Wwyd?

[bordellosboheme]

We live in a small 2 bed and have paid the mortgage off. We have1 dc and would like 1 more (perhaps 2). Our house has been valued between 145 and 170,000. We like the house up the road, which is a 4 bed. It's 315,000 and our monthly repayments would be around 1000 for 16 years. I earn 20,000 so does dh. We are bo part time, with no prospect of going full time ATM. Emotions aside, wwyd? Stick where we are or make an offer????

Tbh I think it's far too high a mortgage for that income. You have a choice of either not buying it or spreading it over a longer period of time. Do you have many other outgoings? To jump from no mortgage to £1k a month is a huge leap.

It all depends on your net income and outgoings. You need to do a quick calc of what comes in net, what goes out and whether you each have an extra £500 spare a month to spend. It is a huge jump from no mortgage at all though.

Don't forget you'd also go up a few CT bands and the extra cost to heat and light. Could easily add well over £100 pm to your expenses.

I also earn about £20k and have just got a mortgage, so have learned a couple of useful things...

• it's a critical threshold for some lenders - lots won't lend to me at all because I earn just under, not just over, £20k.
• my maximum possible loan is about £70k. There are two of you, so I imagine you will be able to borrow up to about £140k, but good interest rates may only be available up to about £120k.
• Watch out for mortgages which charge a % rather than fixed fee... Some are 2%, which wd add £3-4k for you.
• Remember your stamp duty... It will add almost £10k to your purchase of a £300k house

So - also remembering move costs and solicitors' fees, £315k is probably a bit beyond your reach... Unless you have a chunk of capital...

I would be looking for a 3 bed if I were you. The four bed would be too much of a stretch.

I'd look for somewhere more like up to £250k with 3 bedrooms. it seems like a huge leap from a small 2 bed to a 4 bed and a lot of money.

flow is right about the stamp duty too -under the threshold would be better.

presumably there are other houses to look at and it is just this one caught your eye?

Agree about finding somewhere under 250k if poss.

Couldn't you spread it over 25 years too for lower repayments? Why 16 years?