mortgage advice - One partner less than 6 months in current job/other on maternity leave

sor77

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I am hoping you can offer some advice on whether we can get a mortgage given our current circumstances. We were not planning on buying until the end of the year at least but an opportunity for a private sale has arisen and we're worrying now that we might miss this chance (few houses ever come up in this area - we have been watching for years). If we cannot purchase the house in the next couple of weeks, or at least confirm our intention to do so, it will go on the open market and be snapped up.

My husband recently (mid Dec) started a new role having left the role he was in for 3.5 years. I am also currently on unpaid maternity leave, due to return to work by the summer. (Have worked in the role for over 7 years)

We are both on excellent salaries (jointly earning 200k annually). Is there any point in us even trying to get a mortgage at the moment given our circumstances? Better to use a mortgage broker (recommendations would be welcome) or go direct to a bank. We have had mixed advice before from the banks with PTSB (our current mortgage provider) saying no to a second mortgage and Ulster Bank saying an absolute yes (this discussion was held last year before the job change).
 
Hi sor

What are you trying to do?

Are you trying to buy a second house?

Or, are you trying to sell your current house and buy this other house?

If you have a mortgage with ptsb, I would guess that they would allow you to sell your current home and take out a new mortgage.

Brendan
 
Thanks for the reply. I wasn't sure how much information would be useful and clearly erred too much on the side of too little!

We would have hoped to buy a second home - our first house would currently go on the market at about 280k (possibly fetching 10-15% more based on anecdotal reports). Our outstanding mortgage on this is 310k. At the moment our rental received for this property covers the mortgage payments and is a couple of hundred less than market rates for the area, so there's room to increase the rent if it helped.

We felt it would be easier to get a second mortgage than take the negative equity - do you feel this isn't the case? (I should note we are also on a tracker.)

As an aside, We had a 'computer says no' moment with PTSB last year where basically all options were ruled out. The advisor helpfully suggested we extend rather than look at buying again and then when we asked whether we would get a loan for that, she checked her computer (again!), looked up and said 'no'! She then advised that we talk to Ulster Bank, which we did!! :)
 
You have a rental property with ptsb. Was this originally your home? If so, you might qualify for a tracker mover product. I have summarised the conditions here.

If you get a tracker mover, this is by far the best solution for you. You will pay an extra 1%, but that is much better than paying a high SVR.

1) You will need to sell your own house first.
2) You will need 10% of the cost of the new house
3) You will need to meet the income conditions - but this seem the least of your problems.

You have not told us about what deposit you have, what other assets you have or how much you want to pay for the new house.

But assuming you do not have buckets of cash, you are only just out of negative equity, so you should not buy a second house as you would be too exposed to property and borrowing. You should sell your own house first.

If you can't sell your own house in time to buy the other house, have you any wealthy family members or friends who could buy the other house and sell it to you when you are ready to buy? This is an option these days as stamp duty is only 1%. If it's an absolutely unique opportunity, it's worth considering.

Brendan
 
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