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Original poster

How big is your mortgage?

59 replies

DumbledoresGirl · 24/09/2006 13:03

I know this is a cheeky question to ask and I have thought long and hard about it as I know I wouldn't want to answer this question online. However....

dh and I have just been filling in our tax returns form. We have what many would consider a very healthy income. Yet we struggle monthly to make ends meet and I am at a lost to know why. We think it might be our mortgage and I am wondering whether our mortgage really is so much more than other people's. Now I can't ask my firends and neighbours so maybe I can ask Mumsnet.

Without mentioning figures, is anyone prepared to say what percentage of their income goes on the mortgage? Or put it another way, what size mortgage did you have based on your income. Not explaining this very well! OK, I will come clean and say that when we took out our mortgage, it was 4 times dh's salary (I don't earn).

OP posts:
Judy1234 · 24/09/2006 13:06

It's far too much but I had to remortgage to fund my divorce. Don't like to think how high it is so got drawn to this thread though...I'd have had no mortgage if I hadn't been forced to get divorced and had to pay him so much because I happen to earn more.

RanToTheHills · 24/09/2006 13:09

don't think proportion of income is as meaningful "test" as it once was. So many people have benefitted from buying at the right time, acquiring equity, others haven't. Huge range of deals out there too. Also, the amount of disposable income youhave left after paying themortgage is the most meaningful factor, I think.The more you earn, in times of relativelylow interest then obviously the better able you are to pay off what might seem a huge mortgage on paper, IFYSWIM?
Anyway, to answer yr question, I think it's about 1/3 of our disposable income and must also be about 4 x dh's slalry (I also earn p/t).

RanToTheHills · 24/09/2006 13:10

and yes, it certainly has felt at times like we're mortgaged to the hilt!

Kaz33 · 24/09/2006 13:21

4xDP's income and presently I bring in a few thousand per year. We are always struggling in a middle class way.

No childcare costs though - before I gave up work it was 3x DP's + mine income but substantial childcare costs - so probably no worse off now.

foxinsocks · 24/09/2006 13:22

if you mean gross income, ours is around 3.5x gross income

Lio · 24/09/2006 13:26

There have been useful threads on here in the past about how to spend less (not on a smaller mortgage, I mean general household spending). I think our mortgage is about x3 our joint gross income (we didn't take as much as would have been offered as we knew our income would be dipping when the chidren came along).

portonovo · 24/09/2006 13:49

When we first bought a house, our mortgage was about 2.5 times joint income.

Now we have only one income and our mortgage is about 1.25 x my husband's gross income - but we've had our mortgage a long time now and have been overpaying, so the mortgage has gone down and our income has gone up.

Putting it another way, we spend 27% of our net income on our mortgage.

TambaTheDragonSlayer · 24/09/2006 13:51

Our mortgage was a 110% one.

75% - 80% of monthly income goes on paying it each month

Its is crippling us - never again!

Judy1234 · 24/09/2006 13:55

It's the crippling yourself and your children each month so your ex husband can live in a big unmortgaged house and if he chose not work again which is particularly galling, that he profits so much from his own wrongs.

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 24/09/2006 14:23

Interesting responses. It doesn't seem tome that we are the ony ones out there with a hefty mortgage in relation to our income.

I am at a loss to know where our money is going then. There are a number of contributing factors - high mortgage, ludicrous energy bills (which we hope to address soon with a central heating system) 4 children, etc but nothing that alone could account for our inability to get on top of finances. eg we do not have any loans (except the mortgage) so no high interest payments, we do not pay for holidays, we do not go out much, buy clothes, have expensive hobbies etc. I am constantly aware of what I spend and keep to a reasonable limit when doing the weekly supermarket shop. I do not think any thread on how to cut costs would really make a difference to us as I am aware of most of the tricks.

The only thing I could think of was that maybe others didn't take out a morgage 4 times gross salary, but obviously a lot of you do....

Sigh. back to the drawing board. I wonder if dh has a mistress he is secretly keeping in the lap of luxury?

OP posts:
Mercy · 24/09/2006 17:41

DG, have you really got the best deals on things like gas, electricity, water (get a meter), house/car insurance, broadband/phone etc?

We found we have saved loads by changing gas and electricty providers, but in particular telecom. provider. We now use Call 11866 for example.

One example I can think of is we live in an old house with badly fitting sash windows. Every winter dh puts up that temporary "double glazing". It's a pain but worth it. Also draught excluders, energy saving lightbulbs, turning off TV and PC when not using.

(sounds like you know most of this though - just trying to think of ideas)

Twiglett · 24/09/2006 17:44

when we took out our mortgage it was based on joint salaries and was 2.3 x our joint salary

I gave up working in 2002 and our mortgage is now 3.9 x DH's salary

HTH

WideWebWitch · 24/09/2006 17:50

Our rent is a fairly small proportion of our income, less than 20%, and we have a reasonable income too but we still don't feel terribly well off. I do know why, we spend too much

Twiglett · 24/09/2006 17:53

LOL @ www

iota · 24/09/2006 18:00

don't most people tend to stretch themselves financially when they buy a house? - a few years down the line it all becomes more manageable (usually)

Blandmum · 24/09/2006 18:01

don't have one. We paid off our morgage 4 years ago

Blandmum · 24/09/2006 18:02

I should add, I'm bloody old!

WideWebWitch · 24/09/2006 18:04

but we're having a jolly nice life

Twiglett · 24/09/2006 18:05

I still remember when my mum and dad paid off the mortgage

of course its only now that I realise how momentous a day it was

WideWebWitch · 24/09/2006 18:05

Mb you are NOT old.

Blandmum · 24/09/2006 18:07

44, feel 144 some days

We are very fortunate. we made a fair bit on one flat we had, and pumped the money into the house we have now. It left us with a small morgage, which took is 5 years to pay off. Wiped out all our savings etc, but it was a great day!

Twiglett · 24/09/2006 18:08

I'll be 60 by the time we pay ours off [sniff[

iota · 24/09/2006 18:09

we paid ours off 3 yrs ago with my redundancy money - my hand was shaking really badly as I wrote the cheque

iota · 24/09/2006 18:09

hand shaking was nerves BTW not old age

Gingerbear · 24/09/2006 18:09

2.5 times DH's salary. It was 1.5 times our joint income when we took it out. Those were the days before DD when I was a High Profile Career Woman pmsl.

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