Mortgages - how much to borrow

I really need to move up north. £175k in Twyford would get me a 1-bed flat, if I was in the right place at the right time.

As other have said, fixed for as long as you can. Only one way interest rate will go over the next few years.
 
Ah great, just typed out a fairly long and detailed post and I even did some rough workings out and then my browser screwed me. Blooming great!

Anyway, to recap, with a 25% deposit, you should see some fairly competitive rates start to creep in from most banks which lend to First Time Buyers (a year or so ago when I did mine, that wasn't many).

Given your annual salary and the fact that you want to borrow £130k you should be ok/ On the basis that on rough workings you will be paying lets say £600-700 a month on mortgage (possibly less) for a fixed 4 years.

They say to pay bills and live comfortably with a house the total amount of your rent/mortgage repayment should be not much more than 1/3 of your total income. So if you guys are earning ~£2.2k take home and the mortgage is £700 that is pretty much 1/3.

Given a decent credit rating and out of probations with your work places and so on you should be fine. The big deciding factor is a chunky deposit. Which you will have. Not many self respecting banks will pass up £45k lump sum and another £15k in interest over time, unless you have a serious credit rating issue. Having a brief look just now it seems that things have become slightly better for FTB's in the past year.

Good luck with anything and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. I'm no expert, just been through the process myself fairly recently. It's amazing how much you learn along the way.
 
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This one isn't a particularly nice looking house, but has decent views and is in a nice area for less than £170k.
 
Fortunately that was Dewsbury Moor, and the scum keep themselves to themselves :D It's a fair distance from us.
 
Are most people assuming the BOE interest rate will go up this year?
Time to re-new my mortgage in England.
 
I am, I can't see it staying as low as it is. Hopefully it won't go too quickly at first.
 
Sp00n said:
Where might that be? Also, what kind of cardboard box, 2 ply?
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A luxury box.

SW London (near Putney).

One of the houses along my street went for 850k :eek: Victorian (I think) terraced houses 3-4 bedrooms, garden, large sitting room, dining room and kitchen (potentially study too). Nothing special really. Makes me feel a little sick :(
 
Gilly said:
I am, I can't see it staying as low as it is. Hopefully it won't go too quickly at first.
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Agreed. It's going to go up just a matter of when.

No doubt that lenders will hike rates up the moment the BoE announce the rise.
 
Speculation seems to be focussing in on rates going up in the Autumn. It's all guesswork really, but that's where a lot of people are looking.

It depends how risk averse you are, too. I'd rather go for 10 year fixed and know 100% what my outgoings are going to be. You might be prepared to take a chance the other way and go for a tracker on the basis of the savings you'll make on a low rate tracker, assuming the rates stay down.
 
vonhelmet said:
Speculation seems to be focussing in on rates going up in the Autumn. It's all guesswork really, but that's where a lot of people are looking.

It depends how risk averse you are, too. I'd rather go for 10 year fixed and know 100% what my outgoings are going to be. You might be prepared to take a chance the other way and go for a tracker on the basis of the savings you'll make on a low rate tracker, assuming the rates stay down.
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I'm also assuming it will go up, slowly to start, then just not stop for a while :( In the States my mortgage is fixed for 25yrs at 4.6%!! In the UK I can fix my mortgage for 5yrs at 4.79% (Halifax) as opposed to getting a tracker at 3.19% at the moment. Wish I had a crystal ball lol
 
Really wish I had family to be looking to borrow the deposit from, We have a combined income that is higher (not massively, but it is) and house prices would allow me to buy a 3 bed detached with garage in an area that I really like for ~150-160, but no real way of saving for a 30-40k deposit on such a low wage and my choice in lifestyle (my choice i know, but even still it seems completely unattainable even if i cut everything out we're talking decades for a deposit!)
 
Freefaller said:
A luxury box.

SW London (near Putney).

One of the houses along my street went for 850k :eek: Victorian (I think) terraced houses 3-4 bedrooms, garden, large sitting room, dining room and kitchen (potentially study too). Nothing special really. Makes me feel a little sick :(
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My neck of the woods! Quite expensive isn't it!

You can pick a 3 bed (prob ex local authority) for around £350k.

And as for the rates I can't see them going up that soon. The inflation is still higher than the target 2% and upping the rates won't bring it down...
 
Pestilence said:
We borrowed 102,000 on a similar income (though this WAS a few years ago) and there were no problems whatsoever. I don't think you'll have many problems considering you have a nice hefty deposit.

The only advice I could give is REALLY make sure that this is somewhere you want to live. Investigate the HELL out of it.

We made the mistake of jumping in without checking every single aspect out. Now, after 4 years of constant harassment, vandalism and stress, we're jacking it in. Getting the place valued and, summer this year, selling it at a loss on the cash market to go rent somewhere decent. We just can't live this way anymore, and my (already fragile) mental and physical health just isn't worth worrying about the hit in the pocket.

We won't even be considering buying again until (and I know it sounds quite sickening and mercenary) either of us become benefactors of inheritance. We just won't be able to save enough for a deposit again any time soon. Hell, with all the money we've lost to this pit we find ourselves approaching our 30s and never had a single holiday outside of Europe, plans for children abandoned for now as we wouldn't even dream of trying to raise one around here and take the added stress.

Buying the wrong property can lead to an almost soul-destroying chain of events and consequences. Please make sure you know it's for you.
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Just out of interest couldnt you rent the place out and find somewhere else to rent?

Just that way at least your current place would pay for its self and once the market has sorted its self out you can sell it on. In the mean time you can rent a place and still not be out of pocket. I mean a lot of places offer guaranteed rent schemes which are normally fee free for the first year at which point you swap them or take like 10% hit. I mean either way even it its costing a little bit each month at least your makeing a complete lost.

I understand from what your saying that it isnt the best area but I would look into that first for sure.

Back to the topic....:D
 
it is usally said that you don't want to go above 33% of your take home wage on your mortgage payments, as rates are low and could rise I would stay below that figure

well done on raising a good deposit



/oops just saw someone posted the same
 
Windle said:
Where are you seeing 10 year fixed? All the ones I've seen are max of 4 unless you can get an LTV of 50%ish
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We got ours at Brittania about 6 months ago - 10 year fixed at 5.49% on just under 100k which was the most they'd give us on 75% ltv.

As I recall you could fix for up to 25 years, though obviously the rates start to climb a fair bit for that.
 
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