Owning your own home

You'd be worthwhile getting a free estimate from someone suited to dealing with this sort of work, so you know what to expect to be done in order to put it right permanently, and not just a shoddy cover-up job. Has it been wet for a long time, or just a one off?

If it's any consolation, I haven't had a working shower for two months, and have been "bathing" in a 1m wide toddlers' paddling pool, with an Argos tap-shower-head adapter which doen't fit may square taps (and so is squeezed on with jubilee clips).

I wish I was joking.

Next time I renew my mortgage or whatever (end of fixed) I will be freelance. Earning more money but without 2 years of accounts to prove it. Some dickhead I spoke to on the phone said it would be a problem/wouldnt be able to get a new mortgage, despite having one for 5 years and never missing a payment. wtf?

The 5 years that have gone before are irrelevant because you were employed and now you're going self employed(ish) and you might not do very well...

This article takes a positive spin, but is a decent one to start with, then just Google onwards from there.

http://www.corecogroup.co.uk/self-employed-contractors-and-the-mortgage-market-review/

TLDR : High Street lenders will probably tell you to eff off, go and see an independent broker and find a friendly accountant.

so what should I expect to have to deal with once my fixed term is up? They can't ask for the entire mortgage back because I'm freelance?
Stuff like this really boils my blood. 5 years repayment, 2 of which I was freelance anyway, and they are going to be a pain in the arse..

When your fixed term ends they can't demand repayment of the whole thing, you'll just be dumped into whatever tracker/SVR/whatever mortgage it becomes at the end of the fixed term. You'll still have to make those new monthly payments regardless of how you earn your money.

It's no different from getting a mortgage with job X paying £Y/year and then changing jobs and possibly earning less. They don't care as you've already got the mortgage by then, and they don't care if you keep making your repayments.

Your now freelance circumstance only comes into play if you want to change mortgages.

Depending on what rate your mortgage becomes at the end of the fixed deal you might just be better off keeping it rather than the hassle of getting a new contractor/freelancer mortgage (at generally higher rates due to increased risk).

Cheers for the info. Being freelance will near double my income so it's bloody annoying it's an issue. Also want to buy a new place at the same time but that looks like it might be off until I'm in a low paid dead end job.

an Argos tap-shower-head adapter which doen't fit may square taps

From the AQA thread:

Kingfisher Large Mixer Tap Connector

We used these brokers for our recent purchase and would definitely recommend having a chat to Anthony - http://www.scalesporter.co.uk/ - they specialize in freelance/self employed applicants I think and I was definitely pleased with the advice we received. PM me if you want direct email etc.

Cheers for that.
Have spoke to my mortgage guy and he explained things in simple talk for me... basically I will switch to a tracker and will struggle to get a new deal as a freelancer.
Which basically means I will be paying more because they don't trust me to be able to pay less. Such logic.

Will bookmark your guys for future ref. Thanks again!

Is your guy whole of market? Without knowing your circumstances, or an enormous amount about the whole process, from seeing other self-employed friends get fixed-term mortgages they were happy with it might be worth making sure this is your best option.

Yeah think he is whole market. To be honest I don't really know much about it. He is a tiny bit odd (leaves his keys on the floor) but was recommended by my really very rich Jewish friend so prob a safe bet.
It's the account side of things that will cause the problem, I'm PAYE atm but have quit for a demi Gap Yah and when I get back will be freelance... but with 7 months of no income its not going to look great.

All contracts are with solicitors, just waiting for our vendor to agree a completion date and then we will exchange.

oh dear, I think our solicitor might be shite...

oh dear, I think our solicitor might be shite...

and he's ignoring my calls already, nice

Wondering if I may be able to solicit a bit of advice here....

I am moving to New Zealand in the new year with the family - we own a small flat in South London. We don't want to sell up for a variety of reasons and as a result are looking to rent the property in our absence.

Our current mortgage provider is being slightly difficult with regard to giving "Permission to Let" - they haven't refused, but are being awkward. I have started a conversation with an independent mortgage adviser and whilst I trust him personally, he is looking for an up-front fee for advice - only +/- £200 but it is the principle that I am concerned with.

Is this normal????

Hmmm... the guy I use charges nothing - he gets his fee from the bank, or something.

I hear a lot of people don't ask permission to let they just do it, who's to know? Although I guess if you are going for good it might be worth it... my cousin changed from normal mortgage to buy to let and when he changed back he went on some daft interest rate.

I can't exactly remember why not telling your lender is a bad idea, but I seem to recall it being a really fucking bad idea. Invalidating your insurance comes to mind... They may not find out and it may all be fine. Undoubtedly people do it all the time.

I wanted to let my flat to move in with my girl and was charged a fee of £300 or so by my lender. That in itself is spurious, but I've heard of some lenders making you change to a buy-to-let product. Mind you, my mortgage rate was 5% then - 5%!

landlords insurance - t&cs usually state you must have a BTL mortgage.

@Timmy2wheels and @chrisbmx116 - many thanks for the feedback. Genuinely appreciated.

As we will be on the other side of the planet, we are resigned to having to use a managing agent. Collection of rent, management of taxes and the mundane issues that may arise are better handled without a twelve hour time difference.

The agents that we are speaking to at the moment seem to want T's crossed and i's dotted so unlikely that they would take on our flat without the lender giving explicit agreement.

The mortgage guy is a friend and has been pretty good with free advice to date so will part with the cash in this instance. Also, the clock is ticking as we are looking to be out by Christmas.

This move is, however, presenting new costs every day. Sigh.

Ohhh a friend of a friend will be really pleased to know that as he may or may not be renting out his place without a BTL mortgage, I shall pass the information on to him as he will prob find it really interesting.

:)

That in itself is spurious, but I've heard of some lenders making you change to a buy-to-let product.

Many lenders are much happier dealing with buy-to-let than genuine homebuyers. It's seen as a business rather than a personal investment and is easier to insure. Just one reason why this phenomenon is distorting the housing market in an unfortunate manner.

You won't invalidate your home insurance by not telling your lender you are letting, you just need to get Landlord's home insurance, but you will be in breach of your agreement with the lender.

As mentioned above, usually you'll get nailed with an 'admin fee' of a few hundred quid. If you've got a sexy fixed rate or something they might want to put your interest rate up too, so doing what you're doing and looking at other lenders is sensible.

I'd suggest using a letting agent if you're abroad. Non-resident landlords need to fill in forms and do tax shit and it's all a bit boring and complicated :

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/nr-landlords.htm

Why aren't solicitors, when they're both being crap and blaming each other, ashamed of this? Especially when the vendor and buyer are in touch and know exactly what's been said to each party?

Feel bad coming here to announce that I've just collected the keys to my new place!

Nothing but the highest praise for Wilkinson Estates in Forest Gate and Martin Browne of Gisby Harrison solicitors. Everything went so smoothly, there's only the building work to come along and fuck everything up now.