Will we get a mortgage?

jethrothe2nd

Here's another 'what are the chances of getting a mortgage' thread.

Married couple, about 20k in savings
No outstanding loans
No credit card balances

My wife will stop work soon as she is pregnant, and when she returns to work will only work part time, so we would be looking for a mortgage just on my salary, which is 48k

Houses we are looking at are in the region of 180-200k.

What are our chances, do you think?

athtrasna

A work colleague whose salary is in the same region (and equivalent savings) got approval in principle today from AIB for 220k max

the groutch

only possible issue is that you would be looking for a near 90% mortgage, which bank's might be relucant to give out.

Goldenegg

the groutch wrote: »

only possible issue is that you would be looking for a near 90% mortgage, which bank's might be relucant to give out.

We got a 92% mortgage from aib last October. 90% shouldn't be a problem I'd imagine.

jethrothe2nd

Thanks for the replies - gives me a bit of hope!

Dades

If your wife is still currently working - apply now.

They'll base your repayment capacity on your current situation (using bank statements between now and 3-6 months back).

Just be careful you don't get approved for too much and find yourself in difficulty (no matter what Morgan Kelly suggests about debt forgiveness ).

jethrothe2nd

Dades wrote: »

If your wife is still currently working - apply now.

They'll base your repayment capacity on your current situation (using bank statements between now and 3-6 months back).

Just be careful you don't get approved for too much and find yourself in difficulty (no matter what Morgan Kelly suggests about debt forgiveness ).

We are going to forget completely about my wifes salary and apply based on my salary alone. Seems the sensible thing to do!

Dades

jethrothe2nd wrote: »

We are going to forget completely about my wifes salary and apply based on my salary alone. Seems the sensible thing to do!

If only everybody thought that way (for the last 20 years!)

foxy06

Don't forget though that what they give you as a couple wont be as much as a couple with a dependant. Had this problem before:( Applied while pregnant but when I had the baby half way through mortgage process they dropped the offer by 15k

jethrothe2nd

Just an update - because I do most of my banking with BOI, I rang my local branch yesterday and spoke to the mortage advisor. I'm not quite sure what I expected but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

She seemed pretty positive about our current financial circumstances, which gives me a higher degree of confidence that we might actually be approved. She said BOI will give a 92% mortgage, and on my salary alone. up to 216K. Meeting her next Friday to go through everything in more detail. I guess now is the time to start ringing around other financial institutions.

So, the first step in what will probably be a long and anxious process, but hopefully at the end of it we will be able to provide our child with a family home!

StillWaters

Congratulations, on both the positive news from the bank, but most importantly the pregnancy.

But a family home can be a rented home too you know.

jethrothe2nd

Thanks Stillwaters, and yes, you are quite right. Buying a house doesn't necessarily make it a home. For us it is more about stability and being able to put our own stamp on it.

And on the subject of renting, if Irish rental market followed the same approach as many European countries I would be more than happy to continue renting. In Germany, for example, you can take a long term lease on a house/appartment. It comes unfurnished, and you can do whatever you want with it. If you move out, you return it to the way it was.

For me and my wife, as our circumstances have changed we have just found that the rental market just does not provide what we are looking for.

foxy06

I agree the rental market needs some changes but I wouldn't dream of buying a house until the worldwide economy calms down. No one can predict what is going to happen over the next year or so.

prettygurrly

dont get your hopes up. just go for it. it'll depend on what sort of job you have, how long you've had it and the company's financial situation. we had to turn over the accounts of my boyfriends work place and even with proof that his job is not in new housing they still weren't happy. no mortgage for us...

jethrothe2nd

Update - BOI - rang me back yesterday. Mortgage approved. Result.

AIB - applied online at the weekend. Received a call from an (disinterested) advisor who spent 30 minutes taking all my details and then told me to go into my nearest branch to fill out an application form (which I thought I was doing on the phone). Probably won;t be able to get into a branch until next week.

Mortgageplus.ie - hadn't heard of them before, but applied online. Advisor rang me back a couple of days later and seems very positive. Anyone any experience of dealing with these guys? Or can anyone recommend any other good brokers?

val444

We went with Mortgages.ie, and found them helpful. They made things very easy for us. Went with AIB in the end, but we actually had a couple of options to choose from!

mmc2010

jethrothe2nd wrote: »

Just an update - because I do most of my banking with BOI, I rang my local branch yesterday and spoke to the mortage advisor. I'm not quite sure what I expected but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

She seemed pretty positive about our current financial circumstances, which gives me a higher degree of confidence that we might actually be approved. She said BOI will give a 92% mortgage, and on my salary alone. up to 216K. Meeting her next Friday to go through everything in more detail. I guess now is the time to start ringing around other financial institutions.

So, the first step in what will probably be a long and anxious process, but hopefully at the end of it we will be able to provide our child with a family home!

Congratulations! thats great news!!!! did you bring all of your documentation with you when you met her or did they approve it on condition of receiving the payslips etc?

jethrothe2nd

mmc2010 wrote: »

Congratulations! thats great news!!!! did you bring all of your documentation with you when you met her or did they approve it on condition of receiving the payslips etc?

