Things in the world of family finance and house buying have really changed over the last 40 or 50 years. Back then women would rarely, if ever, be able to apply and be granted a mortgage in their own right. Everything had to be guaranteed by a man, either the father or husband. In fact they could not buy anything on hire purchase without the same guarantee system, even if the wife was earning more than her husband. However, there has been a realisation that women represent a very worthy and steadfast percentage of the earning world, and therefore their spending capacity is immense. Not only do they have their own credit cards now, many millions have their own houses.
These days to get that first mortgage, you need to go through the same steps as in days of yore, but it’s all much quicker. An agreement in principle (AIP) needs to be sought from your bank or building society; usually the one where your savings are. The agreement needs information on how much you both/all earn and to give indication of how much you are likely to be able to borrow. Once an AIP has been offered, then a scout around the local estate agents or searches online to see what is out there. The difference between the two is so often a great disappointment!
For a first time purchase, a 5 percent deposit is the norm these days so the mortgage application needs to be for 95 percent of the agreed purchase price. Funds also need to be made available for legal fees to cover the conveyancing, including official searches of the local council planning department records – this will flag up anything the buyers, or the mortgage company will need to know about that could adversely affect their offer. One thing that has changed from years ago, is the ability to borrow up to 5.5 times the income with some first time buyer booster mortgages. When you think that most new starter homes will be priced between £200 and £500 thousand . . there’s an awful lot of salary needed.