%ge of salary that you spend on housing??!

[suzydelarosa]

I'm in the midst of moving down south - which is v expensive - and curious to know how much %ge of your salary (either individual or joint) is spent on housing, just the actual rental or mortgage not the ancillary costs like council tax, heating, gas etc.

Again, It can be rent or mortgage; just wondering if the one-third rule pertains or if people spend a lot more, eg. 50% of their salaries.

Thanks everyone! Am starting to count the pennies already...!

Thanks. I'm in Scotland and pay about 25% definitely. Grateful to hear from anybody!!

It used to be recommended that rent/mortgage took no more than one third of take-home. I still think this is a good idea. Mine is about 20% but then, my rent is cheap because my house is bloody hard to heat (big and drafty) and my ll don't want damp creeping in if I can't afford to heat it.

Ours is 12% of our monthly take home pay.

We could afford a lot nicer and bigger house in a better area, but feel very secure in having such a low mortgage payment, if the shot hit the fan and the rates went up we would be OK, ditto if one of us lost a job.

(Scotland too, one of the most economically-deprived rural areas.)

I am in Gloucestershire btw.

I don't know how to calculate my income - there's what I earn and then there's maintenance from xh, tax credits, housing benefit and child benefit. If I include everything then my rent is about 35% of my incomings. I'm also in the north but quite am expensive area.

20% of my income, DH a SAHD

Your postings make me feel poor; I'm on a relatively good salary (what I thought was a good salary) at £3k net per month but finding a rental property that doesn't feel like a student dive for less than £1k is tricky. (needs to be 2 bed for dd).

The thought of only having to pay 12% or 20% sounds divine!

About 20-25% of our joint income (about 40%) of single income (net) here for 2 beds (Scotland btw and relatively good incomes too). Mice and mould come as part of the package - no extra charge for them

I live in one of the most expensive areas of the S.E outside London and about 37% of my take-home goes on the mortgage. Should add that I bought the house 21 years ago. If I was trying to buy the same place today it would be totally out of my price-range. £1000/month is normal to rent a decent property.

50% my salary. 25% altogether.

I live in France. Banks wont let you get a mortgage if the payments are more than one-third of your net salary and landlords won't accept you if you don't earn 3 times the rent...so the decision is taken out of your hands really!

SW London - mortgage 25% of our joint net income.

I'm jsut moving from SW London to Scotland and although it was for family and job reasons this has been a major factor. We pay 30% of take home in rent for a 2.5 bed now - next month will be 20% for a 4 bed detached! And that's with a 15k pay cut between us.

South of Watford. About 15% of joint net income. Ex council two bed terrace.

'The South' is broad. You could pay a helluva lot less than £1k per month for a 2 bed outside of london. We pay £470 per month for a 3 bed. 30mins from central london on the train. This is a family let though. commercial rates would be around £800. In other villages near us you could pay £600 for a 3 bed. But you would definitely need a car.

We also rent out (through a reputable letting agent) a really nice 2 bed flat in Walthamstow, 5 minutes from the Victoria Line station, for £925pcm. Has a garden and everything. Is currently let though - I'm not advertising!

If London, you need to factor in your travel costs (see TFL website for monthly travelcard prices), but on the other hand (and making wild assumptions about your circumstances e.g. any disabilities) you might very easily do without your own car - using streetcar/citycar could work out better for you.

How old is your DD, what are you aiming for schools-wise (are there buses), and what area is your job in (ie will you be likely to mostly use public tpt).

I'm in inner London & own.

At worst, I was paying 56% of my after-tax salary on my mortgage - not including council tax & service charges (I own leasehold).

This was back in 2003 - my salary has gone up now and my interest rate is lower. I currently pay just over 20% (again, not including council tax & service charge - these add about £200 per month)

Less than 1/5th but I know I'm lucky to be living in a cheap area with most of my mortgage paid off!

I'm down in the southwest myself, so I don't know if this helps. It really depends as our finances have been all over the place and we managed to get a very cheap place (rare to come by!). So anywhere between 1/3 to 1/2 of our income is spent on the rent solely.

27% of my income here

23% joint. DH has a lower paid job now than when we bought this house. In NW.

We pay about 35% of our joint salaries on our mortgage. South West.