Ask the experts
About our experts...
At John Charcol, we are constantly asked for advice by borrowers on what they should do when it comes to mortgages. As such, we created this section so that you can submit your questions to our experts. The answers are provided by a number of people who have years of experience in the mortgage market. The team is led by Peter Woodward who spent his formative years as an underwriter with one of the major UK lenders and the last 10 years in our Technical Department along side Ray.
So please do submit your question and we will do all we can to answer it as quickly as possible
Please be aware that these answers can only be generic and no personal recommendations can be made.
Posted on 13/04/2010
I earn £18,000 and Im looking at my first buy, new house for £169,000. Am I likely to get a loan, I have a deposit of £10,000?
Categories: First-time buyer, Shared ownership, Special circumstances
Posted on 11/02/2009
Assuming a property value of £100000 on a buy basis of 75% and rental on 25%. What amount of deposit would be needed and what would the monthly outgoings be assuming it was a 25 year mortgage for first time buyers?
It is possible to borrow 100% on a 75/25 equity share but most lenders will require a deposit of at least 5% of the 75%, i.e. £3,750 on your proposed purchase price of £100,000. If you can put in at least a 5% deposit you will have a much wider choice of lenders and be able to get a significantly cheaper mortgage.
You will need advice on the mortgage options but depending on which mortgage you chose and the rent payable on the 25% equity share portion your monthly cost for the mortgage and rent is likely to be in the region of £500.
Categories: First-time buyer, Shared ownership
Posted on 06/02/2009
Hi, I have recently put in an offer on a shared equity scheme property and started legal proceedings however at the valuation stage I was declined my mortgage by Abbey. I have since retrieved a copy of my credit report which shows missed payments to a credit card. Are there any lenders who would consider giving me a mortgage without charging extortionate interest rates?
Many thanks
Katie
Some lenders may be OK with missed payments to a credit card but it depends on a number of factors, in particular how many payments were missed, the maximum number of months in arrears, the amounts involved and whether the account is now up to date. A further complication is that not all lenders will offer a mortgage on a shared equity property and so you need a lender who can accommodate both these requirements.
I suggest you call us on 0800 71 81 91 and we can then take some more details from you to see whether a mortgage will be available to you.
Categories: Bad credit, Shared ownership
Posted on 04/05/2008
Bit of a convoluted question but I hope you can help...! I am a first time buyer and I'm considering a shared ownership type arrangement with a family friend who is looking to invest in property. Would it be possible for us to purchase a property on the open market jointly (say with me owning 50% and my investor 50%)? And if so how would I go about getting a mortgage? Can I get a mortgage just for my part or would my investor and I have to get a joint mortgage for the whole amount less our deposit? My investor could probably fund his share through existing savings or I guess if he did need to borrow, he'd probably prefer to extend his own mortgage (i.e. on his home). Would that be feasible in light of my requirement to get a mortgage for my share?
Also I notice that for the housing association shared ownership schemes you have to pay some element of rent as well. With our private arrangement rather than paying rent I wondered whether it would be possible to formalise some kind if arrangement that my investor gets back as higher share (%) of the sale value when we eventually sell - say after 5 years? So if we brought the property on a 50:50% basis, that maybe he'd get an extra 1% per year so that after 5 years he'd receive 55% of the sale value and I'd receive 45% - I'm hoping that the current price falls are short term and that by then the prices would have increased - at last by 5% over 5 years so I don't get negative equity! I understand that the mortgage market is pretty selective at present so I'd appreciate any advice with regards the feasibility of getting a mortgage, taking into account the above and also any advice on the legalities of our proposed arrangement.
Any help / advice you could offer me would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Victoria
Categories: First-time buyer, Guaranteeing & buying with child, Shared ownership
Posted on 17/01/2008
My partner purchased a house 3 1/2 years ago for £180,000. He had a mortgage of £90,000 and the remainder of the money was invested by a friend. We have 18 months left before we have to "give back" the investment money to the friend along with any interest they may have made in the property. My partner's mortgage is now £74,000 and he has been told if remortgaging he could get £114,000. How in your opinion could we somehow raise the money needed to pay back the investor plus keep our mortgage? (we need approx £184,000), I am self employed earning a low wage, which doesn't make any difference to the amount needed.
Categories: Raising capital out of property, Shared ownership
Posted on 17/01/2008
Hi Katie, I am a first time buyer (joint). I don't have much savings to put in a 10% deposit for a mortgage. I would like to go for an ownership sharing. What are the eligibility criteria for this? Our combined annual income is around £45,000. I work for a public sector company and my partner works for a private firm.
Categories: Shared ownership
Posted on 19/10/2007
Hello, I bought a 25% (£80000) stake in a shared ownership property 5 years ago which was valued then at £320000. I'm remortgaging shortly as the 5 year fixed rate mortgage period is ending. I have a faultless payment record and credit history. I am interested in releasing the equity in my share- similar flats in the same development have recently sold for £480000. If I can I would like to remortgage for £100000 and use the excess to explore a buy-to-let in Budapest . Is doing this possible in shared ownership properties. And if so should I try to pay off any outstanding debt first(approx £4000 credit cards) or can I use released equity to do this?
Categories: Shared ownership
Posted on 25/09/2007
My son is about to arrange a mortgage on a part buy/part let house from a local housing assoc.Are there some top specialist lenders or will all building societies be able to help?
Categories: Shared ownership
Posted on 29/08/2007
My daughter is a nurse, 27, single and working in London. Annual income I believe to be £25,000, no significant loans or credit card debts. Are there any mortgage options available to her for a £180,000 flat which she has found?
Categories: First-time buyer, Lower mortgage payments, Shared ownership, Special circumstances, Tax issues
Posted on 24/07/2007
I purchased a property under a shared owership homebuyers scheme in 1999 with myself having 40%. I now think i want to buy the other share from the housing association, as well as buy a property for a buy-to-let. ...
Categories: Shared ownership
Posted on 20/07/2007
I have dealt with Charcol in the past but just have a question. I am one of a group of five friends looking to purchase a house together. Which is the best way to go about this with regard to arranging a mortgage? We...
Categories: Buy-to-let, Shared ownership
Answers provided in response to Ask the experts are based on the information provided and do not constitute advice under the Financial Services & Markets Act. They reflect the personal views of the authors and do not neccessarily represent the views, positions, strategies or opinions of John Charcol. All comments are made in good faith, and John Charcol will not accept liability for them.
We recommend you seek professional advice with regard to any of these topics where appropriate.