When to see a mortgage advisor? FTB

A question about : When to see a mortgage advisor? FTB

Hi all, hope you can help.

I am currently saving towards house deposit (saved 9k so far in 14 months by living with bfs family...at the cost of my sanity. But that is another story...) my partner is at uni so just me able to put away and mortgage will be in my name.

I am hoping to continue saving until May 2015 when I should have 16k saved if I stay on track! Also due 10k inheritance which am hoping comes thru by then (issues with will atm). By this time I will have been in my job 15 months and my salary will be just over Ј23k.

I do have a car loan (through bank not linked to car) which is paid off May 2016 OR before if I need to pay it off before applying for mortgage, this will obviously come out of deposit saved. Also pay an exes dad Ј100 a month until Dec '15 but again can pay off early if it will affect mortgage application.

I am basically wondering at what point I should have some sort of meeting with a mortgage advisor, as I don't want to be saving until May only to discover I can only get a cruddy mortgage and not be able to buy! Estimates on what I can borrow tend to vary wildly between 85 and 112k! Decent houses my way that I like cost between 100-130k depending on the level of work required. (Am in building trade so not afraid of getting work done to house).

Would it be a good idea to meet a mortgage advisor now to get a rough estimate or wait longer? Are they just going to tell me the same as what I see online? Shall i see my bank to start with or an independent? Also wondering at what point to get my credit report to work on improving that. (Do not think it will be dire but most likely could be improved and dont want to wait until too late)

I am at my wits end living with my bfs family so need a little ray of hope tbh! Hope somebody can help. Previous thanks to ACG who was very helpful.

H x

Best answers:

• Ive just had a quick glance over your previous post to jog my memory...
  I would probably wait until the end of the year. December-May is still quite a long time and in the current market things could change between now and then.
  Also, as I mentioned, those loans/payments may have less than a year to go and some lenders will ignore them. The figures you have mentioned do sound like they are in the right ballpark and it will come down to the lender and your circumstances at the time of applying. But I would imagine closer to the middle/higher end should be easy enough to achieve.
• Hi ACG, thanks for the reply. I will hold off for now then and carry on saving as I am.
  One other question; if I was to leave my current loans as they are then find when applying for a mortgage that they are an issue, if I paid them off with some of the deposit would they then be satisfied and it not affect my chances for a mortgage?
  Thanks once again for all your help...I am a worrier and think about it all the time!
• You can leave your loans in place, if they need to be paid off/or are just before submitting an application then you just enter them on the application and tick to say they will be cleared by completion... so it does not matter if they get picked up on a credit check.
• Great, thanks for the explanation, feeling good now.
• Was going to ask the same question myself. Not actually looking to buy until this time next year so will leave it until next Spring to initiate talks regarding mortgages.
• Hi again,
  Well its 7 months later and I have now actually paid off both the car loan and the ex's dad. This means that I do still only have 9k saved but that Ј300 I was paying out to tem each month is now able to go in my savings pot. Officially debt free hurray!
  I have been looking at houses in more specific areas I like, around the 115-125k mark. Would this be out of reach for me on my 23k salary if I save around 16k deposit? I have looked into help to buy which would be great but all the other mortgage advice and guides are confusing me
  My parents think it is sensible to see a mortgage advisor within the nect month or so, but I wouldnt have saved my 16k until August time.
• Ј115k is probably towards the top end of what your going ot get, I think Ј125k is probably a little too far, but a broker will go through the figures and might find something for you.
• Thanks ACG. Do you mean 115k mortgage or total house price sorry?
  On my salary I was anticipating being able to borrow no more than around 95k.
• Getting Ј95k on your salary should be achievable.
  Generally speaking 4-4.5x your income on a mortgage + your deposit should be possible. I suppose Ј125k (as a purchase price) is not impossible but it could be on the difficult side.
• thanks again. Tbh most I would feel comfortable with would be a house for around 120 max, and my partner has saved around 3k so far for fees etc, he will have another 2 saved by end of summer, so we could use this if necessary to push to get a 120k house. He is a student so will not be on the mortgage.
  I presume it would be wise to wait longer before seeing an advisor then? Parents seem to think it sensible to see one now for ballpark estimate in reality.
• Its entirely your choice, im sure you will be fine at the figures you are talking about. I regularly speak to people 3-6 months before they are ready right through to people who made an offer last week and the mortgage was an afterthought....
• Oh crumbs I couldnt imagine being so disorganised! I suppose I am very keen to move so really best wait untill around April when the money goes up.
  Thanks again for you as ever helpful advice!
• I'd check all 3 credit reports ASAP, just so you know what is on them! If you think they may need improving, you need to know straight away!
• Just found out that I have got a pay rise!! So from April my salary will be Ј24,130. I am hoping every little helps and this gives wee bit more leeway on the amount I could borrow! Good news at least