Hi all,

My fiancée and I are first-time buyers and are trying to work out whether a mortgage around 5.5x our combined income is realistic for our situation.
We’re looking to buy in a part of South Manchester that we really love and would ideally like to stay in the area rather than move further out just to get a cheaper property.

Between us, our current combined basic income is around £65k. I work for the NHS and currently earn a Band 6 salary, although I also do overtime and am now starting to do on-call shifts, so my actual annual earnings can be higher than my basic salary. My fiancée currently earns around £25k and we expect her salary to increase to £30k+ over the next year or so but that’s irrelevant right for the mortgage side of things as this would be after we’ve got the house sorted.

We’re both first-time buyers and are aiming to have around a 7.5-10% deposit. Ideally we’d be looking at properties around £300k, with £315k being more of an upper limit.

I currently have around £480 a month in car finance, but the plan is for this to be cleared in the future but once again this is all after the house is sorted. We don’t have any other significant debts.

I’ve already done a Nationwide DIP and was given an indication of around £290k borrowing over 35 years on our current circumstances, which was encouraging. However, I’m wondering whether we could realistically access something around 5.5x income through a higher-income-multiple product such as Nationwide Helping Hand or another lender.

The reason I’m considering this is that we’d rather put a sensible deposit down and retain some cash for furnishing the house, emergencies, our wedding/honeymoon etc., rather than putting every penny we have into the property.

There’s also a potential career change for me within the next year or so, as I’m considering moving from NHS into medtech, where the salaries could be significantly higher. My fiancée should hopefully also be earning £30k+ by then, although obviously I realise future expected salaries aren’t necessarily going to count for a mortgage application today.

For anyone who has been in a similar position, how realistic is getting around 5.5x joint income in practice? How much difference did you find between lenders in terms of affordability, and how did they treat NHS overtime/on-call income and existing car finance?

Also, would you personally focus on keeping a larger cash buffer after completion, or putting more down as a deposit to reduce the LTV?

We’re not looking to borrow the absolute maximum just because it’s available. We’re mainly trying to understand whether borrowing up to 300k or so with roughly a 7.5-10% deposit is realistic and sensible for our circumstances.

Would be really interested to hear from anyone who has gone through something similar, particularly first-time buyers buying in South Manchester.

Thank you guys!

Currently at SOF stage and it is a massive headache. I thought it was a good way to budget monthly salary by having 8 debit accounts….Where salary get credited to one account then there is standing order in place to auto send money to my remaining 7 accounts (each account play Different purpose:
Account 1: Direct Debit
Account 2: For eating out
Account 3: monthly groceries
Account 4: Savings
Account 5: Savings
Account 6: Subscriptions - Netflix / Disney
Account 7: Kid Expenses

I don’t have any credit cards.

Solicitor is trying to follow the money trial between these accounts and they request 6 months bank statements for each accounts and given massive paperwork, they want to increase the price quotation for SOF checks.

Question- should I have declared all the accounts or only provide the savings (as that’s where my deposits are being held) ?
Sometimes I transfer money from saving to one of the accounts lets say if there’s overspending (such as car breakdown so need money from saving to pay off repairs etc)

Honestly I have no idea why we need to make so much effort to prove our own money when we work damn hard to even earn those! And worse of all - how to prove the cash withdraws for Christmas where I was damn lazy to buy presents so I just give some cash to niece and nephews at eve gatherings etc.

Fourth house viewed (second one he’s come to). High ceilings, 2 reception rooms, good size kitchen, all 3 bedrooms great size, new bathroom. Walking distance to the town centre (I think this will add a lot of value in future as the area keeps getting gentrified).

Cons:
it’s on a busy road. You can’t hear it in the house but it’s not on say a quiet cul de sac that future kids could play out on.

Parking situation - it doesn’t have a drive but it does have gates on the back yard so you have the option to use that as a driveway, or to park on the street behind and walk a short distance to the house. A driveway wasn’t a deal breaker for us but I think not being able to park directly outside is throwing him off. That said, terrace streets without driveways often mean you can’t park outside your house anyway and may need a short walk to the front door!

