Mortgage advice/experience

[Bleurghgram]

I know you say you don’t want to speak to anyone yet but honestly I’d recommend a call with a mortgage advisor, I had one for free with no obligation and it was really helpful to find out what my options were.

I’m buying shared ownership as I literally cannot do it by myself any other way - even if I waited a few more years to save a 10% deposit, I don’t have the affordability as a single person.

It took me a long time to realise most of my peers who we’re buying young did so with parental help.

 

[CatCafe234]

It’s a few years ago now, but speaking with a mortgage advisor was one of the best things we did when buying a house. We initially made an appointment with the mortgage advisor at our bank and he was so, so unhelpful. As soon as he found out my partner was self-employed he just switched off - it was such a miserable and depressing experience and we ended up thinking that we would never be able to get a mortgage. Our experience with an advisor was night and day - she was so helpful and didn’t see my partner’s self-employment as a problem. She was able to give us advice about the best mortgage for us and was just so helpful. I’d highly recommend making an appointment with a mortgage advisor.

 

[BelleAmie]

It’s unlikely that you’d be able to borrow significantly more than your current salary would cover - say you took the maximum mortgage you could get, and it worked out at £900 per month - even if in theory you could afford to spend another £400 a month on your mortgage because you live a very frugal lifestyle, your mortgage provider is unlikely to consider it a safe/good investment; you need to leave some wiggle room for interest rates to fluctuate etc.

My mortgage advisor said that you generally don’t want to allocate more than a third of your monthly salary towards your mortgage payment. You’ll need to consider whether to take out a fixed rate mortgage or a variable rate, and how many years you want the mortgage over. Taking the mortgage out over a longer period of time doesn’t mean you can borrow more but generally the monthly payments are lower - however you would end up paying more on interest in the long run. Personally I chose to take my mortgage over a longer period of time to make it more affordable, and in the next few years I hope to start making ‘overpayments’ so I’ll be able to pay it off sooner and avoid paying more interest than I have to; however I’m not tied to that so if there are months I can’t/don’t want to overpay, I only have to pay my lower standard mortgage amount - anything else is a bonus.

When calculating the amount you can borrow, really little things like monthly financial commitments can have a big impact. When you’re ready to get started, try and cut down on any regular payments - don’t take out a new car on finance, see if you can freeze or cancel any gym memberships etc because all those things cut down on what you can borrow.

I hope that is at least slightly helpful - if you have any specific questions, let me know and I’ll do my best to answer!

 

[Limey]

Honestly, please speak to an independent mortgage advisor (not one from your own bank). They have a view of the whole market and can find you the most appropriate deal. I bought once on shared ownership, and then my second house in the normal way and used independent advisors both times. They will be able to advise what you can and can't include in terms of income, and help navigate any issues.

I've now moved my mortgage deal to my own bank, but only because it was the lowest rate in the whole market when my previous deal was up.

 

[WilmaHun]

Im not looking for expert advice or guidance, I just want personal experiences to help me. I will use a mortgage advisor once I’ve fully saved my deposit.

I’m going to sound so stupid but I honestly don’t understand how they work? All the mortgage calculators online say how much I would be able to borrow based on wages, but then I know friends/family who have managed to borrow over this?

For example, say I want to buy a house that is 500k. I have a 50k deposit, and based on my wages can borrow 300k mortgage. That leaves me 150k short. Is that a problem or would I be able to get a 450k mortgage?

Generally a lender will offer 4.5 x your normal salary/income and that's the max they'll lend. Some lenders may offer slightly more/less but that's the average starting point. Other things will impact this such as any current debt you have, your credit rating and whether your income is likely to change in the near future.

If the max they are saying is £300k on their online calculator, then it's unlikely anywhere would offer you £450k. Also, the online calculators are a rough guide only and shouldn't be taken as gospel, when you do the formal mortgage application this amount could and quite often does change once they have assessed your affordability. For example, an online calculator gave X amount as a rough figure for me and my bf, but when we completed our mortgage application what we got offered was actually £15k less. Still enough for us to purchase our property, fortunately.

If they offer you X amount and you want to buy a more expensive property than that, any additional funds would need to be made up by yourself.

 

[kazizzle]

Great thanks it's the first time I'll have to do it. I'll be sad to lose my 2.17% at least it's going down and I'm hoping it'll go down further by the time I'm looking

I’m only on 1.19% at the moment so dreading having to remortgage! I’ve got another year before I need to think about looking so also hoping rates go down a bit

 

[kazizzle]

100% agree with the recommendations to speak to an independent mortgage advisor. I had no clue and had been to see a house I liked and really wanted to get things moving but had no idea where to start. Parents bought our family home 30 years ago so were useless! My mortgage advisor not only gave great advice on affordability and dealt with all the paperwork, he also phoned the estate agent and schmoozed them a little to find out if they thought my offer would be accepted by the sellers before I officially placed it and to suss out if they had any other interest.

You can usually get advice and then choose to go and find your own mortgage without having to pay a fee but honestly the money on the advisor was so worth it.

I remortgaged last year and used the same advisor and didn’t have to do any paperwork or pay a fee because I was staying with the same lender.

 

[Rxt156]

My financial adviser was theee best money that I spent when moving house. Makes such a difference talking to someone that knows what they're on about. Had to pay a fee and they get paid by the bank for arranging the mortgage so they obv want to get you the best deal.

When I moved a few years ago I was told to work out around 4.5 times my salary as the very general estimate for what you can afford
EG 30k salary = 135,000k mortgage
IF i had a 20k deposit I could afford a house around £155,000. (These are just estimates for my example).

I decided to go quite a bit under the upper limit. I don't like the idea of having an enormous mortgage. Do what is best for you and make sure you do the maths!

