Is the mortgage market turbulence getting you down? Have you got a mortgage-related question you need answering? Email in, and we will get one of our experts to reply. Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, has given his advice to a reader below. If you have a question for our experts, email us at money@theipaper.com.
Question: I am 58 and hoping to buy my council flat under Right to Buy. The council has valued it at £265,000 and, with my discount, the price comes to £145,000 – which is what I would need to borrow. I earn £34,000 a year from work, plus a small pension of £2,500 and personal independence payment (PIP) of £6,200 and hope to retire at 70. My flat is several floors up in a high-rise block from the 1970s, and a fire risk assessment last year rated it as moderate but flagged that some external wall panels still need specialist assessment. Given the building’s height and this outstanding issue, will I struggle to get a mortgage? Can my discount count as my deposit, and will my pension and PIP count towards what I can borrow at my age?
Answer: There is a lot going on here, but each part is more manageable than it probably feels at first glance.
Shorts
Start with the discount. Lenders usually treat the gap between the market value and the Right to Buy price as equity, not as cash you need to find yourself.