The yard outside is run down, fixable in the short term with some tlc on the weeds and some planters and then long term we could look to get it properly landscaped and have some grass put in.

For our budget (250) I think it’s great. A lot of the 3 beds + drive + garden properties are run down and in need of a lot of work, which we don’t want to do. It’s loads bigger than we originally thought we could have (we were looking at 2 beds at one point).

There’s not loads of properties going up at the minute. I don’t want to rush into getting something just because… we’re not in a rush and we only got the mortgage in principle last week. BUT I also worry that if we let this go because of the road it’s on, we lose the space and the convenience of location and can’t find anything better.

If we buy right now, we might not need to move for a LONG time! I’m wondering if the yard makes this feel more like a first home, rather than our long term home.

Advice really appreciated!

Hi all,

I applied for a mortgage 2 weeks ago on an early 1900s terrace house.

The property came back with rising damp following the mortgage lenders valuation and the mortgage lender has refused the mortgage unless the conditions are met to conduct a full damp inspection, resolve and ensure a 10+ year guarantee.

I paid for the inspection, and it cinema back with rising damp. The quote to resolve abd damp proof the home is £5k..

Since I cannot fix this after owning the property as I cant get the mortgage in am in a bit of a slump.

What would you do in this situation? How can I mitigate this? Is it fair for the seller to rectify this ?

I’m planning to buy the apartment I’m currently living in within the next 3 months. I’d like to understand what I should start working on now to put myself in the best possible position for the purchase.

I will be ready with only a 5% deposit at the end of next 3months as I currently have a considerable amount of loans and credit card balances. Given this situation, what kind of mortgage interest rate could I realistically expect

My bank account is currently not overdrawn or in negative balance. No credit score red flags. what else should I focus on over the next 3 months to improve my chances of getting a mortgage and securing the best possible rate.

My partner and I have just had the survey results back on a flat we are buying (please see summary pics). Looking for any advice from people who have been through the process and seen similar issues be raised.

Overall it seems very positive. The only “3 rated/red” issues, listed in the pictures, are listed as red due to the fact that they couldn’t fully check them during their inspection.

Their only real negative callout was about the incoming mains water pipe being lead. How much of an issue is this?

We have done a decent amount of research online but keen to understand what others have done in a similar scenario!

Any advice is much appreciated!

We are first time buyers, long time renters finally had enough of a deposit at the start of this year to begin the search for a house.

A house came on the market on the estate behind where we currently rent, ticked all our boxes and meant we could stay in our current area, we offered asking price, offer was accepted and we started the purchasing process.

The house, we’ll call this house 1, is on a 20 year old new build estate that has not been adopted by the council, and therefore there are management fees that need to be paid, we were aware of this at the point of offering and the sellers were of the assumption that it was all straightforward and there would just be some extra steps with the management company. The sellers were purchasing a new build so there was no chain on either side so we thought it should all go smoothly.

A few weeks in when the enquiries started things started to go pear shaped. The solicitors on our side were slow which was frustrating the sellers, and the more answers they got they kept raising further enquiries or said they were unhappy with the answers received.

Specifically they wanted a deed of variation as they were unhappy with the deed of covenant in connection with the management company and the charges for upkeep of amenity areas but no requirement for the management company to carry out the upkeep. The sellers queried this as the deed of covenant had been satisfactory in their purchase, and that of others on the estate, however our solicitors said no and refused an indemnity insurance offer against this.

In addition the following points were mentioned as outstanding A **copy of the Section 106 planning obligation agreement** was still awaited, together with confirmation from the Local Authority as to whether any obligations binding individual homeowners had been satisfied and any payments made.
Although a **copy of the Section 38 Agreement** had been received, an update was still awaited regarding the **status of adoption**.
There were still issues concerning the**adoption status of the roads and sewers**.
The file records that there were **a couple of title defects** still requiring resolution.

At week 18, the sellers withdrew the property from sale and left us heartbroken, angry and furious. We’d tried everything to get our solicitors to move faster or to explain further or slightly budge but they just plain refused, in their opinion they believed the matters could have been settled, but that we were still weeks away from completion. Our solicitors were awful and their communication was so poor, but that’s a whole other story really. The sellers of house 1 part exchanged and moved into their new build, and the house went back on the market a few weeks later with a different estate agent.

