Can only get low mortgage

[anon282428]

After doing some research, the best mortgage/amount I can lend in £90k.

I feel awful. I work full time and thought my job wasn't too bad.

I am single and in my early 30s. But even after saving hard for a deposit, the only amount I will be offered is 90k, which is enough for a 1-2 bedroom flat around here.

Anyone in the same position and can make me feel any better about this? :(

Low mortgage means low mortgage payments.

We’ve just sold our house for £182k, we brought fit for £140k with £121k mortgage - 2 bed end of terrace.

However we’ve got one DD, another baby on the way and both our jobs are 45+ minutes from here so we’ve sold up to move closer to work. We’re opting for shared ownership this time; we can get a mortgage of £94k, with a 50k deposit. Initially buying 55%, then will buy the other 45% later on.

With a mortgage of 90k you’re payments are only going to be 250-300 a month. That’s a really good position to be in.

OP Im in a similar position as you. I have a deposit of 70k. I’m not bothering with a 1 bed flat, because with covid and more people WFH, I think there will be more demand for homes with lots of space and a garden and I think flats will be harder to sell in the long run, plus there are associated costs (eg service charges) which almost always go up and problems such as the cladding scandal. So I’m choosing to move a little further out and buy a 2-3 house instead. I have looked in to shared ownership but the panaroma show put me right off !!

How much deposit do you have and how much are you earning? Those are the 2 big variables here. Please don’t compare yourself to friends, especially if they are in couples

@England101

OP Im in a similar position as you. I have a deposit of 70k. I’m not bothering with a 1 bed flat, because with covid and more people WFH, I think there will be more demand for homes with lots of space and a garden and I think flats will be harder to sell in the long run, plus there are associated costs (eg service charges) which almost always go up and problems such as the cladding scandal. So I’m choosing to move a little further out and buy a 2-3 house instead. I have looked in to shared ownership but the panaroma show put me right off !!

Yes, I would avoid shared ownership too.

I do agree with you about flats not being desirable now so I think you made a good decision.

Just to say I know my latest post contradicts my first but it depends if OP is in a position to do the same as PP. If not then I think getting on the property ladder with a flat would not be a bad decision. Security of tenure and the payments being an investment rather than paying rent which you never get back.

How much deposit have you saved. If they'll only lend you 90k then you can't earn much more than 23k? Unless you have significant childcare expenses

@anon282428 nothing wrong with a 2 bed flat. When I was 30 and single I did the same (in London). Because I wanted a period property, garden and walking distance to the tube I had to compromise with being on a main road in a nice residential area. Long story short, I've sold it (4yrs later) during covid lockdown and am now using the equity to by a house with my husband.

Depending on where you live a flat isn't a bad thing. Just make sure you have outside space etc. Getting your first home is great but especially if you are single will require compromise.

DH and I started off buying a flat on shared ownership 50% so only needed 65k. We then moved on to a house as paying towards mortgage and built equity, and then to the house we are in now. We bought our flat when prices were high so didn't make anything on it but did on our previous house and now have about 150k equity over a 14 yr period. We loved our flat and was a brilliant first step on the ladder!

You can afford to buy yourself a 2 bedroomed flat and you're still not happy?

If I were you I'd be well happy! It could be worse OP, we can only afford a two bedroom flat and there's four of us....also you need more like £300k around here, even for that

This was me 11 years ago. It will buy you something but in my case it needed alot of work. And it was small, 2 beds. Fine when it's just you.

I've now increased the value a fair amount which is amazing but i have a child and space is really tight. Realistically we need to move for more space but I can't get a mortgage now anywhere near big enough to move us. I have lots of equity in the property but my salary is too low to give me a decent mortgage offer.

Luckily space aside we have a lovely home. But we are trapped here. So I suppose my point is if I could do it again I would defo future plan. I never expected to be here this long and I do sometimes cry as our house really is not big enough for us now but there is nothing I can do.

