To think we CAN live on the mortgage

[JaneEyre40]

Advice please -

Couple - Earn £10,500 a month
Mortgage - 3,700 a month
Nursery - 1,000 a month

Considering all other possible outgoings, do you think we can afford this and not feel pressured each month. What am I not considering? We've done the spreadsheet but I'm still unsure.

We will have about £65,000 in savings at the beginning of this venture.

Thanks in advance. House of a lifetime.

We're on slightly higher monthly income and I wouldn't be comfortable with that mortgage. It's higher percentage of your income than is recommended. As higher earners, you want the freedom to not worry about day to day costs and treats. Otherwise the stress of the jobs isn't worth it!
Our mortgage is £2k, but our LTV is very low at about 20%.

Is this a joke?

If someone posted on here that they earn a million pounds and were unsure on their 3rd property I wouldn't give a shit! 🤣🤣

Yes, I'm hilarious.

The salaries do invariably match though.
If you are working an intellectually demanding job and/or one that has a high level or risk then you will earn more. If you are capable of an intellectually demanding job yet you choose to for instance work in retail or in care then you are in effect choosing a lower salary. If you are saying you are capable of being a doctor or lawyer yet you are earning a low salary then you’ve chosen that low salary. Working hard is subjective not objective.

No one ask it at all even with a low salary.

You need proper advice to ensure best mortgage rate but also to ensure maximising tax situation, pension contributions etc etc. it’s endless and this is not the place.

Thank christ someone said it!

Some odd comments here about stacking shelves. I think that’s fine although you leave out some details - ie presumably your nursery fees will drop away once dc (1 or 2?) are at school?
our income post tax is 9200, our mortgage is 2,800 (we opt to over pay) and nursery is 1,200. We have 2 high end holidays a year and live in London.

it’s fine x

Also £1000 a month for a London nursery sounds low. My DD paid £1500 a couple of years ago, and you do need to budget for this going up regularly. But on @JaneEyre40's household income this should be fine.

We'd love to have earned this much between us (now retired) but wonder if the renovation costs have been fully included or whether they're doing it on the basis of paying for it when they can afford it. Apologies if this has already been posted.
Even if the outgoings seem affordable many still find that they can't afford what they used to take for granted (such as regular holidays) or to cope with unexpected costs such as a new boiler or having to replace a car. If all the OP's current savings will go on the renovation it will be important to build up that buffer for unforseen unemployment as quickly as possible.
I'd love to know where this house is in London!

So why do qualified doctors earn significantly less than bankers or lawyers?

The most expensive council tax band in Wandsworth is still only c£2000 a year. A lot lower than I pay in a middle band in Buckinghamshire.

That's what the worry is. However, we have no debt at all (obviously excluding the mortgage).

1 child (and that's it).

No work needed to the house (of course there are potential issues to consider).

I'm trying to reassure myself that we can afford it.

It puts mortgage + house bills over a 1/3, it's not what is usually recommended.

Sigh. The ones who work privately do. The ones who are working for the state will earn a similar salary to lawyers or bankers that also work for the state - for instance criminal lawyers or CPS or HMRC. You need to compare like with like. I thought that was obvious.

Anything over 25% of your income going straight into your mortgage puts you in mortgage distress.

You need a bigger deposit.

Will you be able to stretch to feb half term in courcheval on that? Seems tight.

Have you considered a sim only deal on your mobiles? That will help you save a few pennies.

Also go through your accounts and cancel any unnecessary direct debits and subscriptions.

Oh and you don't actually need to eat??

🤣😂

Read the room OP!!!

Anything over 25% of your income going straight into your mortgage puts you in mortgage distress.

Cobblers! It depends on your income. If you have 20k coming in every month, 10k on a mortgage still leaves 10k. If you have £1,500 coming in a month its a different story. This is why banks are more comfortable lending higher multiples to high earners - they have a greater proportion of their income as surplus to basic needs

Ironically, I stacked shelves for years to afford university.

Yes, that's true, we can knock off the 1k when he's 4. We don't plan on any significantly expensive holidays for the next 3 years (the expensive garden will be our holiday), first garden I've had in London so very excited.

Great to hear that you are affording it! Thanks for the advice.

Again, you literally clicked into MY room. 🙄

Based on this, yes I would be comfortable with it. How I like to look at it is, if one person lost their job, how much pressure does that put us under? If the other person could take a minimum wage job doing absolutely anything and make the important ends meet, then it’s a yes.

If your split was £9000 one person and £1500 another I would say absolutely not, because if the high earner lost their job and couldn’t very quickly find another, you’d be totally screwed. This doesn’t apply here, so I would go for it.

You can always sell photos of your feet if you find you have more month left than salary.

Based on your updates I would go for it.

No renovation and it's outer London.

I can't afford a pedicure with my mortgage I thought that much was clear 😬😂