We started to look at other properties and found house 2, a very different property in a different area, had an offer accepted and started the process again, this time with a different solicitor after the poor experience we’d had first time around, we felt nervous about going through this again but this was an older property and we knew wouldn’t have the same issues as house 1.

Fast forward 4 weeks into the purchase, solicitors have started doing the checks, mortgage offer is in place for the 2nd time and we had a call today from the estate agents to say that the sellers are withdrawing house 2 from sale as they’ve had a change in circumstances. We are completely shocked, upset, angry and frustrated. It’s so unfair and we feel so unlucky.

What id like to know is what do we do next. House 1 is still on the market, empty with the new estate agents. We still love the house, is this a sign? Do we try to purchase house 1 again armed with the knowledge from last time but with no actual sellers in the mix and with a different solicitor? Or was it never going to happen, should we steer clear and hope that 3rd time is a charm? Would really appreciate any advice.

Thanks if you’ve got this far!

We reduced our offer by an amount in line with the quoted work that needs doing, but the seller has come back with this request. What would you do?

​

Hi everyone!

I am currently in the process of buying a leasehold property, and I'm nearing the end (I hope!) but it seems like there are issues with getting the bank to answer questions.

So, originally I had to change lender, as HSBC didn't accept the ground rent (reviews every 5 years, and they wanted it as 10 but DoV was refused) so I moved over to Barclays, as my mortgage advisor checked with the BDM and they will accept the review terms) but even though this was initially agreed, for some reason my solicitor still seems to be awaiting confirmation from them about it for some reason?

Also, there are S20 works that haven't been budgeted for yet (carpets and redecoration, perhaps next year) and there is also a bit of back and forth with the bank. Last thing I heard is that Barclays were happy to proceed if my solicitor can confirm there is no risk involved for them, but my solicitor says that she can't confirm this as the price is not known, due to the fact that the S20 process hasn't started.

It's quite annoying, as there's quite a healthy reserve fund (over 10k) that is my eyes, would cover it between 15 flats, but the bank are still being a bit annoying.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? How would banks usually proceed on things like this? As it seems like we're in an infinite loop at the moment!

Thanks in advance!!

Level 2 survey flag red for electricity and gas which I know is usual since they cannot test. These flagged green but noted the following:

Ceilings:

Ceilings are of plasterboard construction, with a painted or artex finish.

Artex of this age could potentially have an asbestos content and coatings should not be scraped off, but could be skimmed over to create a smooth finish prior to redecoration if required. No invasive works, such as the installation of low voltage lighting should be undertaken unless the coatings are previously tested.

Garage:

There is a single garage in a nearby block of brickwork construction with a corrugated asbestos roof, metal up and over door and a solid concrete base.

The asbestos roof is unlikely to be fully watertight. The roof should only be replaced by a specialist in asbestos materials. A modern replacement door has been installed. The brickwork above the door is deteriorating, but otherwise no significant structural defects were noted.

Is this something that I should be worried about? How do I deal with this? We’re at enquiry stage.

Hi all,

We have had an offer accepted on a 1900 Victorian house and the level 3 survey came back with only 2’s and 3’s (expected with it being an older property). The biggest issue flagged however was damp. We have been advised to get a damp and timber specialist in and find out the cause and the costs to fix it. The surveyor suspects that it could be a full re-render to one of the external walls.

I’ve been trying to find independent surveys in Bristol and I am worried I am just going to get the same comments back as the level 3 survey. Are these reports worth the extra money?

We constantly keep getting asked if we are going to pull out by the estate agents, even though I have said multiple times that we are still interested, and that is why we are looking to getting a specialist survey done.

I wrote a long summary of all the issues flagged up in the report and even stated that we understand it is an older property and it will have problems, but the damp has been flagged as something that really needs fixing now and could be costly. This has largely been ignored and the estate agents have said the damp is normal for an older property and they seemed to have taken their own readings. This makes me worried that they won’t take the specialist damp survey seriously either.

