Mortgage for a single parent

C

Chareyes

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Hi all, just wondering how much being a single parent to 1 child would impact the amount of mortgage I could get? I have tried to find out on the net but it’s a bit vague apart from saying that you will get a reduced amount if you have a dependant. Does anyone have any experience of this or know what percent it’s reduced by? I’m planning to apply in the next month or so. Thanks for reading
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
Do you receive or give maintenance?
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Single parent status per se won't make a difference.

They look at your household income and reduce lending by a factor for every dependent child you have.

Obviously having a single household income will mean a lower loan than having two, but any court-ordered maintenance would be viewed as income.

A chat with a broker might be helpful to you.
 
It really depends on your salary, age, and existing commitments. It's not a standard percentage.
Affordability is worked out based on how much the bank think you will have left each month after setting aside a standard amount for one parent plus dependent. You'll find it easier than a couple with a single income.
Each bank has their own criteria for your circumstances. UB for example will consider Children's allowance, and evidenced regular maintenance payments into account. But they've a slightly higher threshold for you to pass. AIB won't consider CA, but have a lower threshold. UB tends to be a bit more flexible in the small number of cases I've seen, but it'll all come down to specific circumstances.

Either talk to a broker, or set up a meeting with a mortgage advisor in some of the banks.

Some of the online calculators can be misleading - if you meet their minimum salary, they tend to automatically show you can borrow 3.5x salary.
 
Hey, thanks for the answers! So yes I have savings, I’ll have about 20% deposit in place when I apply. I’m planning on getting a small enough mortgage, houses are a bit cheaper down my way, it’s a bit of a fixer upper. On the maintenance, my child’s dad gives money when he comes to see her which is once per month as he lives abroad. The amounts can be sporadic so I have been asking him to start sending it by bank transfer which would help if the banks will consider that extra income. There’s no guarantee he’ll do this though.
I’ve tried the calculators but each one is different as I know they all have their own rules.
I will maybe talk to a broker before officially applying, I read that if you apply and get refused it won’t look great with ICB or CCR so maybe I should hold off until I’ve saved more!
I want to be almost certain I’ll get it before I apply! Just afraid that the single parent status might have a negative impact and I don’t want to lose out on the house I have my heart set on!

Edit: just to add, I have no loans anymore, Just 2 payments left on a car loan so that will be cleared before applying
 
You can contact the main lenders directly and have a call over the phone and they will give you an indication of your borrowing capacity. They will look at things like
- Gross income from salary
- maintenance
- Pension contributions
- what you are currently paying out per month across mortgage/rent/loans/savings
- if you will be carrying over any loans
- age
- number of children

I'm in similar situation, however I own a house but want to sell and purchase closer to a city so would end up increasing my mortgage.
So far I've found AIB, Permanent TSB, KBC offering in the range of what I'm looking for however UB were saying around half that as they have higher thresholds.

As few people mentioned you can contact a broker but check if they will charge you. Some work on commission only however some will charge you fees. Personally I'd avoid if they were charging fees as you can just make initial calls to main lenders yourself to get an idea.

Good luck
 
dubdub123 said:
As few people mentioned you can contact a broker but check if they will charge you. Some work on commission only however some will charge you fees. Personally I'd avoid if they were charging fees as you can just make initial calls to main lenders yourself to get an idea.
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Absolutely agree that you shouldn't be paying a broker. All authorised brokers are paid a commission by the lender, typically 1%. They shouldn't be charging a commission.
However, some will charge an upfront fee, which is fully refundable if you draw down a mortgage.

I'd seriously question any broker operating a different charging structure.
 
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