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AIBU?

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Original poster

is this too much for a mortgage

83 replies

holidaymama · 09/09/2020 15:15

Moving house and really pushing ourselves, new mortgage is going to be over £500k, is this crazy or do other people have big mortgages too, ours has always been a lot less than this but approaching 40 and we feel we should go for it!

OP posts:
RandomMess · 09/09/2020 15:16

All relative to income and outgoings isn't it...

nowaitaminute · 09/09/2020 15:16

Well it depends on your earnings and outgoings clearly OP! Confused

unimaginativeusernamehere · 09/09/2020 15:17

How would anyone here know that without knowing your circumstances?!

Manolin · 09/09/2020 15:17

And sector you work in, specific roles, personal ambitions etc. Your best earning years should be ahead of you.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 09/09/2020 15:18

What is your income? I couldn't afford it personally but it depends on your circumstances.

Thedogscollar · 09/09/2020 15:18

If you can afford it then there should be no problem.

Babyroobs · 09/09/2020 15:19

It would keep me awake at night worrying but then we only have a joint income of just over 50K so would never get a mortgage for that amount anyway ! Do you have secure jobs?

Butchyrestingface · 09/09/2020 15:20

I preferred it when stealth boast threads actually involved a bit of actual stealth. 🙄

titchy · 09/09/2020 15:22

Ours was that when we bought 10 years ago - now £300k so still high. One day Rodney....

Assuming you are secure in jobs and can afford it go for it. Suggest getting a fairly long fixed rate though as interest rates are low.

DoubleHelix79 · 09/09/2020 15:23

The absolute size of your mortgage really doesn't matter - it'd look at the monthly repayments in relation to your take-home pay and outgoings and whether that still gives you a decent quality of life. I wouldn't stretch yourself so far that you can't have holidays or little extras or that you constantly worry about money. No house is worth a miserable experience.

For comparison: our mortgage is currently about 580k, on a combined salary of about 130k or so. It's more than I'd like, but we're selling another property at the moment (fingers crossed) and expect to pay off an extra 10% of the balance each year from the proceeds of the sale.

EL8888 · 09/09/2020 15:25

It’s not possible to say from what information you gave. E.g. if you earn about £100k each then not a problem at all

estatenonestate · 09/09/2020 15:26

We have a combined salary of £110k and we are just about to get a £460k mortgage. Works out at 23% of our take home pay. I think it is ok. After bills, food , fuel it leaves about £1500 for fun/hols etc. But it still a vast sum and makes me nervous.

Mildura · 09/09/2020 15:27

I've seen a mortgage illustration for someone recently, mixture of capital repayment and interest only, total sum borrowed - £740,000, monthly cost about £1500.

As already pointed out, whether £500k mortgage is too much depends entirely on your current and future likely earnings.

nanbread · 09/09/2020 15:29

The absolute size of your mortgage really doesn't matter - it'd look at the monthly repayments in relation to your take-home pay and outgoings and whether that still gives you a decent quality of life.

While this is a good starting point, you also need to factor in:

How secure your jobs are

Whether you are likely to want to change career or go part time

Size of deposit / loan to value ratio / how you would feel if house value went down

Whether you can afford repayments if interest rates went up to, say, 5% or one of you was made redundant

Suzi888 · 09/09/2020 15:29

Depends how much you earn...

AbulaConundrum · 09/09/2020 15:32

Well if you can afford it then you shouldn't have a problem. It sounds a lot but it's all relative to your income. We had a big mortgage for many years and it was a millstone around our necks, but ultimately meant we could downsize and buy a place outright in our 50's.

Grobagsforever · 09/09/2020 15:36

If you haven't worked out that mortgages are relative to income and outgoings, then yes, this probably is too much for you.

Potterpotterpotter · 09/09/2020 15:37

Come on... it depends how much you earn if that’s too much or not Hmm

SockYarn · 09/09/2020 15:47

Is this one of those stealth brag things? Hmm

Laaalaaaa · 09/09/2020 15:49

Only half a million? Come back and brag then you’re buying a 7 figure house.

Brainwave89 · 09/09/2020 15:50

So absolutely it depends on what you earn and payout, but I have some sympathy OP . Sometimes you can look at the size of a mortgage in absolute terms and you can have a wobble. If it is any comment, we did this, and my dad told me in his generation he had exactly the same experience. So advice is to work out what you can afford and then go for this amount. Think about the risks (redundancy and illness), and think about how these could be managed (slush fund and insurance perhaps?).

Waveysnail · 09/09/2020 15:53

Depends on your income. If you both earn 100k then no if you both earn 20k then definitely

Corono · 09/09/2020 15:55

You can only get a mortgage of multiple of income, so presume you fit the criteria?

catherinep80 · 09/09/2020 15:55

I'm sure you've done your sums if you're looking for a decent sized mortgage, so why ask? It doesn't matter what anybody else thinks you should do with your money! Do what is right for you, and what you can afford.

Burnthurst187 · 09/09/2020 15:56

Standard MN post. Somebody wants feedback but provides absolutely no information

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