 

[Limey]

When is the best time to look for a new mortgage after my current one runs out I've read 3-6 months? Is it also worth getting a mortgage advisor for a renewal? My current deal runs out March 2027 so I'm thinking end of 2026 I'll have to start to look?

Your lender should contact you well in advance, but yes 6 months out to start having a look at deals. Check if you are able to move to a new fixed term online with your present lender, and if that deal is competitive.

Look at mortgage best buys online (Martin Lewis' MSE website is helpful for this) and remember to factor in if there is a product arrangement fee, what might look like a cheaper deal in terms of interest rate might have an overall higher cost once you've factored in a £1495 arrangement fee.

Last time I renewed (and changed providers), I looked at MSE best buys table and top was a High Street bank I had a savings account with, so it was pretty straightforward, didn't need a mortgage advisor - leave at least 12 weeks to get it arranged, though.

 

[HoGi]

I have spoken to a free one, but unfortunately they don't have the product that will enable me to get the mortgage.

It's a high street bank. The mortgage advisor is £500, which I think is pretty standard? Then the cost of the product in £1,000. Just would be nice to save that £500, but if mortgage advisors give better rates than going direct it's obviously more worth it. So wanted to see what people thought/their experience.

My mortgage adviser is 499.

But she is worth every penny. Great rates I couldn't get elsewhere and helped with chasing the bank and solicitors up when the sale was stagnating.

 

[Tree_]

Sorry for jumping on this thread but has anyone got any knowledge on whether mortgage lenders will include child / working credits within your income? Or do most lenders base it purely on your income from employment only?

They do. I receive child benefit you know the standard that everyone gets and I included it in our application.

 

[Bleurghgram]

I paid £250 for my mortgage advisor, they also get £350 from my lender. I was a little annoyed about it and think if I’d sounded more serious about walking away I could have got the fee removed. In all fairness the process was quick and easy and he got me a decent rate with a high street lender, which I didn’t think was possible after previously having adverse credit.

 

[HoGi]

I'm glad I got mine when I did as someone I know got one a few months later and was double mine. I saw earlier they expect it to go down to around 2% again in 2027 hopefully early 2027 maybe I can just about get in on it

I am buying a house currently following divorce (gutted to have lost our 1.18% rate) and the rates hardly differ between 2 year and 5 year deals. My broker advised that although rates are due to drop in 2027, the predictions after that are rises, so in 2027 the rates being offered are likely to be higher than the rates being offered now to account for the rises coming.

I have secured 4.1% and quite grateful of that.

 

[btw]

I know you say you don’t want to speak to anyone yet but honestly I’d recommend a call with a mortgage advisor, I had one for free with no obligation and it was really helpful to find out what my options were.

I’m buying shared ownership as I literally cannot do it by myself any other way - even if I waited a few more years to save a 10% deposit, I don’t have the affordability as a single person.

It took me a long time to realise most of my peers who we’re buying young did so with parental help.

Congratulations! I hope it all goes well, I know how frustrating it is wanting to buy as a single applicant. I have a deposit but my single income just won’t be enough so I’m going to consider shared ownership too!

 

[Glutenfreequeenie]

Try first direct. Fantastic customer service and they win lots of awards. Free mortgage advisers who are fully qualified. Plus unlimited overpayments. Free standard valuation. Open 7 days a week. Really great to.deal with. Usually lend.4.75 x salary

 

[mcfeez]

I have spoken to a free one, but unfortunately they don't have the product that will enable me to get the mortgage.

It's a high street bank. The mortgage advisor is £500, which I think is pretty standard? Then the cost of the product in £1,000. Just would be nice to save that £500, but if mortgage advisors give better rates than going direct it's obviously more worth it. So wanted to see what people thought/their experience.

£500 is a lot. Any who actually charge that I've encountered were under 200.

 

[Limey]

Great thanks it's the first time I'll have to do it. I'll be sad to lose my 2.17% at least it's going down and I'm hoping it'll go down further by the time I'm looking

Yeah, I went from 1.64% to 5%, which was a sore one, but hopefully next time things have eased a bit.

 

[WilmaHun]

Thanks everyone

Does the rate differ from the advisor vs if you were to go direct to the high-street lender?

It shouldn't do, as you'd still undergo the same hard credit searches upon application through an advisor vs direct. Just remember - the rate you're initially shown on discussion with an advisor/direct with the bank may not be what you're actually offered after your full application has been done. For example, I applied direct with Lloyds for a 95% mortgage, which is what the in-house advisor recommended me, but when my full application went through they would only offer me 85% LTV. I went with an advisor after that and applied elsewhere and managed to get a 95% LTV through Skipton.

 

[Former_Antelopee]

I’m only on 1.19% at the moment so dreading having to remortgage! I’ve got another year before I need to think about looking so also hoping rates go down a bit

I'm glad I got mine when I did as someone I know got one a few months later and was double mine. I saw earlier they expect it to go down to around 2% again in 2027 hopefully early 2027 maybe I can just about get in on it

 

[Former_Antelopee]

Your lender should contact you well in advance, but yes 6 months out to start having a look at deals. Check if you are able to move to a new fixed term online with your present lender, and if that deal is competitive.

Look at mortgage best buys online (Martin Lewis' MSE website is helpful for this) and remember to factor in if there is a product arrangement fee, what might look like a cheaper deal in terms of interest rate might have an overall higher cost once you've factored in a £1495 arrangement fee.

Last time I renewed (and changed providers), I looked at MSE best buys table and top was a High Street bank I had a savings account with, so it was pretty straightforward, didn't need a mortgage advisor - leave at least 12 weeks to get it arranged, though.

Great thanks it's the first time I'll have to do it. I'll be sad to lose my 2.17% at least it's going down and I'm hoping it'll go down further by the time I'm looking