Would a £1,250 mortgage be too tight on our income?

[houseaffordability]

£1250 a month is the projected mortgage payment for our new house, £1350 if we take a shorter term. We’ve had a decision in principle based off this, so the lender must see no issue. It’s a beautiful house which would easily work for us for the next 10 years. It ticks every box and feels like a rare find. We might be able to buy somewhere a bit smaller and save a couple of hundred a month but we would definitely have to move and deal with all the associated costs of that.

Our salaried take home income combined is currently £3700, rising to £3800 in a year and £4300 in 3 years time. In addition to this we receive £350 maintenance for the costs of one child and the usual £108 child benefit.

Current total household income £4100, rising to £4700 in 3 years. There is also the potential for overtime so another couple hundred pounds a month when this can be done.

£30 a month to childcare provider which will stay consistent for the foreseeable. No other essential outgoings other than food shopping utility bills, no debts, two cars owned outright with the usual maintenance costs. Possibly considering a car upgrade in the future if it affordable which we’d need a loan/PCP for. We would also like another child in the next 5 years, which means maternity pay. I get my full wage for almost 7 months and then SMP.

AIBU to be worrying this is going to be really tight? We are first time buyers so I don’t know what to expect. My main priority is still being able to save and not feeling like we are accounting for every last penny.

Sounds like untold riches to me! But then I have less than £1000 left after I've paid rent, but before I've paid anything else.
So £1000 disposable sounds like a dream! I appreciate it wont last long if big repairs are needed though.

Thank you

Gosh it sounds very tight to me, our mortgage is just under £900 per month.

Our joint income is £5000 per month no child care to pay so just usual utilities etc. we do have 5 adult mouths to feed (sometimes 6). we pay for 1 car at £300 per months which is due to finish next year.

We have to save for holidays etc no I wouldn’t say we have a lot of spare money each month, with cost of living so high you would have very little left to enjoy life.

Back in the day for staff, Banks used to have guidelines of mortgage payments ideally not exceeding 20 per cent of net monthly salary. That mortgage payment is less than my DC was recently paying in rent on a 1 bed flat in the south of England. Presumably your rent also makes things currently quite tight so at least here you will be acquiring an asset.

I thought the guideline was no more than 30-33% of income. Anyway, it's not that helpful because someone with a £2k mortgage payment on a £6k income will feel a lot more comfortable than a £500 payment out of a £2k income, even though the percentage is smaller, because the amount remaining is much higher.

Plus you have huge variations in other costs, lifestyle expectations and household size. OP, what MN thinks about this isn't particularly helpful. You need to look at what you are really spending, what will change with the new property, ie what bills will increase, and whether it will work for you.

Also, are you actually putting money in savings right now? If not, that would indicate that you can't afford the new mortgage, or you need to cut out spending to do so, so you'd need to think if you'd be happy with this, having less money to spend on wants/needs. But obviously you'll have a nicer house to live in so might be worth it.

It’s so subjective because some people see saving say £500 per month as absolutely essential and some would be happy to not do that. I find myself wanting to ask similar j here but it’s really just not something someone else can answer for you.

You need to look at what you’re spending now, what you have spare and go from there.

It is no doubt useful to see what others income to mortgage ratio is though. We are around £4500 take home (husband is SE and this is based on what he pays himself currently) and our mortgage is £760ish. We are looking at a Big Move though and will more than double that most likely. He will need to increase his wages then

Good luck OP. It’s so difficult making that decision between being cautious and taking too much risk.

It’s so subjective because some people see saving say £500 per month as absolutely essential and some would be happy to not do that. I find myself wanting to ask similar j here but it’s really just not something someone else can answer for you.

You need to look at what you’re spending now, what you have spare and go from there.

It is no doubt useful to see what others income to mortgage ratio is though. We are around £4500 take home (husband is SE and this is based on what he pays himself currently) and our mortgage is £760ish. We are looking at a Big Move though and will more than double that most likely. He will need to increase his wages then

Good luck OP. It’s so difficult making that decision between being cautious and taking too much risk.

Take the whole of your original post and enter it into Chatgpt. It'll give you lots to consider. I wont repeat it all here. Pros and cons.

Personally I wouldn't. Our mortgage is around 20% of our take home pay and with two kids it feels tight. We save a little each month. Should be far more but there's something that's always needed- school clothes, new car, roof leak repairs, summer holiday activities, kids birthdays. Having kids is expensive even if you do it cheaply because of COL crisis we are in. Think carefully before you commit. It may be doable but depends on how stressed you get when your savings and money is low.

I think we are moving towards a ground invasion of certain strategic areas in Iran, that would be an All Bets Off scenario and VERY inflationary IMO, for mortgages it is all about the "10Year Yield", that is what people need to watch.

https://www.reuters.com/world/iran/

Can you give two or three main points to consider?

There's a whole essay to review! But this section would be useful.

"The things I would think about
Your biggest future risks aren't really the mortgage payment itself.
1. A second child
This is probably the biggest financial stress test. During the period you're on SMP, your income will reduce after the first seven months. I'd want to work out exactly what your monthly income would be during those months and whether your budget still works.
2. Car finance
It's easy to look at affordability now and then add a £300–500/month PCP in a couple of years. That changes the picture much more than the difference between the two mortgage options.
3. Home ownership costs
As a first-time buyer, it's easy to underestimate these. Things like:

• boiler servicing or replacement
• roof repairs
• decorating
• appliances breaking
• fencing/garden work

A common rule of thumb is to save around 1% of the property's value per year for maintenance, although actual spending is often lumpy rather than steady."

I especially support the emphasis on planning for maintenance costs. Too many people, including me at that age, neglect to think about the ongoing costs of home ownership.

I suspect that's because a lot of us have clear memories of high interest rates and property prices falling. We're aware that things can change quickly, so better to give yourself a bit of breathing room.

When I first bought, my special low first time buyer interest rate was 11.5%.

It is doable.

You can just cut your cloth in the early years and opportunities will come up to earn in the future.

It will give you a guaranteed home when housing is such an issue and when you retire you won’t be paying rent forever.

People seem to be forgetting that the alternative to buying is renting and the cost of renting is likely to be far more than your mortgage and rental costs will keep increase for the rest of your lives.

We pay £1003 a month on a £30k income at the moment. 2 kids including a baby, 2 adults and 2 cats (and fish). Tight but doable.

Most people just look at the monthly mortgage debt payments, as these have shot up recently more people are just staying at home or renting a room in a fllatshare.

Highly unlikely with immigration in reverse and recession looming, rent is driven by demand and wages, your mortgage debt is at the mercy of the bond market.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/14/wealth-manager-dumps-uk-bonds-fears-burnham-truss/

That seems tight, esp as you’re considering another child. Costs aren’t coming down and £500 each isn’t a lot to cover day to day spending, holidays, birthdays etc.

No. Too tight for a family of 3 and def 4 imo.

@houseaffordability do you have pets?

no

That helps with costs having no pets, mine cost me a fortune