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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think we could manage a £2200 mortgage payment

388 replies

Dyr · 03/08/2023 09:58

on a take home pay of £4k.
After purchasing the house we would have £40k - £50k left in savings / investments.
The repayments would be about £2.2k per month but our combined take home would be £4k, and due to the jobs we are in its unlikely to increase. late 30s/early40s with 2 kids (primary school age)

OP posts:
Treesinmygarden · 03/08/2023 13:27

You would be out of your mind!

caringcarer · 03/08/2023 13:28

Why don't you use £30k of savings on deposit so bring down how much mortgage would be every month. The guidelines are, as I'm sure any good mortgage broker or lender will tell you, spend no more than about 35 percent of joint income. You want to spend over 50 percent of your joint income. Also think ahead. There may be a recession coming and one of you might lose your job. In 2008 lots of people who thought they had very secure jobs were made redundant. I had friends who were an accountant, Estate agent and one worked in a bank. They all lost their jobs with not a lot of notice and found it hard to get other jobs in the same areas as no one was recruiting at the time. I would think 40 percent is the absolute maximum you should borrow.

SunSparkle · 03/08/2023 13:31

@Dyr £63 left a month. Are you feeling ok? Because why would you leave yourself such a small buffer? Your food shop could go up by that much in the next 3 months then you’d be screwed

BarbaraofSeville · 03/08/2023 13:34

Hmindr68 · 03/08/2023 13:23

Just to flip the question:

I have no mortgage or rent to pay. AIBU to think our family of 4 can live on £1,800/month?

if this was the question, I think you’d get a lot of support.

But it still depends.

The OP has said nothing about what the £1800 has to cover.

Direct debits, food and fuel only, or absolutely everything that you can think of in the short to medium term. Plus are the estimates of food and fuel realistic?

What if the washing machine breaks?
What about Christmas, birthdays, holidays, dental/optician/prescription costs etc?
All the other 'what ifs' that crop up? Car costs? School uniforms and shoes? etc etc etc.

tootiredtospeak · 03/08/2023 13:36

No that is way too much over 50 percent. We have the same take home with 1k. It's too much you will have nothing left over after all essentials. Food petrol Bill's kids clubs ect there would be nothing spare.

BettyOBarley · 03/08/2023 13:38

£63 left?! No, that's crazy sorry. Don't put yourself in such a vulnerable position.

AlwaysFrazzled88 · 03/08/2023 13:42

Jesus that is massive.

Whattodonex · 03/08/2023 13:45

No way. Children get more expensive as they get older. Teenagers burn through money and then you’ve got potential university costs. Also who knows what interest rates might be in the future……

fairgame84 · 03/08/2023 13:47

YABU
We have the same take home pay as you, 1 child under 5, 1 child in his teens. We've just applied for a mortgage at £1060 per month. I couldn't even imagine going as high as £2200, it's unrealistic and gives you no buffer for unexpected expenses.

Waffle19 · 03/08/2023 13:50

We have a take home pay of 4K and our mortgage is 1k. Feels about right to us. Currently paying £800 pcm nursery fees as well so things are tight.

HangerLaneGyratorySystem · 03/08/2023 13:52

Whilst I think it might be a bit foolish to take on such a large mortgage, I'm watching this thread with interest as posters are pretty unanimous that a family of 4 can't live on £1,800 cash a month ...?!

Bunnycat101 · 03/08/2023 13:53

The £63 left each month will probably be an overestimate unless your budgeting is amazing and v accurate. It also give you very little flex for price rises.

My after school club has gone up by £1 a day which on the surface doesn’t sound a lot but for 2 children 4x a week is suddenly an extra £312 per year. Lots of business will be raising prices. From what you’ve said I just don’t think you can go that high. Like others I’d use some of the £50k to bring down the monthly but even then might still be v tight.

Dachshund40 · 03/08/2023 13:54

Dyr · 03/08/2023 11:11

I've done a budget calculator, and excluding the mortgage our total expenses would have £63 quid left over each month.

That’s way too low, what if there’s repairs in the home needed, or your car breaks down, or you need dental work done, there’s no give for basic extras.

OrangeSpicedBun · 03/08/2023 13:57

The problem is vulnerability...you never know what could happen with illness/work ect. I know that's what savings are for but the more manageable the better. Offsetting with your savings might reduce the payments ...but only by a bit.

