To ask how much you pay a month on mortgage?

[NoTeaForMe]

I know it’s a bit cheeky and therefore not something I could ask people in real life, so I’m hoping it’s ok to ask here!
So, what are your monthly mortgage payments and what do you have to pay off? At the moment we have relatively small payments but we also have a very small house. We’re looking for a new house at the moment and have spoken to a mortgage advisor etc so have all the figures as a guide. The new payments are a lot more but I wondered what was the “average really. I know it only matters what we can afford, I just wondered what others have. Thanks.

That is quite a lot- I wouldn’t be keen to have as big a mortgage as that.

We plan to have a similar amount for our monthly repayments when I return to work.
But we like over paying and want it all paid off ASAP

Depends. How secure is that £5k pm and what other costs do you have?

If you've got a doctor bringing in most or all of that income and little or no childcare or commuting costs, it's an entirely different proposition than 2 more equal salaries in insecure industries with commuting costs and a 3 figure nursery bill on top.

You won't have a lot of spare money to build up savings and if you lose an income that isn't replaced quickly and you're in a position where money will be a lot tighter.

We have an income of around £120k pa. Our monthly mortgage payment is around £130pm

@NoTeaForMe absolutely, we are putting £2k in savings each month. However, we don’t drink and go out to eat often, so save money there. We love travelling and have money to do that too.

We're not far off your figures. Joint income around £6500 per month. Mortgage is £1700 pm. When we're paying for commuting to the office, all children's activities are going on, normal social life, 1 overseas holiday a year, etc, we get through the month comfortably. With full time wfh and no activities like the 6 months, we're saving more than ever. So really depends on your outgoings. This is outskirts of London. I do consider our mortgage payments high though

This won't help you you need to work out percentages. Ours is about 15%

Nothing - mortgage free after having mortgages since I was 19 - that's 35 years... the blip seems to have been when I moved about 20 years ago and stupidly opted for another 25yr term instead of the remaining term on the existing mortgage...also wish I'd overpaid much earlier but hey ho

@uggmum

We have an income of around £120k pa. Our monthly mortgage payment is around £130pm

£130? Is it even worth having a mortgage?

The income is mostly my husbands though I do work too. Both in secures and stable jobs. No childcare costs at all and I’ve taken off the commuting costs already as it comes out of his pay before we get it. No other debt or loans.

Just to add, in normal times (commuting, activities, etc), we only just get through the month comfortably but there is enough unnecessary spending to pull back for unexpected expenses. We don't have childcare costs. That would make a huge difference.

Ours is just around 20% of our income which is fine it's everything else that is ridiculous that we pay for!

£468 we're looking to move and payments looking at £790 after move.

Well that sounds an affordable situation OP, but if you want to be sure, you could do a budget of your income vs outgoings to see how it stacks up. I would have thought you would have money left over after covering your essentials to save or spend as you see fit.

£130? Is it even worth having a mortgage

We're not quite in that position, but have a £350 pm mortgage and around a £4.5k pm income, but the interest rate on the mortgage is under 0.5% pa so we're not rushing to pay it off as the money is better used put into a savings account paying more than twice that income plus topping up DPs pension which isn't currently very good.

We currently have nearly enough savings to pay the mortgage off in full, but they're actually earning more interest than the mortgage is costing, so no point.

£1700pm with £5k income plus bonus. 17 years left . It’s a struggle and we will have to change things in 2 years when eldest goes to university

14% of net income

Would paying £1600 a month if you’re bringing in around £5k a month seem terrifying or reasonable to you?

We’re at this sort of level, with £600 a month childcare costs as well and it’s fine. But we only run one car and are both in very secure occupation. So it depends on what your other commitments would be. Could have got it less per month but wanted to have a shorter term.

20% of my income (sole owner). Its not a large chunk of money (£350) and I could afford to overpay, but not doing so at this time as I am using the money elsewhere.

I have 22 years left, if I increase my income again, I will up my payments then.

Just over £3200

We also try to over pay by £500 a month too but nothing regular

I think £1600 if your net income is 5k is fine, I would find it easy to manage BUT my other costs are quite low (no other debt, we own our cars, not paying for expensive childcare full time etc). I also sit on a buffer of savings in case of job losses. I’ve had much higher mortgage repayment:net income ratios, but I knew my salary would improve over time so I wasn’t oppressed by the debt. For a few years, I was frozen in horror when I looked at the annual mortgage statement and saw how much debt we had. I hate debt.

Try and work out what is left after your necessary outgoings - eg mortgage, council tax, any other debt to repay, childcare costs, train season tickets, new pairs of glasses, school uniforms, insurance, car maintenance, Internet and Netflix (Essential in my home!) etc.

If it seems tight, then think about what you are happy to go without- holidays, meals out, new clothes, etc. And think about future earning potential plus the risk that one day you might face higher interest.

We have a cheaper house (and therefore cheaper mortgage) and we are overpaying as much as we can while interest is low, our aim is to be mortgage free by age 55. We don’t scrimp and save but we don’t live too extravagantly (other than OH’s expensive electric car). In our case. our house is lovely and I wouldn’t want to move somewhere bigger only to be all stressed about money. However if I lived somewhere horrid or tiny, I’d go without more of our little luxuries to live somewhere nicer.

We paid off our mortgage early a few years ago, but it wasn't a huge amount.
We paid more each month for council tax than we did our mortgage.
Worked out less than 5% of our net income.

@NoTeaForMe

You’re right. I should be thinking of it as a percentage not an amount. Thank you. Would paying £1600 a month if you’re bringing in around £5k a month seem terrifying or reasonable to you?

For me it would depend on job security, because as a percentage of your current income it would be fine for me, but I'd also look at how well/ quickly I could cover it, if I lost my job & how quickly I could get another job, especially in the current climate.

I'm currently paying 500pm ( includes a slight over payment) but I really want to move, however to get anything worth
Moving to, I'm looking at £1300 pm. Which would be ok on my current income, however it's a lot of money to find every month with casual work etc if I get made redundant, so for now, I'm staying put. Unfortunately. I do have some savings to cover bills should I be made redundant, but obviously it'll last me a lot longer with the much smaller mortgage payment.

I'm 51, quite likely to be made redundant within the next 2 years (nature of my job) & will not get another job paying the same as this one, especially now I'm over 50 ( nature of the industry).

There's a lot to consider, but hopefully reading through all the replies will help you decide what's best for you.

The housing market seems to be moving in mysterious ways, so be very careful not to over pay for a property. I had lots of friends in negative equity during the last recession (and the one before) and it's a horrible, horrible position to be in!

28% of my income but about to reduce to 23% when I get my promotion next month. Our previous house had a small mortgage so it was a tiny proportion but we decided to buy a bigger family house so we can enjoy until kids leave home then we can downsize.

I'd find it uncomfortable, but there are two of you, so if one of you loses your job, you're not completely screwed. I pay a lower percentage (and lower amount!) and whilst I could afford to pay more/borrow more, I'm quite cautious with my finances.

I don't just ask 'can I afford this now?', I also ask myself, 'how long could I afford this if I lost my job tomorrow?'

We’re late thirties and my husband has been progressing well with his career. He definitely has a few more significant enough pay rises in the next 10 years to ease some worries. I could earn a little more but not a lot and not until my children are older as childcare costs would wipe out any extra I earn so there’s no point.
The house we are looking at has potential to make bigger and a new kitchen etc. Nothing needed now but could be done later along the line and then would help with how much the house is worth. We’re commuter distance from London so house prices always seem ok (stupidly expensive) here.