my outgoings at the moment use up my whole wage. I'm paying £250 rent a month and it's just a pity that can't go towards my own house rather than rent but probably would have to pay debts off first (5 grand loan and 6 grand on credit card) but that is going to take forever I'm afraid.

meanmachine_2

Tell your hubbie that if he gets a job you'll be able to get your own gaff.

They're always looking for bus drivers in my region. Could he not do that?

If there were two incomes, then the house would be easily affordable and you could start eating into that debt.

As it stands you ain't going nowhere and it sounds to me like your debts could even grow over time.

Good luck though!

ManAtHome

meanmachine wrote:

Tell your hubbie that if he gets a job you'll be able to get your own gaff.

Would second that - even a few hundred a month from a part-time job would make hell of a difference. Is OH not getting much help from the jobcentre?

scotvik

Not any help from the jobcentre whatsoever. He has been in temporary work over the last few years but he has been out of work since june and doesn't look as if anything is possible right now. He keeps trying though. My friend who has the flat has said he know a good financial advisor and he will get in touch with her for me.

If anything, if I don't get a mortgage maybe she can help sort out my debts.

djohn2002uk

email address still showing in thanks.