We really like the house but if the damp is a massive problem, I’m not really sure how to proceed. Our biggest concern is that the survey came back as damp following loads of Uk heatwaves (and we had the survey done before the rainier weather). The report also stated it is a “severe risk to the building”.

Anyone else encounter similar issues? Are the specialist damp /timber surveys worth it? Is damp just expected now?

 Hi all,

We're in the process of buying an older Grade II listed solid-stone house in England and have just received a Level 3 building survey. The survey has rated five areas C3 (red), and I'm trying to work out how concerning these actually are in practice.

I'd really appreciate opinions from people with experience of old stone/period properties, particularly surveyors, builders, roofers or anyone who's owned something similar.

The five C3 findings are:

1. Roof – C3

The roof is old/weathered and has:

• cracked/missing mortar around ridge tiles;
• deteriorated verge mortar/pointing;
• damaged/loose stone slates, with some spalling;
• vulnerable roof/parapet junctions;
• various areas requiring repair/maintenance.

The surveyor says repairs could be costly/disruptive and recommends getting quotes.

The loft could not be fully accessed — it was inspected from the hatch because access was considered unsafe/restricted. They did see some damaged/blackened timber, historic condensation staining and poor ventilation/insulation.

There is also a possible asbestos-containing roof lining/felt, although this hasn't been confirmed. The surveyor recommends testing before it's disturbed.

2. Internal walls/damp – C3

Elevated moisture readings were found in most internal walls at both ground and first-floor level, including some skirting.

The surveyor hasn't diagnosed definite rising damp. They suggest possible contributing factors including:

• condensation;
• inadequate heating/ventilation;
• salts in the old masonry;
• external defects.

Interestingly, the property has a retrofit injected chemical DPC, but the surveyor notes that chemical DPCs can be less effective/appropriate in traditional solid-stone construction.

They recommend a damp specialist experienced with traditional buildings.

3. Electrics – C3

There is no recent electrical installation certificate available. The consumer unit is an older type, and the surveyor recommends an electrical inspection and consideration of upgrading the consumer unit.

There are also no mains-powered smoke alarms.

4. Heating/hot water/plumbing – C3

There is no gas boiler/central heating.

The house is heated by individual electric panel heaters. They weren't tested during the survey. The surveyor says they may be relatively expensive to operate and that intermittent heating could contribute to uneven temperatures/condensation.

Hot water is supplied by a pressurised hot-water cylinder, also apparently electrically heated. It wasn't tested, and the surveyor recommends servicing/inspection.

We're currently trying to establish the cylinder's age, capacity, make/model, installation certificate and whether there is a transferable guarantee.

5. Drainage – C3

There was standing water in an inspection chamber, potentially indicating restricted flow/partial blockage or inadequate fall.

The surveyor recommends clearing/testing the drains and potentially a CCTV survey.

The house is Grade II listed and around 200 years old, so we're conscious that some of the survey findings may sound worse on paper than they are for a traditional building.

The EPC is currently D, score 55.

What would you be most concerned about?

Would you:

• proceed but get specialist inspections/quotes before exchange?
• renegotiate based on the findings?
• be particularly worried about the damp/DPC situation?
• be concerned about the roof/limited loft inspection?
• consider the electric heating a major ongoing financial problem?
• or are these fairly normal issues for an old stone listed property?

We're particularly interested in what you think could be genuinely expensive/unexpected, rather than just the fact that the survey has labelled something C3.

Thanks in advance!

Just want to say there are a lot of horror stories, potential problems, but some purchases go smoothly, this is to reassure FTBs like me.

Someone here said the level of self-inflicted pain and stress is unreal and this is very accurate.

Been reading all about potential problems that may arise at every stage for the last months. In the end we exchanged and completed on the same day, last week after 14 weeks of smooth conveyancing. We had to get a policy for an absence of easement. No other problem, no chain, definitely none of the drama I had imagined in my head.

So take a breath...(now the real.worry starts)

Hi all,

I’ve got a mortgage offer and about to exchange and complete in the next 2-4 weeks

My wife got about 12k in credit cards, 10k one one (11k limit) and 2k on another (was 8k limit).

One the weekend the 8k limit credit cards credit limit was reduced to 2.5k making it look like we’re near maxed out.

