Is there a special mortgage type for teachers and teaching staff?
There is no specific mortgage product that is aimed exclusively at teaching staff. As a teacher, the mortgages available to you are the same range that are open to the majority of other applicants, however, your chosen career does afford you some benefits with certain lenders.
Are there special rates for teachers?
Some Mortgage Lenders, usually independent, rather than high street lenders, offer special discounts to those in the teaching profession. Mortgage deals can range from reduced or free arrangement fees, through to lower mortgage interest rates.
These offers, whilst available from niche lenders, are usually fairly widely available across the educational professionals spectrum, with those employed part-time, full-time or even on temporary contracts, in any of the following roles, usually being eligible:
- Fully qualified teacher/lecturer
- Teaching assistant (NVQ level 3)
- Newly qualified teacher (NQT)
- Supply teacher
- Nursery nurse (NVQ level 3)
- Children’s therapist
Teacher mortgages for First Time Buyers
If you’re a First Time Buyer who also happens to be a teacher, this won’t have any impact on the availability of mortgage options, or your chance of securing one. Mortgage Lenders will be looking to ensure that you meet their affordability and credit score requirements. So long as your income is stable, where you earn a living is of little consequence.
If you opt for a Standard Residential Mortgage then you will ordinarily need 10% deposit and are able to borrow somewhere between three and five times your annual income, depending on your individual circumstances. Those who have struggled to obtain a mortgage through the traditional process, however, will be glad to know that many of the government’s home ownership schemes can be advantageous for teachers and educational staff.
Help to Buy
The Help to Buy scheme gives applicants access to a government loan of upto 20% of the cost of your home (40% in London). On top of your minimum deposit requirement of 5% this gives you a 25% deposit (45% in London) in total. This reduces the Loan to Value ratio of your borrowing to 75% (55% in London) meaning that lenders are more likely to approve your application. Lower borrowing also opens up better interest rates.
Shared Ownership
The Shared Ownership scheme offers a realistic step onto the property ladder for those on lower incomes. Through a Housing Association, you purchase as little as 10% of your home (or up to 75% initially) and pay rent on the remainder. As and when you can afford to, you can increase your ownership in increments as small as 1% at a time.
NewBuy
The NewBuy Scheme is only available to those looking for a new build home. It gives you the chance to buy one with just 5% deposit, using a 95% NewBuy mortgage. There are regional pricing caps in place with regards to the maximum property price allowed through this scheme, but the interest rate is subsidised by the government and therefore around 75% of the cost of standard mortgage interest rates.
Remortgaging and Buy To Let for Teachers
Again, the fact that you are a teacher will not affect your access to remortgaging or Buy to Let options. As teaching is generally considered to be a stable career choice, you will often experience a more straightforward application process than other applicants.
Does my career stage affect my options?
Newly Qualified Teachers
Newly qualified teachers (NQT) are fairly often taken on, on a short term contract, whilst they secure a permanent teaching job. Applications can be a bit more complex for contract workers, but there are independent lenders who offer mortgages to Newly Qualified Teachers.
Supply Teachers
As a supply teacher, your job is considerably less stable than other teaching staff, so it may be more difficult to find a Mortgage Lender willing to consider your circumstances. So long as you have a minimum of twelve months of continued employment in this role, however, there will be specialist lenders who can help.
Retired Teachers
As a retired teacher, your full teacher’s pension will be considered by the lender with regards to your borrowing. Your age will factor into their decision, but the right mortgage advice beforehand can ensure you approach a lender who can help.
Mortgage protection products
As a teacher, it’s fairly common to have employment and mortgage protection policies, as part of your employee benefits package. This can be beneficial to provide to the Mortgage Lender, as it reduces the risk involved in offering your mortgage, making it easy to secure one.
How can The Mortgage Brokerage help teachers to find a mortgage?
At The Mortgage Brokerage, we match teaching staff with those Mortgage Lenders who are most likely to consider your circumstances and have special deals and discounts available to you. As a busy professional, we know that your time is precious, so we’ll take on much of the administrative burden for you, reducing your stress and input.
NHS Mortgages – some questions answered
No matter if you are a First Time Buyer or looking to upsize or downsize, you are going to want to know what discounts you can get on your mortgage as an NHS employee. There are a range of mortgage schemes based in the UK that you will be able to access but there is no specific NHS mortgage product out there.
Who is eligible for an NHS mortgage?
An NHS mortgage simply doesn’t exist – there are lenders out there who may offer incentives for NHS staff but there is no specific mortgage product out there. You must be employed by the NHS or NHS Trust organisation to be able to access NHS discounts. This includes:
- NHS GP Surgeries
- NHS Direct
- Ambulance Trust
- National Blood Transfusion Service.
You must be deemed medical staff or clinical staff in order to be eligible for NHS worker schemes, typically they come alongside lower deposit options or mortgage deals with lower interest rates.
What types of NHS schemes are available?
As mentioned, there are no specific schemes or mortgage products, instead, lenders may offer incentives, discounts and flexibility on your mortgage deal. There are government schemes that can be accessed by NHS staff such as:
- Help to Buy
- Shared Ownership
- Right to Buy
- New Buy Schemes.
