Could I realistically afford a 265k house on a £48k salary?

[Imbobbymudda]

Hi all,

Me and my new BF are looking into buying a property (first time buyers). I have saved about £40k (probably use 30k for deposit).

I earn around 48-50k a year (sometimes more) on a 4 day week. My BF has no money to contribute but is hoping to start a new job soon (22-24k per annum salary)

We have 3 LOs. Grandad has kindly offered to look after the toddler if we move closer to him which would save costs on childcare (the other two in school).

I have two questions:

1. Would it be realistic to afford a 265k property based off of my salary alone?

2. Would it be realistic with our combined salary (circa 70-75k/ annum)?

Thank you kindly for any responses

No. House yourself and your children. Do you have a special interest in ruining your own future.

Do not pick up the tab for a man with children with poor earnings.

Could he not apply for a council flat with the kids due to his circumstances?

I wouldn't be buying a house with a boyfriend of 18 months. Please protect your financial interest in the house. It's irresponsible as it is, you having a toddler and moving a boyfriend of 18 months in, you really need to wise up (and I don't mean that in a horrible way) and slow this relationship down majorly.

Speak to your bank or a broker first, as your outgoings are also important, not just your salary.

Red flag central this post is and I really don’t know if I can take it seriously.

OP - seems like your BF is sponging off you - 24k won’t even be minimum wage for full time come April so guessing he will be part time?

if it was me, I wouldn’t be buying any house just yet - until at least BF has a job and it’s stable. Who is paying the mortgage and bills if you were to loose your job?

The red flag - he was in a relationship with a 30 year old when he was 15?!!! I’m taking it his ex is in prison/has been….

Sounds like your BF needs to grow up and take responsibility though.

I know it's all roses and rainbows now but this has the potential to go very wrong.
You have a responsibility to your child to provide and protect them.
Buy for you and your child and revisit in a couple of years when bf has improved his earnings.

I know it's not what you want to hear but you have clearly done very well for yourself, make your child the reason you done gamble it

Buy the house yourself and don't get married would be my advice.

Oh god I've just read your replies, please please please buy this house by yourself!!!!!

@Imbobbymudda youve had some excellent advice on this post. I’d also suggest watching some of Dave Ramseys videos on finance - he ALWAYS advises against buying property unless you have already married a partner.

Well I think you have to trust your gut and I mean REALLY trust your gut. It could work even though some people might see red flags. I got a mortgage and bought a house just 4 months after I met my then partner. 22 years later we are married and have two DC and the mortgage is nearly paid off. Good luck with whatever you decide

You don't need to save this man. You say he will contribute to bills, I hear 3 extra people will live rent free while you fund everything.

Your responsibility is to your child. Imagine how they will reflect on this when they grow up. Mum let me live in an overcrowded house by moving in the boyfriend and family. Then when we moved, she overstretched herself to buy a house with more bedrooms than we needed. Of course I had to have the smallest bedroom, so his kids could have the bigger one. We never had money for anything, as mum spent so much on paying the mortgage and helping out with him and his kids.

Buy a 2 bedroom place and look after your own child's needs. He can still be a boyfriend if you don't live together. If he kicks off about it, you will know what he is really after.

Did you have three children between you and was your then partner 'hoping' to get work?

Don't buy with him.

The mortgage payments on 235k will be high and pretty crippling your also unlikely to pass the affordability score as now its lower of generally 4x your salary.

To give an example my mortgage repayment is £725 a month on 100k at a 4.25% rate as we are less then 65% LTV.
The higher the bracket loan to value goes up the higher the interest.

Martin Lewis has some handy calculators online.

Buy alone but charge him rent

You can get him to sign a legal agreement (it's called something like a declaration of no interest) before you move in which states he understands he will not share the equity in the house in the future. If he's a decent partner, he will do this willingly.

There's been much discussion about the legal arrangements you could implement, but it might be good to take a worst-case scenario use case and play it out.

You buy a house in your name
Your partner has no legal right of ownership
You all move in together
Your partner doesn't get a job / doesn't pass his probation / loses his job and is without income
Your relationship breaks down and you tell him you want to separate

What are the likely outcomes of that scenario given he has 2 dependents and no income?

These are the things you need to take into consideration. Will the council rehome him? Does he have a family member who will take him in? Will they end up in a hostel? Realistically, how easy will it be to get him and his children to leave your house? How will you feel about turfing them out when their future living arrangements are potentially precarious? Will you back down and put up with a broken relationship because you feel guilty throwing them out?

I think this is the scenario you need to plan for. With you both renting, it's a lot easier as at the end of your contract, you can just leave and find another rental for you and your child.