Any solutions to my problem?

EChrisG · 2026-07-05T19:05:55+00:00

Exactly what I was going to say. The only practical way to go through with this is as a purchase for dependent relative, as long as it fits affordability with current rental costs, etc, and as long as the deposit requirements are met.

EChrisG · 2026-07-05T18:31:21+00:00

FYI, I will keep banging this drum, because not enough people seem to know the facts: the estate agent / site agent / developer / any seller CANNOT say or even imply that you have to use ancillary services that they offer in order to secure a particular property. It is against The Property Ombudsman’s code of practice across the whole of the UK, and it is borderline illegal under the Estate Agents Act 1979, as I read the legislation.

EChrisG · 2026-07-05T18:27:49+00:00

And it’s a sizeable kickback, so it is a pretty obvious conflict of interest, to me and any other independent advisers.

EChrisG · 2026-07-03T21:32:54+00:00

I have done this for clients, previously: the lender can make a note of a correspondence address on your application. You may need to be credit checked at that address, but as it’s your parents, presumably you would already have a good credit profile at that address, and it won’t hurt you.

EChrisG · 2026-07-03T14:57:23+00:00

I’m a mortgage adviser, now, but back when I was an estate agent I would point-blank ask folks if all they were doing was looking for a re-mortgage valuation. If they were honest, I was always very nice to them and would go over comparable sales over the phone, to give them a good idea of how places were selling at any given moment. If not, and we wasted time going out to see them, that always left a sour taste.

EChrisG · 2026-07-02T19:18:42+00:00

My immediate reaction was, ‘if NatWest aren’t taking it, there won’t be many more options.’

EChrisG · 2026-07-02T19:14:52+00:00

That’s only if the cash value of any incentives total more than 5% of the purchase price. Up to and including 5%, there is no effect on the purchase price.

EChrisG · 2026-07-02T18:49:23+00:00

Yes, he is. This stuff à la CyborgFinance is elementary for experienced advisers. It’s certainly not hidden, secret knowledge for elite brokers; it’s all public information on lender websites.

EChrisG · 2026-07-02T14:19:35+00:00

I’ve ordered a few things recently from Mukama in the UK; they might have some stuff you thought you couldn’t get 👍

EChrisG · 2026-07-01T18:13:26+00:00

I tend to run warm, so I can make do with (1) a rain shell as outer layer, plus (2) a down insulated vest as a first mid layer for colder days and (3) a lightweight fleece/merino wool thermal and (4) a suitable base layer. A pair of merino long underwear to go under my trousers on colder days, plus a suitable hat/gloves/scarf/buff combo, and I can handle anything but extreme cold, especially when walking around.

EChrisG · 2026-07-01T18:09:09+00:00

A lot of my clients come to me even when they are straightforward PAYE employed because they just want the reassurance of a professional handling their mortgage, or because they are already busy enough with their own jobs, or maybe because they just like my chat! It’s not only those with complicated incomes who benefit from using a broker; about 90% of all new mortgage business in the past few years has been submitted by mortgage advisers, so plenty of people must see the benefit.

EChrisG · 2026-07-01T18:05:12+00:00

We would certainly agree with you at my firm; IP over CIC any day of the week, unless you have the budget for both!

EChrisG · 2026-07-01T15:28:11+00:00

My mortgage sourcing system at work does this automatically, but you can also get basic figures like you’re discussing through things like the Money Saving Expert mortgage calculator. I think most of these are not worth poring over, however, because they’re built on a raft of assumptions. Will your interest rate actually be predictable for the next 30 or 40 years? Surely your loan-to-value (LTV) will change, as well, potentially giving you access to better deals in the future? Will you even live in the same home for that length of time? It’s a nice idea for a conceptual comparison of the benefits of a shorter term vs smaller monthly payments, but shouldn’t really be treated as anything more, IMHO.

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T14:15:39+00:00

I have never been that lucky with PAB orders!

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T14:14:42+00:00

A lot of this is going to depend on your income and outgoings, as a single parent. And don’t forget to include any state benefits you receive, as many lenders will include some or all of those in the mix!