Thanks! We brought pretty much everything when we met her, although we still need to show proof of savings as they are not all with BOI. I think they send us out a letter of acceptance, and then when we have found the house we want we have to provide all the proof etc. Still finding my feet a bit.

DrPhilG

This is depressing. Not for the OP of course, congrats.

But depressing for me. Looks increasingly unlikely that I'll get a mortgage at all. I'm putting down 50% deposit, but that cash came via gift. Although I can comfortably pay the value of the mortgage, (only about €300 a month) I haven't demonstrated savings purely because I hadn't planned on moving until recently.

I know I can just spend the next 6 months saving up €500 a month and then take the CU/bank statements back to them as proof but that won't help me get the house we have sale agreed on now.

Dades

jethrothe2nd wrote: »

Mortgageplus.ie - hadn't heard of them before, but applied online. Advisor rang me back a couple of days later and seems very positive. Anyone any experience of dealing with these guys? Or can anyone recommend any other good brokers?

I used them to get approval from 3 banks during the summer. Found them very professional.

Don't expect to hear from AIB for a long time, btw. Efficient they are not.

DrPhilG

Dades wrote: »

I used them to get approval from 3 banks during the summer. Found them very professional.

Do different brokers have better chances of getting you approved or is it simply down to your circumstances and finances? I am well aware of the flaws in our situation, namely that we have not been saving anything recently. However the plus points are that we have 50% deposit, only looking for €70k mortgage and mortgage outgoings would be less than 30% of net monthly income.

The first lender who refused did acknowledge the strengths in our application but still refused.

Do various brokers have a bit more sway with lenders in terms of persuading them to go ahead on a close decision rather than rejecting?

Dades

DrPhilG wrote: »

Do various brokers have a bit more sway with lenders in terms of persuading them to go ahead on a close decision rather than rejecting?

I would say - maybe.

In your situation I would definitely talk with a broker and see if they can negotiate a deal for you.

mmc2010

DrPhilG wrote: »

This is depressing. Not for the OP of course, congrats.

But depressing for me. Looks increasingly unlikely that I'll get a mortgage at all. I'm putting down 50% deposit, but that cash came via gift. Although I can comfortably pay the value of the mortgage, (only about €300 a month) I haven't demonstrated savings purely because I hadn't planned on moving until recently.

I know I can just spend the next 6 months saving up €500 a month and then take the CU/bank statements back to them as proof but that won't help me get the house we have sale agreed on now.

Hi DrPhilG, I wouldn't give up hope! I guess why the banks look for a savings record is to prove repayment capacity. Can you prove this another way. Do you pay rent or something that could prove it?

DrPhilG

mmc2010 wrote: »

Hi DrPhilG, I wouldn't give up hope! I guess why the banks look for a savings record is to prove repayment capacity. Can you prove this another way. Do you pay rent or something that could prove it?

Sadly not. The thing is, while we can afford the mortgage, we have not been saving simply because we bust our asses saving for years before we married. For the last few years we've been enjoying not having to save and therefore haven't done so! We've had some big holidays and changed the car etc.

We can quite comfortably save €500 a month which is more than enough for the mortgage but without a statement showing proof of this we are up the creek.

I'm sure we'll find something lovely in 6 months but we would really like to get the house we're after now and I'd be amazed if it's still there in 6 months.

Still waiting to hear from 2 others but we're not optimistic.

I had also hoped that they would take into account recent pay rises as a means of procving savings. Within the last 2 months we have both had pay rises, totalling about €280 a month net. Even if we were not saving before, these extra pay rises would almost cover the mortgage without us having to change our lifestyle, (although we are going to anyway).

donalg1

If you get Mortgage Approval from AIB or EBS or somewhere else i would mention that to the BOI, they will most likely come back with an offer of a better Variable interest rate, could be worth trying if your not planning on fixing the rate. Have heard this happening to a few people recently but they all went fixed in the end so didnt matter to them but worth a try

mmc2010

After applying 6 mths ago and being turned down, my husband and I worked hard all year getting rid of our debts, increasing our savings, I'm now permanent in my job and have proven repayment capacity. I was very confident going back to my branch yesterday only to be shattered. i was told that I probably wouldn't get it because its too soon! I'm gutted. Will just have to wait and see...:(

jackiebaron

foxy06 wrote: »

Don't forget though that what they give you as a couple wont be as much as a couple with a dependant. Had this problem before:( Applied while pregnant but when I had the baby half way through mortgage process they dropped the offer by 15k

Does not compute.

strandroad

Do mortgage brokers charge for their service or are they getting their cut from the lender?
Do you think it is possible to try and talk to them re: planning, as we might want to take out a mortgage in a years time?

magneticimpulse

I have been using property bee with daft.ie and I am surprised to see that asking prices dropped 10% in the last 4 months (on top of the 50% since 2008)....they are dropping in price faster then ever before...definitely no bottom out yet!!!