Could I survive on this?

[Oatypancakesforbrekkie]

Live abroad, thinking of returning to the U.K. with toddler Dd.
It would be just her and I.
The salary I’ve seen is for £25 thousand, how would we be able to live on that amount, would we be ok? I have no idea of prices of things, bills etc, nowadays.
I imagine an average mortgage would be £800? then with bills, food etc.
My position would be a lower one than my qualifications, but would fit around my Dd at school etc by then
Would you get any help for being alone and on that salary?

£800 a month is a massive mortgage, especially on only 25k and with childcare cost to think about. Mine's less than half that for a big flat in a nice area, I only had a 5% deposit 3 years ago so I don't even have a particularly good interest rate. It depends on where you want to live and if you're a teacher, so don't need to be in commuting distance of a big city, you've got a lot more flexibility.

As others have said try doing searches on rightmove in various areas. If you sort by cheapest first you'll be able to see what's available and get an idea of what compromises you can live with - for example we bought a flat instead of a house so we could live cheaply in an area we liked.

Looking like I may need to rent initially and I can keep the profit from the sale of my house in savings and for the future deposit for a house and emergencies etc.
My only worry is that renting is expensive?

My job would be school hours, 7.5 hours per day, 5 days a week

Sorry, 6.5 hours a day

On a salary of £25,000 you would really only get a mortgage of around £120k. And that assumes perfect credit score and no debt.

That would cost you around £500

An £800er month mortgage would not be considered affordable at that income level.

You say "my job" - is that a job you've been offered or are hoping to get? Because if you're basing it on job ads it's really not that simple ...

I would also say my mortgage is £800. I live on my own, no kids, but earn £80k.

There is no way I would manage a mortgage of that size on £25k.

How much is your deposit? You can buy a two bed terrace in some parts of the north west for £70k.

HLTA salary term time only is likely to be much less than £25k pro rata. You will absolutely NOT get a mortgage with repayments of £800 a month on that salary. No way.

You need to do some proper research as to your expected income, mortgage affordability (ie how much you can borrow on that salary), property prices for your mortgage plus deposit, mortgage costs. Check to see if you are entitled to any benefits (are you British?) as I believe its not an automatic right to claim if you're simply relocating to the UK.

It sounds like you have no idea what your plan entails op. I completely maxed out my mortgage borrowing over 30 years on a salary of £26k and my repayments are £350 a month; I borrowed £80k but was allowed to include court-ordered maintenance within that.

@Oatypancakesforbrekkie

Looking like I may need to rent initially and I can keep the profit from the sale of my house in savings and for the future deposit for a house and emergencies etc. My only worry is that renting is expensive?

My job would be school hours, 7.5 hours per day, 5 days a week

If you have savings it is unlikely that you will be able to claim benefits. How much is your deposit?

One thing to be aware of is that if you did qualify for benefits, such as universal credit, the savings would make you ineligible. Anything over £16,000 and you get nothing. Between £6,000 and £16,000 it is a sliding scale with reduced benefits.

The sale of my house would give me around 100k profit, I’d add that to my home

So surprised, but pleased, that 800 a month on a mortgage is high, from chatting to friends, the average they pay is 600-900 per month on mortgages or rent

A TA salary would not be £25k take home for 32 hours term time only. You'd be looking at about £18k.

I would consider doing supply initially and worry about a mortgage when you've got a paper trail to show you've lived in the UK for a while.

I manage a mortgage of 680 on about 30k and I have multiple children. I came back from abroad and bought a house outright. Really not a lot of checks were made beyond ID and verbal questions. Used a solicitor who does stuff for my uncle. Got a mortgage after I bought the house via a broker they wanted wage slip and bank account. Proof of life insurance and buildings insurance. The bank account I was using was only a year old at that point. Used the same solicitor as they held the title deeds. Low loan to value which Helps.

Honestly it was all very straight forward. I’d find a solicitor and a mortgage broker and have a conversation rather than take internet advice verbatim.

