I am going to make massive complaints and write to Watchdog as how can staff be called mortgage advisors when they haven't got a clue what they are talking about. We can get a mortgage from my bank but the vendor will probably have pulled out by then due to all the cock-ups which are not our fault.

I have recently taken out a mortgage with the halifax (moved in three weeks ago). My boyfriend is a teacher and therefore has a 'proper job', so they took his salary into account and then took my stipend as an 'income stretch'- the same way that they can for tax free bonuses etc. All I needed to do was take in a letter from the Uni. Hope that helps if your ot already sorted!

Sorry to hear about your troubles Pamw!
Sometimes I really wonder if part of all the problems we PhD people have is that we are called - and treated as - students. While WE know that our experience is quite different than that of undergraduates, and that our financial situation is different, and that the things we do are quite like 'work', our daily hours quite like professionals' hours, etc. ... we are treated so much like students, our money is not real money, what we do is termed 'just studying', our qualifications are not appreciated. Maybe many things would be easier if we were just called differently - like 'doctoral candidate', 'doctoral researcher', in some cases 'research assistant', or similar.

Funded PhD students in places like Germany or Switzerland usually don't get stipends/studentships, but rather they get WAGES. So, when you go to a bank or you need to give financial security you just provide your payslip. you also get unemployment benefits based on your last income if you can't find a job after your PhD. You can talk about your previous work experience when you apply for jobs because you have officially been working (on your PhD project).

I am sorry I am going on a bit here, and off-topic too. Sometimes I just get so annoyed. What is the real reason why we must be identified as students? It just makes life harder for us, in many practical, or every-day issues.

Shani, that sounds a much better system. I hate the way I have to defend myself all the time. I found myself shouting down the phone the other day 'but I have a guaranteed income for 3 years and I am working an a £3/4million government funded project at one of the most prestigious universities in teh world, with a book deal at the end of it and my prospects are actually quite good' - I just felt if I had a little part time job at Tesco to supplement my husband's income then they would be more impressed with that!
Anyway, they have very kindly said that as it is quite a long term contract they will now take my income into account but we still have to wait 2-3 weeks for the final verdict. (Hmm how long does the application process for Tesco take?)

My partner explained my PhD to our mortgage broker, but when I started talking about it he got uncomfortable and said he would have to go back to the lender. We had to get another mortgage in the end.

Hi pamw sorry to hear about your problems. I recently took out a mortgage with Nationawide and went through an independent mortgage broker. Unfortunately multiple problems (even through I had a guarantor)maily the brokers fault. It seems Nationwise tske ages making decisions about any thing.I made an official complaint against my broker but the system is heavily biased agiant the consumer
I had simialr problem with risk of vendor pulling out. I just called them & v briefly explained issue, they were happy to hold on, otherwise they would have had to go through same offer,mortgage survey process with someone else.
good luck