Not exactly a work request, more like work-tangential...

Anonymous

June 22,2023 at 5:00PM UTC

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Not exactly a work request, more like work-tangential...

I'm at a company that is primarily focused on inorganic growth right now (acquisitions, primarily). We acquired a new company about mid-way through last year, and most people at that company were paid a bonus to stay on through a certain time. In the meantime, the product line I work on (another acquired company that I worked for prior to the acquisition) has had a TON of problems, and it's really sucked up a lot of time for most of our resources. This year, with the economy and the problems we've had, our sales are really down. We're only 32% to plan.

Due to a death in my family, I recently inherited some money that I plan to use for a downpayment on a house later this year. We've already told our landlord that this is our plan, and have consequently signed a 9-month lease extension with the explicit plan to buy (both with him and ourselves) around the end of the year.

How bad would it be if I look for/get a new job, and then a few months later go to apply for a mortgage? I'm concerned about the optics, though I don't think I would need to take a significant pay cut, if any at all.

I know this isn't exactly work-related, but the morale at my company is horrible right now with various people getting laid off over the last 6 months and I'm worried 1. about getting laid off myself and 2. everyone I actually enjoy working with leaving, in which case I'll be significantly less happy here.

Side note: is it hard to lay people off in the UK? Most of our problem children are based over there, and yet no one has been let go over there.

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LizJune 23,2023 at 12:56PM UTC
There should be no problem doing that at all. Just remember, you'll most likely get a mortgage pre-approval before you begin seriously searching for houses, so that way you can easily make an offer if you find a house that you like. The approval will require that you submit your latest pay stub, among other things. Changing jobs shouldn't be an issue, but you may need to get another approval done if you used a pay stub from your old job. Good luck!
Liz MilneJune 24,2023 at 12:49AM UTC
You can lay people off in the UK, but there are steps that must be followed, starting with a 90-day warning that they're at risk of redundancy, if I recall correctly. The bigger the company, the more items on the checklist... Re: your mortgage, as long as you have reasonable job security, you should be okay?? In the UK they look at total earnings over the whole year, not how long you've been employed at one company (according to my self-employed friend who is currently house-hunting!)
GirlBossanova934974June 24,2023 at 1:00PM UTC
Mortgage or no mortgage, you have just learned some very valuable career lessons which you can apply going forward. Acquisitions of other companies are rarely ever easy! This is highly contrary to what the "Whiz Kids" will tell you. There is a lot more to do than moving numbers around a spreadsheet. There are CULTURAL DIFFERENCES to deal with, which means in your case, United Kingdom personnel. IT's hard to manage off-shore operations and that takes significant experience. Please don't think that hopping on a few ZOOM calls will suffice. So if it were me, I would learn from this experience. I would be leaving this company that you are at now and get out of there ASAP! As for the mortgage, the mortgage lender is looking for "STABLE EMPLOYMENT HISTORY" so a job move or two isn't going to hurt you if you have been at an employer for more than a few years, at least once in your career. Best of luck! PS: Back in the day, 20 years of so ago, it was popular to have USA managers live and work in a company's overseas operations before they were put in charge of any overseas operations. Managers got a keen view of cultural differences and learned to work with them and get the job done. Somehow like just about everything else today, we decided to take shortcuts in the last few years. The results or lack of results is now clear.
CosmosMomJune 24,2023 at 1:42PM UTC
I was approved for a mortgage 3 months into a new job. They will want pay stubs from prior job, and they also wanted 3 years of my W2 forms. I see you are in the UK, I’m in the US. W2 forms are what shows your income, retirement savings contributions, and other info for filing your taxes- so whatever you have similar to that, they will probably ask for. It didn’t matter that I was at a newer job, as long as they were able to verify my earnings. Good luck!
AnonymousJune 24,2023 at 1:43PM UTC
I suggest you talk to the lender now and ask them questions. Most lenders would be thrilled to start working with you even if you are a year away.
From personal experience, I talked to a lender and we developed steps I needed to take. I was out of bankruptcy and we discussed timeline mortgage products available to me. I was even looking for a new job while house hunting. I was staying in the same field.
I suggested the same thing to a friend. The lender pointed out he needed to have a lower car payment/paid off.
Bottom line they will look for potential problems. Having a plan takes the unknown out of the equation. Less stress.
AnonymousJune 24,2023 at 5:32PM UTC
Well it all depends on your level of confidence in the area in which you work. If there are still ample positions available in your area of expertise then the risk will not be so huge. No one can predict the future but you can control it from your side of the equation by doing what you want in your personal life and letting work revolve around that.
misskelleypJune 24,2023 at 7:29PM UTC
as far as a mortgage goes, as long as you show you have been continuously employed in the same field, they really don't care much - at least, that's been my experience.