Superyacht stewardess, Charlotte Thomas, saved up a healthy deposit for her first home. She’s put spare earnings into high-interest savings accounts, premium bonds and a Lifetime ISA.
The seafarer from Devon had already amassed a deposit of £70,000 by the age of 23. So you might think the world was her oyster. However, things turned out to be a little more complicated.
What she hadn’t realised was that her overseas job meant she’s considered an expat for tax purposes. This can make getting a mortgage trickier. Meanwhile, the costs of homeownership were continuing to rise, making affordability a challenge.
Charlotte approached a mortgage broker to understand her options. She was guided towards a product called a Joint Borrower Sole Proprietor (JBSP) mortgage. This allows homebuyers to add up to three close family members to a mortgage. It increases the amount the buyer can borrow, without the other applicants owning any of the property. Find out more about how JBSP mortgages work here.
In Charlotte’s case, her father, 63-year-old Philip, agreed to be added to a two-year fixed rate expat mortgage with us. Although Philip was already retired we were able to take into account his pension and property income. This could have been an issue for other lenders.
This meant Charlotte could borrow £265,000. That’s almost double what she’d have been able to borrow on her own. As a result, she was able to buy her dream home, a bungalow back in Exeter for £335,000.
Most importantly, she’s thrilled to have somewhere to return to between busy charter seasons. It means she has a base in the area, close to family and friends, without having to rely on staying with her parents. While she wasn’t familiar with JBSP mortgages, she now believes they’re a great idea.
Charlotte’s broker, Dan Stanbury, director at Trident Mortgages & Protection said, “With the cost of everything property-related having escalated, there is a greater desire to skip what might have been the first few rungs on the proper ladder and achieve a forever home first time round. JBSP mortgages are a super way of helping children and families achieve exactly that. I don’t feel there is enough awareness amongst buyers yet. JBSP certainly has a firm foothold in the industry itself and amongst the broker community.”
As well as being a first time buyer, considered an expat, and borrowing with a retired parent, the property was a new build. This added yet another level of complexity to the case. This is because there’s a risk of the property falling in value in the first few years.
Thankfully, we have the flexibility to deal with these kinds of niche requirements. While a high street bank might have turned her away, building societies are able to review applications on a case-by-case basis. Here, Charlotte had been very savvy with her savings, allowing her to put down a sizeable deposit.
We hope Charlotte enjoys settling into her new home when she’s not busy travelling the world.
You can read the full details of her story in the iPaper.
