first time mortgage - advice please

[gooner]

I have never had a mortgage before (I know nothing about them,always glad i had a house over my head and not to have a mortgage) and my self and my wife to be are looking at either a) extending and renovating my current house or b) knocking the house down and starting again or c) leavng that house standing and building another house on the site (although this will partly block our fab seaview).

Here's the story with my house in Donegal.I inheritated it from my aunt about 2 years ago and had it and the site (approx 0.7 acre) valued at 200k.It's a small 2 bedroom bungalow.I'd say that it is valued slightly higher than it was actually is worth (then again maybe not,as the site has direct access from the public road and direct access to the beach).The reason we decided on the higher valuation,was the fact that I qualified for the favorite nephew status which avoided the capital gains tax.

Are there adavantages of disadvantages by keeping the existing house on the site,as I'm sure that once I knock it the 200k value will go down.But then again if I replace the house then it would also have a value of equal or more than that.

Basically I want to get the best value from a mortgage.Our circumstances are as follows.I earn 23500 per year and my girlfriend earns approx 12000 from her part time job,along with some money from family income suplement,but this will probably cease when we marry later this year.And with our plans for a family we could well be down to the 23500.We have no other loans and I would have approx 17k in ssia,30k in differnt long term savings and approx 15k in the credit union

Anyone know aprrox how much we could wisely borrow and the best option for the retention or demolition of the existing house would be in relation to the mortgage?

Would it be advisable to speak to a fanancial advisor before seeking out a motgage in the case?

Any advice on any aspect of this would be welcome!

cheers!

 

[bobk]

I would always advise talking to a broker, but on your income over 30 years and assuming you have no other loans, you could comfortably borrow approx 150,000. The repayments would amount to approx 35% of your net income

You could borrow upto around 183,000 if you required it, but the more you owe the more you repay.

Rebuilding, building or extending, would pose no problem to the bank as long as the correct planning permission was in place.

 

[BrenG]

Savings record based on your income record is also pretty good so you should encounter no problems in getting a mortgage as advised by previous poster. For all 3 options mentioned you will require planning permission. Getting in a 2nd house on a .7 acre site would be unlikely but a word with the planning office will quickly let you know whether its feasible. First port of call is to get a good architect and go trough the options with him. You will have the benefit of his expert advice and can then make an informed decision based on that. if you get the right architect he/she can cost the structure source a builder and talk to the planners on your behalf.