You may have heard of the NHS Key Worker Mortgage scheme but unfortunately, this scheme no longer exists. There are a range of different lenders who cater towards NHS staff in terms of their mortgage products. The Mortgage Brokerage experts can help you as an NHS worker find the right mortgage lender for you and make the most out of your career title.
How much can I borrow for a mortgage as NHS staff?
You need to ensure that you can afford to make the repayments on your mortgage otherwise your home may end up being repossessed. Lenders will carry out an affordability check to ensure that your income covers the cost of the mortgage you are applying for. They will also look into your credit history to assess whether you are reliable when it comes to borrowing money.
You need to ensure that your finances are in check before applying for a mortgage. There are options out there for you if you have bad credit or no credit but these lenders can be harder to find.
Typically, you can borrow up to five times your annual income but this will depend on your credit score. It is better to have your finances the best they can be when applying for a mortgage in order to access the lower rates of interest available.
How do I prove my income as a Doctor?
If you are an NHS worker under the PAYE payroll system, then it is easy for lenders to assess your previous earnings. If you are Self-Employed or a locum doctor then you will need to prove your income through SA302 forms and tax overviews.
At least two years’ worth of accounts will then be assessed by your chosen lender to decide whether your income is enough to cover the monthly payments on the mortgage you are applying for.
There are specialist lenders out there if you do not have two years’ worth of accounts, but they can be harder to find. If you aren’t sure when it comes to proving your income you can get in touch with a mortgage expert at The Mortgage Brokerages to discuss your options.
How can a Mortgage Adviser at The Mortgage Brokerage help?
Here at The Mortgage Brokerage we are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and we also have access to the whole mortgage market; this means we can access lenders that are not available through the high street or banks.
There are a lot of mortgage deals out there and as an NHS staff member you will want to make the most of your position and access any discounts that you can. There are lenders out there who cater towards NHS staff offering lower deposit options, flexibility around your mortgage and lower interest rates on repayments – it is all about knowing where to look.
Get in touch with a mortgage expert at The Mortgage Brokerage today for tailored specific mortgage advice to your current situation and take control of your future home today.
All you need to know about Police Mortgages
What is a Police Mortgage?
There are no actual mortgage products that are exclusively aimed at police officers or police staff but some specialist mortgage lenders are more accommodating to those in the police force.
Those lenders who are ‘police friendly’ are understanding when it comes to police specific issues that may ordinarily affect a mortgage application, for example, low starting salaries, changing shift patterns and fluctuating overtime payments.
What help is available to police officers?
Although the Key Worker Mortgage Scheme, that once offered additional help to police and other key workers, ended in 2019, there are other government led home ownership schemes that can help police officers and police staff, particularly First Time Buyers:
Help to Buy
If you’re a First Time Buyer, this scheme will provide a government loan of 20% of the house price (40% in London) towards your deposit for any new build home. You must offer a 5% deposit yourself. The larger deposit will lower your Loan to Value borrowing, giving you access to better rates and more chance of securing an offer.
Right to Buy/Right to Acquire
These schemes afford Local Authority and Housing Association tenants, respectively, a chance to purchase their rented property. There are large discounts available, however, there are significant regional variations and this scheme is no longer available outside of England.
Shared Ownership
The Shared Ownership Scheme allows you to buy between 10% and 75% of a property, with a housing association usually retaining ownership of the remainder. This offers an alternative mortgage option for those with smaller incomes or poor credit, as the borrowing can be very low. You can increase ownership over time in increments of 1% or more, but you must pay rent on the percentage that you don’t own.
Starter Home Scheme
This scheme is only available to those aged 23-40 and is intended to help young First Time Buyers get onto the property ladder. To be eligible, you must purchase a new build home worth up to £250,000 (£450,00 in London). You will be provided with a 20% discount on the purchase price. You do have to fulfil other criteria, for example, there are maximum income caps, and rules around selling the home on.
The Mortgage Guarantee Scheme
This is more a scheme for lenders than borrowers, but it means that all creditworthy applicants now have access to 95% mortgages with lenders who have signed up. It means that it’s possible to purchase any home with just 5% deposit, so long as it’s under £600,000, and the government protects the lender, reducing their risk to lend.
How much can I borrow as a police officer/police staff?
Mortgage lenders base their loan offers on a number of factors, including income, job security and your credit score. The type of role you are employed in will not usually be an influencing factor in the amount that you can borrow.
That being said, those lenders who are more sympathetic to the needs of police officers may be willing to lend a higher multiple of your income, on the basis of your stable career choice. Typically, you could expect to borrow between three and five times your annual salary.
Will mortgage lenders take overtime or a second income into account?
There are lenders that will consider overtime payments, if they are regular. It’s more likely that these will be taken into account if you can provide evidence of six months or more of ongoing overtime availability.
You will also be able to use other regular forms of income, such as benefits, maintenance payments and second job earnings, so long as you can prove that they will continue indefinitely.
How can The Mortgage Brokerage help?
We’ve advised many clients who are serving in the police force to find a competitive mortgage deal. Having access to a wide variety of high street and independent lenders means that we can direct you towards those police friendly lenders, who are most likely to be able to help you.
We understand the plight of working shifts, so we’ll do our utmost to work around your schedule in order to be here when you need us. We’ll minimise stress by completing much of the administrative part of the application for you, allowing a smoother transition into your new home.
YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE.