The Motley Fool has an article which gives some innovative mortgage ideas for first-time buyers.
It seems to be getting harder and harder for people to get their foot on the bottom wrung of the property ladder, so these sort of alternative mortgages are becoming more and more popular. If you’ve been trying to find your first home loan, it’s worth considering these options:
- Buy with friends – more lenders now allow you to buy a house with more than 2 people, which will reduce your monthly spend, but beware, you really need to set yourselves up so that you know where you stand if you fall out and someone moves out.
- Get help from mum and dad – the bank of mum and dad comes to the rescue once again! They can act as guarantor to the mortgage, paying up if you can’t meet the mortgage payments. But they’re also putting their house on the line in the process, so it’s not something to do without considering all of the implications.
- Graduate from university – some lenders will be prepared to lend more to students who have graduated, in the thought that they wil get better paying jobs and be able to make the mortgage payments. Of course, the lending amounts are high, so think carefully before committing yourself to large repayments.
- Get a lodger – it’s possible to find lenders who will take rental income into account when working out how much they’ll lend. Whilst taking in a lodger might not seem ideal, it does offer yet another option for getting the money to buy your first home.