1. Guarantor Mortgages

Although these types of mortgages are much less offered from lenders today, they are still an option from some. The Guarantor needs to be aware there may be additional stamp duty if they already own a home.

A 'guarantor' is someone who is willing to guarantee your mortgage payments in the event that you are unable to make or fail to make your repayments.

If this happens, they are liable to cover the repayments for you. It is in this situation that the various types of insurance discussed later, can be of enormous benefit as your guarantor could be at a risk of losing their home if you and they are unable to pay the monthly repayments.

A full budget analysis will be done with the guarantor to ensure their ability to make repayments and at all times we will recommend the guarantor speak with a solicitor to ensure they fully understand the implications of such help.

2. Buying with friends or family

If your salary isn't large enough to cover the mortgage you need, by combining your income with the income of a close friend or someone you know who has a similar predicament as you, why not join forces.

It is worth noting that the ability will be based on affordability so if it were a family member and they had a mortgage this would reduce the chances but you may be able to do option 4 below.

Doing so will help share the financial cost and you should be able to afford a larger property or a better location.

We will recommend you both obtain legal advice before entering into a formal agreement to ensure you both understand the implications.

3. Shared ownership / Shared Equity

Housing associations operate shared ownership schemes where the association owns part of the property and you take the mortgage on the rest of it.

As well as paying a mortgage on part of the property, you also pay rent for the part that belongs to the housing association. Shared ownership makes home ownership more affordable.

You might buy a 25%, 50% or 75% share in your home. The bigger share that you purchase, the less rent you will have to pay. When you can afford to do so, you can buy more shares until you own your own home outright, in a process known as ‘purchasing tranches’ or 'stair casing'.

The other share in a shared ownership property is usually owned by a housing association and as such, priority is generally given to people on local authority or housing association waiting lists. However, with the number of new builds increasing, shared ownership is now becoming more open for all buyers.

4. Joint Mortgage, Single Occupancy (JMSP)

A joint mortgage single occupancy is similar to a guarantor mortgage and more widely accepted by lenders in today’s market, and will allow for up to 4 persons to apply.

This type of mortgage means that parents or other loved ones who don’t want a long-term interest in the property can easily exit the arrangement when the proprietor can afford a mortgage on their own.

The mortgage can also have benefits for Stamp Duty. Ordinarily, if you were buying a property with someone who has a home already, the purchase would attract second home Stamp Duty at a rate of 3%. However, with a JMSP mortgage, the other parties avoid triggering this liability.