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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what percentage of your income you pay on a mortgage/rent?

115 replies

Pelicanpinkpants · 09/02/2020 11:39

We have been in our first home for almost ten years. As our income has slowly risen, our percentage of mortgage to salary has gone from 30% to 12%.

I keep wondering when we should make the jump up the property ladder to a bigger home (nothing extravagant,maybe 600sqft bigger). However, it scares me that if the mortgage took up a bigger percentage of our income then we wouldn't enjoy as many little luxuries of days out, etc.

So, i ask, what percentage of your income is spent on your mortgage or rent payment? And is it comfortable?

OP posts:
Happydaysareheretostaywayhay · 09/02/2020 11:43

£0 - low income single parent. Worked so so hard in my twenties and thirties and was lucky enough to buy when homes were cheaper. As a result we are able to have more treats/days out than a lot of my two parent higher earning friends. Have a little house but debating whether to get a small mortgage to go bigger and have another child but probably won’t as would have to give up the smallish treats we have now.

Original poster
Pelicanpinkpants · 09/02/2020 11:54

Haopydays That's what I'm thinking. We have a little but lovely house now. We would love more space but don't know if we can justify the extra mortgage Confused

OP posts:
Mummyshark2018 · 09/02/2020 11:56

As our salaries have increased we've started overpaying the mortgage. Paying just an extra £150 a month will take almost 3 years off our term.

wendz86 · 09/02/2020 11:59

My rent is about 50% of my take home pay although I do also get child maintenance and tax credits etc .

ZoChan · 09/02/2020 12:00

About 22% for us currently, not including the £100 p/m we overpay

Lipperfromchipper · 09/02/2020 12:01

0% as we have no mortgage.

PooWillyBumBum · 09/02/2020 12:01

12% but we’ve overpaid so much that if we remortgaged it would be much less than that (if that makes sense).

We are, however, considering moving to a house double the value. Just very cautious and struggling to make the leap.

PettyContractor · 09/02/2020 12:04

Why don't you save up enough to buy the extra space without borrowing again. Then you can decide if upgrading is a better use of money than anything else.

In the UK the average property size is under 1000 sq ft, so 600 sq ft more than you've managed with for ten years is quite a lot extra. It's rather an odd way to phrase a desire from property. I can understand someone wanting an extra bedroom, bathroom, games room, indoor olympic swimming pool, etc, but want space seems like strangely abstract goal.

Whyhaveidonethis · 09/02/2020 12:07

I'm about to remortgage to buy my ex out. The new mortgage will be 47% of my take home pay

2000lightyearsaway123 · 09/02/2020 12:09

My mortgage is 12% of my monthly take home. It is shared with someone else though so if I was responsible for it all it would be 24% and still manageable.

Yogawoogie · 09/02/2020 12:11

39%

ChasingRainbows19 · 09/02/2020 12:15

Our mortgage was under 50% as large deposit so it's around 10% if our joint salaries. I wouldn't go higher we have a 3 bed semi for two of us. But we are overpaying as I've become focused on having a secure home when I'm older.

I wouldn't get a bigger house/bigger mortgage as I'd rather that money be spent on life and living a little. We save and have pensions but one eye should be on those little treats and life experiences that make day to day living fun. Plus we have a little more cash for the upkeep and decor as it's a slow process for us.

I'm not necessarily talking expensive or materialistic objects. But it could be just that day out with fish and chips at the seaside for example. Having cash for an ice cream for everyone at the park or taking the kids to the cinema. What would the children remember? Slightly bigger house or fun family times? I know what I remember and we were a family of 5 in a 3 bed semi!

Whole different thing if you have loads of money and can do it all!

NothingIsWrong · 09/02/2020 12:17

Ours is 14% most of the time. But DH is self employed so when the business isn't doing well, we can sometimes only have my income for a month which takes it to 50%. So I save a lot in the good months and somehow we survive!

schafernaker · 09/02/2020 12:21

About 20% I work PT and will be off on maternity soon. We decided it was best to keep it so we could pay it on one wage if necessary. By the time you add in childcare that’s another mortgage 🙈

NothingWrong · 09/02/2020 12:24

35% ish

workshyfop · 09/02/2020 12:24

I’m about to buy a house and my mortgage will be about 30% of take home pay.

stopshoutingd · 09/02/2020 12:26

currently 12% but likely to go up to 25-30% in a yr or so as need more space. However the difference won't be that noticeable as we will save £600 on childcare.

Alarae · 09/02/2020 12:35

29% since we moved to a bigger house.

If we stayed where we were it would have been 21%.

Totally worth it though, as I absolutely love our current house. The last house was just bricks and mortar to me; this one is my home and where I can see myself for the rest of my days. Just had an instant feeling with it.

MadFrog2020 · 09/02/2020 12:43

47%. I’m a single parent.

InterestedinOthersViews · 09/02/2020 12:44

25% of joint

BarbedBloom · 09/02/2020 12:52

Our rent is 50% of our pay and that is cheap around here

Indecisivelurcher · 09/02/2020 12:53

Something shy of 20%, childcare is the same again.

penberrh · 09/02/2020 12:54

34% of net income.

Linguaphile · 09/02/2020 12:55

It's about 30% of DH's take-home pay (after pension contributions etc), but will be less when I go back to work.

Isleepinahedgefund · 09/02/2020 12:56

17%, thanks to a couple of large pay rises in the last year

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