New 95% Mortgage Scheme

Hi all-

I was wondering if anyone was tracking the 95% mortgage scheme announced last week? I honestly thought my hubby and I would have no shot of buying property any time soon, but with this announcement I'm hoping it could change things.  I am one year into my spousal visa, so does anyone know if we would be able to apply for these types of mortgages? We are first time home buyers, and the buying process in the UK is pretty much a complete unknown to the both of us.  I have seen on previous posts that because I am on a spousal visa, we would need to put 20-25% down.  Knowing that I had given up hope of getting on the property ladder in London, but if we could put 5% down that would be a real game changer for us.

If your husband/sponsor can qualify for the mortgage on his own income, you could both contribute to the 5% down payment, so you would benefit by the scheme in that sense.  But I'm not sure the government 5% mortgage guarantee will be enough to move the banks to lending to someone on a limited leave visa.

But definitely do not just take my speculation for it... talk to a mortgage broker, or contact some banks and see if you can get an agreement in principle under the scheme.  It doesn't hurt to ask.  (Make sure that applying for an AIP won't trigger a hard credit check!  You don't want too many of those on your credit history when you're house-hunting.)

Thanks for the reply @jfkimberly !

Yeah, that makes sense. I think we would probably need our combined income to qualify for a mortgage. We bank with NatWest, so maybe I should reach out to them as a first step.

Thanks for the reply @jfkimberly !

Yeah, that makes sense. I think we would probably need our combined income to qualify for a mortgage. We bank with NatWest, so maybe I should reach out to them as a first step.

Yeah, I think your main issue could be finding a lender who will approve you for a mortgage while you're on a temporary visa and have limited UK credit history. I assume the reason they normally ask for a much higher deposit is because of your visa status/lack of credit history.

One thing to consider is that if you are approved for a mortgage jointly, your interest rates and monthly repayments are likely to be higher because you are on a temporary visa. I know others have mentioned that once they got ILR, their monthly mortgage payments went down. So, it's often better if the UK partner can take out a mortgage in their name only, though of course, that will depend on whether their income is high enough to qualify for the mortgage on its own.

Thanks @ksand24

oh no   this doesn't sound positive for us.. all of that makes sense though.  I knew this was probably a long shot, but I got so excited after seeing that announcement thinking this could actually be in play this year vs. a couple of years down the road.

Thanks @ksand24

oh no   this doesn't sound positive for us.. all of that makes sense though.  I knew this was probably a long shot, but I got so excited after seeing that announcement thinking this could actually be in play this year vs. a couple of years down the road.

Best thing to do would be to ask around and see what options you have - maybe start with Natwest and then go from there. It could be that you can find a way to make things work .

Hiya, jumping in on this thread to hopefully provide you with a bit of hope! My husband and I were in your shoes. I’m currently on the spouse visa (waiting for my FLR to get accepted ) and jointly bought a house with my husband, who is a U.K. citizen. I had only been living in the U.K. for a year and a half by the time we bought it (arrived July 2018, saved, saved and saved until January 2020 when we were able to purchase).

Some things you will 100% need for this to happen:
- Permanent contract; our broker also told us it helps if you have a good sick leave policy in the contract. I’m NHS so I had that covered.
- A chunk of savings (we had to provide 15% down payment)
- Solicitor: we live in Inverness so it cost us about £1500 of soliciting fees if I remember correctly. May be more or less in London area, but probably more!!
- Mortgage broker (this is optional, but I found it useful because our mortgage broker was only able to find 2 banks who were willing to lend to a non-U.K. citizen/someone who was here on a temp visa.
- In some cases, new build developments will actually cover the price of a mortgage broker (ours did). Just something to consider.

Our broker found us a great offer through NatWest. Our interest rates are very good (1.97% on a 5-year fixed term mortgage).

Don’t get me wrong, the process is stressful. But once you’re in your own home, especially in a housing market where you know you’ve made a great investment, it’s worth the initial stress and constant saving pre-purchase.


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