Meeting with a mortgage adviser

So last week I met with a mortgage adviser to discuss what could be done with the amount I had raised for a deposit - 17,000.

I had no previous knowledge about mortgages and the man explained it to me in very simple terms.

A mortgage is basically a big bank loan. You pay it off monthly, including a percentage of interest. If you fail to make the payments, your house is repossessed. - This is extremely simple, but it's all I needed to know at this early stage.

The man then used online mortgage calculators from places such as Santander and Halifax. You can access these online, using a search engine. On these mortgage calculators, all your information is input - your name, address, age, job, salary, debts, credit agreements, expenditure, how long you will live in the house, etc. At this stage you actually only have to make one choice - whether you want a variable rate or fixed rate mortgage, which are the two different types of mortgage on the market. The term 'rate' refers to the percent of interest which you pay each month. With a fixed rate, you pay exactly the same each month, but with a variable rate, the rate of interest changes with the economy, so you may pay more one month and less the next. I chose a fixed rate, simply because I like to keep a close eye on my finances.

Using the amount of deposit you have, and your salary, the mortgage calculator works out how much you could be lent and how much you would pay back each month.

With my deposit and Starboy and I's current wages, we would be accepted for a mortgage, but it wouldn't be enough to buy a house in City. We could afford houses in other towns around City though. As I have said previously, I am very close to my family, and with them all living in City, I would not want to move away.

I then told the mortgage adviser that Starboy is actually in the final stages of the PCSO recruitment process. So we then entered in all the details as if he had this job, and salary, and discovered that we would be able to afford a property in City. Hoorah!!

If Starboy gets the job, we can go back to the adviser and start the process of buying a property together.

I forgot to mention an important, and very sensible point about our situation. As all of the deposit is mine, instead of taking out a joint mortgage, the adviser suggested that we take out a 'tennents in common' mortgage. This is basically like a pre-nup that gauruntees that I get my 17,000 back before any money is split when the house is sold. Its a brilliant idea because it still means that we are buying a property together and that we are both equal in the sale, but its just that little bit of extra security thats needed for my money.

I hope this helps anyone who hasn't looked into mortgages before, and helps when it comes to joint buying a property out of marriage.

Stargirl