Will we get a mortgage? Help!

monkstowngirl

Hi Everyone,
I have been thinking about applying for a mortgage for a few months now and its totally wrecking my head!! I need some advice please....

About us:
I am self-employed since January-Teaching children with special needs.
Steady income paid by Department of Education via parents to me and have a contract with current parents for 2 years. Before that I always had a steady job (since I was 19..I'm now 29)
Husband has been working in a shop part-time for 2 years (not on probation and a permanent, but not fulltime, member of staff).
Combined salary of about 45,000-50,000 euro a year.

I am expecting our second child in June. 1st will be starting school (so only one childcare cost).

No loans ever and we have never had a credit card either.
1 and 1/2 years rent paid (never missed a payment). All other bills paid on time also (esb, ntl, etc.)

Combined savings of around 80,000 euro. Only want to borrow about 160,000 approx.....

What are our chances? Should I take the plunge or wait?
Know this question has been asked a million times but would really appreciate the advice! Thanks:)

How Strange

Why not keep saving for another year or two and watch the market. You never know with savings like that you could own your own home mortgage free in 2-3years time.

JuliusCaesar

monkstowngirl wrote: »

Hi Everyone,
I have been thinking about applying for a mortgage for a few months now and its totally wrecking my head!! I need some advice please....

Why don't you take your figures down to the bank and have an informal chat with the mortgage advisor? But be sure to go to a few banks. Anyway, you'll probably need to repeat the exercise in a few months when things settle down a little. Their policies will be changing over time, but it's as well to go have a chat - they are generally fairly helpful, even if they say 'not now' or 'you'll need to have more saved'.

Paulw

Talk to the banks or talk to a mortgage broker. They're very helpful and will go through your figures with you.

Best of luck with it.

the_syco

DO NOT GOTO A SUBPRIME LENDER OR YOU'LL BE RAPED!

Sorry for the rude language, but even though you'll get a mortgage with a subprime lender, they'll charge you a lot of money, and take the house (including any money you've put into it as a deposit) if you don't meet the repayments, and you'll be stuck with a bill, but no house. Subprime lenders tend to target the week or desperate, and screw you over before they're done... :mad:

quozl

True. Start mortgages have made quite the name for themselves with that. I'm sure any others are just as bad.

House prices are falling, so why buy now? Especially if you'd be stretching yourself.

When they stop falling tomorrow, the month after, or in 10 years time, they're not going to suddenly rocket up - based on every other property bubble ever.

So, why not rent some place nice and enjoy the growing purchasing power of your savings relative to the houses you'd considr buying.

It's what my wife and I are doing. We've got twins on the way, but they'll grow up just as happy in rental accomodation for a few years as they would in a property we owned.

Perhaps happier as mum and dad won't be so streteched and perhaps will be able to spend more time with them instead of working to earn every penny we can.

Anyway, that's what I'd do.

Can you give ANY logical reason for why now is the time for you guys to buy? Post one up, and I'll point out any logical falacies I can see in it, not out of meaness but because sometimes it's harder to see the flaws in ones own thinking. If there are any flaws, of course.

if you can't justify it logically to strangers, then perhaps you shouldn't do it?

Sisu200

monkstowngirl wrote: »

No loans ever and we have never had a credit card either.
1 and 1/2 years rent paid (never missed a payment). All other bills paid on time also (esb, ntl, etc.)

Combined savings of around 80,000 euro. Only want to borrow about 160,000 approx.....

Hi There,

You sound sensible there, so take the last OP's advise and stay away from Sub Prime, they are tough to deal with and expensive, you are in a great position with that amount of savings, I recently got a mortgage for a little more than what your looking and savings was the big thing, cash savings is king, again take the advise from a previous op, talk to some of the mainstream banks informally and see where you stand, personally I dont see any problem after just going through the process, best of luck

monkstowngirl

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the advice. Think I will go and have an informal chat with the banks and see what happens. If they say wait a while its no big deal and they will, as you say Julius Ceasar, be helpful about what we need to do to improve our situation.
We already rent a lovely house but our rent is more than a mortgage and all associated insurance, etc. would be..crazy really... so its renting that is actually stretching us really. This would still be the case even if interest rates went up more.

Saying all that..think we might wait until early next year to buy as want to try to save for about 6 months properly once I go back to work in September after few months maternity leave. Know that regular saving would look better to bank!!

Thanks again,
Fingers crossed!