Working out what you can afford each month

When working out what you can afford you should take into consideration that you might have to pay for some (if not all) of these:

• mortgage – likely to be the single biggest expense of them all
• food
• transport – be it public transport fees or the cost of running and maintaining your car
• utility bills – typically electricity, gas and water
• council tax – charges are banded A to H, A being the cheapest. You can apply to your local authority for a reduction if you’re living on your own
• broadband and digital TV – and don’t forget the TV licence!
• insurance types – buildings, contents and life insurance all need factoring in, plus car insurance if you have one
• service charges and ground rent – if you’re buying a flat
• parking – in some areas you’ll need to purchase an on-street parking permit

You also need to be prepped to expect the unexpected – be it a leaky gutter, faulty boiler or a broken washing machine.

It’s unrealistic to expect to move into your first home without tightening your belt and making some sacrifices. Equally, there’s no point in doing it if your whole life ends up being sacrificed to pay bills. You need to leave room to live a little and have a think about how much you currently spend a month on things like:

• going out
• gym membership
• clothes
• holidays
• books, magazines and newspapers/subscriptions
• mobile phone contract
• film, TV and music subscriptons.

We wouldn't be doing our job properly without mentioning pensions and savings. We know there's a lot to think about, but we'll just say that having rainy day savings and keeping a pension well fed will serve you well. 

Mortgage lenders are prohibited from lending anyone more than four and a half times their income. We’re also required to look ahead and stress test the amount we’re willing to lend you, to make sure you can stay afloat during things like redundancy, having a baby or an interest rate hike.

Our mortgage calculator will give you an idea of how much you might be able to borrow. Simply put, our mortgage calculator takes into consideration how much you earn and whether you're buying on your own or with someone else.

Enter your details in our mortgage calculator to get started.