On the house hunt again - mortgage advice needed

Bepolite

The situation has changed somewhat from the last time I was looking. We have c. 100K available but are looking for a mortgage of about 100K more. We save regularly and have a combined income of about 55K (Wife making most of that but is on a three year fix term contract - I'm dossing earning very little around 5 figures... just). We also have an apartment in massive negative equity, but the mortgage is very low (due to the current rates) and it would rent out easily.

Are we completely out of luck ref mortgages do you think?

Many Thanks in advance.

chris85

Bepolite wrote: »

The situation has changed somewhat from the last time I was looking. We have c. 100K available but are looking for a mortgage of about 100K more. We save regularly and have a combined income of about 55K (Wife making most of that but is on a three year fix term contract - I'm dossing earning very little around 5 figures... just). We also have an apartment in massive negative equity, but the mortgage is very low (due to the current rates) and it would rent out easily.

Are we completely out of luck ref mortgages do you think?

Many Thanks in advance.

Well if your wife is not permanent then no chance due to risk being there that at end of contract there is no position there any longer then what do you do? Also your apartment may have low rates now but what happens in few years when rates can only go up and you find yourselves a few months without tennants. I would say your chances are very low.

Bepolite

chris85 wrote: »

Well if your wife is not permanent then no chance due to risk being there that at end of contract there is no position there any longer then what do you do? Also your apartment may have low rates now but what happens in few years when rates can only go up and you find yourselves a few months without tennants. I would say your chances are very low.

Very unlikely the apartment won't rent and we've options if for what ever reason we couldn't rent it: fire, flood, famine etc. Wife's line of work is generally contracts for the majority of people employed doing it, they don't seem to have issues getting mortgages, that said they're not all in the same boat in relation to neg equity.

Thanks for your input - if anyone else has any suggestions I'd be much obliged.

bingolife

Seems to be a bad time at the moment (is it ever a good time). As a potential first time buyer I went to my bank during the summer and asked them what I need to do - and they turned me down with no explanation. So I went to a mortgage broker and he told me to save for a few months more than the would-be mortgage, which I did. Now it's a case of trying to engage the bank etc, and it feels like the whole process has stagnated. In the last couple of months there's been allot of coverage about house prices going back up. This is bad news for the buyer. Media coverage about house prices is a self fulfilling prophecy, in many ways. My humble opinion.

Bepolite

bingolife wrote: »

Seems to be a bad time at the moment (is it ever a good time). As a potential first time buyer I went to my bank during the summer and asked them what I need to do - and they turned me down with no explanation. So I went to a mortgage broker and he told me to save for a few months more than the would-be mortgage, which I did. Now it's a case of trying to engage the bank etc, and it feels like the whole process has stagnated. In the last couple of months there's been allot of coverage about house prices going back up. This is bad news for the buyer. Media coverage about house prices is a self fulfilling prophecy, in many ways. My humble opinion.

Thanks for the input Bing. To update this I got on to a Mortgage broker and explained the situation and I have to say she was excellent. She calculated we can get a 140K (roughly - she was exact but I don't want to be too exact here) mortgage with our circumstances, that the wife's situation wasn't a problem for some lenders (excludes others).

With the fact that we've saved 35K have another 65K incoming and that we save the perspective monthly repayments on the mortgage each month she reckons we're in with a shot at least.

Now (if we get approval) it's going to be dealing with time wasting estate agents. If anyone has any tips on this please let me know. I have an awful time getting them to ring me back/view properties. We're tending to look at the bottom end, but they still seem to sell so they must have people in mind or something.

DaisyD2

bingolife wrote: »

In the last couple of months there's been allot of coverage about house prices going back up. This is bad news for the buyer. Media coverage about house prices is a self fulfilling prophecy, in many ways. My humble opinion.

Unfortunately not just media coverage, a close friend experienced the problem in Dublin first hand. She sold a 4-bed but was looking to buy another 4 (or roomy 3) early last year. They hit a few snags which dragged process on months during which time she continued viewing houses. She noticed same people at some open houses & got talking to them or Agents. Mostly foreign living in London flying in with open cheque books. Shes lost out on a few properties, even one she had deposit down. Shes really worried now. They had hoped (indeed needed) to do this mortgage free but looks like they are in real trouble with regard to getting priced out of their desired location &/or house size. It all comes back to supply & demand in right locations. Very bad news for buyers.

OP best you can do is keep saving & talk to people in spouses field who have/are getting mortgages, how are they doing it? I suspect its because other spouse.

Just seen your response. How to deal with agents - leg work! Research properties yourself. My friend is in similar circumstance & is doing it all themselves & finding agents very hard to get responses from too. Thinks the reason is the cash buyer is King so they're not interested when they find they are in chain/applying for mortgage. They are no longer in chain but longer it drags on the dodgier their mortgage approval gets

bingolife

Bepolite - I'm looking back over the figures you've thrown out and to me its a no brainer you're worthy of approval. I wouldn't feel you have to put a spotlight on the 3 year contract either - banks are great at setting rules, and poor at sticking to them.

DaisyD2 - Yea I've heard 2013 was the year that houses were to hit their trough, and investors were buying up as many as they could. So that should start to slow down this year as the sellers start to hold out for higher prices. I wonder what happened all those empty apartments? Demand has risen?

Bepolite

bingolife wrote: »

Bepolite - I'm looking back over the figures you've thrown out and to me its a no brainer you're worthy of approval. I wouldn't feel you have to put a spotlight on the 3 year contract either - banks are great at setting rules, and poor at sticking to them.

That's actually a great point!