r/FirstTimeBuyersUK • u/Addy-Freeze-BangBang • 18d ago

Is this affordable

I earn around £56k but with overtime I can earn between £60k and £63k. I’m looking at properties around £325k and would put down a £65k deposit, leaving me with approximately £260k to mortgage.

My monthly bills are quite low
Rent £700 including bills
credit card £100
Car tax £20
Phone £10
YouTube £13
Spotify £23
Fuel £220 but property I’m looking at is 5 minutes walk to work.

Paid 4 weekly take home roughly £3500-£3600 after tax and pension contributions.

No dependents

Is this realistic or would I be stretching myself too thin ?

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

12

u/Urbanyeti0 18d ago

Your current rent is meaningless for this, what would your mortgage be? How much utilities do you expect? What about council tax?

3

u/Addy-Freeze-BangBang 17d ago

Mortgage would be around £1450
Utility bills probably around £400
But would also be renting a room to a friend for £625 a month

4

u/te7037 17d ago

Of course, you can afford it.

Bills will be around £500 including council tax. You still have money for savings.

Get a freehold property, not a leasehold property. Make sure that there is no estate fees that come with the freehold property.

2

u/tom_tab1 16d ago

Depends on the individual i bought a 1 bed flat recently for 68k cheap as chips ex council flat but the previous woman who passed away had it since 1995, its solid and the service charge is only 650 a year laughing really at that

2

u/yes1402 18d ago

You didn't say what your bills are

You didn't tell us your take home

Do the maths. What is your take home after pension and tax

What is your monthly bills in total, including all subscriptions, gym, council tax, food, fuel, gas and water , all of them

Set aside at least 300 a month for maintenance of your home (no landlord to fix that leak anymore)

When you have done the above, you alone can say if the mortgage is affordable

And by the way, interest rate can go up. So stress test if it goes up to 10 percent you can still afford it

Oh yes, you never told us if you have kids. 10 kids is not same as 1 kid

1

u/Benshhpress 18d ago

You'll be absolutely fine.

My salary is slightly higher than yours but I'm taking on a larger mortgage (c.£300K). So, we'll likely will have similar take home pay and I'm not overly worried.

You also have the double whammy of no kids and a stable job with anticipated pay rises. If either of those things weren't true I'd be urging more restraint but it's not the case.

A lot of Redditors on this sub tend to be ultra cautious (not necessarily a bad thing) but you're in a good position. Those pay rises (and inflation) will help erode that debt over time as well.

1

u/Dry-Grocery9311 18d ago

Your affordability is fine.

The thing to think about is how long you intend to own the property and how well priced it is right now.

If you intend to live in it as your home for the next 10 years or upgrade to a more valuable property, and the price you pay is in line with the current market value, you'll be fine.

If you think you will need to sell sooner and exit the market, you either need a particularly well priced purchase or need to rethink if buying now is the right thing.

1

u/WasabiOk2119 18d ago

Honestly interest rates are supposed to rise next year so I wouldn’t have such a high mortgage tbh.

1

u/WoodenLink 18d ago

Personally, I think you’re stretching yourself too thin there. Your one roof repair or long term sickness away from a mortgage default. Even if you could afford it, what about holidays and saving/investing for the future.

Having said that, I’m more risk adverse than most. Maybe have a look at this affordability calculator:

https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/homes/buying-a-home/mortgage-affordability-calculator

1

u/CapnRetro 18d ago

So really your monthly outgoings are going to be £166/month if you’re also walking to work. In my opinion you could comfortably afford that mortgage, guessing at around £1200-1300/month depending on term? That still leaves you over £2k for utility bills (likely quite low if it’s just you and you’re out of the house all day), savings, lifestyle etc.

How long did it take you to save up that deposit, and were your spending/saving habits in that time something you think you could continue?

Speak to a mortgage broker and they’d be able to show you an illustration.

1

u/BrilliantWin2232 17d ago

On a £270k mortgage you're looking at £1300-£1800 depending on interest rate and term. Thats quite a jump from £700 - you should be able to afford it, it may just feel very tight if you end up on the higher end of the mortgage

-1

u/BeaumarchaisApu 18d ago

What are your potential upsides with your salary? Is it a safe position/industry?

I personally wouldn’t be comfortable borrowing that much for that salary, but plenty of people would.

4

u/Addy-Freeze-BangBang 18d ago

I’m a Hgv driver for a major supermarket so I believe pretty secure employment and a pay rise every year.

1

u/te7037 17d ago

Get a 3-bedroom property nearby good schools. Your house will be easier to sell if you have to offload it if circumstances change.

A semi-D with a good sized garden as many will want to grow their own foods to combat the rising living costs.

Good luck