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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what mortgage payments you'd be happy with?

56 replies

lemon88 · 30/04/2022 17:27

100k joint take home (roughly £5000 a month after pension deductions). Nursery fees of around £1,000 a month. Worried we're overstretching!

OP posts:
Haus1234 · 30/04/2022 17:30

£1500 probably fine, £2000 a bit too much of a stretch would be my feeling, unless there’s a chance of double nursery fees in which case less.

BoneyEmm · 30/04/2022 17:31

£1500-2000 max I think

Aimee1987 · 30/04/2022 17:33

We have a take home of 4k. Equally nursery fees of 1000. We pay 1400 on mortgage, which we are struggling with but doable. I would say up to 2000 on your income

D0lphine · 30/04/2022 17:35

So so hard when we don't know much else about your finances/ lifestyle!

SunsetGun · 30/04/2022 17:35

£1500 max, but more comfortably £1000-1200. Cost of living is going up so much, and house prices potentially coming down. It’s tough having a commitment every month that would last or 20 years+

Overthebow · 30/04/2022 17:38

We have about the same with Take home pay and nursery fees. Our mortgage (plus £100 overpayment) is about £1300. I would probably be comfortable paying a bit more but wouldn’t want to go above £1500.

NeedAHoliday2021 · 30/04/2022 17:39

We’re similar but no nursery. Decided to keep ours at £1100 per month so we can afford holidays etc.

Original poster
lemon88 · 30/04/2022 17:40

Thanks guys. We're going from a one bed flat to a four bed house, so no idea how much bills will increase by. Plus the rising cost of living is worrying me. Nursery fees will be the main big cost. I can't imagine we'll be going out loads with a young baby.

OP posts:
89redballoons · 30/04/2022 17:40

Our take home is about £4,700 and nursery fees £600 so similar amount left over to you. Our mortgage payments are £1,200 and it feels comfortable. Could probably afford up to about £1,500 and still feel comfortable (for now - cost of living/energy price increases might well absorb some of that slack soon).

worriedaboutmoney2022 · 30/04/2022 17:41

We have £3000 a month take home and our rent is £850 but due to some inheritance we will hopefully be buying soon but we are hoping the mortgage won't be anymore than £1000 per month as all the utilities have gone up as have food and fuel and then there's the unknown with interest rates

Blarting · 30/04/2022 17:42

lemon88 · 30/04/2022 17:40

Thanks guys. We're going from a one bed flat to a four bed house, so no idea how much bills will increase by. Plus the rising cost of living is worrying me. Nursery fees will be the main big cost. I can't imagine we'll be going out loads with a young baby.

I'd take a long fixed rate if I were you.

HMG107 · 30/04/2022 17:45

We had roughly the same take home pain last year and our childcare fees were about £500 per month. We didn't have as much disposable cash as we’d have liked but I don’t think we ever will. We paid £1100 for our mortgage and had one child.

MsVestibule · 30/04/2022 17:46

Nobody can answer this apart from you. You know how much your fixed costs are (cars, food etc) and you can easily get a ballpark figure of what your house bills will be by Googling, asking friends etc.

Then you work out a budget and stress test it with increased interest rates.

Merryoldgoat · 30/04/2022 17:50

We have similar and pay £1500 which is fine but I wouldn’t want to pay more.

HMG107 · 30/04/2022 17:50

We went from a one ned flat to a house with 4 double bedrooms thinking we’d have two children and I would need a office. Were now sticking with one child and have too much space and are looking to downsize. There’s no point heating a large house when we don’t need the space.

Original poster
lemon88 · 30/04/2022 17:53

Yes looking to fix for 5, maybe even 10 years!

OP posts:
Mummumtum · 30/04/2022 17:53

around £1300 would be ok for me, if you get a long enough fixed rate to last until you’ll no longer be paying nursery fee.

tadil · 30/04/2022 17:53

we have about 6k after pension & very little childcare costs & max we are happy with is 2k.

tadil · 30/04/2022 17:54

no debt though & some savings

tadil · 30/04/2022 17:59

things I would consider

fixing mortgage
job security
job progression & pay rises
size of deposit. Personally I'd be happier with a higher payment if my deposit is high.
You will have to stretch yourselves a bit though as the market is ridiculous.

Clarinet1 · 30/04/2022 18:02

Just a thought - how long will it be until the DC qualifies for the free nursery hours? If it’s not that long maybe you can cope until then on a stricter budget. On the other hand, are you planning on more DC? Also, if you’re going to have more bedrooms, would a lodger be an option to increase income?

trilbydoll · 30/04/2022 18:02

When we moved we got quite a long mortgage term - 28 years I think - because nursery fees affected the affordability. Anyway, it means the monthly payment is lower but we can overpay, so we're not overstretched but if there is spare cash, it can go on the mortgage. I was initially horrified at the term but now it feels like it's been a good compromise.

SafelySoftly · 30/04/2022 18:04

Why such a big jump… most people don’t move from a 1 bed flat to a 4 bed house. It seems potentially crazy.

How many months savings (post purchase) do you have if one of you is made redundant?

Blarting · 30/04/2022 18:05

SafelySoftly · 30/04/2022 18:04

Why such a big jump… most people don’t move from a 1 bed flat to a 4 bed house. It seems potentially crazy.

How many months savings (post purchase) do you have if one of you is made redundant?

Saves on stamp duty, moving costs etc. if you can do it, it's a good idea.

Shadowboy · 30/04/2022 18:06

lemon88 · 30/04/2022 17:27

100k joint take home (roughly £5000 a month after pension deductions). Nursery fees of around £1,000 a month. Worried we're overstretching!

We have the exact same take home but no nursery fees or any childcare fees. Our pet gage is £1420 per month. In your position £1000 would be my maximum. We have £700 left over each month after all bills but with rising prices and the additional rise in national insurance that will probably only be £600 per month left over.