Hi,

was wondering if anyone could tell me whether they have managed to get a mortgage based upon their research grant as an income? My partner and I have just applied to a large well-known mortgage lender and they've said that they will only lend against his earnings as mine aren't "real money" because I don't pay tax! So, we can't afford to borrow enough to buy the house we're after (or any other house in our neck of the woods). I know lenders are cautious at the moment, but this seems ridiculous as my money is g'teed for the next few years! I can't see a major research council going bust somehow! Has anyone got any advice/come across this/resolved it!?!


:-(

hi,
i just wrote something about this on the other mortgage thread. i'll copy it in here for you:

my partner and i bought a house on a mortgage recently. my partner has a steady job as a lecturer, i have a stipend from abroad. when first we started looking for a mortgage, we found that my income didn't count for anything. it was completely disregarded. that was in july, august last year - BEFORE the big crunch.
we still did get the mortgage we needed. in order to do it, my partner had to be the sole applicant (rather than a joint application), and we had to make sure that i wasn't figured as a "dependant". in other words - if your income doesn't count, you need to get your name off the paperwork, or else you will be automatically assumed to be your partner's dependant. and if your partner has a dependant, he'll get (a lot) less money.
i've been watching the mortgage and property markets quite closely ever since - i've made it my business to know what we are getting ourselves into, although - or because - my name is not on the papers. i think if you have a 25% deposit, and your partner has a good income, you (that is, he/she) can get a good mortgage. if i were taking out a new mortgage right now, i'd go for a fixed rate, not a tracker - but that's another story. you can send me a PM if you'd like to discuss this further... i confess i've spent more time on these issues than on my PhD recently...

======= Date Modified 28 Feb 2009 11:06:52 =======
Hi Shani

thank you for your reply. Sadly we don't have a large deposit, but we have now managed to get a fixed rate mortgage with a 90% LTV at 6.6%. The rate isn't as good as what we had originally applied for, but compared to the 1980s I think the rate is still reasonable in our situation!