Is it worth it?

Bluepolkadots42 · 03/08/2023 13:57

We have take home pay of £4k like you. Once we've paid all bills, food, childcare, petrol etc. We have a 1.5yo and a 5yo and have very little left at end of month. Our mortgage is £1300. I don't think your plan is affordable at all I'm afraid and would be very surprised if you passed affordability checks with lenders for a £2.2k/month mortgage.

WimbyAce · 03/08/2023 13:57

I would say no! I think you would be better off using some of the savings to reduce the balance particularly with mortgage rates the way they are at the moment.

Lastnightschips · 03/08/2023 13:58

I’m paying that with an income of just under 4K (not by choice, interest rate increase) and it’s very challenging. Even with income closer to 5.5k we didn’t have masses left over. The less comfortable end of comfortable.

porridgeisbae · 03/08/2023 14:04

@Dyr If the last couple of years has taught us anything, remember your mortgage could go up at some point in the future. So it's better to leave yourself plenty of leeway. Also one day one of you might happen to be unemployed for a while. So I'm not an expert but I'dve thought it's better to have an amount that you could cover with one of your salaries at a push.

Butchyrestingface · 03/08/2023 14:05

Dyr · 03/08/2023 11:11

I've done a budget calculator, and excluding the mortgage our total expenses would have £63 quid left over each month.

Definition of insanity right there.

Extraordinarytimes · 03/08/2023 14:09

Due to Covid salary downturn, and the interest rate increase, we take home 4.5k and our mortgage is 2.2k. When the rates started to rise out term expired and we fixed at the then high rate of 5%; it was that or move. Snap decision and I question it most days as obviously we are now locked in with big penalty charges. We have three children and run two cars. The children have clubs of a few hundred each month total; this could be cut but we prioritise them.

The leftover is just enough for total non-frills, no leisure, no clothes etc etc. I therefore try to earn around another 500-1k per month so that we have money for birthdays/clothes/furniture/holiday/etc etc. Even with overtime, the available spend for my husband and I is nil, and we are both knackered.

From the outside, we probably appear fine for money; it’s happened suddenly so we have some nice things and we have a large house. The kids are largely unaware and have what they need, and some of what they want. Reality is quite miserable and unless there is a significant financial uplift in the next year or so, we will have to downsize. It is not a position to willingly put yourself into.

Mortgageportgage · 03/08/2023 14:09

HangerLaneGyratorySystem · 03/08/2023 13:52

Whilst I think it might be a bit foolish to take on such a large mortgage, I'm watching this thread with interest as posters are pretty unanimous that a family of 4 can't live on £1,800 cash a month ...?!

It's crazy but true I think. If you factor in say £800 for bills (council tax, energy, insurances etc) another £500 for food that leaves you £500. I pay that in childcare alone. Even if I didn't you'd need money for savings, kids activities, adult spending money, transport (public or running a vehicle), holidays, Christmas, clothing and haircuts, house maintenance and upgrades, £1,800 really doesn't go as far as it should.

Weedoormatnomore · 03/08/2023 14:12

Dyr · 03/08/2023 11:11

I've done a budget calculator, and excluding the mortgage our total expenses would have £63 quid left over each month.

Is that using costs incurred from new house water bill heating etc will be more. Do you really need 50k in savings?
Got to say seems madness sorry would be surprised if you could get a mortgage in principle.

pinkpirlie · 03/08/2023 14:13

Nope, don't do it.
Take home is over £5k and we pay £800 mortgage and don't have kids and I wouldn't want the mortgage any higher than that.

Treesinmygarden · 03/08/2023 14:14

HangerLaneGyratorySystem · 03/08/2023 13:52

Whilst I think it might be a bit foolish to take on such a large mortgage, I'm watching this thread with interest as posters are pretty unanimous that a family of 4 can't live on £1,800 cash a month ...?!

I was paying up to £1300/month for childcare, and that was a few years back!

rainingsnoring · 03/08/2023 14:14

Absolutely bonkers. Have people learned nothing from the rising interest rates and inflation?

Does the 40-50k of savings include pensions or not? Is the 4k month of net income after pension deductions?
Even if the answer to the questions is positive you can only afford a mortgage half the size at present.