Is £30,000 enough to live on with a mortgage

[Laila362]

My partner gets 21,000 a year for now although this is likely to increase. I currently get £110 a week from a bursary for uni and my rent paid along with roughly £80 a week in child benefit and child tax credit for my baby. I get my rent paid as i count as a single parent as I live separately from my partner due to him working too far away from my flat. We are looking into buying a place but while we can borrow £110,000 we could only afford the repayments on £80,000. Luckily where we want to live houses are that price and so the mortgage would be around £350 a month. We would raise the deposit by parental help. Once we move I together I lose housing benefit but he would get working tax credit and so our income would be roughly 30,000 a year. Is this enough to love on with a mortgage without me working? I want to be a stay at home mum so if not I will need to stay in my flat for now so that our housing costs nothing.

[UsedToBeNDP]

On the face of it, I'd say it's more than fine. My first flat rent (decades ago) was £275 a month and I was on £12k. So long as there are no hidden high cost overheads you've not mentioned. Have you worked out your outgoings ?

[UsedToBeNDP]

When you say you want to SAHM, you mention a Uni bursary, surely you're a student, not a SAHM ? So once qualified you'll seek employment and household incomings will rise (obv factoring in any childcare costs you might have to deduct) making the mortgage more manageable. Although as I say, I think it would be fine, £350 pm for housing costs (not inc council tax?) is v cheap.

[Laila362]

I am a student but my course finishes very shortly. I will be very well qualified but have decided I want to stay at home as I want to do what's best for my child

[givemeaclue]

Is 30 000 gross or net?

[YouAreMyFavouriteWasteOfTime]

are you sure CB + WTC would be £9K?

[Laila362]

We worked it out with an advisor. The 20,000 is before tax

[MooncupGoddess]

Put together a budget - a really detailed one including everything you can possibly think of. Then ensure it's accurate by writing down everything you spend for a month.

[Laila362]

Sorry 21,000. It should go up to 24,000 on 3 years

[Aquariusgirl86]

We have about 35 before tax and out mortgage is £625. We get no tax credits or anything though. Sounds like you'd be fine!

[booksandchoc]

We get £24000 a year after tax. Mortgage is £200/month and we manage very well.

[YouAreMyFavouriteWasteOfTime]

I think you need to ve very careful about the £30k figure. £9k top up benefits on a salary of £21k seems much higher than other people get.

[zandy]

I get my rent paid as i count as a single parent as I live separately from my partner due to him working too far away from my flat.

Do you think i'd get my rent paid as my partner works in London in the week and is only home weekends?

[Laila362]

Zandy yes you probably would. My partner stays the weekend and I've been allowed keep my housing benefit

[JanePurdy]

I would be really careful about making big commitmens like a mortgage based on how many benefits you can get. Benefit rules can change.

[Laila362]

Zandy yes you probably would. My partner stays the weekend and I've been allowed keep my housing benefit

[SandyChick]

Wow 9k in benefits-really? For choosing to stay at home? That doesn't sound right to me. I'm a Sahm with 2 young children and don't get anything other than CB.

I would be careful when including benefits in your budget. It's not set in stone and can change.

[rpitchfo]

I think your overestimating what you will get. Double check. Even still depending where abouts in the country you live I think you would be ok.

[Aquariusgirl86]

You know you can't really use benefits as income when it comes to mortgages..... I said my child benefit was an income and had to answer questions over what I would do when my children were 18 and no longer received it and I'd think with other benefits being cut they wouldn't want to rely on tax credits for a mortgage

[Laila362]

The mortgage would be worked out using my partners income only. The mortgage we have been allowed was based solely on his income. We have also made sure in worst case scenario that we survive only on his income.

[Eminybob]

My DP is on about 25k and I used the online ctc/wtc calculator to see how much we would get if I stayed at home after our baby is born and the answer was diddly squat.
I really hope you're right and I'm wrong but I'd suggest re checking.

[mercibucket]

where did you learn that wtc and cb would be 8-9000? it sounds quite high

you probably cant have him stay at weekends and keep benefits if he has no main residence elsewhere

the income sounds ok if the mortgage rates stay low. will you be able to find work easily if needs be?

[mercibucket]

looks like tax credits will be between 2390 and 340 depending on his eventual salary
cb is, guessing, about 500 quid

[mercibucket]

www.hmrc.gov.uk/taxcredits/people-advise-others/entitlement-tables/work-and-child/work-no-childcosts.htm

[scarlettsmummy2]

You won't get that much in tax credits if you aren't working- they are meant to go to cover childcare costs.

[Aquariusgirl86]

Think if you have worked out you can survive on his income then you'd be fine. Like others have said I don't think you will get 9k in benefits though......when my dh was getting 21k and I was on mat leave we got £500 for 1 year and when I returned to work got nothing.
Also think he can't claim it's not his residence during the week if it's a house he has bought and paying a mortgage on?!