Housing Benefit And Mortgage

[Elley]

Can some one get mortgage while on housing benefit

[tonyav]

Again, apply for one and see what happens.

[Elley]

Ok thnxs basically I can't use benefit as income

[factor-fiction]

You will no longer get HB once you move from rented accommodation to a house on which you are taking out a mortgage, so there will be no HB for the lender to take into account as the lender is interested only in your future income rather than past income

[EDDIE51]

^^ the fact that you were getting housing benefit will not effect an application for a mortgage. To be considered for a mortgage you need to be in full time employment and in a 'safe' job , as far as I know you can borrow 2 & 1/2 times your annual income , so you need to be earning around £60,000 a year as a single person to get a mortgage for a cheap house in most parts of the country.

[EDDIE51]

If your only income is benefits (not just housing benefit any benefits) you can't get a mortgage as you are not earning anything.
kvaliir again you are getting confused between LHA , which is the maximum amount that can be paid as housing benefit for a PRIVATE rental, and housing benefit for social housing which will cover any social housing rent as long as 'bedroom tax' does not come into it. As you say though housing benefit stops as soon as you move out of rented accommodation.
Looking at Elley's profile she is not working or at least has not been working long enough to be considered as in a secure job. You need to be in the same job for at least 2 years but more often 5 years to be considered as in secure employment.

[black_cat51]

i'm not sure that's a hard and fast rule eddie

[kvalidir]

You can get a mortgage at 18 EDDIE ( my brother just has, well he's 19 but same difference), so the 'secure employment' idea isn't as Black cat said a 'rule', you just need to convince them it is indeed secure.
With regard to LHA- there's no confusion, it does only apply to the private sector, but no social housing is going to exceed that limit, so it's a moot point.

[EDDIE51]

black-cat, try applying for a mortgage and telling them your only income is benefits and see how far you get.
kvalidir your brother must be earning a fortune for a 19 year old and have a huge deposit or parents / relatives that are prepared to stand as guarantors .

[black_cat51]

when i said that's not a hard and fast rule, i meant having been in the same job for 2-5 years, not that you could get a mortgage on benefits!

[EDDIE51]

^^ things have been tightened up a lot in the last month or two, mortgages are a lot harder to get than even 6 months ago. Now they want to know what will happen if your income falls due to shortime working and even ask about your spending habits. There are questions about the chance of promotion and if there is a possibility of redundancy.

[ummmm]

My OH got a mortgage at 18.

[factor-fiction]

Not in the last few months though, ummmm.

[Ric.ror]

I'm interested to know how your brother got a mortgage at 19

[tonyav]

The last thing I'd have wanted has a teenager would have been a mortgage.

[ummmm]

True, FF, but I've bought and sold houses over the years. The only I can see between then and now is the deposit.

Ric....money. Simples...

[ummmm]

*difference

[EDDIE51]

I'm waiting to see how an 18 year old can get a mortgage as well , it seems impossible in todays situation. Average age of a first time buyer is now well into the 30s.

[ladybirder]

Probably got a large deposit and a decent job I guess. And possibly a guarantor.

[ummmm]

Eddie....he earnt loads of money and house prices were low. He bought this house for 45k and it's in one of the best areas in town. If we put it on the market it'll be sold within days, as are all the houses round here.

[tamborine]

Maybe like my son by working for dad