Buying a home

[magicbeatle]

Hi, my girlfriend has a council flat in her name which she rents. We live together but are thinking of getting married. Will i be legally able to buy another home if we are married and living in the council flat. I want to get on the property ladder, but she dose'nt want to risk losing her flat to a morgage. I would be grateful for any advice!

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes, you would be able to buy another house together, but if you were to move into it, you would have to forfeit your council flat. You could keep living in the council flat and buy a house with a 'buy to let' mortgage, and rent out the house. You would need in the region of a 25% deposit though.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say "she deosn't want to risk losing her flat to a mortgage" though.

[magicbeatle]

Cheers Oneeyedvic. Great advice!  She dose'nt want to risk buying her flat in case she loses it to reposession. Which means my only option is to buy elsewhere and rent it out while living with her. But she seems to think that if were married i cant legally buy a place if were living in a council flat. Also, i thought you could rent out any place you bought?  (Even a 100% morgage)

[Miss Zippy]

Your girlfriend's inkling is right; she/you will no longer be eligible to be housed by the council if you purchase a property privately. There is very strict criteria used by council when assessing whether you are eligible to be housed by the council. She should look at the terms and conditions of her tenancy agreement. After all, council homes are meant to be provided for those who have no other housing options. You can't really expect to have your cake and eat it. On your other point, if you are renting out a private property on which you have a mortgage, you have to obtain your lender's consent to this. 

[magicbeatle]

Thanks again oneeyedvic, you have given me a lot to think about. Obviously, i want to do things legally as our first concern is keeping hold of my girlfriends council flat. I dont really know where to go from here now, so its back to the drawing board. Cheers!