getting a house

[4magpies]

You might be interested to know that The Nottingham are offering 95% LTV mortgages in some areas of the country, though the FR is 6.39% for 2 years (high for now but not compared to what the rates used to be in the property boom).

We are in the process of trying to buy a house (like waiting to exchange) and it has been the single most stressful thing I have ever done. I feel like I am on the verge of a nervous breakdown and keep wondering if it's worth it all. We are buying because I cannot see us being able to buy after having a baby, due to me, as the higher earner, not working. It would be difficult to get a mortgage based on DH's income alone.

I havent found it that stressful. Have things been going wrong for you?

We have just exchanged and are waiting for the house to be finished so we can complete. The stressful bit for us is going to be the actual moving I think.

Still in the process of trying to sort out life insurance though as my OH has a high risk job and we have both had some health problems (he had a massive car accident & i have my "lady" problems).

We have 75% mortgage plus 5% cash deposit, 10% equity loan from house builder, 10% equity loan from the government.

xxx

 

[Sooz]

We have no chain and should have completed in 6 weeks. We are now in week sixteen. The sellers solicitors are absolute cowboys and keep fobbing us off, the only thing holding us back? A flipping piece of A4 paper no-one can find. Ridiculous. I have been up making phone calls since 8am. We could end up homeless by the end of this month.

 

[Blah11]

Just say you want to buy now whilst prices are low. Theyre rising now so dont hang around too long if you want a bargain!
I bought my house when Amelie was 5 months old. I was 21 and me and OH did it through a shared equity scheme too. We own 80% of the house rightout and they 'own' 20% (although they dont have any say in when we sell, decor etc etc). We'll be buying 10% back next year and the final 10% in another 4 years.

 

[4magpies]

We have no chain and should have completed in 6 weeks. We are now in week sixteen. The sellers solicitors are absolute cowboys and keep fobbing us off, the only thing holding us back? A flipping piece of A4 paper no-one can find. Ridiculous. I have been up making phone calls since 8am. We could end up homeless by the end of this month.

Ahh hun that sounds like a nightmare. Stupid solicitors!!

We are lucky and both got everything sorted very quickly.

Hope they get it sorted soon.

xxx

 

[maybabydoll]

We're in the process of moving and we've been very fortunate, as I brought my first home ten years ago and moving to house #4! Personally, I would say, if you can afford it, home ownership is a good long term plan. Like a lot of the girls have already said, perhaps a scheme or shared ownership would be suitable for you.

I'm not sure of your circumstances, but if you're serious about buying a home, you need to do some maths and first thing to do is, to see if you can get the finance is place. For example, say you and OH earn £15,000 pa each and the bank will lend you say 3.5 times your salary with a 5% deposit.

You would have a mortgage of: (£15,000 * 2) * 3.5 = £105,000.
And would need a deposit around £5,000.
You would also need savings for the fees/legal fees etc.

Obviously, this was just a quick example, but a bank would be able to go through it properly and let you know what you could afford and how much the monthly repayments would be. Don't be scared of asking them, as they are there to help!

Good luck with whatever you decide. x x

 

[Princess_LV]

You'd be lucky to get a mortgage with a 5% deposit at the moment, at the moment most banks won't lend more than 90% of the value of the house, so you would need a 10% deposit. Something else to bear in mind is that, when the bank decides how much they will lend, they base this on their valuation of the house, not the price that it is on the market for. They will often value it at less than it is being sold for, which means that in the long run, you may need more than 10%.

A lot of the major banks also will not lend on shared ownership, as they do not receive a strong enough security for the loan. They will however lend on the government backed schemes. As the previous poster said, if you really want to do it, book an appointment with a mortgage advisor at the bank. As you are both students, I'd ask them if they do any special graduate mortgages. I know Natwest does, on quite favorable terms x

 

[4magpies]

My mortgage is with natwest 5% deposit.

4.something % interest aswell so not bad at all.

xxx

 

[Princess_LV]

But you got yours on a scheme didn't you? When saying 5% would be hard to get ahold of, I meant on a non-scheme purchase. Natwest mortgages are generally very good on interest rates we found, esp the first time buyer mortgages. Also no product fees! I must sound like a right loser, but mortgages really interest me, being an aspiring property lawyer and all lolx

 

[DJ987]

Yeh your on home buy direct aren't you Becca so they technically count your loan from that as part of the deposit. You meant for 95% LTV didn't you Leah? Xx

 

[4magpies]

Yeaaah I'm homebuy. Sorry didnt realise what you were on about! Im having a blonde day today I think girls.

xxxx

 

[DJ987]

baby brain?????

 

[4magpies]

baby brain?????

*goes for another wee to see if the witch has turned up*

 

[Princess_LV]

Oooh how lovely for you if it is baby brain!

I was going to say, if they are offering 95% mortgages again I'll be hammering down their door for one tomorrow. Although we have decided baby first, house later, if the opportunity arose to buy on, I'd jump on the wagon while they are still relatively cheap! I reckon 95% mortgages will be back by start of 2011, but it will be a while yet until 100% mortgages return (if they ever do)... one of those would be my absolute saving grace! x

 

[maybabydoll]

Sorry, the figures were just to illustrate the point about having to get the finances sorted first! Regarding 95% LTV, there are often still deals available if you hunt around. Had a quick google and found these:
https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/95-mortgages.htm

Hope that helps x x

 

[Princess_LV]

Got all excited then, but the majority are for re-mortgages only there are a couple worth looking into though, thanks for that x

 

[maybabydoll]

Glad there may be some there of interest, I guess it's a case of hunting around. Good luck with your search. x x

 

[Sooz]

The Yorkshire Bank 95% mortgage for FTB on that site doesn't exist if it's still on there, we applied for that one and they had no idea what we were talking about!

The Nottingham one does however exist but it is not available in all areas of the country, mosty the cheaper Northern counties.