Horses & Mortgages

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Little_Grey_Pony

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Hi All.

My partner and I are preparing to start applying for a mortgage. I was speaking to a colleague and she said to not tell them that I own a horse. Does owning a horse cause problems when applying for mortgages? I can’t see how I can hide the horse, as the part livery, insurance all goes out of my bank.
If anyone would be willing to share there experiences, I’d really appreciate it.

Thanks.
 
When we applied for a mortgage last year they wanted to know all our outgoings and incomings (so they knew we could afford the mortgage price). I just quoted my horses livery, shoes and insurance (anything that was guaranteed to come out really) didn't add on any extras he might get. Never caused any problems, I can't see why it would! They just want to know that after everything has come out, you have money left to pay the mortgage!
 
When I got a mortgage the lender called me and questioned my standing order that pays stable rent. I just told them what it was and said I’d included the horses in my outgoings (which I had under ‘other spending’) Didn’t hear anything else from them and got the mortgage :-D
 
In an application about 5 years ago I put horsey outgoings as a committed expenditure - they called and questioned it and then insisted it wasn't committed as I could give up horses if I wanted to (ha ha ha little do they know) !!

I wouldn't hid it from them - financial people finding out things as a surprise is likely to make them suspicious overall. Be honest and up front, as you said they'll see the money going out of your bank account anyway.
 
Friend is a moron. Dont lie, these people arent out to trick you or fleece you they just want to know if you can afford to repay the money they are going to lend you. Be honest and be realistic and good luck :)
 
These days all mortgage lenders have to carry out affordability checks. So they will ask about ALL regular outgoings such as child care and - of course - livery. Don't hide it! That's fraud!! Lenders can and do research your finances so would probably find out anyway.
 
I think to hide it is foolish, it is likely to be quite obvious to see from bank statements, but I also think you can downplay it as an "extra"/indulgence/treat type spend rather than a "committed expenditure". We might not view our horses as something we can just give up but of course a bank would!
 
The affordability checks are there to make sure you can afford your mortgage! They aren't there to trip to up and deprive you of a house. I thought the one I did was really useful. So I would do it honestly and realistically. It is to help you borrow a sensible amount as much as it is to protect the banks from arrears. They are also stress tested - what would happen if interest rates went to 5% for example? There are a lot of people who are carrying far more debt than is safe for them and a lot of people are going to end up in a whole lot of financial misery if when rates go up. Don't be one of them!!
 
We were asked loads of stuff about spending from food shopping to hair cuts to clothes shopping and hobbies.

My hobby (horses) obviously came out extremely high but was balanced with my average monthly clothing spend of £0, my average hair and beauty spend of £0, my car finance of £0.

The broker said that the figures were similar to many other peoples figures just under different categories.
 
Tbh it's quite good to show it as if you were absolutely destitute, in the eyes of the bank, it is a non essential luxury that you could give up (not that you would).
 
Notimetoride said:
Tbh it's quite good to show it as if you were absolutely destitute, in the eyes of the bank, it is a non essential luxury that you could give up (not that you would).
Click to expand...

Yes, this. My horsey expenditure went down as non-essential in our mortgage application for this reason.

Don't hide it, they go through your bank statements with a fine tooth comb and they will pick it up anyway.
 
As others have said don't try to hide it, I had no issues with the horse cost when I applied.

The one thing I did change before applying though was making sure I had a credit rating! Sounds daft but I'd never had anything on contract or loaned anything, so I would have been an unknown and therefore higher risk. So I took out a monthly contracted phone (£10 a month) and a credit card, bought some things on the credit card, paid them straight off and so gave myself a good credit rating. Might not be relevant but it certainly made my application a smooth affair to be able to tick all the boxes :).
 
ultimately there is no point in lying as you need to be able to afford the mortgage! Depending on the form used I think there is often a section for pets- not that dogs normally cost so much to make a massive difference to the mortgage, but it all adds up in monthly expenditure.
 
Depends on your lender I think. Ours wasn't interested in any of our spending other than existing debt repayments! Our last application was just after the new rules came out & I was expecting them to be checking every last takeaway receipt, but they really weren't interested.

Don't lie if asked, but you'll know if you can realistically afford the repayments & presumably wouldn't be applying for the amount you are if it took you right down to the wire.
 
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