100% Mortgage with **** credit history?

[MissChief]

Getting a bit sick of spending nearly £500 a month my landlords way every month so thinking about a mortgage. Only issue is my credit history and I have no deposit. I'm living by myself, from paycheck to paycheck and have no savings and realistically have no chance of saving anything either. My credit history is pretty st as when I was married we had a loan, a credit card and a store card which were all in my name and I couldn't afford the repayments by myself.

I now have just a credit card but most of the previous debts are still outstanding but I haven't been contacted about any of them in years so not sure what's happened there. My Cc company have just offered an increased credit limit and I haven't missed a payment on it yet and am actually paying £50 a month fixed amount as the current credit limit isn't very large, no doubt due to my rubbish credit history.

So, what is the best way of looking at a mortgage? The house isn't worth more than £100k, probably less and I'm 40 with no real dependants myself. My kids come at the weekend but stay with their now remarried mum during the week. Is it worth approaching my bank that I've been with for 30 years? Are there specialist brokers for this kind of thing that won't charge me hundreds up front that I can't pay? Is all hope lost due to my circumstances?

[MissChief]

p1stonhead said:

Sarnie may correct me but I'd say it looks bleak. Stress tests are tough these days and if you are living pay check to paycheck, no deposit and with outstanding debts,I think it'll be high on impossible.

What's your salary OP? It may swing it if high but (apologies if I'm wrong) I'm assuming it isn't?

Sadly not very high, certainly not high enough to put anything away for a deposit. All in I'm clearing about £21k. My sole 'pleasures' amount to a mobile contract, Spotify and Fibre broadband. I own my car outright so it's not like I can cut back here and there and have a few hundred pounds to put away each month.

Edited by MissChief on Sunday 19th April 20:13

[MissChief]

CoolHands said:

move further 'out' from wherever you are and rent somewhere cheaper while you start saving.

My rent is £480 a month. Would you suggest a garden shed or upside down skip? My rent for the house is very very cheap. Even a 2 bed flat is slightly more.

[MissChief]

Of that £21k I also have a pension plan, 3% of my wage, a share save scheme of £50 a month and an employee purchase scheme of £30 a month.

[MissChief]

CoolHands said:

errr isn't your pension taken out of your gross wage?

Anyway you've got all your options spelled out above. Or get a better paid job, or a 2nd job.

That £21k is gross, not in my pocket!

[MissChief]

jammy_basturd said:

Taking the long term vision, someone who is 40 and with the OP's financial situation - if they DO buy a house now they will have paid it off by the time they're 65-70, so just in time for retirement.

If they DON'T buy a house in the next 5 years, or even ever, then there needs to be some thought into how to afford housing passed retirement age.

This is my quandary. If I don't buy soon (or at least try to) then I'm going to be renting for the rest of my life. And most likely working for it too. My parents have their house paid off but they're only in their late 60's and certainly seem to have plenty of life in them yet.