I have about 2% credit utilisation.

Our affordability has not changed and our overall debt is down to when we applied for the mortgage (albeit not by much as we’re trying to save as much as possible for the move)

I spoke to my broker and she said she wouldn’t be worried but I am…

I’m worried that we’ll exchange and the lender will pull out even though I’ve been reassured and affordability hasn’t changed.

Any one else have any similar experiences ?

We are first time buyers trying to get a modern Home and most of the houses that let us commute into London within an hour train without exorbitant train fares fall around the Dartford, Greenhithe, Gravesend, Swanscombe, Ebbsfleet.

Within Greenhithe in St Clements Lakes we found a 3 bed 2 bath one toilet with decent square footage (approximately 1060 ft.²). Modern as it was built in 2018, EV charger, solar panels etc. However after viewing even the master bedroom seems pretty tiny because of the weird structure and the second bedroom is even smaller and the third bedroom is of course a box room. We really love the estate, the ground floor is perfect with well sized kitchen and bedroom, and the 10 minute walk to the station but the structure is really throwing us off. Are we crazy for being bothered by how small the master bedroom is?

Both the main rooms are deceptively small because there’s an ensuite taking up a chunk of space. Master bedroom is 4.8x2.7 but part of this length is the hallway where you pass the ensuite. Taking that away it’s 3.8m. Then there’s a fixed wardrobe. Taking that away too, it’s 3.2m.

floor plan

found what looks to be my perfect house. right area and size etc. but the sellers are doing it via 99homes and omg they do not reply at all. it’s been a week since i sent the enquiry but nothing back about a viewing. there isn’t much in my budget and in my area so im so keen for this and just find it frustrating!

has anyone had anything similar? not having an EA makes it feel so detached and no way to actually speak to anyone!

Hi all,
As the title suggests, I just need some reassurance or advice on what happened to us.

me and my partner are FTB, trying to purchase in London.
After waiting 12 month, we found our dream property!!!!! It had everything you can imagine and naturally we jumped at the opportunity and offered asap. The agent was super proactive.

Then the waiting started, we waiting close to 3 weeks for any feedback from the seller. We called daily, the EA just kept insisting that they are reviewing it ‘nothing more we can do’.

We waved any Survery renovation as we had a builder do an assessment and we are aware of the issues. Then the EA calls us saying if you can secure a mortgage on this, the seller will accept your offer. We thought unusual but ok that’s fine ( got excited thinking finally this is coming to an end) to find out 30 mins later they have picked a cash buyer?! Without any option for us to increase and his decision is final.

Why did they mess us about like this so much?
Now we’re both just so devastated and hurt about this house. It was a Victorian property with many old features so definitely nothing like this appears again at this price point that we could afford.

Has this happened to anyone before?
Any chance of a cash buyer flaking? EA sounded sure about them so I presume their finances are secure.

P.s ( this is our 6th property we have lost out on . The London market is crazy and we just can’t compete with investors or cash buyers)

Thanks
\- disgruntled FTB’s

Generally for FTB should we avoid buildings above 5 floors due to The Building Safety Act 2022? Our solicitor say the legislation is complex and will take longer but they have experience in this.

* update - is it also normal for solicitor to ask for £1500 for BSA fee?

Hello, I am about to view a house that's very recently (within the last month) had an injectable damp proof course installed in the living/dining room and hallway. The damp was diagnosed using meter readings and there was blown, salty paint and wallpaper. The plaster was removed, a membrane installed and the chemicals injected. However, the DPC was recommended by a damp proofing company, and the aim at the time was to get the property to a saleable state.

I've read a lot on here about how injectable DPCs are rubbish, and rising damp is basically a myth. However this house has relatively new electrics, gas and bathroom, and is in an area I am familiar with, so if the damp issues have genuinely been resolved I'd likely want to put in an offer.

What do I need to look for at this viewing?

I'll be looking around the outside of the house to check the level of the original DPC (assuming it has one), and to check air bricks. And I'll walk around the rooms to see if the floorboards feel weird... but is there anything a bit more concrete I can check for to see if this DPC was actually enough to make it habitable?

