Overtime isn't a guarantee, at my place there may be a grands worth (pre tax) available a year. The company just prefers to bring in minimum wage agency workers for the busy periods.
With a 50k mortgage I would need 6k plus deposit. Obviously more is better, I would put down as much as humanly possible to minimise the mortgage. That is just common sense really.
Living a simpler life wont change what the banks will offer me will it? Its not about how I live or what I spend, its all based on what I earn. Weather I spend £300 a month on food or £3, that is irrelevant to HSBC.
The area I would want to live in, which is near where I work is already on the cheap side of a cheap town. Honestly the place is a **** hole. A £60k house is doable if you don't mind walls that are more mould than plaster.
I have two debts to pay off before I consider a mortgage. They are not huge and if all goes to plan I should have them both paid off by February next year without paupering myself. Living with my parents at the moment so unless you can find me somwhere less than £150 a month (inclusive of gas, leccy, food, tax etc) I can't really improve on that
Somone on minumum wage has no realistic chance.
My point about the simpler life, doing overtime and the extra job is getting a deposit. True, the bank will still only lend you money based on your regular income, but if you have 20 grand deposit it increases your spending power, both because it reduces the LTV and gives a better interest rate but also, if you chose to pay a bit more it means having £20-£30k equity you could afford somewhere a bit better and still be within the lending range of the bank. More deposit = less risk to the bank. So by doing the things I describe above you save more money.
More deposit opens doors. I wish we had started saving sooner because the best interest rates are when the LTV goes sub 60%. But like you we had other financial commitments.
Living at home is an ideal way to start saving, and you are doing the right thing by clearing debts to increase your disposable income.
Then it is just a case of knuckling down and saving. If you could do an evening job it helps. All the time be looking for other better paying work, or moving up within your current company.
If you can get 20k together, the bank only has to lend you £30k. Or if you want a slightly better house and be in your maximum lending range, you could go that route.
Even though they will only lend you a set amount, if you have a big deposit you can buy a more expensive (better) house if you wish, or buy cheaper and have less mortgage.
In your position I would be tempted to buy a starter home at 50k in an area where rental would be possible later down the line (close to a uni or a college or somewhere where rental properties are sought). If you can put down £20k deposit and remortgage every two years on a fixed rate you could feasibly pay off the outstanding 30k in short order, particularly if you get a mortgage that allows over payments. Might take 10 years if you push it hard.
Then either sell the property to get a nice deposit on another house. Or remortgage on a buy to let to the tune of a deposit on another house and buy a 2nd house. Rent the original one out and use the rent payments to pay the buy to let mortgage and use your salary to pay the mortgage on your new house. Once the buy to let is paid off, you can keep renting it out for steady income, or sell it and pay off a lump sum on your newer home.
So on and so forth.
Just think of a plan, think of how you can make it happen and do your best to get there. That is all you can do.
PS - your monthly outgoings are VERY important to HSBC because they have to, by law, assess affordability.
The less you spend out each month means the more you can afford to pay on a mortgage.
Maximising your disposable income is the best way to get the bank to lend you more. thats why clearing off existing debt is so important, as well as living a simpler life and not having sky TV, not having a smart phone on a £50 a month contract, not having a petrol guzzling car etc etc.
If you can work it so you spend out very little every month, the bank looks favourably on this when assessing affordability.
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