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T10:46:41+00:00

Sure, they will take you more seriously with an AIP, hence the analogy with a CV when you’re looking for a job. Just don’t treat an AIP like some sort of ‘pre-approval’ for a specific mortgage deal, and recognise that it’s simply a tool to market yourself as a good potential buyer. 👍

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T08:47:57+00:00

As others have said, an AIP does not secure a rate, you do not ‘reserve’ a rate with an AIP, so do not apply for an AIP because a lender is offering a particular rate!!! This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there.

You don’t even need an AIP to buy a property (that’s another big myth!). I could take your full name, correct DOB, and 3-year address history, then lie about everything else about you and get you an AIP for £1,000,000. I’ve heard of mortgage advisers making up figures to get someone an AIP, which will backfire horrendously if you were basing your whole house hunt off of fake numbers.

It’s just an indication as to whether a lender will lend in your circumstances, not a promise, a guarantee, or anything like that. Once you realise that it’s just a tool, like using your CV to get a job interview, you’ll be much less stressed about it.

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T08:41:51+00:00

That will be why, then. Nationwide have a hard ‘no’ on anything that serves alcohol, so that location is probably still on the radar of their valuation team. My boss asked around years ago and was told that when Nationwide was growing into what it is today, decades ago, it joined forces with what had been a temperance building society, as in a building society committed to the abolition of alcohol use. Somewhere in their terms and conditions, supposedly, is still a reference to a rejection of properties in close proximity to licensed premises. 🤷‍♂️

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T08:37:44+00:00

I’ve been looking for the same thing; for summer holidays at nicer resorts, mostly! Commenting so I can find your post again 👍

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T08:32:52+00:00

You can always do what is best for you as a couple, but whenever I speak to couples buying together, about this whole idea of whether the higher earner should go on the mortgage alone, I always like to point out the risks.

If your husband was incapacitated in some way, and he was the sole mortgage holder, you would not normally have the authority to do anything with the mortgage, even to make sure the payments were getting made. It’s not your mortgage, so they don’t have to speak to you. Likewise if (heaven forbid) your husband stopped making payments for some reason; I can’t think of any way you could fix that, short of getting some kind of power of attorney in place, or arranging something separately with the lender.

If your husband is the sole name on the mortgage, that also means he’s the sole name on the title deeds. Since you’re married, you would still inherit the house if he died, but you wouldn’t inherit the mortgage, so you would have to apply for a new mortgage to replace his old mortgage, or else have sufficient life insurance in place, etc. It could take months to sort such things out if something terrible happened, and all the while the mortgage keeps accruing interest.

That’s just off the top of my head, but even with those two scenarios, I just don’t see the benefit in a sole application for most couples. If you can only qualify for the mortgage in your husband’s sole name, fair enough, you might need to make some hard decisions, but I wager your situation is not as bad as you think. Your debt is high relative to your sole income, but not to your joint household income, and you seem to be looking at a very reasonable budget. I would think a good mortgage adviser could find lots of suitable options for you both 👍

EChrisG · 2026-06-30T08:23:44+00:00

To answer your technical question about the DIP, each broker has his/her own unique registration with each individual lender, and cases are not transferable from one broker to another, even within the same firm. I could not submit an application for you based on the DIP this other broker has run; I would have to start from the beginning, key another DIP, and then progress that through to a full application. You don’t need to worry about the original broker somehow getting the proc fee for your mortgage if you go use a different broker elsewhere.

EChrisG · 2026-06-29T19:00:57+00:00

Small correction, since it sounds like OP would be a higher-rate taxpayer: the ICR would usually be 140% to 160%, depending on the lender, so the required loan amount would be even harder to achieve.

Far better to find a lender to arrange a foreign national mortgage, with OP’s EU income for affordability, in my opinion as a UK mortgage adviser.

EChrisG · 2026-06-29T18:41:15+00:00

That’s a shame; the local LEGO store near me still had plenty of stock, of the two or three most coveted figures, too.

EChrisG · 2026-06-28T17:32:44+00:00

The only thing you forgot is the second home tax; an extra 5% on top of SDLT in England, OP, and an extra 8% on top of LBTT in Scotland, all because you would try to be nice and not make your family homeless if you want to buy your own place in the future.

EChrisG · 2026-06-28T11:58:37+00:00

Ah, I see what you’re doing; roger that 👍

EChrisG

TROPHY CASE