Mark and Janey approached me in early 2020. Despite previously being homeowners they were living in rented accommodation, following divorce and remarriage, had no equity but did have a 10% deposit. They planned to buy their ideal home; a 5-bed detached with a price tag of £659,000.
Mark had been working with another broker, but a few weeks into the transaction, he had been let down by the chosen lender based on affordability and the broker had run out of options. Following a recommendation, he spoke with Richard at Aspire.
What was the problem that we had to solve?
Richard and Mark met, and went through a deep-dive to fully understand the facts, and his objectives. Mark is a director of a successful ltd co and is a 33% shareholder. During those initial conversations, going through the numbers, it became clear that using Mark’s salary and dividends wouldn’t stack up.
Solving it by knowing your lenders.
Richard called Mark’s accountant and went through the last 3 years accounts. What stood out is that the company had good profits, and Mark’s share of those far outweighed his dividends. So first we had to shortlist the lenders that would use ‘share of net profit plus salary’ instead of salary plus dividends. There were a handful of lenders, but only one that was offering 90% loan-to value mortgages. We ran the affordability, spoke with the underwriters, put in an Application in Principle and the result was success.
Conclusion
No two clients are the same, and neither are the lenders. You have to approach each one with a completely open mind, and ask lots of questions to get an understanding of the client’s position. Using that information, the skill is to match the needs and circumstances to the most appropriate lender. Mark and Janey are now in their new home, along with their five children.