So my advice would be to take your time

Find a flat in a decent area, ideally with your own private garden space (can but dream), the value will go up, then you sell in 5 years and move on, that's why it's a housing ladder :)

This is mine
Garden (mine, not shared), big kitchen (for a flat!), patio door area I use for work
Main bathroom has bath and shower, en suite has shower, two double bedrooms
Just been valued at 100k. Depending where you are you could get somewhere lovely

@NotMyCat

This is mine Garden (mine, not shared), big kitchen (for a flat!), patio door area I use for work Main bathroom has bath and shower, en suite has shower, two double bedrooms Just been valued at 100k. Depending where you are you could get somewhere lovely

Looks great 😊

@anon282428

Thanks. I think I just expected more with how hard I saved and considering im in my thirties. All my friends have much more.

I suspect that the people with more will have bigger deposits like inheritances, partners or equity from previous property.

I started with a one bed flat. Most of my friends were in houses (mostly housing association houses, to be fair, but a few had two bed houses). Even my one bed flat cost £150k, and has just sold for just over £200k.

I’m now buying a three bed house, technically - a two bed that’s got a converted loft & attic, although the attic is very small and needs a dormer so I don’t really count it as a room.

Most people don’t walk straight into a house. A flat is a great place to start. Reframe this into excitement that you’ll own your own place; your own flat, that will likely go up in value.

I’d avoid shared ownership, I don’t know anyone who it’s ended well for, it’s a pain to own and a pain to sell.

£90k on one salary is pretty good op.

If you have any credit card debt/loans etc they will bring your affordability down so pay those off.

Or move to a cheaper area. We did that & got a four bed house for what we’d have paid for a 1 bed flat where we used to live. There are houses out there that you can afford.

I think my problem could be my earnings. I've thought of options such as trying to save a bigger deposit, but putting the bigger deposits and my current wage into the calculators online etc, I'm still getting the same result of 90k.

So whether I put in a 10k deposit, a 15k deposit, a 20k deposit, they always linger around the 90k avaliable to borrow mark.

We got a mortgage fir a 2 bed terrace 8 years ago.
We still have it... plus a 3 bed family house we bought this year.

When we got the 2 bed terrace several friends were moaning they couldn't afford to buy... but they wanted 4 bed detached houses straight away. In fashionable locations.

The amount you can borrow gets added to the deposit. What you earn determines how much the bank will lend you. That's why the figure doesn't change.

Eg 90k from the bank + 20k deposit = 110k available to spend.

A mortgage broker might be able to help you borrow more OP, rather than looking at online calculators.
But yes, the only thing that will affect how much you can borrow is your earnings. The size of your deposit relative to the mortgage affects the interest rate you may get. Not the amount you can actually borrow.

As pp said your deposit won't impact how much you can borrow. But it does increase the price of properties you can potentially buy.

If you and a friend, both buying on your own have the same wage you can both borrow 90k.

You have a deposit of 20k. You can look upto around 110k. If they have a deposit of 50k they can look up to around 140k.

That maybe why your friends assuming very similar circumstances have bought a bugger properties.

you keep talking about your deposit as if you think that is part of the £90,000 that you can borrow. It Wouldn't matter What your deposit was, the amount you can borrow is based on your income. you add the amount you have saved to the amount the bank will lend you. you seem to be confused about this .

Buy something that you can improve and make a bit of money on and move upwards.
In fifteen years my husband and I have went from a first flat worth 155k to a big house worth 600 without a huge increase in mortgage (just buying the right thing). Don’t be disheartened

@anon282428

I think my problem could be my earnings. I've thought of options such as trying to save a bigger deposit, but putting the bigger deposits and my current wage into the calculators online etc, I'm still getting the same result of 90k.

So whether I put in a 10k deposit, a 15k deposit, a 20k deposit, they always linger around the 90k avaliable to borrow mark.

Well yes, because the amount you can borrow is dependent on what you earn.

You could have a million pound deposit and you'd still only be able to borrow £90k.

Like others have said, being in a position where you can buy a 2 bed flat to live in all by yourself is a great position to be in as presumably you live somewhere where property is relatively affordable.

There are people like a PP would need to spend £300k on a 2 bed flat, so would need to earn well above average, like £50k+ and save at least that amount as a deposit.