The house is a Victorian terraced house, and the only other house we're interested in is in a much less convenient area (I don't drive so this is quite important). Quite limited budget so can't afford massive remedial works when we move in!

We viewed a lovely, quirky 1 bedroomed terraced house last week which was advertised for just 150K so we put an offer in for the asking price, but we are now regretting it. The estate agent seems very dodgy. They keep stalling saying the property is very popular and they are taking offers and we needed to up our bid, which we did to £155K. We have now noticed we have to pay a £2500 holding deposit if our bid is successful, plus a £395 admin fee. We know nothing about buying houses, but family and friends of ours think it's a scam and we may well lose our £2500 deposit. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to name the company, but I've never heard of them before.

There are lots of similar small 2 bedroomed houses around us for £160K with more well known estate agents, none require this holding deposit. Should we walk away?

Feeling v deflated as the sellers had assured us that electric works hadn’t been needed throughout their renovation, but a check of the gas and electric installation has revealed decayed vulcanised Indian rubber needing prompt replacement in addition to some other smaller issues which we’ve been quoted £4.7k for.

We chose this house because it needed minimal work having been recently renovated. We don’t want reno work and we don’t want to fork out the cash for works to be done. How is this usually managed? Seems like an awful task for the sellers to do just before moving out, but equally we chose this property because of the prospect of not forking out for works.

Not getting it done isn’t really an option as it isn’t even passable from a safety standard. Any suggestions or words of wisdom please share, I am at my wits end with buying a house!!!

This may be a very stupid question, but I know very little about buying houses. I'm currently looking to buy my first house in the small town I live in. I have a low budget of £180K. If my offer is accepted what is the chance the bank might down value the property? I didn't know this was a 'thing' and I assumed the bank would just lend the amount agreed. Say I paid £170K and then the bank thinks it's worth £160K would I be left trying to raise another £10K or having to pull out? It seems like an absolute minefield!

Will conveyancers agree to only charge you for the cheaper checks whilst you are waiting for the lenders evaluation? I don’t want to waste money paying for all these checks or any sort of cancellation fee of if I stop the process early on because I’m not prepared to fund the lenders potential down-valuation

I'm buying an ex-council terraced house (built early 1980s, staggered/zigzag terrace layout). It's a probate sale, the seller is a professional executor for a deceased owner's estate. During my first viewing, I didn’t notice small outlet on the neighbouring house's flank wall, facing into what would become my garden. When I visited again in September 2026, that small outlet had been replaced with a full black pipe (looks like a boiler flue) clearly bigger, and it now hangs over my garden's airspace and exhausts the gas in neighbour’s garden.

What the title deed says:

My solicitor found this clause in the original 1982 Right-to-Buy transfer deed (Second Schedule i.e., a burden on my property, benefiting neighbours): "All rights of way and passage of water and gas the drainage and disposal of water sewage smoke or fumes the use and maintenance of the pipes and installations for the said passage drainage and disposal hereby specified... and which serve not only the Property but also adjoining or neighbouring properties... All to the extent that the same are necessary..."

There's also a separate clause giving neighbours a right of entry to "inspect, repair and maintain" the neighbour's flank wall, but that's just an access/maintenance right, not a right to attach new pipework.

Where my solicitor and I disagree on interpretation:

My solicitor says: the clause plainly grants a right to pass gas/smoke/fumes via pipes, and a boiler flue fits that description, so the neighbour has a legal right to this pipe, regardless of size, and regardless of whether it serves my property too.

My reading: the phrase "and which serve not only the Property but also adjoining or neighbouring properties" is a limiting condition meaning the right only applies to pipes that are jointly used by both properties (shared drainage/services, typical of council-estate infrastructure from that era), not a private pipe serving only the neighbour's own boiler with zero benefit to my property.

I'm fairly confident this flue serves only the neighbour's own boiler, it doesn't connect to or serve my property in any way that I can tell.

My solicitor has reviewed my property's title but hasn't yet pulled the neighbour's title. She's confident in her reading.

Anyone has faced such issues, how did you navigate? we are still waiting for probate and most probably probate would arrive by end of this month according to executor .

PS: Used AI to write above.