@Woeismethischristmas That’s reassuring, thank you! I was beginning to lose hope. So how long were you in the U.K. for before you could get a mortgage?

You could live on that in the north. You will likely need to rent at first as the bank will highly likely want to see 3-6 months of payslips and back statements before agreeing to lend. You will likely get some benefits on that wage as a single parent.

I live in the northwest OP and our mortgage is £400 a month, we bought our terraced house last year for £125k. Schools are good in this area and with an extra £100k you could get a house worth £250k that would be a three bed semi with garage, drive and a garden and have it only cost £450- £500 a month. Not so sure about south west but the interest rates on mortgages are so low that now is a good time to get one!

I'd be surprised if a HLTA took home 25K.
I would imagine it would get pro rated to more like 18k (30 hrs per week, TTO).
Also, you will need childcare as you need to he in school before the kids, and leave after them - often only for 15 mins or so, but long enough that you cant do the school runs.

@ikeepseeingit That was my hope 🙏

Depends where you would be happy to live OP but there are decent houses to rent in the north from £500+ PM. You would need to pay a month upfront and a security bond which is usually a one off payment that is typically a similar amount to a months rent.

Housing in the south west is likely to be more expensive than north west.

You could easily spend £3-400k on a 2 or 3 bedroom small house in the south west. On £25k salary you might be lent about £125k max, you could easily need a deposit of more than 150k?

TA jobs would be term time only, so 40 weeks averaged over the whole year, and end up far lower than you'd think. If you didn't have your DD in the same school you worked in (many schools are completely oversubscribed) then you'd need to factor in before and after school care too (sorry, I am assuming it's just you as the adult, rather than also a partner who can share the pickups and drop offs), as schools all start and finish at different times.

You will definitely need to rent initially, as even with a reasonable deposit a lender will expect a decent financial history with evidence, and you're not likely to get a particularly preferential mortgage rate.

Good luck with the job hunt and move!

@Oatypancakesforbrekkie

Live abroad, thinking of returning to the U.K. with toddler Dd. It would be just her and I. The salary I’ve seen is for £25 thousand, how would we be able to live on that amount, would we be ok? I have no idea of prices of things, bills etc, nowadays. I imagine an average mortgage would be £800? then with bills, food etc. My position would be a lower one than my qualifications, but would fit around my Dd at school etc by then Would you get any help for being alone and on that salary?

“I have no idea”

You need to do extensive research. And I mean extensive.

I am a single mother. Everything I do I plan and research. No back up if cock to.

This is huge OP.

In cheaper parts of the UK, you could buy a property out right for 100k, including all the fees

I suspect that no bank would give you a mortgage without employment & you would need to show payslips & affordability

With 100k in the bank, the only benefit that you would probably be eligible for, would be child benefit

@V0lcanoicD1srupt10n What about after I’ve used it to buy the house?

Dd would be in the school with me, breakfast club in the morning and after school club (for a short while) when school finishes.

They’ve assured me I’d get paid during holidays too

You’re going to struggle to get a mortgage if this is a new job and because you’re returning from abroad... unless things have changed somewhat in the past decade or so. Anyway, in my experience you need proof of UK residency and a secure job.

It may not be this simple these days because of advanced security checks in bank statements etc. However, to get proof of residence, you could register at your parents’ home or similar for a minimum of 3 months - could be more these days. That includes being on the council tax and some utilities. Plus bank statements. Contract phone bill would also work.

The other hurdle then is work. Are you being employed by a new employer? If it’s your current employer, that’s kind of easy peasy. They should supply you with a new U.K. contract with the number of years of service.

Idk how it works now with the 2 years and employers being able to fire you easily. However, at a minimum you’d need written confirmation from your employer you’ve passed the induction (or were going to waive it) and they intended to keep you on.

First thing to do would be to make contact with an experienced financial advisor as this may be easier or unsurmountable these days.