To think we could manage a £2200 mortgage payment

[Dyr]

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)

There are just too many variables to know if it could work.

If you didn't have 50k in savings then no way but you do have money to fall back on. I also haven't seen if you've indicated that the interest on those savings is included in your income. You could have almost an additional £200 a month if invested between easier access and longer terms if you average just under 5% interest.

Budget also means different things to different people. If you've allocated monthly amounts to all annual costs including things like MOT, Christmas etc than £63 left over is more generous than if you've worked it out based on current costs. Similarly if there's wiggle room such as a fairly generous food budget or take away allowance that can be chopped if necessary.

How long is the term this would be over? Expecting your 50k savings to cover all eventualities over 10 years isn't as risky as over 25.

Well it really depends on your other outgoings. After my rent I have £1800 left so the same as what you would have but we are a family of 2.

And what happens if one of you is made redundant or something happens. I wouldn't OP

Goodness , our bills are significantly higher. CT could easily be double that! Op, do you need childcare etc ?

Unless you're going to monetise the house to generate additional income (granny annexe to let out, lodger, workspace for a small business) then you can't afford that with 2 primary age kids. My personal threshold would be around £1500 on that income.

What will happen otherwise is that month by month you'll be dipping into your £40-50k capital and eroding it to nothing.

£63 left for emergency expenses? I just don’t think it’s enough wiggle room.

I would have to see all your outgoings listed though. Does that include putting away savings?

That‘s way too much. The maximum you should be spending is 1/3 of your take-home, which is literally half that amount (1100/month). Don’t do it, OP!

No. You're off your head. Particularly with the way interest rates are going.

What interest rate is that at? I think more than 25% of income is a bad idea.

Our joint income is £4k and our mortgage is £700 so I would say no

Just to provide a little perspective, we take home 4.5k a month, mortgage is increasing to 1.1k a month and we're having to cut back on things. I would be seriously, seriously worried if our mortgage went any where near 2k never mind above it.

We're doing this 2.1k on approx 4.5k a month (sometimes we get 5or 6k). Not by design but by circumstance.

Don't do it. It's not completely miserable but it's quite miserable.

I am taking a lot out of my savings. Mainly for holidays. The novelty of a big house soon wears off.

Yeah, to further my point on living with those levels of income/mortgage, I’m selling the house and downsizing…

You’d be insane. It is irresponsible lending too

Wow. My mortgage is £386! Um… I mean that’s an absolutely crazy high mortgage. Presumably we are talking a huge house in the london area for that money. And it does seem high with over 50% of your take home pay going on your mortgage. That being said, you would be left with £1800 for bills and food etc which sounds fine. Just have to consider - what happens if one of you gets ill and can’t work? Or one of you gets made redundant? Do you have loss of income insurance because you would struggle to cover that mortgage if something happened.

Thanks everyone for your input, the universal suggestion is, 'don't do it'. I am going to speak to the missus to reduce our budget, and target a lower monthly repayment

Mumsnet terrifies me sometimes. You have 5k a month take home after mortgage!!! How can this be a real struggle???

Stuggling 🤣. This post is an exemplar of how ridiculous and pointless most of this thread is. Ultimately people’s conceptions of affordability are highly subjective.

Are we thinking about annual, 10 year plans etc? I am. And I am no where near what I need to deal with this. I combine everything annually to bill monthly. I DON'T HAVE A PLAN FOR UNIVERSITY3 OR RETIREMENT. So I dunno sounds like I am a complete idiot and have no idea how to pay for life. Meanwhile I stopped breastfeeding a year ago and I needed new bras and don't have the money to buy them. I don't go out, I do get takeaways, I don't go on holiday, I have maybe 5 gotten coffee and dinner etc in several months? I am an expat. My life is inherently more expensive. My kids have gone home 1-2 X in 5 years? I'm trying to rebuild their previous life with major major time constraints. I'm lucky my husband is able to build anything. We DIY everything. I have no frills. I cook normal meals. I have a normal ford galaxy. I live in a suburb....I dunno.... we're trying to save everywhere! My internet I got to £27. I have pet insurance. I have 1 million typical family expenses and a home that is always in need of a major renovation or repair!

I don't get takeaways*

Crazy isn't it. So many people have less money than the op would after paying their mortgage/rent and there's people going on about how much of a struggle it is to live on 5k 🤣

We have a slightly bigger mortgage but bring home £10k… do you not ever want to go on holiday?

God yes that's the real issue here, heaven forbid someone doesn't get a holiday

Im glad and its sensible.
we were offered a significantly higher mortgage than we actually took and often think back at how stupid we were to consider it - the financial pressure now would have been unreal and there was much difference in the house we have vs houses at top of budget

Think that's the best plan after reading what some with large mortgages paying about 800 just on council tax water and heat and light.